The Rick And Morty Fan Theory That May Explain More About Diane's Death

Plenty of individual episodes of Adult Swim's hit cartoon series "Rick and Morty" revolve around sci-fi conceits heady enough to fuel feature film scripts or other such larger-scale stories. Accordingly, then, fan theories about "Rick and Morty" resulting from its many big ideas are numerous. Among some of the most bizarre "Rick and Morty" fan theories is one that proposes that Rick and Morty (both voiced by Justin Roiland) are, in fact, the same person.

Another subject of multiple fan theories that have circulated online is Rick's former wife, Diane (Kari Wahlgren). The "Rick and Morty" Season 5 finale details Diane's importance to Rick's disposition, revealing that a multiverse version of Rick killed the version of Diane married to the series' principal Rick, otherwise known as Rick C-137. Rick C-137 then went on a killing spree attempting to enact revenge on his wife's murderer. That said, the fact that Rick never encounters any multiverse versions of his late wife spurred a theory that Rick avoids dimensions where his wife is alive, emphasizing the importance of the version to whom he was married.

Given that the series never identifies the Rick that killed Rick C-137's Diane, a number of fans have taken to social media to share their suspects. Whether or not it turns out to be accurate, one such theory has spurred some discussion that could shed new light on the nature of Diane's death.

A number of posts online, including a Reddit thread by user goblin_welder, have proposed that the Rick who killed Diane is none other than Rick C-137 in the series' future, time traveling to its past. Although the sole commenter in this particular thread is skeptical, outlining some facts that arguably contradict the original poster's theory, a discussion in another Reddit thread — of which the original post has since been deleted — explores this possibility in greater detail.

Comments from users Desert_Trader and Pankyrain, for instance, mention that Rick is a self-described time travel hater. This is significant either because the murder might then explain Rick's disdain for time travel, or because his existing thoughts on the subject might prevent him from looking into the future version of himself that theoretically committed the crime.

A third thread, by user ibraguy, similarly cites the fact that Rick attempts to genetically identify the mystery killer and fails to do so as evidence, given that Rick C-137 seems to have never cross-references his identifying data with his own biometrics.

Like any good fan theory, the idea that Rick C-137 is his own wife's killer is just as much a thought experiment as it is a genuine prediction. In any case, this hypothetical seems to shed some light on the nature of Diane's killer, and should it be true, answer a few unaddressed questions posed throughout the run of "Rick and Morty" thus far.