Warning: Spoilers ahead for Rick and Morty season 7, episode 3.

Summary

• Rick and Morty season 7 brings back the Rick Prime storyline, but it does so in a way that focuses more on Rick than the villain himself.
• One character's appearance in the episode adds a darker and sadder element to the story, hinting at a potential downfall for Rick.
• The episode sets up a potential future where Rick loses touch with his loved ones as he becomes more obsessed with his nemesis.

While Rick and Morty season 7, episode 3 revisits the show’s much-hyped Rick Prime storyline, the plot comes back in a way that few viewers could have anticipated. Rick and Morty has a funny relationship with canon and continuity. For the show’s first few seasons, Rick and Morty didn't rely heavily on canon, as the show focused on episodic, standalone adventures. Apart from each season’s finale, Rick and Morty mostly stuck to a sitcom formula, where the status quo was reset at the beginning of every new episode. However, Rick and Morty season 5 changed this.

In the Rick and Morty season 5 finale and the season 6 premiere, the series reveals details about Rick’s backstory that change the show’s entire canon. This makes it seem like Rick and Morty season 7 will be full of episodes that connect to the show’s broader lore. However, the creators of the series instead return to a standalone format for most of season 6. Season 7 also largely ignores Rick’s attempts to hunt down his nemesis, Rick Prime — that is, until Rick and Morty season 7, episode 3, “Air Force Wong,” brings this storyline back in the most unexpected fashion.

Rick Prime Caused Rick and Morty Season 7’s Unity Comeback

In “Air Force Wong,” the entire state of Virginia is taken over by a mysterious alien hive mind that turns out to be Rick’s ex, Unity. She's worried that Rick is seeking out his old nemesis again, so she returns to Earth to find him. Unity worries that the doomed plan to find Rick Prime might lead Rick to lose his mind. While Rick and Morty season 7, episode 1 barely mentions the Rick Prime plot, this third outing uses the storyline to deepen Rick’s relationship with Unity.

However, what makes the reference to Rick Prime so surprising is the fact that Unity’s appearance doesn't bring Rick any closer to confronting his enemy. Instead, the episode is more concerned with the toll that Rick’s search is taking on his mind. Rick and Morty season 7 seems to set up the possibility that it is Rick’s obsession, rather than this specific villain, that will prove his downfall by the end of his character arc. After all, Rick and Morty season 7 episode 2’s unlikely pairing of Jerry and Rick already hints that Rick needs to take life less seriously.

Rick & Morty Season 7’s Rick Prime Twist Made Its Story Sadder

Rick’s attempts to get revenge on Rick Prime already seem doomed, but his former partner worrying about how it will impact his sanity makes the story even darker. It looks increasingly likely that season 7 will see Rick losing touch with his loved ones as he becomes increasingly obsessed with tracking down his nemesis. Him ignoring Summer when she tries to talk to him about his problems teases this as well. He even fails to listen to Unity's voicemails until it's too late. Hopefully, Rick and Morty season 7 will find a hopeful ending for this bleak plot — but with Rick becoming so consumed, it could go either way.