How Did ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 8 End? What to Remember Before Season 9

Erin Maxwell May 5, 2026, 5:31 pm

Rick and Morty - Season 9 - first look — Warner Bros. Discovery/Adult Swim

Rick and Morty is about to return to Adult Swim with another 10 brand-spanking episodes that will no doubt send the fandom into further chaos, as the show continues to wreak havoc across the multiverse with its signature blend of sci-fi absurdity, dark humor, and existential mayhem.

With promises of “No AI slop! Just Grade A organic slop,” the duo’s antics continue to be wrapped in a sheath of mystery until the episodes actually debut, but the trailer offered a few treasured glimpses of possible adventures, including skirmishes with hostile futurniture and mutated Jerry (Chris Parnell), reminding folks, “Anything is possible when everything is possible.”

For fans who might not remember where we last left the Citadel, or where Space Beth (Sarah Chalke) is up to these days, here is a brief recap of how Season 8 ended. And then some.

Rick is slowly healing

The catalyst that created Rick (Ian Cardoni) was the murder of his wife, Diane, and daughter, Beth, by Rick Prime. Since then, we have followed Rick C-137 (the “Rickest Rick”) as he traveled from Earth to Earth, until he killed Rick Prime in Season 7, Episode 5, “Unmortricken.” Even then, it did not heal him the way he had hoped.

In Season 8, Rick C-137 decides to purge all memories of his late wife, Diane, from his mind in an attempt to move on and become emotionally available. This action sends a sentient “Memory Rick” from “Rickternal Friend-shine of the Spotless Mort” into Beth’s mind to hide. Memory Rick acts as a catalyst for Beth’s dormant desire to save her mother, pushing her to the brink and even leading her to kill her possible clone, Space Beth, who is later revived.

In a moment of uncharacteristic empathy, Rick ultimately chooses to save this version of Beth, and rather than delete Memory Rick and Memory Diane, he allows them to live together in a virtual world he creates for them.

2 Beths, 1 Jerry

Beth and Space Beth team up a few times, and in one particularly revealing adventure, Episode 2 titled “Valkyrick,” in which the duo does some heavy father-possible-clone-daughter bonding. Then both Beth and Space Beth become young again (Episode 6 “The CuRicksous Case of Bethjamin Button”), causing the two pint-sized Beths to wreak havoc on the neighborhood and anyone in their path, as their youthhood indiscretions bring out their worst sociopathic tendencies. In the end, Rick admits he should have done better by the Beths and shows pride in his daughters, even when they turn against him.

Jerry discovers himself, literally

Jerry does quite a bit of growing this season. In Episode 8 “Nomortland,” he finds himself on a road trip with himself, exploring dimensions where Smith families have left their Jerrys to their own devices. In the end, it is revealed that the Smith family actually cares for their Jerry, and he chooses to return to them, showing more confidence and independence than in previous seasons.

Morty reconnects with his son

In Episode 9 “Morty Daddy,” Morty (Harry Belden) reconnects with his Gazorpian son, Morty Jr. (Maurice LaMarche), who is now old and dying, as the episode focuses on the theme of dysfunctional family relationships.

In truth, Morty Jr. uses him to write another tell-all book about terrible parenting.

Overall, by the end of the season, Morty appears to be less tethered to Rick and his trauma and is becoming more of his own person.

What happened to the Citadel of Ricks?

The Citadel of Ricks was destroyed in the Season 5 finale “Rickmurai Jack” when Evil Morty sabotaged it to break through the Central Finite Curve, causing it to fall and explode. While most inhabitants died, many cloned Ricks and Mortys survived, later creating a lawless wasteland settlement from the ruins. A variant known as Boss Hogg Rick attempted to rebuild a new, Western-style town out of the ruins, but this was destroyed and the inhabitants dispersed.

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What about Evil Morty?

In the events prior to Season 8, Evil Morty successfully achieved his goal of escaping the Central Finite Curve and the influence of Ricks. After helping Rick C-137 kill Rick Prime in Season 7, he stole the Omega Device schematics, becoming the dominant, free entity in the multiverse, threatening Rick C-137 to leave him alone for good.

And Summer? What about Summer?

She’s fine. Summer (Spencer Grammer) had her memory wiped, so no real growth there. She did get trapped in a 17-year Matrix-esque simulation by Rick as punishment, maturing into a confident, 30-something tech expert, but she got over it.