The show co-creator said that during the “Needful Things” episode of “Rick and Morty” Season 1 where Alfred Molina was the guest star, Rick clearly had the upper hand the whole time. But with the episode where Colbert served as a guest, it became a pretty equal match. Roiland said that fans will surely found it interesting to watch Rick be insecure and shitty about the fact that he knows that Stephen is pretty smart.
What makes “Rick and Morty” an obvious joke is the fact that the character that Rick plays is not the typical brilliant scientist that people were made to believe.
Rick is not a good role model because apart from being callous and drunk most of the time, he exposes poor Marty to a number of horrible situations. In fact, in one episode, Rick actually destroyed planet Earth.
“Rick and Morty” obviously made some good jokes out of it and it continues to get some mileage from the subversions, but the surprise is gone. Viewers are no longer shock when Rick acts indifferent or selfish or obscene and his character is more defined now in the TV series.
But that is a good thing because it only means that Rick is a character and not just a mere collection of twists. Plus, it leads fans to the second joke who is Morty, whose response to most situations are considered moral and good, but more often wrong than not.