Frustration over the massive cliffhanger in last night’s season finale of Adult Swim sci-fi sitcom Rick and Morty is rampaging across the internet like a crazed Gazorpian, and not for no reason. Without giving it away, the 20 minutes of television seems explicitly designed to rip out your heart and beat it with a tenderizer—the final scene is bedded with a tune Johnny Cash thought was sorrowful enough to cover, for God’s sake. But really, it’s a testament to how well creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland have crafted a cast of characters it’s difficult not to love, no matter how many homicidal rampages, acts of terrible apathy, or belches they subject you to.
“At [short animation festival] Channel 101, Justin was always the guy who would make things that everyone wouldn’t vote back because they wanted him to make something else. And he always would,” Harmon tells The Creators Project. “What’s for sale at Rick and Morty is definitely a cult of [Justin’s] personality.”
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Harmon, on the other hand, is the king of building community. The other big show he’s working on, literally called Community, has survived cancellation multiple times thanks to Twitter campaigns, petitions, and most recently the promise to Yahoo Screen that he would bring their platform a devoted, almost vicious audience. So it was probably his idea to create the voicemail box Rick and Morty’s Facebook page posted right after last night’s devastating episode. Call 1-844-MORERICK, and here’s what you’ll hear:
“You’ve reached the Rick and Morty hotline. For Rick, press 1. For Morty, press 2.”
We won’t ruin the surprise, suffice it to say that here’s how it ends:
“Is there anything you’d like to tell Justin and Dan, the creators of the show? Be safe this winter, we’ll see you next year. You may leave your message now.”
It’s very important to note what the smooth-operator voice said: “We’ll see you next year.” If you didn’t watch past the credits, Mr. Poopy Butthole has a gleeful freakout implying that we’d be waiting “a year and a half…or longer” for our next Rick and Morty fix, similar to the gap between Seasons 1 and 2. But given the fact that Rick and Morty has long since been renewed for a third season (which might even feature a Mr. Meeseeks revival!) a shorter timeframe is reasonable.
This morning it has been difficult to actually reach the voicemail, we assume due to the huge volume of emotionally-exhausted fans shouting and burping their hearbreak to Harmon and Roiland. If you’re not able to get through yourself, listen to a recording here.
Watch full episodes of Rick and Morty on Adult Swim.
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