Warning! SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 6, episode 10.Rick & Morty's season 6 finale revealed the reason for a specific feature of Star Wars' lightsabers in typically comic fashion. A suspiciously loving and ive Rick gifts Morty a lightsaber for Christmas in Rick & Morty, season 6, episode 10, "Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation" and the gift triggers a potentially world-ending catastrophe. What follows is a typically irreverent take on Star Wars tropes, which reveals the US President (Keith David) to be an entitled fanboy who's used America's defense capabilities to indulge his Lucasfilm-inspired fantasies.
The 2022 Rick & Morty Christmas episode is a classic example of how the show takes a sideways look at particular pieces of pop culture iconography. In giving Morty a lightsaber that puts the entire planet in jeopardy due to a simple error, Rick & Morty provides a hilarious possibility for the origins of the preferred weapon of Star Wars' Jedi. Indeed, Morty's carelessness with his new toy could well explain one of the key safety features of the iconic sci-fi weapon.
Morty's Lightsaber Highlights Why Lightsabers Turn Off When Dropped
Morty triggered a catastrophic chain of events when he dropped his new lightsaber perfectly vertically. Due to the immense heat and power of the weapon's blade, it cut through multiple levels of man-made structures and the minerals contained within the Earth's crust. If Rick hadn't diverted the trajectory of the lightsaber, the combination of the kyber crystal and the Earth's core would have caused a catastrophic explosion that would have wiped out all life on Earth. As the lightsabers in Star Wars turn themselves off when dropped, it suggests that a similar catastrophe was considered in the Star Wars universe, assuming it didn't actually take place.
It is possible that at some point before the Empire's Death Star began blowing planets out of the sky, poor lightsaber handling led to extensive destruction. After surveying the damage caused by perfectly vertical lightsaber drops, more stringent policy was likely introduced in Star Wars' Senate Chamber. Restricting the use of lightsabers only to those Jedi Knights who'd had extensive training, a failsafe option was also introduced that meant lightsabers turned themselves off when they were dropped from a Jedi's hand.
Why Star Wars Lightsabers Shouldn't Have Rick & Morty's Problem
The other reason that vertical lightsaber drops can't cause the same damage within the Star Wars universe is that the hilt is considerably wider than the blade. This means that, unlike the lightsaber in the Rick & Morty season 6 finale, they can't continue to burn through the layers of the planet's crust. Once the blade burnt through the floor, the hilt of the lightsaber would remain wedged in the gap, causing enough resistance to halt its destructive path.
Unfortunately, as Rick & Morty's Robot Rick gives Morty a third-party lightsaber, it doesn't have the craftsmanship and safety features of the proper Jedi lightsabers from Star Wars. Once again, Rick's recklessness has led to the potential destruction of a planet, teeing up Rick & Morty season 7's darker tone. However, in true Rick & Morty style, it does allow audiences to see Star Wars from a new, blackly comic, perspective.