The Evil Morty Archetype

Integrating the Two Wolves

I keep seeing the proverb of the two wolves lately. It goes something like this:

“There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which one wins?”

“Whichever one you feed.”

This is a metaphor that represents the internal battle that we all have inside of us. However, the problem with this story, is that it is incomplete.

Warning: Rick and Morty SPOILERS.

In my opinion, Rick and Morty is the best show on television. That’s saying a lot, given the high quality of television these days. Evil Morty is a fascinating character in Rick and Morty universe. His haunting and enchanting theme song, For the Damaged Coda, has become a meme in the collective consciousness. In the series, Evil Morty becomes the president of the Citadel of Ricks:

My theory is that Evil Morty (dubbed by the fans of the show) is a Morty from one of the alternate dimensions where Toxic Morty, from the Rest and Ricklaxation episode, was never reintegrated. In that episode, Rick and Morty went to an alien spa, where they used a detoxification machine that removed the characteristics that they each deemed to be negative. For Rick, it removed his entitlement, his narcissism, his crippling loneliness, and his irrational attachments. For Morty, it removed his shame, his insecurity, his cowardice… and his conscience. So, he becomes a stockbroker and eventually, in theory, the sociopath president Morty.

“Inside every person there are two bears, forever locked in combat for your soul. One bear is all things good: compassion, love, trust. The other is all things evil: fear, shame, and self-destruction.”

Shame may be the opposite of enlightenment, but shamelessness is the opposite of humility.

In our journey to heal our trauma, we often attempt to expunge the parts of us that we deem to be negative. This repression of negative feelings can be dangerous. What we resist persists. As our consciousness expands, so do our perceptions of polarities. The more the shadow is suppressed, the more it “leaks” and can be projected onto others. Extremism and division in our society is a result. When one perceives oneself as purely light, the impulse for authoritarianism, power, and the right to rule over or inflict violence toward others becomes justified.

It seems that the integration of polarities, mastery of self, and focusing on the inner world is the answer. Attempting to starve the “dark” wolf creates a risk of spiritual bypass to avoid shadow work.

“How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”

The French philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre once said,

“Life is the C between B and D.”

Choice is what exists between Birth and Death. This is Life. We all get to choose our own realities. That doesn’t mean we don’t bump into other realities. Ultimately, the hope is for enough individuals to have the ability to observe the duality of their inner wolves and have the mastery to choose the right collective reality.