The following contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 6, Episode 7, "Full Meta JackRick," which debuted Sunday, Nov. 20 on Adult Swim.
Rick and Morty Season 6 has been quite polarizing. While some fans do appreciate the more self-contained stories of the Smiths, others want more world-hopping. There's merit on both sides of the argument. Seeing the scientist and his grandson fighting various monsters and tyrants will always be appealing -- that's how the Adult Swim show became popular in the first place.
But the more intimate, personal stories like Rick finally warming to Jerry create a more nuanced sense of family and add to the show in their own way. Season 6, Episode 7, "Full Meta JackRick" is a combination of the two -- a nostalgia trip that brings back Season 4's Story Lord. In Season 6, the character is given a lot more power and nearly fulfills his evil ambition.
Rick and Morty's Story Lord Wants to Rule Reality
In Season 4, Episode 6, "Never Ricking Morty," the Story Lord was introduced as the conductor of the Story Train. He was hoping to make Rick and Morty live through anthologies to use their marketability and entertainment value to power the locomotive. That would enable it to break through the veil of reality and change stories in the real world. However, his plan failed when Rick broke his own convention.
Rick prayed and brought Jesus into the train, causing the show's in-continuity appeal to plummet. That episode ended with Jesus taking Story Lord under his wing, but there were hints that Story Lord could prey on Jesus who didn't know he was mythological to many. "Full Meta JackRick" turned their acquaintanceship into a deadly alliance -- giving Story Lord the tools he needed to make another run at his mission.
Rick and Morty's Story Lord Becomes a God
In "Full Meta JackRick," Story Lord uses Previous Leon to lure Rick and Morty into the meta-reality section of the show, warping their journey through flashbacks. Story Lord then steals Rick's portal gun to achieve his main goal: getting out into reality. He then finds Jan -- a mash-up of creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon -- and uses the writer the way Thanos used the Reality Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Story Lord's endgame isn't just changing the narrative, though; he wants more character motivation so he doesn't come off as trivial. He has Jan create a machine to suck the energy and purpose out of people, which empowers him to become the ultimate antagonist. His new powers allow him to make the changes he needs, improve continuity and elevate a narrative he thinks has fallen by the wayside. Rick and Morty eventually go after other meta-heroes to find a new weapon because Story Lord has become a vindictive god that could wipe them all out of existence. It's an exciting story for Season 6 that also plays on the show's history.
Rick and Morty airs Sundays at 11:00 p.m. on Adult Swim.