Adult Swim studio is quite popular when it comes to making animated series that are definitely not for kids, and we know ‘Rick and Morty‘ is a part of it. We have seen Rick’s dynamic with everyone, even with his garage and neighbor Gene, but with his own son-in-law, Jerry? Terrific and terrible. Rick and Jerry’s relationship in Rick and Morty isn’t just for laughs, because it’s rooted in clashing values, family tension, and some uncomfortable emotional truths.
For Rick, Jerry represents everything he resents about ordinary life. And for Jerry, Rick is a walking reminder that he will never be the smartest guy in the room. Their dynamic fuels some of the show’s funniest (and darkest) moments, but underneath it all, Rick’s hatred for Jerry runs surprisingly deep. And keeping that in mind, here are the five biggest reasons Rick can’t stand Jerry that fans and audiences believe:
5. Jerry Reminds Rick of His Own Failures
This is one of the most important reasons that Rick will never admit out loud. Jerry has the one thing Rick lost long ago, and that is a family that sticks together (even if it’s messy). Jerry represents the kind of life Rick couldn’t maintain, which includes loyalty, partnership, and domestic stability. Even worse, Jerry highlights Rick’s guilt toward Beth and his complicated emotional baggage. In many ways, Jerry is the mirror Rick desperately avoids looking into.
4. They Fight for Control of the Family
Firstly, we need to understand that Rick likes being the center of gravity, especially when it comes to Morty and, to an extent for Summer (Because she does remind him of Diane). Jerry constantly challenges Rick’s influence and has even tried to remove him from the family entirely, like when he pushed them toward turning Rick over to the Galactic Federation. That power struggle isn’t just personal because we layer it out, it’s all philosophical. Jerry wants stability, while Rick wants freedom, and well, those goals will never align.
3. Jerry’s “Nice Guy” Persona Rubs Rick the Wrong Way
Rick famously calls Jerry a kind of emotional “predator,” who is someone who plays helplessly to win sympathy from everyone, including his family. In The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Rick flat-out accuses Jerry of using pity to trap Beth and others into caring for him. Whether or not that’s true, Rick hates the manipulativeness behind Jerry’s “poor me” energy.
2. Rick Thinks Jerry Holds Beth Back
Although the daughter-father dynamic has its own layer of troubles, especially since the Space Beth arc, but keeping that aside, we do know that Rick has always believed Beth was meant for bigger things. He knows that Beth would have been an actual surgeon if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with Summer (we saw the alternative reality where Summer wasn’t born), a rebel, or something far more ambitious. In Rick’s mind, Jerry represents the comfortable, “safe” life that stopped Beth from reaching her full potential. Their marriage reinforces the very domestic world Rick once escaped, so he resents Jerry for keeping Beth anchored to it. And the worst part is, Rick somehow managed to get them divorced unintentionally, but Beth went back to him, and he blames Jerry for that, even though he had his own share of faults.
1. Jerry’s Mediocrity Drives Rick Insane
Rick is an intergalactic supergenius who thrives on alcohol, invention, and existential freedom. Jerry is… well, Jerry. He is insecure and indecisive and clings to “normal life” like it’s a security blanket and can’t make decisions without his wife and Rick’s ‘dead’ daughter Beth. Rick sees that as stagnation, which is basically a refusal to evolve in a universe full of infinite possibilities. To Rick, Jerry isn’t just an average guy; he is aggressively average, and we cannot disagree on that.
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