I honestly think it’s kinda weird to walk away from There’s Something About Morty as it being solely shipbait or implying “the kid who was abused actually wanted it!” — sure, a lot of people who are into the ship are going to see whatever they will in that, but I genuinely think there’s merit to the episode and Evil Morty’s characterization within it as it pertains to him being an abuse survivor.
If you think about it, the flaws in him have always shown with him torturing and killing other Mortys to his own advantage. He’s an abused kid with conflicting feelings between resentment and attachment for his abuser, and it would make sense why he would want to be close to Rick C-137 if it seems to him that he genuinely cares about Morty Prime, and want his value to be recognized as he never had that for himself…it’s very real for trauma survivors to deal with conflicting feelings that may either be against what they really want, or to desire connection while handling that in a maladaptive way that hurts themselves or others; I think it also opens a very interesting discussion to how Evil Morty inadvertently perpetuates the cycle of abuse through his actions.
…Wouldn’t it kinda make it weirder if it all was only Morty Prime’s self insert fanfic, as you said? Running with the one-dimensional view you have of it as “the abused kid actually wanted it” it would just turn the episode into Morty’s wet dream essentially — y’know, the character whose also an abused kid. I really don’t think your fake episode idea makes it any less “weird” to your own standards than what it actually is as a real, canon episode.
Also I think his nickname as Evil Morty is…fine. Traumatized teenagers are commonly known to be edgy and want to reclaim that sort of vilified aesthetic / identity for themselves to feel power over what they went through so that’s why I’m calling him that in your inbox. With everything I’ve said here, I don’t think any of this makes him “evil” or irredeemable. I just don’t think trauma survivors should have to be portrayed as perfect in order to have value to what they represent.
I'll start by saying you made some very good points!! And that you are right in a lot of these! Uh, longwinded reply incoming.
" He’s an abused kid with conflicting feelings between resentment and attachment for his abuser […] you go on to make some excellent points […]"
That's the thing though; Eyepatch Morty's conflicting feelings are almost exclusively shown in S09E01. I'm sure that logically speaking he MUST have some, but after seeing a character dedicating what probably is YEARS of his life to getting out, commit mass murder to get out, have given up entirely on associating with his toxic grandpa… Now he does 180 degree U-turn and wants to try again? I'm sorry, but while C-137 is "a little" different, he is not THAT different (he's not Doofus Rick). He is still the person who built the Citadel. He still abuses his Morty horribly. He is Not Worth It.
Now, I'm not saying I would find it completely out of character for EM to want to… minimally hang out with C-137 (after all, he DID decide to talk to them instead of killing them in Unmortricken) but routinely texting and then claiming "I'm gonna steal your grandpa" goes FAR BEYOND THAT. If he was lonely outside the Curve and wanted company (completely understandable) he could have made friends with an alien who lives out there! Someone completely unrelated! Why on earth is Rick the only choice? And portal travel is wide-spread outside the Curve, so it's not like he can't find ANOTHER person who knows how portal travel can mess up your life; it's not like he can't someone he can relate to.
I have read several fanfics where EM feels lonely and sorta comes back, and they were very different to S09E01. They were slow, he was careful and hesitant, and he would hang out with Morty Prime and mainly tolerate C-137. THEY felt in-character. S09E01 didn't, at least to me. (S09E01 didn't build up to it, it was out of the blue, is what I'm trying to say.)
This felt a lot less like a victim being hoovered back to the abuser after the abuser's false promises to do better. This felt a lot more a beat-up victim who dedicated the better years of their life into escaping, suddenly and abruptly returning to the same abuser. Like, no. This just seem horrible to me.
“the kid who was abused actually wanted it!”
Clarification: when I wrote about that, I was referring to the damn lines they made EM utter in the milkshake scene because I see EM as a CSA survivor. I would have stomached this episode much better without this one scene. I can see no redeeming qualities for that scene if it was real. It was not funny. This scene alone is enough to make me leave the show.
"…Wouldn’t it kinda make it weirder if it all was only Morty Prime’s self insert fanfic, as you said?"
YES, that would ALSO be weird!!!! Soon after I wrote that theory, I realized it was also messed up (my CURRENT fav theory is the 4th one here) Generally speaking, you'll see me contradict myself a lot across several posts as I take more time to think over things, sorry :(
I DO, however, think that the exact same plotline sends very different messages according to whose fantasy it is:
1) The narrative itself (e.g. that it's not a fantasy at all, it's canon) is the worst one, in my opinion, because it is presented as Fact. It's "Fact" that EM wants his grandpa back (EW!! NO!! No one can convince me that Rick is So Cool that no Morty can ever effectively escape, because EVEN if they do, they'll come back)
2) This being Morty Prime's fantasy is ALSO bad, for all the reasons you mentioned. I rate it as a little better in my head because I doubt he understands the magnitude of abuse Eyepatch Morty went through (WE were shown the scene of him falling to the ground in fear of Evil Rick, Morty Prime doesn't know this). It COULD be that he sees Eyepatch Morty as this weird, evil creature that does things purely out of spite. So I doubt it's like, an informed narrative he might have in his head. It would be more of a reflection of Rick twisting his worldview. It would not be presented as the Truth by the show.
3) EM fabricating this and broadcasting it to them so they think he is "dealt with" is a little better. He EXPECTS their opinion of him to be low, and so he shows them this. He EXPECTS the abuser wanting to believe he wanted it, so he showed them that. It's still very sad, but it is still not something presented as the Truth by the show. (Edit: although why on earth eould he encourage that narrative? Ew! No! No no no!)
4) Rick believing "the kid wanted it"? Well, now, THAT is an abuser's wet dream. He can believe whatever he wants; that doesn't make it reality. It's still sad because it would means Rick C-137 hasn't grown, though.
5) A THIRD PARTY's fanfic? Now, THIS I can stomach easily. I have no qualms about this. Especially if it's torn down the next episode.
Also note that another big part of my qualms against this episode were how the REST of the family reacted to EM's actions. Shouldn't Rick, of all people, understand where EM was coming from? Shouldn't he understand all those things you just said? Should he try to be more accomodating? Shouldn't he try to give the kid some space? Shouldn't he try to encourage his two grandsons to be friends? Why would he destroy the Omega Device, the one thing that gave his ultra-abused grandson some sense of security? Especially when it was clear he just wants to hang out?
And shouldn't the rest of the family question Rick's part in all this? In the decoy episode, Beth was quick to blame her father for letting things go this far. But no one questions Rick's accountability in all this?
All the very human emotions you described In EM were not really treated as canon by the episode, is what I'm trying to say.
"Also I think his nickname as Evil Morty is…fine. Traumatized teenagers are commonly known to be edgy and want to reclaim that sort of vilified aesthetic / identity for themselves to feel power over what they went through so that’s why I’m calling him that in your inbox"
Hey, you can call him whatever you want :-) I personally don't like the name but I get it, it kinda gives him an extra sense of power somehow!
Sorry for the long post. A lot of people have expressed the same sentiments you have, and I do believe you are more-or-less right in reading that this is how a survivor might feel at points, and that this could all be a humane and accurate approach of a survivor's psyche.
…It's just that if it is indeed canon, it was not done well-enough, as far as I can tell. It goes too far against almost everything else we've seen in Eyepatch Moryt. And I really don't want to watch a show where abuse and survival are presented sloppily. It's all also a matter of trust towards the writers; if they present such a serious topic sloppily, can their intentions really be trusted?
But who knows! I might change my view once again in the future, if we are shown the things you mentioned more-in-depth in the show. I am known to change my mind after all lol.
Edit: if we were shown 20 Mortys who escaped, and 5 of them came back, I wouldn't have any qualms. But we were shown exactly ONE Morty ecsape, and HE comes back?? NOPE. What kind of message does this send???
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