WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the fourth season finale of Rick and Morty, "Star Mort: Rickturn of the Jerri"
Rick Sanchez has always been defined by the sheer spite he's had for the world around him and the idea of getting too connected with anyone or anything. However, that mindset is thrown off by his most recent realization: He's just as bad of a person as others said he was and no amount of super science can fix that. The fourth season finale of Rick and Morty takes Rick to his a new emotional low, with the character having to come to terms with just how bad of a father he is.
The events of "Star Mort: Rickturn of the Jerri" sees a version of Beth Smith return to the Earth. Having discovered an apparent bomb in the base of her neck, she comes to the conclusion that she's actually a clone created by Rick during the events of the third season episode "The ABCs of Beth." Eventually encountering the other Beth, they discover there's no easy way to tell which one is actually the real Beth. However, Rick doesn't know which is the real one either.
This seems to finally shatter any desire Beth ever had to bond with her father, leading both Beths to declare that they just don't have the time to invest in Rick's attempts to control everything. Morty, Summer and Jerry agree -- leaving Rick alone, disgusted with his actions. With no one else around, Rick watches a memory he'd deleted from his mind, and it's revealed Beth pushed the question of potentially leaving her family and having Rick make a clone of herself on Earth onto Rick. Instead of making a choice to either spend time with his daughter or inspire her to become her own person, he shunted the responsibility by making a clone and confusing himself on which one is actually the original Beth.
Since he couldn't choose, he went with both options, denying himself chance to connect with either version of his daughter. The devices in their necks were originally programmed to fuse their memories into a single Beth so he could dodge any responsibility. This realization leads Rick to come to the conclusion that he really is a terrible father after all because of just how little he actually wants to be with his daughter, and the season finale ends with him quietly stewing in his own depression.
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Rick has long been considered one of the most dangerous, impressive and powerful figures in his multiverse. His inventions and creations have allowed him to fight Gods, seduce planets and create armies -- sometimes all in the span of a single episode. But he's also proven to be a fundamentally broken man throughout all this, choosing to be a sardonic and petty drifter through the cosmos. He has no goals outside whatever curiosity he's developed that day, with his family being pawns at best and tools at worst for his adventures. The Intergalactic Federation knows this, realizing that by not angering Rick he ignores them, and in doing so makes Rick into a "non-threat."
But all of that detachment has finally caught up to him. While he may technically be able to shunt over to a different reality, he's grown attached to his family -- especially this version of Morty, who has traveled with Rick through the multiverse. And yet, none of them seem to actually respect him anymore. All season, Rick's flaws have been highlighted, with the very lonely and spiteful old man at the core of all that intelligence has been peeking through. Rick grows incredibly attached to something (like the population he raised in "Chirick of Mort") only to see it taken away. When that happens, Rick will double-down on his narcissistic self-interest, and move on, ignoring the destruction in his wake.
But this revelation that even he can't deny his personal failings feels different. He tries to reason he can at least be a good friend, revealing he salvaged the remains of Phoenix Person in a bid to repair him. But given the death of Tammy and the loss of the Federation ship he was on, Phoenix Person only claws at Rick and tries to kill him. There's nothing for Rick to fall back on, no connection he hasn't found a way to ruin. He's alone, and it's his fault, and he knows it.
But perhaps reaching his lowest point will actually work out in the long-run for Rick. This could finally motivate him to try and at least care. Still, in the world of Rick and Morty, caring means that you can lose something -- which might actually affect a Rick who's trying to be better with his family.