Rick and Morty: Who is the most underutilized character?
With Season 4 of Rick and Morty upon us, it’s time to look back at the series and see which character should get more screen time in the upcoming season.
Since premiering in 2013, Rick and Morty has become a sensation. Airing on Adult Swim, the show quickly garnered an incredible fan following. Starting off just as a parody of Back to the Future, the series has grown so much in six years and looks to grow even larger as time goes on.
Last year, it was announced that the series was picked up for a 70-episode order. It was huge news as it didn’t seem like Adult Swim was willing to go that far yet. Considering how long the wait between seasons is though, it will feel like an eternity until we get all 70. Thankfully, the first half of Season 4 of five episodes begin airing on Nov. 10.
With the first half of Season 4 airing, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the series as a whole. In particular, the characters that are the most underutilized on the show. It’s not exactly a tough question, but one that has an answer albeit not an easy one. With Season 4 almost here, which Rick and Morty character does the show underuse the most?
More from Animated
- Bob’s Burgers: The (Raccoon) King and I was a busy episode for all
- Bob’s Burgers skipping Thanksgiving this year: Here are 4 can’t-miss holiday episodes to rewatch
- Looking to stream Trolls Band Together at home? Here’s when it’ll likely come to Peacock
- Bob’s Burgers: Escape From Which Island? is a late Halloween treat
- Will there be a Steven Universe revival? Rebecca Sugar says “if there’s a huge amount of public demand”
Of course, it would only be right to look back at Season 3. If anything, Season 3 was a shining example of how much the series has moved forward. At first, mostly everything was centered on Rick and Morty. In Season 3, the writers branched out a lot more and focused on the other members of the Smith family. It was refreshing to see the show change things up a bit and it made for a nice change of pace.
Despite the improvement in Season 3, the fourth season has the chance to become even better in terms of character development. If you couldn’t have guessed, the two characters who aren’t underutilized are Rick and Morty. No surprise as the series is named after them, but most of the plotlines either follow their characters or their adventures. As far as side characters go, Mr. Poopy Butthole is another character who is used just the right amount so he wasn’t going to make the cut.
That leaves only three members of the Smith family to discuss. Starting off with Jerry, it’s clear that he’s the one who is never going to be the center of attention. Jerry just isn’t a very well-liked character and it’s part of who he is. He’s a pretty insignificant part of the family so it’s hard to create episodes based solely on him. Rather, Jerry thrives with the other characters such as Rick in “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy.” That being said, Jerry is not an underutilized character as he’s used just enough.
That leaves two members of the Smith family, which are Beth and Summer. This is where it starts to get tough as the Rick and Morty fandom hasn’t taken kindly to women. They usually look down on the episodes that focus on female characters and even harassed a female writer for the show. It might only be a select few fans, but it sets a tone for viewers. However, that doesn’t mean that Summer and Beth should be given less.
While Beth is usually reduced to her role as wife and mother, they did explore her character more in “The ABCs of Beth.” Her and Jerry’s divorce was also a major plot-point for the majority of Season 3, too. While Beth doesn’t get used as much, she still gets a little more attention than Summer does.
Between the two, Summer is easily the most underutilized character on the show. While she does have her moments, we have yet to see an episode focused on just her. She does have moments including “Something Ricked This Way Comes” and “Raising Gazorpazorp” but most of the time, she plays sidekick to either Rick or Morty. It’s time that Summer gets a turn in the spotlight as there is a lot they could do with her character.
Ultimately, the series is focused on Rick and Morty but the writers have some room to branch out. With 70 upcoming episodes, they can work on season-long storylines for the more underutilized characters. Maybe the first half of Season 4 will give us a preview of that. If not, then there’s always the second half to come.
Which character on Rick and Morty do you think is most underutilized? Any hopes for the first half of Season 4? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
Rick and Morty Season 4 premieres Nov. 10 on Adult Swim at 11:30/10:30c.