In the Smith household in the world of Rick and Morty, technological marvels and adventures happen almost every day, but the thoughts and emotions had by the characters are grounded in reality. Summer, Morty’s older sister, can be seen in this particular episode as having her own emotional arc outside of the characters for whom the show was named after. Before this particular episode aired, we already knew that she is whip-smart, independent and a little jaded from having to be related to a grandfather who lavishes all his attention on Morty, but not her. In “Rixty Minutes” however, we see her experience vulnerability when she learns that her parents had considered never having her as a daughter. We see that Summer defies her near characterization as the angsty teenager, a common archetype of TV shows, as she lets her love for her family outshine her feelings of inadequacy about her place in the world.
In the scene where Jerry, Beth and Summer try on the goggles that let them see the results of their alternate lives, Beth accidentally lets slip that if she had aborted Summer after conceiving her, she would have fulfilled her dream of becoming a human surgeon. Summer becomes furious when she cannot find an alternate to the alternate universe in which Jerry and Beth were happy when they had her. She threatens to run away, move to the Southwest, and “do something with turquoise”, showing an teenage impulsive behavior, even one that is rooted in a noble pursuit to forge her own identity. When she is packing to leave, Morty approaches her and emphasizes with her. Summer rebukes him by saying that “you’re not the cause of your parents’ misery, you’re just a symptom of it.” This shows her jealousy towards Morty of the fact that her parents direct more of their anger and regret towards her than Morty. Morty convinces her to stay by telling her that he is not her real brother, that her real brother died in another dimension and that he is the one whom she can trust. Summer is shocked, but comforted because it seems she can start a new relationship with simulation-Morty, one that is not influenced by her parents preference of him. Another teenage behavior of hers, acting out of jealousy. But in the moment when Morty tells Summer that “nobody exists on purpose,” he is trying to tell her that it doesn’t matter if she was meant to be had or not. Right now, she is here and is keeping the family together. Summer is touched and finally remembers the true nature of her love. This moment teaches the viewer how to live in the present and reveals to us that Summer has deeper feelings than what she portrays.
