Rick and Morty season 9 finale leaves viewers in a multiverse funk
The Adult Swim finale “Field of Dreams” sent Morty to his own funerals and had fans dwelling on Rick and Morty’s messy bond.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
The Rick and Morty season 9 finale has viewers feeling grim after an Adult Swim episode that sent Morty across realities to attend his own funerals.
The finale, titled “Field of Dreams,” aired Sunday night on Adult Swim before the debut of the spinoff President Curtis. According to Mashable, the episode leaned into the show’s familiar cosmic bleakness, using the multiverse to put Morty’s place in his family under a harsh spotlight.
What happens in the Rick and Morty season 9 finale?
In “Field of Dreams,” Morty, voiced by Harry Belden, goes with Rick, voiced by Ian Cardoni, to a Smith family estate sale. There, Morty encounters another version of himself, setting up the finale’s central gut-punch.
Morty then visits versions of his own funeral across the multiverse. His reason is painfully direct: he wants to hear his family say kind things about him after he is gone.
That setup puts the episode’s emotional weight on Morty’s need for approval and on the long-running strain between him and Rick. Mashable reported that viewers were especially focused on how the finale handled the pair’s chaotic relationship.
Why are Rick and Morty fans sad about the finale?
The episode turns a sci-fi gag into a darker emotional test. Morty is not just hopping between realities for an adventure. He is looking for proof that he matters to the people closest to him.
IGN described the ending as “a proper dose of existential angst,” a reaction that matched the mood Mashable found among fans discussing the finale online. The sadness appears to center on Rick and Morty’s bond, which has powered much of the series while frequently veering into damage, dependence and emotional fallout.
The show has often used absurd science fiction to get at bleak personal questions. Here, the durable question is simple: what does Morty mean to his family, and what does Rick’s presence cost him? The finale frames that through funerals, alternate selves and the multiverse rather than through a conventional family confrontation.
Some online chatter also swerved toward a White House post that Mashable described as a seemingly AI-generated attempt to join the Rick and Morty conversation. Still, Mashable reported that the main fan reaction stayed with the finale’s reckoning over Rick and Morty’s turbulent connection.
Rick and Morty is currently streaming on HBO Max, according to Mashable.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.