While Jerry and Rick might be one of the most unexpected pairings in the show’s history, Rick and Morty season 6’s Die Hard spoof saw Rick and Morty working together, but most of the season’s other adventures have steered clear of this overly familiar eponymous pairing.
Instead, Rick and Morty season 6 has paired off Beth and Morty, Beth and Summer, and even Rick and Jerry despite the former’s dislike of the latter. Even though Rick and Jerry's adventures are rare (although not unheard of, with earlier stories between the duo taking pace in season 5 and season 1), Rick and Morty season 6, episode 5 seemed to promise more from the pair via a throwaway joke. Whether this will come to , however, is another story.
When Rick helped Jerry suit up to evade detection in the Fortune 500 fortune cookie factory during the events of “Final DeSmithation” (season 6, episode 5), he achieves this via a Sailor Moon-spoofing montage. In a sly joke about Rick and Morty’s reliance on formula, Rick then said that Jerry’s suiting up montage would provide financial savings if the show ever needed Jerry to be his assistant again. While Rick does get to re-use the footage during the episode itself, this line still implies that the duo might have another adventure together since season 6 has been changing the Rick and Morty formula.
Why Rick & Morty Broke Up Rick and Morty’s Partnership
The reason that Rick and Morty season 6 has been splitting up Rick and Morty’s titular partnership and pairing the characters off in new, unexpected ways can be traced back to the ending of season 4. That bombshell episode left the Smith family disappointed with Rick and disillusioned by his supposed genius. Following this, the events of Rick and Morty season 5 put even more distance between Morty and Rick. Rick and Morty season 6 shows the characters have grown even more since season 5, with Morty no longer viewing his grandfather through rose-tinted glasses while the rest of the family is getting better at standing up to Rick.
Due to these storylines, it no longer makes sense for Rick and Morty to go on adventures while the rest of the family’s screen time is largely limited to a B-story. Instead, Rick and Morty season 6 has continued season 5’s trend of experimenting with new character pairings, hence Jerry and Rick’s unlikely adventure (an episode that barely features Summer, Morty, and Beth). This approach has helped Rick and Morty season 6 to humanize Rick in the eyes of his family as it becomes clear that he is willing to help even Jerry, who Rick has never been shy about expressing his disdain for.