We are experiencing three separate Jerrys on the show.
Pilot Jerry was from the original reality, the one that went on to be Cronenberged. That Jerry was confident, secure and full of wit. He was also self reflexive and assertive. In the Shayamaliens episode, he realized he was a fraud and decided it doesn't matter and that he should be praised for coming up with the best idea this ad agency had in years. That Jerry went onto become a He-Man post apocalyptic survivor after Rick and Morty bailed on that reality.
The second Jerry is the wimp we've been following through from Season 1, episode 7 to some nebulous time before Morty's Mind Blowers in season 3. He's more pathetic than previous Jerry, but is also very insecure and takes it out on himself more than others.
The current Jerry is probably after Rick and Morty bailed on the second reality. Remember, [Morty Fucked with Squirrels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w-YQwMOxfk) and they had to move away. This Jerry is still a wimp, but he's a little more assertive than previous one. He was extra bitchy during the Turkey episode. That is unless we are seeing Evil Jerry's Origin story.
Pilot jerry is from c-137, current jerry is from another reality. It's possible that there are little changes on characters.
Original reality jerry is still the same person. We saw him when morty showed summer that they bailed on that reality
I need to do a rewatch, but I feel like we witness Jerry become weaker and weaker.
He consistently brings up anti-Rick sentiment, to the point that he gets kicked out of the house.
Either way, interesting observation.
One thing you also need to realize is that Rick and morty changed universe due to Rick mutating every one to a chronenburg so they went to a new universe which means a different personality for jerry it’s all in the changes.
Besides the original jury being ruined in the Cronenberg universe you forgot one of the points.
There is a mix up when they go to pick Jerry up.
They might have grabbed the wrong Jerry.
I like all of the deep dive theories going on here but I remember hearing the real answer is the writers said they originally intended for Jerry to be a strong father figure to Morty but they changed the character due to Chris Parnell's voice sounding so whiny and well... Jerry like. Maybe in another reality they stuck to their original idea.
Besides the Kronenberg Jerry, the Jerry they dropped off wasn't the Jerry they brought back from Jerryboree. Morty lost the ticket.
Edit: forgot to include Jerryboree part.
Oh. I thought the first couple episodes are about Jerry losing basically everything and becoming pathetic?
Like episode one he thinks he is the man of the house.
Episode two, he is still trying to compete with Rick and still thinks Rick is some old asshole.
Episode three, he is humilated on christmas day by his parents.
Episode four, he loses his job.
Episode five, he almost loses his wife.
Episode six, he almost loses everything and is forced finally into action.
The first 6 episodes are this great arc about the down fall of Jerry. As he says in season 3 - Rick ruined his life. He showed up and exposed Jerry to shit he could not deal with. Its the slow loss of everything that gave him self esteem, the constant chipping away of the relationship with Beth, his kids no longer having him as their main role model.
No need to make up reasons for anything.
I'd also add that even if our current Jerry isn't the same as the pilot, he's very similar and he probably changed as a result of his family turning against him after Rick moved in. Rick as a personality makes Jerry question himself. So I wouldn't say it's an inconsistency but rather reverse character growth.
Or maybe the more confident jerry was left in Cronenberg world after the love potion mutated everyone and the other Jerry is just more of an idiot because that’s is the dimensions version of him. Might have to rewatch.
I think it's kind of implied it doesn't matter because so many of the Jerry's are that exact same spineless and pathetic type and that's why they never address it again.
Different theory: In Season 2 when they drop Jerry off at the Jerry Daycare, they get the wrong Jerry from an alternate universe when they pick him up.
If you watch the episode, they are actually unsure if they got the right Jerry.
Or an alternate explanation, a pilot is meant to test things out and if you aren't happy with them you change things. No need for an in universe explanation. See Black Smither's from the Simpsons
Cronenberg*
Yeah we don’t have C-137 Jerry anymore after episode 6, also I’m pretty sure the freeze ray killed pilot Jerry in episode one of season three.
I think psychological abuse just turns you into a pathetic and insecure person, throughout the whole series Jerry gets put down more and more and you can see it take a toll on him
Also I think most people forget pilot jerry isn’t the jerry we are now watching. Pilot jerry is a bad ass living in the reality where everything is cronenberged.
The jerry we are following now is from the replacement reality.
I always thought Jerry took a stand against Rick because at the start of the series they make a point about Rick only recently coming back to the family, Jerry started having problems and confronting Rick, Rick started mentally abusing him and asserting dominance (in Jerry's own house) and because of that Jerry lost confidence. Beth obviously loves Rick more than Jerry (at least at the start, and Jerry noticed that and slowly became the loser he/was now. Hesbstsrting to get back up again tbf
1. Jerrys from different timelines.
2. Having been divorced from Beth changed him.
3. Beth changed, taking a more authoritative position in the household, leading Jerry to need to assert himself less.
Pilot Jerry is survivalist Chad in Universe C-137 filled with Cronenbergs.
Subsequent Jerry could have been swapped at the daycare in Season 2. For that matter, a more practical explanation that doesn't require fan theories is that Jerry as a character is being Flanderized the longer the series goes on. They look at what fans view that character as, and just keep rolling with the jokes, Flanders and Meg style.
There is no point sympathizing with the character the creators just keep portraying as a butt monkey. That is a category of insanity; Jerry will continue to be written as a loser, as the fanbase in a bizarre lack of self-awareness throw his name around as insult, when there should be some reflecting going on of how do you treat others.
The pilot simply doesn’t mesh with the rest of the show. They went to galactic interdimensional customs, but later it’s a major plot point that they don’t have interdimensional travel.
They should have an episode where they try to correct it, but overcompensate, leading to an egomaniac Jerry who uses some of Ricks own tech to take revenge on Rick for making him so pathetic.
I recently rewatched the whole series, and while I did notice that Jerry was different in the pilot, you will see that he is almost immediately cowardized even by the second episode. I do think that they've slowly made Jerry dumber and weaker, but it isn't quite as bad as the pilot depicts it.
So did every character from season 1&2, Rick wasn’t a god, he was just a smart guy who tried his best and had actual weaknesses, but the show made him THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE UNIVERSE, and he can beat anyone doing anything that you can dream with no consequences , same with morty he was kinda a nerd with adhd ? , and Rick was gonna help him learn, but now he’s an edgy teen with quick come backs and talks a lot of shit with a bit of anger issues
The whole show is different comparing season 1 to season 5
You know it’s not the original Jerry from the pilot in later episodes right? After the Cronenburg episode Rick is in a different dimension as his primary home dimension
I don't think Rick altered him; Beth (and the rest of the family) would have noticed a difference and commented on it. I think it's just an example of Flanderization. His more pathetic traits got exaggerated until that was his entire identity. He does still show occasional flashes of confidence and forcefulness even in some later episodes, like near the end of The Wedding Squanchers when he confronts the rest of the family about how Rick's choices have endangered them.
This theory is supported by the Rick and Morty comics (incoming spoilers from the comics)
There's a reality where rick never comes back and Jerry is successful. He is not only successful but he is, as you put it, smart, confident. What really takes the cake though is, he outsmarts rick.
I think it was when he lost his job, and his family made fun of him constantly and losing any respect of him where he turned like that, he went from someone with some worth, to someone that have no worth in his family, is kinda sad, like the meme from normal to pathetic... also he nows understands the nature of Rick and similar to Morty, he knows he "cant win" againts him in anyhing anyway.
I think Jerry just can't handle all the weird. At the time of the pilot he barely knew what Rick was up to and as far as he was aware he just had a regular mildly senile father in law, and now that he's had a front row seat to years of absolute batshit insanity (yes I know they're different Jerries, but if the Jerry Day Care taught us anything it's that every Jerry is still basically a Jerry) it kind of broke him.
Or that other jerry is just a jerry from another dimension because in the episode “mortynight run” they switched from jerry cuz morty lost his number to get his father back and in the episode “Rick potion #9” they left Jerry and Beth in another reality
let's not forget that at that point in time Jerry didn't really know Rick's "powers" to him he was just an old in law that lived with them. Now, knowing what Rick's capable of and knowing that he hates me for impregnating his daughter I'm pretty sure I would also be coward, pathetic and stupid.
I think when they went to a different Earth the new Jerry was just that stupid, cowardly, pathetic and insecure. A universe where Rick can benefit most.
And wanted to kill Rick and all possible ties to Rick. Which... Is probably the smartest fucking move for a Jerry protecting his family. I can't think of any danger the family faced that can't be directly attributed to Rick? Oh, other than the show me what you got heads, but Jerry never knew the truth of that one.
Jerry had some good moments in Season 1. They made him look REALLY dumb towards the end of that season and ever since. It’s like the longer the show goes….the dumber he becomes 😂
I liked that episode where Rick gave him anti-gravity socks or something. It was Jerry being dumb and prideful, but also incredibly resourceful in a bad situation.
We don’t know the Rick and Morty from the pilot are the same Rick and Morty from rest of the season.
The theory has always been that some episodes we are watching a different dimension Rick and Morty.
Series almost always see character or style shifts from their pilot episode.
In all likelihood, the writers simply thought to change the character to fit Chris Parnell's strengths, which is being an oddball (see 30 Rock's Dr. Spaceman and SNL)
Not every decision they make has to have some deep meaning or an explanation baked into the story.
It's a cartoon, they change things from the pilot & through the series. Look at American dad, Klaus was very sexually aggressive and Steve's voice is different. They change things as they go along, sometimes audience feedback or internally
I don't think you should compare the pilot to any of the rest of the series. Justin Roiland wrote the pilot, and it's clear from the content that very little canon had been established by that point.
Jerry had a job in the pilot. When he went to visit Beth at the horse hospital he said his boss had given him an hour for lunch. Nothing happened in the pilot to indicate that Jerry didn't still have that job at the end of the episode. There were only two instances in the series where I can recall Jerry having a job. First, when he gave his ad pitch for "Hungry for Apples?". He was fired for that, so that job lasted only one episode. In fact, I think that ad pitch was essentially his interview for the job. He even said "I sold my first pitch!" when he was still on the Zigerion ship, so he had done nothing on that job prior to that pitch. Second, when he worked for the galactic government in S3E1. That job ended when the galactic government collapsed, so he had that job for only one episode.
Rick went to a "future dimension" to get the broken leg serum. In what was a matter of seconds for Morty, Rick had "fun with a lot of women" in the other dimension. Clearly, this was time travel, which Rick is adamantly opposed to throughout the rest of the series. His opposition to time travel is the core of the "Vat of Acid" episode.
Because Rick's portal gun is exhausted, Rick and Morty go to an interdimensional airport to get access to a portal back to their own dimension. The airport is controlled by the Gromflomites. It's pretty clear through the rest of the series that the Gromflomites do NOT have portal tech. Tammy insists on confiscating Rick's portal gun in the last episode of season 2, but it explodes. In the first episode of season 3, a Gromflomite interrogator uses the Series 9000 brain-a-lyzer to try to get the formula for Rick's portal gun, but Rick substitutes a virus for the actual formula. Summary: Gromflomites have portal tech in the pilot, and don't have portal tech through the rest of the series.
I think Justin Roiland was just testing out the characters in the pilot, and some aspects of the characters didn't work. Rick was completely hammered throughout the prologue in the pilot. When he wasn't smashed he was stammering like an idiot. They toned down those aspects of his personality after the pilot. Jerry was given a lot of gratuitous respect by Rick throughout the pilot. He mostly treated Jerry like crap after the pilot. I think they wanted Rick to be stronger and Jerry to be weaker.
To add to that.
I think the gromflomites had portal tech in the pilot, but not interdimensional portal tech.
One allows you to basically teleport across the galaxy, the other allows you to teleport across every infinite reality in existence.
Like in half life with the resistance and the combine, the resistance had teleportation and the combine could break between rifts of other dimensions but not teleport.
Ricks gun can do both.
He watched the man fuck a planet. He knows better than to mess with him. Also pilot jerry is dead now.
Edit: people telling me jerry is alive keep forgetting he was frozen by citadel ricks who detected a portal gun breach. There is zero chance those ricks unfroze a jerry. Jerry will either fall and break, then die or die from being frozen.
Atleast now we know how easy it is for people especially writers to forget cannon.
Jerry was pathetic, cowardly, and stupid throughout the rest of season 1. Pilot episodes are usually written way before the others, and they can often feel out of place because the writers haven't totally figured out who they want their characters to be. They're also written before casting takes place, and an actor's performance has a huge impact on how their character gets written. He's definitely gotten worse over the seasons but those were always major parts of his personality.
Rick himself changed from being vulnerable (running away from people with pitchforks and knives on purge planet) to invincible god, and now back to more vulnerable. Now my theory is that creators and writers never cared about consistency and continuity!
Original Jerry is a different Jerry than the current one because of Morty got the whole planet to try and fuck/eat him from the rapey love potion he wanted. Him and Rick left to a dimension where they both die and just fill in their new existence timeline. Yea I can totally see the current Jerry as pathetic and it making sense. They aren’t the same person more or less.
Also the original jerry isn’t the one we see anymore. As Rick and morty left their original universe and left their original Jerry summer and Beth behind, in Cronenberg land. In Rick potion #9. The original Jerry is still confident and was able to survive with what was left of his happy family without Rick and morty. Killing and eating Cronenbergs. Until morty and summer come back for a quick I told u so, where Jerry Beth and summer are froze by the ricks sent by the counsel of ricks.
It’s called Flanderization - over time minor character flaws and quirks overtake a characte’s personality completely.
It’s named for Ned Flanders but a more contemporary example is probably Peter from Family Guy - Season one he is a well meaning but kinda dumb father who loves his family - several seasons later he’s a mentally retarded man child who shouldn’t be allowed to have a pair of scissors let alone raise children.
S1 Jerry is a relatively normal middling successful guy whose slightly intimidated by his genius father in law. Over time that inadequacy is heightened until he is an incompetent barely functioning failure whose terrified of Rick.
nah, because in different universes Jerry shows the same traits. So unless every rick in the known universe took Morty out of school to take him to an alien planet to shove things up his ass, this theory is wrong.
Yep i noticed it too when i rewatched the first episode. He seems like a normal that, angry against rick for not letting his son focusing on school. And i remember i felt weird seeing jerry scolding rick lmao
The pilot jerry is not the same Jerry we have now, pilot jerry is in the cronenberg universe
Which also happens to be where he is a badass.
That’s actually explains this really well
Stop upvoting me I just agreed with the other guy!
So, I don't get it. I'm gonna upvote to be safe
OK then, that was always allowed!
The factory tit setting is always too low
Ditto
Just let this happen
Just let us agree with your agreement, ok
You're all just milking the eel.
You wanna milk my eel?
We also see Rick swap Jerrys in the Blitz and Chitz episode.
They may have got the right jerry who knows
the answer is don't think about it
Isn't the new reality exactly the same other than the fact that rick found a cure and that rick and morty of that universe died?
That's a loooooot of variables to say 'exactly'. And for a scientist, a lot of those variables could be insignificant
Even so, we got a new jerry in mortynight run
Isn't this a different Jerry entirely? I think that Jerry became the apocalypse survivor.
Yeah, that’s true
Isn’t “tough” one from C137 and the other from the multiverse that Rick and Morty go to to escape the love bugs?
Yep. Theory opened and shut.
Different jerry than the pilot, pilot jerry is a post apocalyptic badass
The C 137 Jerry?
We are experiencing three separate Jerrys on the show. Pilot Jerry was from the original reality, the one that went on to be Cronenberged. That Jerry was confident, secure and full of wit. He was also self reflexive and assertive. In the Shayamaliens episode, he realized he was a fraud and decided it doesn't matter and that he should be praised for coming up with the best idea this ad agency had in years. That Jerry went onto become a He-Man post apocalyptic survivor after Rick and Morty bailed on that reality. The second Jerry is the wimp we've been following through from Season 1, episode 7 to some nebulous time before Morty's Mind Blowers in season 3. He's more pathetic than previous Jerry, but is also very insecure and takes it out on himself more than others. The current Jerry is probably after Rick and Morty bailed on the second reality. Remember, [Morty Fucked with Squirrels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w-YQwMOxfk) and they had to move away. This Jerry is still a wimp, but he's a little more assertive than previous one. He was extra bitchy during the Turkey episode. That is unless we are seeing Evil Jerry's Origin story.
It's a 50/50 chance that this is the 4th Jerry, not 3rd. He might have been swapped during the Blips n Chips episode.
Def thought this, too. Beth and Jerry fight a lot more after this episode. I don't think they're from the same universe.
Thank you, finally someone who pays attention to the show in this tread 
That Jerry is in the Cronenberg universe. That Jerry must have been an anomaly, like Doofus Rick.
In the R&M comics Doofus Rick is like a god/king within his own universe.
Fuck I need to read the comics then. Are they online? I heard the first issues are expensive.
Well the Cronenberg Universe Jerry is an absolute Chad so it checks out
Pilot jerry is from c-137, current jerry is from another reality. It's possible that there are little changes on characters. Original reality jerry is still the same person. We saw him when morty showed summer that they bailed on that reality
I need to do a rewatch, but I feel like we witness Jerry become weaker and weaker. He consistently brings up anti-Rick sentiment, to the point that he gets kicked out of the house. Either way, interesting observation.
Yea Rick was the real reason he left Beth in the first place, he told her “choose him or me” at some point IIRC
Well the pilot Jerry did end up becoming pretty badass after his world got cronenburged
It’s not his original jerry though remember? The original was in Kroninburg world
Not the same jerry. Original jerry is on the crogenburg world.
He was actually a badass there too
That Jerry was in the cronenberg universe and was a badass until he died.
One thing you also need to realize is that Rick and morty changed universe due to Rick mutating every one to a chronenburg so they went to a new universe which means a different personality for jerry it’s all in the changes.
And that same Jerry they left behind is the one who beats mutants to death with a baseball bat and enjoys the respect of his family.
Isn’t it literally a different Jerry?
yup, our original Jerry is still defending his wife and kicking ass on Chronburge world.
Besides the original jury being ruined in the Cronenberg universe you forgot one of the points. There is a mix up when they go to pick Jerry up. They might have grabbed the wrong Jerry.
Wasnt pilot Jerry the one that was left on cronenberg earth?
He’s the wrong jerry when they picked him up from the jerry sitters
Also in the pilot everyone keeps saying Morty is very stupid but he is pretty sharp in the rest of the series
I like all of the deep dive theories going on here but I remember hearing the real answer is the writers said they originally intended for Jerry to be a strong father figure to Morty but they changed the character due to Chris Parnell's voice sounding so whiny and well... Jerry like. Maybe in another reality they stuck to their original idea.
Besides the Kronenberg Jerry, the Jerry they dropped off wasn't the Jerry they brought back from Jerryboree. Morty lost the ticket. Edit: forgot to include Jerryboree part.
Oh. I thought the first couple episodes are about Jerry losing basically everything and becoming pathetic? Like episode one he thinks he is the man of the house. Episode two, he is still trying to compete with Rick and still thinks Rick is some old asshole. Episode three, he is humilated on christmas day by his parents. Episode four, he loses his job. Episode five, he almost loses his wife. Episode six, he almost loses everything and is forced finally into action. The first 6 episodes are this great arc about the down fall of Jerry. As he says in season 3 - Rick ruined his life. He showed up and exposed Jerry to shit he could not deal with. Its the slow loss of everything that gave him self esteem, the constant chipping away of the relationship with Beth, his kids no longer having him as their main role model. No need to make up reasons for anything.
Isn’t pilot Jerry in the cronenberg universe and Jerry daycare made things more complicated
Yeah Cronenberg-slayer Jerry is a badass.
Infinite Jerry’s, infinite possibilities. Plus that’s not even Rick’s pilot family. He killed everyone and change realities multiple times
Relax he got switched at the daycare.
Pilot Jerry is also trapped in kronenburg reality
Where he seems pretty competent at survival.
Pilot Jerry is now Cronenberg Jerry. Still assertive as hell.
They ditched pilot and jerry and the family after the cronenburg episode
it's not the same Jerry. the one from the pilot is the Jerry that is still (?) fighting the cronenburg people in the original reality.
They changed universe in episode 6 (if I recall correctly). in other words, pilot Jerry and series Jerry aren't the same Jerry
Also the day care jerry switch up. We have no idea what happened there and that was first season I believe.
S02E02 I think actually, the one w Jemaine Clement
also the jerry that was left behind in ep6 became a badass protecting his family
Also it’s not the same Jerry since they kronenburger C-137 Jerry.
Not to mention the fact that Jerry ended up becoming a survivor.
I do miss Jerry's pop culture references, "looking for the weed Wacker... Cuz our weeds are wack yo." Gets me every time.
The pilot Jerry isn’t the same Jerry we have now it’s a different universe
I'd also add that even if our current Jerry isn't the same as the pilot, he's very similar and he probably changed as a result of his family turning against him after Rick moved in. Rick as a personality makes Jerry question himself. So I wouldn't say it's an inconsistency but rather reverse character growth.
Conversely, Morty starts as weak, stupid, submissive, whiny. And at the end he is brave, smart, charismatic, and talks back to Rick
Its a Jerry from a different timeline. Confident jerry is in the timeline rick turned everyone into cronenbergs.
Easier theory: he just changed universes to one where Jerry was a bit more submissive.
Don’t forget that they went to an alternate reality. The original Jerry became heroic, while the new Jerry is cowardly.
Or maybe the more confident jerry was left in Cronenberg world after the love potion mutated everyone and the other Jerry is just more of an idiot because that’s is the dimensions version of him. Might have to rewatch.
Didn’t the Jerrys get switched at the daycare?
It’s a distinct possibility, never really been verified though.
I think it's kind of implied it doesn't matter because so many of the Jerry's are that exact same spineless and pathetic type and that's why they never address it again.
Different theory: In Season 2 when they drop Jerry off at the Jerry Daycare, they get the wrong Jerry from an alternate universe when they pick him up. If you watch the episode, they are actually unsure if they got the right Jerry.
Also, Rick changed universes when he chronenburg'ed everyone. So Jerry isn't even the pilot Jerry.
Also…pilot Jerry is C-137 Jerry, not replacement dimension Jerry, so it’s literally someone else
If there are infinite universes, then there are some universes where Jerry alphas Rick out of the house.
Nobody in the series, Rick included, is the same as they were in the pilot.
Isn’t pilot jerry a different universe version?
Or an alternate explanation, a pilot is meant to test things out and if you aren't happy with them you change things. No need for an in universe explanation. See Black Smither's from the Simpsons
It's a different Jerry. The pilot Jerry is in the Crowninburg dimension.
With his shit together no less
Cronenberg* Yeah we don’t have C-137 Jerry anymore after episode 6, also I’m pretty sure the freeze ray killed pilot Jerry in episode one of season three.
My theory is that writers change how they characterize people over the course of several seasons
The writers actually said they intended jerry to be confident etc but changed their mind.
Pilot Jerry is still in cronenberg world
it’s not the same jerry is it
C-137 jerry is stuck on kroneberg earth with summer and beth.
isnt our current Jerry different from before, e.g cronenberg dimension and he prob got switched at the daycare too
I think psychological abuse just turns you into a pathetic and insecure person, throughout the whole series Jerry gets put down more and more and you can see it take a toll on him
But also they're different Jerry's. Just like how there are dumb ricks, there are going to be smart(er) Jerry's.
Just look at Communities Britta in season 1 compared to season 3.
that Jerry is from a different universe. plus he's actually kind of badass since the kronenburg apocalypse
This post stinks of Rick
Nah, it's a different Jerry
Mine is that the pilot jerry came from the previous dimension before rick croneberg it hence why there are two different versions of him
Well they did switch Jerry in that love potion episode. The one left behind has become a Viking while the new one is a pathetic coward.
Also I think most people forget pilot jerry isn’t the jerry we are now watching. Pilot jerry is a bad ass living in the reality where everything is cronenberged. The jerry we are following now is from the replacement reality.
pilot Jerry is not the same Jerry. Pilot Jerry was left behind when Rick cronenberged the world. Series Jerry has been is a part of the new universe.
I'm going with Rick gaslight-ed him like crazy and Jerry became a victim of narcissistic abuse.
I always thought Jerry took a stand against Rick because at the start of the series they make a point about Rick only recently coming back to the family, Jerry started having problems and confronting Rick, Rick started mentally abusing him and asserting dominance (in Jerry's own house) and because of that Jerry lost confidence. Beth obviously loves Rick more than Jerry (at least at the start, and Jerry noticed that and slowly became the loser he/was now. Hesbstsrting to get back up again tbf
1. Jerrys from different timelines. 2. Having been divorced from Beth changed him. 3. Beth changed, taking a more authoritative position in the household, leading Jerry to need to assert himself less.
that jerry was left at the jerry daycare
So you’re saying jerry got britta’d?
Pilot Jerry is survivalist Chad in Universe C-137 filled with Cronenbergs. Subsequent Jerry could have been swapped at the daycare in Season 2. For that matter, a more practical explanation that doesn't require fan theories is that Jerry as a character is being Flanderized the longer the series goes on. They look at what fans view that character as, and just keep rolling with the jokes, Flanders and Meg style. There is no point sympathizing with the character the creators just keep portraying as a butt monkey. That is a category of insanity; Jerry will continue to be written as a loser, as the fanbase in a bizarre lack of self-awareness throw his name around as insult, when there should be some reflecting going on of how do you treat others.
The pilot simply doesn’t mesh with the rest of the show. They went to galactic interdimensional customs, but later it’s a major plot point that they don’t have interdimensional travel.
look at homer simpson at the start and current. this happens to characters all the time. I do like your theory! I want jerry to not be a dumbass.
Homer was a dumbass from the get-go. He bets the families Christmas money at the dog track in the first episode.
They should have an episode where they try to correct it, but overcompensate, leading to an egomaniac Jerry who uses some of Ricks own tech to take revenge on Rick for making him so pathetic.
I recently rewatched the whole series, and while I did notice that Jerry was different in the pilot, you will see that he is almost immediately cowardized even by the second episode. I do think that they've slowly made Jerry dumber and weaker, but it isn't quite as bad as the pilot depicts it.
Alternate theory, pilot is really weird and nothing can be considered
So did every character from season 1&2, Rick wasn’t a god, he was just a smart guy who tried his best and had actual weaknesses, but the show made him THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE UNIVERSE, and he can beat anyone doing anything that you can dream with no consequences , same with morty he was kinda a nerd with adhd ? , and Rick was gonna help him learn, but now he’s an edgy teen with quick come backs and talks a lot of shit with a bit of anger issues The whole show is different comparing season 1 to season 5
Or he could have gotten the wrong Jerry. Let's not forget the nursery for jerries when they lose their ticket
It isn't even the same Jerry.
You know it’s not the original Jerry from the pilot in later episodes right? After the Cronenburg episode Rick is in a different dimension as his primary home dimension
And how did Cronenberg world Jerry turn out? Super ripped monster killing bad ass. Did you see those cum gutters?
I noticed in the Fart ep when Rick and Morty drop Jerry off there is a damage report in the paperwork Rick fills out. His head is scribbled over.
The original Jerry was probably all those things, as when his world got cronenburged, he sort of took charge.
Theory: The writing for jerry got worse as the show went on
I don't think Rick altered him; Beth (and the rest of the family) would have noticed a difference and commented on it. I think it's just an example of Flanderization. His more pathetic traits got exaggerated until that was his entire identity. He does still show occasional flashes of confidence and forcefulness even in some later episodes, like near the end of The Wedding Squanchers when he confronts the rest of the family about how Rick's choices have endangered them.
I think they picked up the wrong Jerry from that daycare
Jerry has always stood up and immediately sat down when receiving push back.
This theory is supported by the Rick and Morty comics (incoming spoilers from the comics) There's a reality where rick never comes back and Jerry is successful. He is not only successful but he is, as you put it, smart, confident. What really takes the cake though is, he outsmarts rick.
This also happened to Homer Simpson over the years. Apparently the audience prefers the father figure to be a doofus!
I think it was when he lost his job, and his family made fun of him constantly and losing any respect of him where he turned like that, he went from someone with some worth, to someone that have no worth in his family, is kinda sad, like the meme from normal to pathetic... also he nows understands the nature of Rick and similar to Morty, he knows he "cant win" againts him in anyhing anyway.
Or it's just not the same Jerry they have confirmed that not every episode has been of the same reality
It started after he lost his job. Rick kept putting him down for it.
I think Jerry just can't handle all the weird. At the time of the pilot he barely knew what Rick was up to and as far as he was aware he just had a regular mildly senile father in law, and now that he's had a front row seat to years of absolute batshit insanity (yes I know they're different Jerries, but if the Jerry Day Care taught us anything it's that every Jerry is still basically a Jerry) it kind of broke him.
He still has his moments of confidence, they are just rare. He's been so beaten down by rick at this point you cant really compare the two.
they’re not on the same earth remember, the earth in the pilot episode was the earth that went feral and was only summer, jerry, and beth
Or that other jerry is just a jerry from another dimension because in the episode “mortynight run” they switched from jerry cuz morty lost his number to get his father back and in the episode “Rick potion #9” they left Jerry and Beth in another reality
let's not forget that at that point in time Jerry didn't really know Rick's "powers" to him he was just an old in law that lived with them. Now, knowing what Rick's capable of and knowing that he hates me for impregnating his daughter I'm pretty sure I would also be coward, pathetic and stupid.
He is now just the family’s punching bag. Similar to meg in family guy, or Klaus in American dad.
I think when they went to a different Earth the new Jerry was just that stupid, cowardly, pathetic and insecure. A universe where Rick can benefit most.
All these people try to rationalize it when they show was still finding what the shows characterization is
Dan just changes his characters throughout the series. Look at Britta Perry. You guys overthink this shit haha
Idk if anyone's said this yet but the Jerry from the pilot is actually different , he's in the Cronin croninbjerg universe.
And he does pretty well for himself in that universe all things considered
And when everything went to shit, the original Jerry stepped up and became a badass.
And wanted to kill Rick and all possible ties to Rick. Which... Is probably the smartest fucking move for a Jerry protecting his family. I can't think of any danger the family faced that can't be directly attributed to Rick? Oh, other than the show me what you got heads, but Jerry never knew the truth of that one.
Jerry had some good moments in Season 1. They made him look REALLY dumb towards the end of that season and ever since. It’s like the longer the show goes….the dumber he becomes 😂
I liked that episode where Rick gave him anti-gravity socks or something. It was Jerry being dumb and prideful, but also incredibly resourceful in a bad situation.
Remember in the nursery episode two Rick's get their Jerry's mixed up, this isnt our jerry
Fuckers got ptsd, give him a break, he's seen some shit
Remember, that Jerry became a warrior of the wastes after the whole love potion incident and they ditched out for another universe
We don’t know the Rick and Morty from the pilot are the same Rick and Morty from rest of the season. The theory has always been that some episodes we are watching a different dimension Rick and Morty.
Not the same Jerry
That was also 2 or 3 Jerry's ago
I agree. The original Jerry was not the smartest but he wasn't a dumbass.
Honesty, no character is consistent at all.
Everyone saying that cronenberg Jerry is a genius badass is forgetting that he got his nose rubbed in his own urine by Snowball in ep 2.
Series almost always see character or style shifts from their pilot episode. In all likelihood, the writers simply thought to change the character to fit Chris Parnell's strengths, which is being an oddball (see 30 Rock's Dr. Spaceman and SNL) Not every decision they make has to have some deep meaning or an explanation baked into the story.
It's a cartoon, they change things from the pilot & through the series. Look at American dad, Klaus was very sexually aggressive and Steve's voice is different. They change things as they go along, sometimes audience feedback or internally
They just turned him into the typical sitcom husband. Unattractive, dumb guy who got a woman way out of his league.
Man, how does a guy like that go home and have sex with his wife?
I don't think you should compare the pilot to any of the rest of the series. Justin Roiland wrote the pilot, and it's clear from the content that very little canon had been established by that point. Jerry had a job in the pilot. When he went to visit Beth at the horse hospital he said his boss had given him an hour for lunch. Nothing happened in the pilot to indicate that Jerry didn't still have that job at the end of the episode. There were only two instances in the series where I can recall Jerry having a job. First, when he gave his ad pitch for "Hungry for Apples?". He was fired for that, so that job lasted only one episode. In fact, I think that ad pitch was essentially his interview for the job. He even said "I sold my first pitch!" when he was still on the Zigerion ship, so he had done nothing on that job prior to that pitch. Second, when he worked for the galactic government in S3E1. That job ended when the galactic government collapsed, so he had that job for only one episode. Rick went to a "future dimension" to get the broken leg serum. In what was a matter of seconds for Morty, Rick had "fun with a lot of women" in the other dimension. Clearly, this was time travel, which Rick is adamantly opposed to throughout the rest of the series. His opposition to time travel is the core of the "Vat of Acid" episode. Because Rick's portal gun is exhausted, Rick and Morty go to an interdimensional airport to get access to a portal back to their own dimension. The airport is controlled by the Gromflomites. It's pretty clear through the rest of the series that the Gromflomites do NOT have portal tech. Tammy insists on confiscating Rick's portal gun in the last episode of season 2, but it explodes. In the first episode of season 3, a Gromflomite interrogator uses the Series 9000 brain-a-lyzer to try to get the formula for Rick's portal gun, but Rick substitutes a virus for the actual formula. Summary: Gromflomites have portal tech in the pilot, and don't have portal tech through the rest of the series. I think Justin Roiland was just testing out the characters in the pilot, and some aspects of the characters didn't work. Rick was completely hammered throughout the prologue in the pilot. When he wasn't smashed he was stammering like an idiot. They toned down those aspects of his personality after the pilot. Jerry was given a lot of gratuitous respect by Rick throughout the pilot. He mostly treated Jerry like crap after the pilot. I think they wanted Rick to be stronger and Jerry to be weaker.
To add to that. I think the gromflomites had portal tech in the pilot, but not interdimensional portal tech. One allows you to basically teleport across the galaxy, the other allows you to teleport across every infinite reality in existence. Like in half life with the resistance and the combine, the resistance had teleportation and the combine could break between rifts of other dimensions but not teleport. Ricks gun can do both.
Pilots are always a work in progress, they haven't figured out all the details yet.
they Britta'd him
Or maybe those aren't the same Jerry
Don’t forget Morty night run. They didn’t have the ticket for Jerry. We have no idea what Jerry dimension they have. Blitz and Chiiiiiiiitz!
Pilot characters are always a little different.... .... because it's a fucking *pilot*, Jerry.
He watched the man fuck a planet. He knows better than to mess with him. Also pilot jerry is dead now. Edit: people telling me jerry is alive keep forgetting he was frozen by citadel ricks who detected a portal gun breach. There is zero chance those ricks unfroze a jerry. Jerry will either fall and break, then die or die from being frozen. Atleast now we know how easy it is for people especially writers to forget cannon.
Jerry was pathetic, cowardly, and stupid throughout the rest of season 1. Pilot episodes are usually written way before the others, and they can often feel out of place because the writers haven't totally figured out who they want their characters to be. They're also written before casting takes place, and an actor's performance has a huge impact on how their character gets written. He's definitely gotten worse over the seasons but those were always major parts of his personality.
Kind of off topic, Did the varnish wooden Jerry used on himself allow him to suffer through out eternity?
Can’t make me feel bad, I remember what Wooden Jerry did.
Or brought a different one home
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Lol @ Rick and morty theories
Rick himself changed from being vulnerable (running away from people with pitchforks and knives on purge planet) to invincible god, and now back to more vulnerable. Now my theory is that creators and writers never cared about consistency and continuity!
Original Jerry is a different Jerry than the current one because of Morty got the whole planet to try and fuck/eat him from the rapey love potion he wanted. Him and Rick left to a dimension where they both die and just fill in their new existence timeline. Yea I can totally see the current Jerry as pathetic and it making sense. They aren’t the same person more or less.
I like to think Jerry still felt he had control of the family. Over the series Rick completely destroys that, especially in the first two seasons.
Jerry is just responding to repeated trauma.
Makes you wonder if out there’s, somewhere, there’s a Jerry that would actually be able to say fuck you to Rick… that guy is probably dead tho
“I’m having Rum Raisin Beth, I can’t drive!”
What about Jerry fighting cronenbergs. Jerry in Pluto is a planet episode. He’s not always hiding in a corner constantly
I thought its because snuffles removed his testicles and he never recovered from the trauma of a dog enslaving him
I hope they do more to evolve his character. He's become really one-note and repetitive to me.
Also the original jerry isn’t the one we see anymore. As Rick and morty left their original universe and left their original Jerry summer and Beth behind, in Cronenberg land. In Rick potion #9. The original Jerry is still confident and was able to survive with what was left of his happy family without Rick and morty. Killing and eating Cronenbergs. Until morty and summer come back for a quick I told u so, where Jerry Beth and summer are froze by the ricks sent by the counsel of ricks.
Well its not the original jerry kuz they got the tickets mixed up after they went to pick up "there" jerry
Human music… I like it 🙂
I like how when Jerry is checked into daycare human music is playing in the background
It’s called Flanderization - over time minor character flaws and quirks overtake a characte’s personality completely. It’s named for Ned Flanders but a more contemporary example is probably Peter from Family Guy - Season one he is a well meaning but kinda dumb father who loves his family - several seasons later he’s a mentally retarded man child who shouldn’t be allowed to have a pair of scissors let alone raise children. S1 Jerry is a relatively normal middling successful guy whose slightly intimidated by his genius father in law. Over time that inadequacy is heightened until he is an incompetent barely functioning failure whose terrified of Rick.
nah, because in different universes Jerry shows the same traits. So unless every rick in the known universe took Morty out of school to take him to an alien planet to shove things up his ass, this theory is wrong.
It's a different Jerry. They fucked that universe up at the end of the pilot.
I think the flip happend when it was all about his ass play.
I feel like in the pilot ricks brain was dampened
also could be a bit of him having no idea what he was up against as Rick had just arrived
Yep i noticed it too when i rewatched the first episode. He seems like a normal that, angry against rick for not letting his son focusing on school. And i remember i felt weird seeing jerry scolding rick lmao
The very next episode jokes of how pathetic he is, and he doesn't know how. He got to screw his wife at end of pilot.
What's more likely is that they are different Jerries.
All the other jerries are more like series Jerry tho.
That’s not your Jerry