Warning: Spoilers for Rick and Morty season 6, episode 7.
The opening credits of Rick and Morty season 6, episode 7 bled into the episode itself, a bizarre meta gag that will permanently change how viewers watch the sequence. Rick and Morty has never been afraid of self-aware humor. Since its earliest episodes, Rick and Morty toyed with meta jokes and Rick’s asides only became more frequent and explicit as the series continued. However, Rick and Morty season 6, episode 7, “Full Meta Jackrick,” took this further than ever before.
The cold open of “Full Meta Jackrick” sees Rick and Morty’s cast acting out a surreal selection of sitcom “previously on” scenes that never happened before Rick and Morty’s season 6 hiatus. This surreal sequence then leads to Rick and Morty themselves falling through their own show’s opening sequence, with the two title characters commenting on the adventures seen in the opening credits. The sequence kept Rick and Morty's formula fresh and established that no part of the show’s “reality” is safe, but also showed how trippy the episode’s meta references would get and meant viewers will never watch the opening credits the same way again.
Rick & Morty Season 6 Part 2 Is The Perfect Change
Rick and Morty season 5 embraced a more serialized storytelling style that relied on canon, as each episode’s events played into the story of the next outing. In contrast, Rick and Morty season 6, part 1 abandoned this idea after the premiere, returning to the standalone, episodic approach of earlier seasons. Now, the first episode of Rick and Morty season 6, part 2 promises to twist the show’s formula again, with Rick and Morty discovering their lives are a television show and explicitly talking about how the conventions of television storytelling impact and shape their existence. It is a brazen meta-gag that is perfectly timed.
While some viewers yearned for a return to the simpler storylines of earlier seasons, other Rick and Morty viewers wanted the more introspective storyline of season 5 to lead somewhere. Rick and Morty’s tone in season 6, part 1 felt pulled between these two polar opposites, which is addressed in one meta joke during “Full Meta Jackrick” when Rick says he’s sick of being told to make the show feel like its earlier seasons again. While Rick and Morty season 6, part 2 can address questions that have been part of the show’s lore since its inception, the show can now do so while simultaneously maintaining a light, self-aware tone.
Breaking Its Own Opening Shows How Far Rick & Morty Is Willing To Go
Rick and Morty holds nothing sacred, as evidenced by the show breaking its own structure by invading the opening credits of “Full Meta Jackrick.” This is further reaffirmed in the post-credits stinger, or “tag,” of “Full Meta Jackrick,” which depicts an absurd one-off character called Tag Man who imitates the title card of Rick and Morty’s production company, Harmonius Claptrap. Evidently, Rick and Morty season 6, part 2 is willing to take apart the show’s internal reality to keep the series feeling fresh and funny, meaning viewers have no idea what the rest of the season has in store.
New episodes of Rick and Morty season 6 air Sundays on Adult Swim.