Jessica (Rick and Morty)

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Jessica
Rick and Morty character
First appearance
Created byJustin Roiland
Dan Harmon
Designed byJustin Roiland
Voiced byKari Wahlgren[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Misa Ishii (The Anime)[6]
In-universe information
Full nameJessica
SpeciesHuman
GenderFemale
TitleTime God
OccupationStudent
God of time
Significant othersMorty Smith
Brad (ex-boyfriend)

Jessica is a recurring fictional character in the American animated television series Rick and Morty and resulting franchise. Voiced by Kari Wahlgren and created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, loosely inspired by Jennifer Parker from Back to the Future, Jessica is the crush and later casual girlfriend of protagonist Morty Smith, who for the first four seasons of the series is oblivious to his feelings being partially reciprocated. A social media-savvy student, in "Mort Dinner Rick Andre", Jessica is turned into a time god after spending millennia frozen in time within an alternate dimension where-in time passed faster. Known for her kind, inquisitive personality, the character has received a positive critical reception.[1][7][8][9]

Alternate versions of Jessica from parallel universes appear throughout the series, and are featured as playable characters in the role-playing video game Pocket Mortys, as well as in several Oni Press comic book series.

Development[edit]

The character was created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, who first met at Channel 101 during the early 2000s, derived from Roiland's 2006 animated short film The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti, parodying Back to the Future; when the concept of Rick and Morty was brought up to Adult Swim, the ideas for an expanded supporting cast and Jessica being featured as a "will they, won't they" love interest for Morty Smith was introduced, depicted as having red hair due to Harmon's love of redheads, and loosely inspired by Jennifer Parker (portrayed by Claudia Wells and Elisabeth Shue), the films' love interest of Marty McFly (the inspiration for Morty).[10][11] In 2020's Rick and Morty Character Guide, an Easter egg sees Jessica be given the initialized name "Jessica W." in reference to the surname of her voice actress: Kari Wahlgren; whether this surname is considered canon to the series' Jessica has yet to be confirmed.[12]

Jessica is voiced by Kari Wahlgren in Rick and Morty and by Misa Ishii in both the Japanese dub of the series and Rick and Morty: The Anime.[6]

Fictional character biography[edit]

Seasons 1–4[edit]

In the series' "Pilot", Jessica is introduced as Morty stares at her during their math class, saying her name instead of the class's chanted times tables, which she hears slightly, looking around confused. Later, when Rick crashes through a portal into the cafeteria with Morty, Jessica express interest in both the portal and getting to know Morty more, before Morty is taken away.[13] In the first season episode "Rick Potion #9", a love potion given to Morty by Rick mutates with Jessica' common cold to lead to everyone at the school dance to become obsssed with Morty, a subsequent attempt by Rick at curing everyone leading to everyone in the world not related to Morty being turned into "Cronenberg" monsters, and Morty and Rick abandoning the reality, the Prime Dimension, for another one, Dimension C-131, where they fixed everything and their other selves had just died.[14] C-131's Jessica makes her first formal appearance in the season finale "Ricksy Business", attending Rick's and Summer's party and the Smith family house while Beth and Jerry are out of town. Irritated by her boyfriend Brad, Jessica allows Morty to comfort her and he takes her on a tour of Rick's garage, showing her a map of the universe that fills the room and telling her of his adventures, before they are interrupted by Squanchy.[15] Jessica is next seen in the post-credits scene of "The Ricks Must Be Crazy", back in shock when Morty transforms into a car, before returning in "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez", beginning talking with Morty again after "Tiny Rick" leads to his and Summer's social statuses rising.[16]

Jessica next appears in "Rest and Ricklaxation", where after Jessica breaks up with Brad, Morty attempts to ask her out, only to be interrupted by Rick and dragged into an exhausting six-day adventure which leads both to decide to take a break and get "detoxified" at an alien spa, which splits Morty into two people, a Toxic Morty within the detoxifier and an insecurity-free Confident Morty outside of it. The detoxified Morty asks Jessica for a date, with his newfound confidence shuttering it in leaving her feeling he would "get bored with her", which the detoxified Morty takes in his stride. After the detoxified Morty flees Rick's attempt to merge him back with his insecurities, Jessica helps Rick track him down weeks later, Rick stating that she had been calling round asking for him. Later, back together with Brad, as Morty is pulled off to another adventure, Jessica calls out to him that she is glad to have him back.[17] A deleted subplot in the episode further explored Jessica herself "detoxed", with her split versions described as "very co-dependent".[18]

In "Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat", Morty becomes obsessed with using a "time crystal" to follow a life path towards a future where he will die peacefully with Jessica telling him she loves him, turning down an offer from the present-day Jessica to go skinny-dipping with her and her friends in the process. In the episode's epilogue, Morty overhears Jessica talk about how she wants to be a nurse and comfort the alone and unloved as they die, realising he had been following the path of the wrong future.[19] In "The Vat of Acid Episode", while using a "do-over" remote to explore alternate life paths, Morty tries a route where he acts as though he does not know Jessica well ("Hey, Jessica, right?"), excluding a wave of coolness that leads her to squeal as he walks away, Jessica mentioning to him later that she likes him as he is, with these interactions displaced to another reality by the episode's end.[20][21]

Seasons 5–present[edit]

In the fifth season premiere "Mort Dinner Rick Andre", as Rick's Ship is crashing, believing himself about to die, Morty calls Jessica to admit his feelings for her, only for her to reciprocate and invite him to watching a movie that night, with Morty agreeing and proceeding to save his own life, at the cost of Rick having to host Mr. Nimbus at the house that night for negotiations. During his date with Jessica, as their attempts at making out are interrupted by Nimbus repeatedly taking/breakng the flasks of wine Rick has Morty retrieve from a "Narnia" dimension where time passes faster whenever the door is closed in the family garage, Jessica considering leaving due to thinking he is busy, the other dimension begins to view the "immortal" Morty as a demonic figure, sending a soldier whose actions lead to Jessica being sucked into the dimension, where she is frozen in time as a lure for Morty. After Nimbus and Rick help Morty rescue Jessica, Morty tries to continue their date, only for Jessica to reveal how due to spending "endless time" in stasis with only her thoughts for company, she has a changed perspective on life and the universe, telling a crestfallen Morty that they should just be friends "for now", before walking off into the night, proclaiming to a cat-caller to "Fuck off, I'm a time god."[22][23]

Jessica returns in the seventh season episode "Rickfending Your Mort" (following Morty's move to the Parmesan Dimension in "Solaricks"), where a flashback reveals her and Morty to now be casually dating, their walk through the park after seeing a movie being interrupted by a mugger, whom Morty unwittingly shoots a clone of Jeffrey Dahmer at, before the couple run away. Jessica is then confirmed to still be attending school in "Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie", Morty later witnessing a simulant of her witness him perform a rap within the mystical "Fear Hole" in "Fear No Mort".[24]

Comic series[edit]

In "Dream A Little Dream of Me", a backup story to Rick and Morty – The Rickfinity Crisis, a dream is depicted where Morty waxes poetic to Jessica on a date before the two bring their story to Morty's bedroom. Before they can have sex, Jessica pulls off her face to reveal Scary Terry, and Jessica wakes up in her bed, the dream revealed to have been hers in a twist ending, Jessica having a crush on Morty herself since the events of "Ricksy Business".[25]

In Rick and Morty – Some Morty to Love, Morty invites Jessica to a school dance, which she initially rejects due to having already been asked to go by Brad, before deciding to go with Morty after Brad leaves her. Due to Morty already having made plans to attend with Princess Decoria of Mars, he has his clone "Spare Parts Morty" go with Jessica instead, rather than say he cannot go.[26]

In Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Nimbus, Time God Jessica is depicted as waging a one-woman war on Mr. Nimbus (who nicknames her "Time Lord Jessica") for his role in her preservation in time. and transformation into a time god (in him having forced Morty to go back for wine so many times). Now equipped with time-altering powers, she dooms various alternate versions of Rick and Nimbus to a living hell of reincarnation, romance, and murder, while narrating how the two originally met.[27]

In the opening of Rick and Morty – The Space Shake Saga, Time God Jessica is revealed to maintain a collective consciousness across all Jessicas of the Central Finite Curve (in a take on Everything Everywhere All at Once), choosing to attend class as normal in the Parmesan Dimension (where Morty moved to following the events of "Solaricks") while continuing as a deity in other dimensions.

Other versions[edit]

Head-Space[edit]

See also: Lady Jessica

In Rick and Morty – Head-Space, 180 years into the future of Dimension C-132 (based on Frank Herbert's Dune), where an apathetic Morty C-132 rules as the immortal galactic emperor Morty'Dyb, he is depicted as having miniature "Jessiclamps" based on her visage crawl over his body as he listens to his speaker inform him of the affairs-of-state, while regularly sleeping with alien catgirl gholas of Jessica, the Morty'Dyb having wed his Jessica decades prior, before her eventual death.[28][29]

Ever After[edit]

In Rick and Morty – Ever After, a sorceress in the likeness of Jessica is manifested in the fantasy realm of Avalonia after an experiment of Rick's leads to him and Morty being trapped inside the latter's fairy tale storybook, physically manifested in a pocket dimension from both of their minds, with "Jessica" assisting Morty in taking on the realm's king (who resembles Morty's father Jerry as a result of Rick's actions).[30][31]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Further alternate versions of Jessica appear in the web series Rick and Morty: The Non-Canonical Adventures (2016–2021), the video game Pocket Mortys (2016–present), and the anime series Rick and Morty: The Anime (2024–present). Additionally, the comic book series Rick and Morty – The Rickoning (2019–2020) features a dimension where-in every person, animal, and plant is identical to Jessica, as a dimension Morty occasionally absconds to when he has the portal gun to himself, while the 2021 pixel-animated short film Rick + Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine features a simulated Jessica as an antagonist, generated by the titular eternal nightmare machine of President Morty.[32][33]

Reception[edit]

The character has received a positive reception. Comic Book Resources ranked the character as the series' best love interest across the series' then-five seasons,[34] lauding her "compassionate nature and interest in the trappings of Morty's adventures [as] one of the few people in Morty's life who doesn't immediately mock him when he blunders",[7] with Looper calling her "a fan-favorite recurring player".[1] Screen Rant ranked Jessica as the series sixth-most-likeable character,[35] noting her development from "a much more passive character [and] placeholder for the idea of a high school crush",[36] to a Time God wondering whether "Could I be more?".[37]

The A.V. Club described Jessica as "the archetypal crush a kid like Morty always has in shows and movies, the unattainable hottie who barely knows his name and wears absurdly short skirts to class", noting that "every time Jessica pops up, it's this weird bit of stupidity [where she] behaves like [what it] is like romancing a character in Mass Effect [where] that stupidity is part of the gag",[20] complimenting her character in "Mort Dinner Rick Andre" as "mak[ing] her more interesting" as compared to her depiction in earlier seasons,[23] with Inverse similarly lauding her storyline as "one of the [series'] best sci-fi subplots" and a potential end to her storyline, noting that were to the character to return, the series "needs to invest more in Jessica or let her go entirely".[8] Decider described "Jessica’s arc from normal teenager to literal time god [as] peak Rick and Morty", expressing interest her receiving her own spin-off solo series, lauding the "interesting and comedically rich premise" created for a character who has "paid her dues as a side character".[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Storc, Matt (September 30, 2022). "Why Jessica From Rick and Morty Sounds So Familiar". Looper. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Wahlgren, Kari (June 21, 2021). "I'm a Time God... #RickandMorty". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-06-22. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Wilding, Josh (May 23, 2022). "Rick and Morty Star Kari Wahlgren On Her Crazy Ride Playing Jessica And Rick's Computer (Exclusive)". Toonado. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Kari Wahlgren Talks Voicing Jessica, Rick & Morty, Music & More!". YouTube. WISECASTS by Wisecrack. August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Stanichar, Joseph (February 12, 2023). "Rick and Morty's Kari Wahlgren Shares How She Keeps A Handle On All Of Those Different Character Voices". Looper. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Jessica Voices (Rick and Morty)". Behind the Voice Actors. August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  7. ^ a b Clogston, Taylor (February 5, 2022). "Rick & Morty: 5 Characters on Morty's Level (& 5 Nowhere Close)". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Plante, Corey (June 14, 2021). "Rick and Morty Season 5 Episode 1 proves it's time for the show to move on". Inverse. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Cobb, Kayla (June 30, 2021). "'Rick and Morty' Needs a Jessica Spin-Off". Decider. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  10. ^ Czajkowski, Elise (12 November 2013). "Dan Harmon's Rick and Morty Premieres on Adult Swim on Dec. 2". Splitsider. The Awl. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  11. ^ Unedited: See Dan Harmon's Full interview About 'Rick & Morty,' Writing, Success, 'Incels' & Kanye. MSNBC. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Albro Lundy (a). Rick and Morty Character Guide, vol. .1 (December 23, 2020). Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on December 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Collins, Hannah (November 16, 2019). "Rick and Morty's Season 4 Premiere Is One Big Callback to the Pilot". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 16, 2019. In the first episode of Rick and Morty, the titular gassy scientist whisks his bumbling grandson off, out of the blue, to another world –– Dimension 35-C –– to harvest mega-seeds from mega-trees, leaving Beth and Jerry to quarrel about Rick's influence on their defenseless son. Morty spends much of the episode longing for Jessica, tortured by Rick drunkenly promising in the cold open that he'll use a doomsday device to obliterate the Earth and install Morty and his crush as "the new Adam and Eve."
  14. ^ Plante, Corey (October 16, 2019). ""Rick Potion #9" proves 'Rick and Morty' has the scariest multiverse ever". Inverse. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  15. ^ Schwarz, John (April 15, 2014). "Review: Rick and Morty – 'Ricksy Business' – Bubbleblabber". Bubbleblabber. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  16. ^ Handlen, Zack (September 14, 2015). "Rick and Morty, "Big Trouble In Little Sanchez"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  17. ^ McNab, JM (April 20, 2023). "Five 'Rick and Morty' Episodes That Are Incredibly Hard to Watch Now". Cracked. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Cobb, Kayla (May 18, 2018). "Rick and Morty Season 3: 13 Crazy Stories You Didn't Know". Decider. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  19. ^ Matadeen, Renaldo (November 14, 2019). "Rick and Morty Finally Reveals the True Destiny of Jessica". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Handlen, Zack (May 18, 2020). "It's live, die, repent you ever doubted Rick on Rick and Morty". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Greene, Steve (May 18, 2020). ""Rick and Morty" review: "The Vat of Acid Episode" is a solid high-concept escape act". Salon.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  22. ^ Flook, Ray (June 18, 2021). "Rick and Morty Season 5: Forget Nimbus – Morty Has A Date with Jessica!". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Handlen, Zack (June 20, 2021). "An all-new Rick and Morty treads comfortable, entertaining ground". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2021. "Fuck off, I'm a time god."—Jessica, ascendant.
  24. ^ Gunning, Cathal (November 20, 2023). "Rick & Morty Season 7 Episode 6 Recap: 12 Funniest Gags & Moments". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 20, 2023. When Rick simply gifted Morty a "gun," it inexplicably turned out to be a weapon that produced a clone of Jeffrey Dahmer and ruined a date with Jessica in the process.
  25. ^ Little, Matt (November 2, 2015). "Rick and Morty #7". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  26. ^ Schwarz, John (June 28, 2017). "Comics Review: Rick and Morty – Issue #27 – Bubbleblabber". Bubbleblabber. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  27. ^ Connolly, Spencer (November 5, 2021). "Rick and Morty Will Be Venturing To Dune In Upcoming Issue". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 5, 2021. The latest Rick and Morty storyline threw fans into the distant future where Rick was battling his arch nemesis Mr. Nimbus in Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Nimbus #1 written by Alex Firer with art by Ryan Lee and Doug Garbark. Simultaneously, Time God Jessica acts as the narrator of the issue, telling the origin of Nimbus and his relationship with Rick before returning readers to the future in which the current storyline takes place.
  28. ^ CBR Staff (May 21, 2016). "Rick and Morty #14". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  29. ^ Tom Fowler (w), CJ Cannon (a). Rick and Morty, vol. .3 (September 21, 2016). Portland, Oregon: Oni Press. Retrieved on September 21, 2016.
  30. ^ Spry, Jeff (October 7, 2020). "Rick and Morty travel to the twisted realm of Avalonia in new Oni Press one-shot". Syfy Wire. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  31. ^ Jones, Benton (April 19, 2021). "Rick and Morty: Ever After Throws the Adult Swim Heroes Into a Fantasy World". CBR. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  32. ^ Robertson, Paul (April 30, 2021). Rick and Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine — adult swim. Adult Swim. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ Robertson, Paul [@probzz] (May 2, 2021). "Rick & Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine — my 17 minute short for @adultswim & @RickandMorty — music & sound: @BusbyBrent — reboot sequence: @sixveeceear — full version: https://youtu.be/x9vcTf3_nro" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ^ McCarrick, Michael (September 17, 2021). "Rick and Morty: Morty's Love Interests, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  35. ^ Gentile, Alex (December 17, 2021). "Rick and Morty: Main Characters Ranked By Likability". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  36. ^ Suarez, Amanda (December 5, 2021). "Rick and Morty: A Quote From Each Main Character That Goes Against Their Personality". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  37. ^ Zabo, Marta (December 7, 2021). "Rick and Morty: How Jessica's Time God Powers Could Change Season 6". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
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