What is "open your mind" in Rick and Morty? Details explored in depth

If you’re a Rick and Morty fan, chances are you’ve heard the phrase “Open your mind” more times than you can count.

Usually delivered by a tiny, mutant-like being sticking out of someone’s torso, the line is short, repeated constantly, and completely ridiculous. But as with many things in Rick and Morty, there’s more going on beneath the surface.

This phrase comes from an episode packed with chaos and memory-warping parasites: Total Rickall. In the episode, we meet a character inspired by Kuato from the 1990 sci-fi film Total Recall. But instead of acting as a wise revolutionary like in the original movie, this version, and all the others that pop up later, say only one thing: “Open your mind.” That’s it. Nothing else.

It’s both hilarious and strange. Why reduce a character who could speak fluently in the movie to a one-line parrot in the show? The answer lies in the show’s unique blend of parody, absurdism, and commentary on pop culture’s tendency to oversimplify complex characters.

The Total Recall connection

In Total Recall (1990), Kuato is a powerful mutant who can communicate telepathically and plays a major role in helping the protagonist, Quaid, uncover the truth. He speaks clearly and offers guidance, ending one of their scenes by saying the now-famous line: “Open your mind.” That quote became iconic, a sci-fi gem fans still reference today.

The show borrows the physical design of Kuato and the phrase itself, but flips the script. Instead of making the character central to the plot or giving him wisdom, the show turns him into a recurring gag. Every Kuato that appears says only that one line, no matter the situation, turning the once-powerful phrase into a punchline. It’s smart, subversive, and on-brand for the show.

Satire or something deeper in Rick and Morty?

So why do all the Kuatos in Rick and Morty only repeat “Open your mind”? The answer is both simple and layered. At face value, it’s funny. A tiny, weird mutant shouting a pseudo-enlightened mantra over and over again is classic Rick and Morty absurdity. But on a deeper level, it pokes fun at how pop culture tends to flatten characters into catchphrases.

By boiling Kuato down to just one line, the show is commenting on how iconic lines often outlive the meaning or complexity behind them. “Open your mind” becomes less a call to enlightenment and more a psychic soundbite: catchy, repeated, but hollow. It’s a clever take on how we remember pop culture not for what it meant, but for what it sounded like.

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In the end, “Open your mind” in the show isn’t just a callback to a sci-fi classic; it’s a parody, a commentary, and a joke all at once. It’s the show doing what it does best: making you laugh while also making you think… if you’re willing to open your mind, that is.

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