Every mad scientist needs their sidekick. Doc had Marty McFly, Victor Frankenstein had Igor, and in Rick and Morty, fittingly, Rick has his grandson Morty. But as each season passes, Morty finds his individualism more and more, and with that, he sees the ways in which Rick takes advantage of him and controls him more than treating him as a partner.
In the beginning, Morty thought the world of his grandfather, seeing how smart and daring he was in all the adventures they embarked on together. But as Rick’s history was revealed little by little, Morty got a better understanding of who Rick really is as a person. More importantly, Morty came to understand what his own role in Rick’s life was, according to Rick.
Towards the end of Rick and Morty season 5, Morty gets more and more fed up with Rick as a partner, tired of his careless attitude and his constant reminders of how much smarter he is than Morty. So, Morty decides to take matters into his own hands for once. This would eventually leads to Rick’s short-lived partnership with his Two Crows.
Why Did Rick Have the Two Crows?
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Two Crows |
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|---|---|
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First Appearance |
“Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” (Season 5, Episode 9) |
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Last Appearance |
“Rickmurai Jack” (Season 5, Episode 10) |
The Two Crows first appear in season 5, episode 9, “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall.” The episode starts with Morty revisiting planets where he and Rick had adventured before, but abandoned without ever cleaning up the messes they made. After coming back, Morty made a mess in the garage, and tried replacing the portal fluid he used with Mountain Dew, but Rick wasn’t tricked at all.
Rick and Morty get in a huge argument. Rick explains he has “sidekick rules,” and if Morty breaks them, he could easily replace him. Having heard this several times before, Morty calls his bluff, and Rick shows his hand, or rather, his Wheel of Better Things Than Morty. On the spinning wheel are various replacements for Morty, including Garbage Goober, Half a Paul Giamatti, and Two Crows. The latter is what the wheel lands on before Rick fires Morty as his sidekick. Rick then goes outside and captures two random crows, bringing them to the garage to train them as his sidekicks.
The whole premise of the Two Crows is a bit that Rick plays on Morty to show him how easily he can be replaced. Obviously, Rick doesn’t really want to replace Morty. Rather, he hopes that after seeing how little it takes to replace him, Morty will come running back with a greater appreciation for Rick, willing to be an obedient partner. But Rick didn’t know this gag would end up being the start of something bigger.
What Do Rick and the Two Crows Do Together?
After training them, Rick takes the Two Crows on various adventures, until one where they advise him to save tiny imprisoned creatures rather than retrieving the treasure they went there for. Rick is immediately turned off and drops the Two Crows off on an avian planet where birds are the smartest and most dominant species. But Rick is quickly tractor-beamed down to the planet, where the crow rulers have the Two Crows present. Here, he’s convinced to hang on to the Crows and keep them as his sidekicks.
Rick is then brought back to Earth with his Two Crows and the crow humanoids, but the crow rulers see the Wheel of Better Things Than Morty, and realize the whole thing was just a joke. They proceed to release a powerful sound wave that causes every crow in town to turn against humans before taking the Two Crows back aboard their ship. Rick goes on to try and stop the crow humanoids, but is captured, and his Two Crows are turned into humanoids. However, they decide to help Rick in exchange for bird quaaludes. The crow people are killed, and the Two Crows return to their original states as Rick’s sidekicks.
Rick and Morty reconnect after a long day, and Morty asks if everything will go back to normal. But the experience with the Two Crows changed Rick, teaching him the importance of empathy, as he explains to Morty:
What we had was abusive. Don’t you see? I’m a bad partner because I never made you a true partner. The crows made me see that. I thought they were a joke like you, but it turns out they’re more enlightened than any of us. […] I will never be the same, so I need to leave with the Crows and see what more they can teach me.
And so, Rick abandons Morty — and Earth — to embark on new adventures with the Two Crows.
What Happens to the Two Crows?
After leaving Morty behind, Rick and the Two Crows go on anime-style adventures together, sometimes traveling with a team and sometimes on their own. They do things like save villages and hunt down villains like Crowscare and Pussifer. From time to time, Morty checks in on Rick, appearing in the places where he and the Two Crows are to try and convince him to come home, but Rick refuses.
Things seem to be going great for Rick and his Two Crows, with all three of them appearing happy with their situation. But Rick suspects something fishy going on, and one night, he catches them sneaking out the window after dark. Rick follows them to Crowscare’s lair, where he discovers they are planning their own adventures together. Rick feels betrayed, and Crowscare reveals that the Two Crows were actually Crowscare’s sidekicks long before they were ever Rick’s.
The Two Crows confirm this, admitting they were using Rick as a rebound partner, similar to how Rick used them. The only difference is that the Two Crows and Crowscare had a romantic relationship on top of that. Rick leaves, forgetting all that he learned from his temporary partners, and heads back to Earth, where he reunites with Morty. The Two Crows and Crowscare are never seen again in Rick and Morty, and the original duo go on to do classic Rick and Morty adventures together again.
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