Amidst all the pseudo-science and the extradimensional toilet humor of Rick and Morty are quotes which while funny, can also give you a severe onset of existential crisis that lasts roughly a few hours after watching each episode. They are both profound and disrespectful to established norms that the previous generations of mankind have concocted out of blissful ignorance.
Rick and Morty often blurts out these quotes nonchalantly both as jokes and statements. They ask the difficult questions and sometimes dabble in nihilism or the absurdity of social constructs. It's not just Rick Sanchez leading that softcore irreverence either but nearly all characters. So to give you something to laugh about or think about in no particular order, here are 10 Rick and Morty quotes that are hilarious but true.
10 "Tell me, Summer, if a human was born with stumpy legs, would they breed it with another deformed human and put their children on display like the Dachshund?"
This one here is a classic example of what our simple human minds usually take for granted: dog breeding. Summer's dog-- Snuffles, after getting a whiff of Rick's brilliance, gets fed up with the oppression and atrocities the human beings did to his species like selectively breeding dogs with birth defects to create toy dog breeds.
As you can imagine, it didn't end well for the Smith family. In Snuffles's defense, such a practice was messed up, and that's why you shouldn't support such a dog trading practice. Adopt, don't shop... you monster.
9 "Having a family doesn’t mean that you stop being an individual. You know the best thing you can do for the people that depend on you? Be honest with them, even if it means setting them free."
One look at the Meeseeks in Rick and Morty, and you'll most likely be inclined not to take them seriously. However, they do present some precious wisdom from time to time, such as that quote a Meeseek said to Beth.
They're practically genies that will die just to fulfill your wish or to help you. As for the quote above, you'd probably think it was a quote from Bustle or Elite Daily without the Rick and Morty context. Nope, an adult cartoon joke said that.
8 "Listen, Morty, I hate to break it to you, but what people call “love” is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed."
Leave it to Rick to unleash some hard-to-swallow truths about what we homo sapiens call "love." Love, the favorite four-letter word of any teenager, is really nothing but mere chemicals and electrical signals in our brains and bodies. At least for the romantic aspect of love.
Without it, our race of advanced apes would never have been able to survive long enough to become the top sentient species on Earth. Although, Rick probably would have a different take on the matter under a more positive circumstance.
7 "Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. We're all going to die. Come watch TV."
This right here is Rick's nihilistic tendencies rubbing off on Morty, and it's both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Our Morty grows up so fast and learns a lot by gazing into the abyss and accompanying his grandfather in booze and drug-addled adventures.
Morty said this famous line to his sister, Summer, after she just discovered that her parents practically ruined their lives and relationship when they accidentally conceived her. Does it make her life less meaningful? Only if it had meaning before-- which it never did. According to Morty, we're all born because a sperm and an egg cell got a little too cuddly.
6 "Gaslighting doesn’t exist, you made it up because you’re f****** crazy."
On one of the most recent episodes of the latest season of Rick and Morty, two news anchors explained what gaslighting is better than Google or any dictionary can. That fallacious and ironic statement is gaslighting in a nutshell.
The showrunners basically just squeezed in that joke and public service announcement during Morty's transformation into a villain all because he wanted to end up with his crush, Jessica. Although, that crush on her is most likely just infatuation since Morty is just a crazed 14-year-old.
5 "My life has been a lie! God is dead! The government's lame! Thanksgiving is about killing Indians! Jesus wasn't born on Christmas! They moved the date! It was a pagan holiday!"
Oh boy, that's quite a handful. It's a blasphemous jab against tradition spewed hatefully by Morty Jr., you know, Morty's half-human, half-Gazorpazorpian son whom he conceived with a robot sex doll from another planet? It's a long story, better to just rewatch, season 1.
In any case, that's a lot of truths, particular about a certain son of god not being born on December 25. Everything else is subject to moral relativism or post-truth arguments. We also don't recommend breaking down like this during Thanksgiving dinner in front of your extended family.
4 "All I have are pictures are of me and my friends from school. What? What teenage girl has pictures of her family? It's not like we're Mormon or dying."
Next, up we have Summer over here pointing out something which many moms and dads are still in denial about: most teenagers need their own space. She said this during the "Total Rickall" episode where extraterrestrial parasites wanted to take over their family and the world by posing as a family member of the Smiths.
Of course, Summer's sentiment towards being close with her family is quite exaggerated, but in reality, not many teenagers are that sentimental or interested in their family. Don't worry, they'll come around in their mid-20s or something, once the financial dread sets in.
3 "To live is to risk it all. Otherwise, you're just an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows you."
Despite Rick's pessimism, he tends to contradict himself sometimes-- or maybe he's a physical Yin and Yang manifestation of the clashing ideals of existentialism and nihilism. Anyway, he says this quote after saving Morty, Summer, and their reality from getting splintered due to uncertainty.
Rick apparently believes that one should still challenge life despite the lack of meaning. Not doing so makes you no better than a speck of lifeless dust floating around the void of space. Remember folks, only the dead fish go with the flow. Life is about struggle, will to live, and will to power through.
2 "When two people create a life together, they set aside their previous lives as individuals." "Gimme a break! We're not heroes for having unprotected sex on prom night."
Ah, parenting, Beth and Jerry could never get it right. Heck, they can't even get their relationship right. Both of them regret starting a family to a certain extent but had no choice.
Beth was a little more selfless about it, acknowledging the fact that starting a family takes a huge personal sacrifice. Meanwhile, Jerry is more resentful about their situation. All that happened because both of them didn't use protection during sex.
1 "Your love’s value is defined by scarcity. You are highly trained to seek it, and you have no idea how to maintain it. If you have bothered to master love, you would have known it is as abundant as water. You know what isn’t? Water, that s*** runs out.”
Oh look, another tirade on how humans venerate their abstract grasp of love. No, it's not Rick who says this but a scheming alien warlord who wants to take over Earth for water. Why? Because he understands that basic needs are more important than love and because he wants to make fun of humans for not thinking so.
It's from an episode in season 4 that also takes a humorous jab at Tinder and how online dating trivializes relationships these days. Social commentary aside, don't take these quotes as gospel; most of them were written by intoxicated middle-aged men who platonically(?) took a shower together.