Rick And Morty Fans Have A Lot To Say About This Version Of Jerry

The 6th season of Adult Swim's flagship series "Rick and Morty" was released on September 4 (via Deadline), and that only means more adventures for the immensely intelligent Rick Sanchez and his naive grandson Morty, both of whom are voiced by co-creator Justin Roiland. Arriving on the scene in 2013, "Rick and Morty" would grow into a beloved fixture of adult television animation with over 60 episodes, five seasons, and winning two Primetime Emmys. After the mixed audience reception to the show's 5th season, the show's creators have promised that the newest season will make up for its perceived shortcomings from the previous one (via IGN). 

With a series as wildly zany yet bizarrely poignant and nihilistic as "Rick and Morty" can get, there's really no knowing what to expect out of the half-hour animated comedy. Nevertheless, after the events of the Season 5 finale "Rickmurai Jack", which sees Rick and Morty make a daring escape from the Citadel and get stranded out in space (a la Tony Stark at the end of "Avengers Infinity War"), the events of the following season were certain to make for an exciting event. Fans certainly got to witness the outcome of the setup, but an even more intriguing detail exists at the end of the Season 6 premiere, one that surrounds Morty's father, Jerry Smith (Chris Parnell).

Season 6, Episode 1 of "Rick and Morty," "Solaricks" sees the titular duo, after being stranded in space in the Season 5 finale, get rescued by Space Beth and brought back home. While Rick is trying to fix his portal gun, a glitch occurs that sends the family to their original dimensions. Morty is sent to the Cronenberged dimension where he meets a more grizzled and self-sufficient version of his father, Jerry, who lives alone following the deaths of Beth and Summer in his universe. In a post-credits scene, the Cronenberged Jerry manages to slash Rick Prime's throat, only for Rick Prime to heal with ease and kill Jerry for himself. 

To say the least, it is rather shocking to see this sudden showcase of violence from one of the show's most milquetoast characters. On a live discussion subreddit thread started by u/BarnyardCruz regarding the Season 6 premiere, u/Buizie commented, "Damn, all those years hunting him and it was Jerry that got closest to killing him." Other fans were similarly stupefied. Reddit user u/Canhebeatgokutho4352 wrote,"I just watched it and that's prolly the smartest thing Jerry ever done." A third user, u/KingLiberal, wrote that they wanted to see more of Rick Prime and Cronenberged Jerry working together. "Too bad Rick Prime kills Cronenberg dimension Jerry. Felt there was a potential team up there."

As show co-creator, Dan Harmon, states in a recent behind-the-scenes video on the episode, this version of Jerry is more confident and happier with himself, punishing Morty for abandoning his family in Season 1. Time will tell what we learn about this side of Jerry, but his intense actions certainly helped start this season off with a bang.