【Watch The End of the Fucking World】

SPOILER ALERT: If you have Watch The End of the Fucking Worldnot yet watched season 3 episode 7 of Rick and Morty'The Ricklantis Mixup' (available on Netflix UK 16th September) stop reading right now. It's an excellent episode and any prior knowledge will really detract from the impact of it.

This week's Rick and Mortyfed us a total mislead. From the episode's title and the opening scene, where Rick and Morty from universe C-137 are getting on their scuba gear prepared us for an underwater escapade. But if there's one thing the Rick and Mortywriters love, it's slapping you right in the face with something unexpected, preferably in the form of graphic violence.

Our C-137 heroes barely featured in this episode, only appearing in the pre- and post-credit scenes. Instead we were given lots of parallel plots in The Citadel, a place where infinite Ricks and Mortys have formed a society in the wake of C-137 annihilating the council of Ricks.

A key plot-line was the political campaign of 'Candidate Morty' who unexpectedly beats his rival Ricks with an impassioned speech about social division between Ricks and Mortys.

SEE ALSO: 'Rick and Morty' star Justin Roiland prank calls mega-church's prayer hotline, awkwardness ensues

But he is not all he seems.

Once in office Candidate Morty goes even more Machiavellian than Frank Underwood, and in the final shot it is revealed that he is the same Morty from Season 1, episode 10 'Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind', affectionately known by fans as "Evil Morty".

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The reappearance of Evil Morty does not bode well, but so long as Rick and Morty C-137 stay away from the citadel they should be safe... right?

A fan theory uploaded on reddit thinks otherwise.

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The theory hones in on a few subtle inconsistencies in the show'splot. As a rule Rick and Morty is extremely conscientious to remain consistent, even when it comes to really minor details. For example, Summer accidentally blows a hole in the garage roof in season 2 episode 9 and in the following episode we see that it's been haphazardly repaired.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

So the theory points out that although Rick is supposed to have been missing from the Smith family's life for twenty years prior to the beginning of the show, we see a photo of him holding baby Morty in Bird Person's house (p.s. when do we get to see more of Phoenixperson?)

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Seeing as Morty is only fourteen, how is this possible? The theory goes that this is not the Morty we know and love/find amusingly pathetic.

We already know that Rick and Morty can move between infinite realities, having ditched their 'original' reality in season 1 episode 6 after a scientific slip-up mutated all humans on Earth into horrific Cronenberg monsters. They bailed on trying to save their home-reality and took the place of a Rick and Morty who died in a lab accident in a different dimension. With this in mind, is it possible that our Rick is not actually with his original Morty, might his original Morty actually be... wait for it... EVIL MORTY?!

The fan theory lays out an elaborate scheme for revenge as plotted by original C-137/Evil Morty. The theory goes that C-137 was brought up by Rick (sans Jerry) and is therefore far more intelligent than his Morty brethren. He builds his own portal gun, hell-bent on revenge because Rick C-137 abandoned him after they started to clash intellectually.

As fan theories go it's pretty intricate, but the plotting in Rick and Morty is exactly that - intricate. The writers manage to tie together separate and seemingly absurd plotlines to make points about sensitive issues like therapy, inequality and discrimination. This latest episode might be the most complex yet, with Justin Roiland voicing every single Rick and Morty to create a network of stories that come together beautifully at the end.

Dismissing the fan theory entirely would be a mistake. On the other hand, the show's other great strength lies in being impossible to anticipate, so any fan theory is arguably flawed simply because trying to predict Rick and Morty is like trying to get your head around quantum physics while getting hammered - something Rick does every day before breakfast.

If you want to get a better grasp on the minds that crafted the episode you can check out a behind-the-scenes below.

Trying to predict the directions Rick and Mortymight take may hurt your brain, but if you are a true Rick and Mortyfan you know how to deal with pain... WUBBLA LUBBA DUB DUB!

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