From giant franchises to groundbreaking indie films, the idea that our universe is just one of endless realities has become a huge fad. The multiverse represents possibilities beyond imagination that all exist simultaneously, and exploring those disparate realms often makes for a fantastic journey. But, if everything is possible, if everything is inevitable, what does it mean to do anything?
TheMarvel Cinematic Universe isinarguably the biggest media movement abusing the multiverse concept at the moment. It’s a way to further connect the franchise’s multiple moving parts while expanding its jurisdiction into parts unknown. Fans will never see 99.9% of the alternate dimensions out there, but, what could lie in those planes of reality between the ones that house marketable characters?
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Dan Harmonand Justin Roiland’s belovedsci-fi comedy seriesRick and Mortyfollows the titular pair as they go on wacky adventures across the theoretically infinite. Every episode starts with a wild sci-fi premise like “what if an alien parasite could spread by invading memories” or “what if a crystal could show a person the exact moment of their death”. It’s a high-concept comedy, making mockeries out of cosmic horror and blending esoteric scientific ideas with banal family life. Its eponymous lead characters are, respectively, the smartest person in the universe and his mild-mannered grandson. The show’smost narratively intelligent inventionis Rick’s trademark portal gun, a handheld device that allows instantaneous transport between dimensions. Traveling to new impossible realities is the show’s bread and butter.
If there’s one lesson thatRick Sanchez tries timeand time again to impart to his grandson, it’s that the existence of the multiverse should breed cynicism. How could any human decision mean anything in the multiverse? Anything that an intelligent being could conceive of doing is happening somewhere out there. The ability to travel freely to a universe of one’s choosing ensures that no decision, event, or random chance could ever hold any meaning. Just pop into another universe in which that thing didn’t happen. Or one in which it never could’ve happened. Or one in which everyone involved evolved from lobsters rather than apes. It evokes thebase principle of cosmic horror. We were small enough in the infinite expanse of our universe, adding infinite other universes doesn’t help. Rick’s lesson, however, isn’t that the multiverse should scare those who discover it. The multiverse provides perfect infinite freedom.
Rick’s philosophy doesn’t lament the fact that all things are rendered meaningless by the multiverse. He celebrates it. The freedom provided by his portal gun allows him to detach himself fully from all personal responsibility andact with reckless impunity. It’s an everything-proof shield. Nothing matters, and that’s great. Rick proposes a devil may care attitude toward everything because everything is replaceable. Rick is the ultimate hedonist and his indifference toward most of reality is proven in almost every decision that he makes.
One of the most important moments in the show’s first season comes when Morty accidentally ruins the world with one of his grandfather’s experiments. Rick doesn’t lament, nor does he try to save the day. He abandons his responsibility, leaves his home universe, and takes up residency in a reality in which they’ve already died. From themoment Morty buries himself, the show’s message of ultimate freedom is cemented. For the man who is free to travel the multiverse, it’s an endless playground. However, those who don’t have that ability don’t get the same pleasure from the concept.
Any given stranger inRick and Mortywouldn’t know that the multiverse exists. They may have been exposed to one nightmare or another thatRick brought to theirEarth, but they’ll never know what lies beyond their perception. Morty learns gradually, and he’s an entirely different person in season five than he was at the start of the show. Imagine any random person hanging out with Rick for a day, then going back to their normal life. Without the freedom to travel between dimensions, all the multiverse leaves a person with is the 100% certainty that everything is meaningless. Rick can enjoy the cynicism, taking a radically positive approach to the concept, but no one else can. In fact, as revealed in the latest season finale, even Rick can’t fully embrace it.
A throwaway line in the first season introduced the concept of the “central finite curve”, which, at the time, just sounded like a weighty sci-fi term that encapsulated all or most alternate universes. The season five finale finally revealed the meaning behind the concept. The collective might of Ricks across the multiverse built a walled garden around the theoretically infinite, selecting only the realities in which he’d be the smartest living being. The end of season five saw “Evil” Morty destroy the central finite curve, unbinding the multiverse for the first time in the franchise. Perhaps fans will see how horrific the concept can be, even for someone like Rick, next season.
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