Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 7, episode 9.

Summary

• Rick and Morty season 7, episode 9 introduces a new villain in the form of the Pope.
• The Pope is portrayed as an enemy when Rick traps him in a Pokéball and uses him for illegal Pokémon matches.
• While it is uncertain if the Pope will continue to appear, there is potential for him to become a recurring nemesis to Rick in future episodes.

While killed off Rick Prime unexpectedly, the show has been without a primary antagonist. Since Rick and Morty is usually an anarchic, episodic comedy series, this isn’t necessarily a problem.

However, Rick and Morty season 7, episode 9 did still set up a new villain for the show, albeit one who might prove too unlikely and absurd to make many more appearances. Rick and Morty’s season 7 story was free to go anywhere after Rick Prime’s death, and season 7, episode 9, “Mort Ragnarick,” saw Rick take full advantage of his newfound freedom. After proving that Heaven existed, Rick went to Valhalla to access the afterlife’s source of perpetual energy. In the process, he made an enemy of Bigfoot, but it was another, real-life figure who soon became Rick’s latest nemesis.

Rick And Morty Season 7 Episode 9’s Post-Credits Scene Makes The Pope Rick’s Enemy

In “Mort: Ragnarick,” the Pope hired Bigfoot as an assassin for the Vatican. This led to an alliance between Rick, Morty, and Bigfoot when the cryptid realized he was being played for a fool. Eventually, Rick defeated the Pope by trapping him in a Pokeball, making the leader of the Catholic Church his latest powerful enemy. As if the Pope’s defeat wasn’t enough, Rick then used him to fight in illegal Pokémon matches and eventually replaced him on earth with Rick’s own clone. Thus, another Rick and Morty season 7 post-credits scene revealed a potential new villain for the show.

The end of Rick and Morty season 7, episode 6, “Rickfending Your Mort,” saw Morty’s sentient churro threaten to hunt him down after he betrayed him. However, the Pope was not quite as vengeful in episode 9’s post-credits scene, partially because he was still too dazed to fully understand what had happened. The Pope was about to partake in a Pokémon battle when the police arrived, leading Rick and his accomplices to run while leaving a Pokémon and a confused Pope behind. It was only when the Pope saw Rick’s clone standing in for him that he understood what had happened and knew that Rick had gotten one over on him.

New episodes of Rick and Morty season 7 are released Sunday nights at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.

Rick And Morty Season 7 Needs A New Major Villain After Rick Prime

While Rick C-137 could go after Evil Morty after Rick Prime’s death, Rick and Morty season 7 needs a replacement villain who is less implacable than Morty’s alternate incarnation. Despite his name, Evil Morty helped Rick and Morty out in “Unmortricken." As such, Rick doesn’t have much of an excuse to fight him. ittedly, it would be a little weird if Rick and Morty reused the Pope in further episodes, since it is not clear whether he is intended to be a parody of the real-life Pope or a fictional creation. However, anything can happen in Rick and Morty’s world, so Rick’s latest nemesis may well appear again after season 7, episode 9's bizarre post-credits scene.