However, Morty eventually gained more confidence as time went on and is now more capable and independent rather than a mere sidekick. Pete Michels, director of over twenty Rick and Morty episodes, was also a director of two episodes of Inside Job.

In June 2021, producer Scott Marder confirmed that the creators and crew hopeAlso, given the expulsion of Tiny Rick in that episode, whatever relationship they previously had in that episode, is definitely over. The series originated from an animated short parody film of Back to the Future created by Roiland for Channel101, a short-film festival cofounded by Harmon. After saving the family, he announces plans to leave, but in the episode’s final moments, Jerricky steps on a metal rake. Todd Spangler of Variety gave the series a lukewarm review; saying that though it "often seems … frenetic at the expense of being witty", it represents "a welcome attempt to dream just a little bigger".

In the ensuing confrontation with the President at the White House (which the President launched into outer space to escape the possible destruction), Rickbot is mortally injured and the three are sucked into space, but Rick rescues them with a portal. However, it was also shown that Ricks manipulated circumstances for different versions of Jerry and Beth to meet, which would lead to them conceiving Morty in the future. It was released on March 28, 2023 in DVD and standard Blu-ray formats, as well as a SteelBook Blu-ray form. He was also able to, while inside the Teenyverse, find the Tree People, be accepted into their group, learn their language and culture, and work his way up the ranks until he had the ability to command them, all within, from their perspective according to Rick, a few months.In " Childrick of Mort", Morty was annoyed by Jerry hosting a camping trip but was stunned by Summer's ballistic shouting at Jerry and defended his father.

On January 24, 2023, amid felony charges against Justin Roiland, [18] it was announced that Adult Swim had cut ties with Roiland and that he was fired from the show. The episode adapts a scene from Halloween wherein Laurie Strode is attacked in identical circumstances by Michael Meyers wearing a painted mask of James T. Rickbot succumbs to his injuries and tells him he was only doing what Rick would have done in his place. In the pilot episode, Beth expresses concern when Morty falls asleep at breakfast and asks if he is getting sick.

In " Ricksy Business", after Rick and Summer both throw parties at the same time and trash their house, Morty is presented with an opportunity to permanently end all future adventures with Rick. He praised the animation direction by James McDermott for being "fresh, colorful and as wacky as the script", and states that the series possesses "shades of Futurama, South Park and even Beetlejuice", ultimately opining that its humor felt "entirely original". Parodying the 1982 film of the same name, Morty suddenly spots a "Clown Rick" at his door, while lying in his bed. The closest the two of them have ever come to dating, was in the episode Big Trouble In Little Sanchez, where Jessica and Morty were seen holding hands with each other at the school dance.