Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 5, Episode 5, "Amortycan Grickfitti," which aired Sunday on Adult Swim.
In Rick and Morty, one of the most heated debates in recent times has been Rick's favorite grandkid. Admittedly, it would seem like Morty as they've been on the most quests together in the five seasons thus far. Granted, Rick loves attention, and none of the other Smiths will indulge his ego as the awkward, lonely Morty does. However, Season 5 hints that Summer might actually be Rick's favorite, with the scientist quietly considering her his pride and joy.
Clues were dropped in Season 5, Episode 2's decoy fiasco that resulted in various versions of the Smiths being killed by each other. Hints also appear when Summer and Rick head to space to party on planets experiencing apocalypses in Season 5, Episode 3. Rick wants a buddy to partake in sex, drugs and all kinds of debauchery alongside him but insists it's Summer, not Morty.
Surprisingly, Rick is unsympathetic about Morty's breakup with Jessica. However, he cares about Summer's failed relationship and appreciates her ability to cut loose like him. Sure, he could be using Summer as Morty would be a bore, but later on, when Summer saves him from Daphne's love trap, Rick pays her major plaudits.
He's impressed with how she stopped an apocalypse just to prove to Rick that Daphne was using him to survive. Rick also can't believe Summer would break his heart like that and ruin it for all the aliens who were embracing death. As such, he tells her that it's a move he would pull. Given it's the ultimate badge of honor, it seems like Rick wants to pass the baton to her in the future.
It'd make sense because Summer's a sheep and more impressionable than Morty, who has been lashing out. But while Morty's becoming his own man, Summer doesn't have that sense of identity and takes more influence from Rick. Deep down, she adores her grandfather and might even want to be like him, ergo why she makes cold, bloody decisions without even realizing it.
The biggest flag comes when Rick heads off with Jerry on a supernatural cult mission but leaves a warning for Morty not to touch his stuff. The lab protocols threaten to shoot Morty but not Summer. To top it off, Rick's ship remembers its "Protect Summer" directive, allowing them in for a joyride. It's further evidence Rick likes her more, perhaps because he sees her as a young Beth or his late wife, Diane.
See Rick and Summer's growing relationship in new episodes of Rick and Morty, which air each Sunday at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.