Rick and Morty fan theory suggests the true origin of Evil Morty

Spoilers ahead for season four, episode eight – “The Vat of Acid Episode”

Rick and Morty fans think they have spotted a hidden meaning in the latest episode of the Adult Swim animation, entitled “The Vat of Acid Episode”.

In the instalment, Rick devises a “do-over” machine that allows his grandson Morty to “save his progress” in life, and time travel backwards if something goes awry.

However, things take a turn for the tragic when Morty embarks on a caring relationship with an unnamed woman. The couple survive arguments and adversity – including a harrowing plane crash – only for Morty’s dad, Jerry, to press the “do-over” button and erase all history of Morty’s romance.

Things get even bleaker for Morty when Rick reveals that the “do-over” device was not a time travel machine at all, but a gadget that transported Morty to an almost-identical alternative dimension each time.

Every time Morty used it, another alternate version of himself would be killed in a particularly gruesome way.

Fans have suggested that this episode could in fact be part of an origin story for the character “Evil Morty”, a jaded and Machiavelian version of the character that has previously appeared in the series thrice (including as a cameo earlier this season).

Reddit threads and theories have emerged speculating that the trauma of ”The Vat of Acid Episode” might have left a permanent mark on the character, and that Rick and Morty is building up to the reveal that the evil Morty was in fact one the series’s leads (sometimes known as Morty C-137), who travelled back in time.

Rick and Morty airs in the UK on E4. Previous episodes can be watched on All 4.