The Best 'Rick and Morty' Quotes

In "Rixty Minutes," when Morty tells his sister Summer, "Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody's gonna die... Come watch TV," it's not the bleak surrender it sounds like. Instead, it's an existential philosophy articulated with surprising clarity and concision. Morty, who is effectively living a lie in a parallel dimension, knows better than most just how absurd and indifferent the universe can be.

In these short, brutal lives, he argues, all we can really do is find joy in the simple things. Like television. Like Rick and Morty.

When Rick takes a long view on love, it sounds like this: "What people call 'love' is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it, your parents are going to do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science."

Meeseeks are simple creatures of Rick's invention who materialize at the push of a button to help complete a single simple task, then disappear. When confronted with an unsolvable problem, however, the Meeseeks can't disappear, and they then spiral into depression, frustration, and, ultimately, homicidal insanity. Their lack of usefulness turns their lives into ongoing ordeals they’re unable to handle.

It’s basically a metaphor for a life without purpose, folks.

With one uninterrupted quote in the pilot episode, Rick shares some surprisingly helpful thoughts on growing up. Morty's overwhelmed, as anyone would be when visiting an alien world, but Rick walks him through it, saying, "Alright, alright, calm down. Listen to me, Morty. I know that new situations can be intimidating. You looking around and it's all scary and different, but y'know, meeting them head-on, charging into 'em like a bull - that's how we grow as people. I'm no stranger to scary situations, I deal with them all the time."

In "Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind," Morty discovers that his grandpa doesn't hang out with him because they're pals, but because his brain waves emit a kind of camouflage, keeping Rick safe from parallel dimensional threats.

The teenager is upset, but Rick points out that Morty has the ability to control his reaction and his emotions with this weirdly empowering insight.

The catchphrase Rick shouts when he's looking to get riggety-riggety wrecked sounds like a simple party animal's motto. It turns out, however, that this catchphrase actually means, "I am in great pain. Please help me." If that's not a pointed comment on the psychology of hard partying addicts, what is?