Although animated sci-fi comedy Rick and Morty primarily focuses on its titular characters (both previously voiced by Justin Roiland), increasing attention has been given to the other members of the Smith family as the series progresses. In particular, sarcastic 17-year-old Summer Smith (Spencer Grammer) has accompanied Rick on various missions to other worlds, sometimes in place of her brother.
Summer is intelligent, brave, and far more socially adept than her brother and grandfather, making her an often essential part of the team. Although frequently dismissed because of her gender and cynical teenage attitude, Summer has more than proven herself to be a worthy adventurer on many occasions, as well as holding her own in hilarious B-plots.
10 "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion" — Season 5, Episode 7
Summer's dynamic with Rick is explored through a Goodfellas parody (a movie previously satirized in co-creator Dan Harmon's sitcom Community) in "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion". Using a framing device of Summer and Morty's warring inner monologues, the episode follows Summer on her journey as Rick's apprentice during his scheme to unite as many GoTron ferrets (a riff on Voltron) as possible.
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Summer ultimately learns that her quest for power and Rick's approval is futile, being quickly discarded when he finds a replacement for her. The familial dynamics explored in the episode are intriguing, and it's comical that Summer is able to learn in one adventure the lesson that Morty has taken the entire show to understand — that Rick's affection is fleeting and gaining it is probably more effort than it's worth.
9 "Get Schwifty" — Season 2, Episode 5
In "Get Schwifty", Summer joins a church worshiping the giant extraterrestrial heads that have appeared in the sky. Although the heads are in fact judging a musical talent contest, several coincidences create increasing fanaticism among the congregation including Summer. This escalates to the point that she is willing to sacrifice her parents Beth (Sarah Chalke) and Jerry (Chris Parnell) as an offering to the heads for disobedience.
"Get Schwifty" represents a departure from Summer's typically sardonic personality as she wholeheartedly embraces her new religion. Additionally, despite her intelligence, her devotion to the cult demonstrates that her youth and naivety can make her easily led, even for a cause this ridiculous.
8 "Solaricks" — Season 6, Episode 1
In "Solaricks," it is up to Summer, Beth, and Space Beth to rescue Rick, Morty, and Jerry from their original dimensions. Summer is able to create a wormhole for the ship to escape through and with the help of Wolverine claw gloves designed by Rick, she kills an onslaught of alien attackers.
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In this episode, Summer excels in her action scenes — often single-handedly — and demonstrates that she is highly capable with Rick's technology. She even ultimately saves the day when Beth and Space Beth get distracted by an argument and swallowed whole, cutting them free from one of the aliens' stomachs. Summer's teenage nihilism is portrayed as a strength in the conflict, allowing her to detach from the Beths' drama and focus on her mission.
7 "Something Ricked This Way Comes" — Season 1, Episode 9
Summer gets her first job in Rick and Morty, "Something Ricked This Way Comes," but instead of a typical teenager's part-time job, she finds herself working for the Devil himself selling cursed antiques. Summer is extremely loyal to her boss "Mr. Needful" even though he is evil incarnate, viewing him far more favorably than she does Rick because the Devil is at least pleasant and polite to her.
The rivalry between Rick and Summer in the episode is hilarious, with him running a business to remove the curses from the antiques out of spite. However, when the Devil unsurprisingly betrays Summer, she and Rick team up to get incredibly muscular and enact their revenge, becoming vigilantes in an excellent post-credits sequence.
6 "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez" — Season 2, Episode 7
In "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez", Rick transfers his consciousness into a younger clone body and starts attending high school as Tiny Rick, immediately becoming wildly popular. When Tiny Rick begins expressing concerning feelings about his regular body decaying, Summer is the only person to take his cries for help seriously and try to return him to normal.
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In this episode, Summer demonstrates her love for her grandfather, prioritizing his safety over superficial high school social politics. She finally saves Rick by forcing Tiny Rick to listen to Elliott Smith to emotionally disarm him, using her teen angst and emotional intelligence to her advantage.
5 "Raising Gazorpazorp" — Season 1, Episode 7
After being dismissed because of Rick's sexism, Summer is granted the perfect opportunity to prove her capability in "Raising Gazorpazorp." Accompanying him on a mission to a matriarchal planet, Summer is able to take charge with Rick being forced to pose as her slave, and she manages to save both their lives when the situation goes south.
By integrating into the matriarchal society with ease and knowing how to effectively communicate with the alien women when she and Rick are to be executed, Summer establishes herself as an extremely useful companion for Rick. Although he remains skeptical of her value, "Raising Gazorpazorp" is a crucial part of Summer's story, demonstrating aspects of her unique skill set.
In "Promortyus," Summer becomes the beloved and worshiped leader of an alien society. She is able to persuade the aliens to drastically rethink the conventions of their society, inspiring them to rebuild a peaceful and prosperous nation, all while wishing she could simply leave and go home.
The fact that Summer is able to create these societal improvements somewhat begrudgingly is a testament to her persuasiveness and her intelligence. Summer's capable nature is one of her defining character traits, and "Promortyus" demonstrates it perfectly.
3 "Rickmancing the Stone" — Season 3, Episode 2
Emotionally dysregulated by her parents' ongoing separation, Summer attempts to escape her usual life in favor of a Mad Max-esque society in "Rickmancing the Stone". Falling in love with a helmet-wearing scavenger called Hemorrhage (Joel McHale), Summer quickly embraces the violence and brutality of the culture and begins to thrive.
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The episode explores Summer's angst and anger resulting from her parents' marital issues, showing her trying to run from her problems. However, despite her sad motivations, it is still a lot of fun to see her take on the role of a warrior queen thriving in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
2 "Night Family" — Season 6, Episode 4
In an homage to horror B-movies, "Night Family" presents the Smith family with formidable enemies — themselves. Using a device to animate their "night people," the family designates their chores to their unconscious selves, which turns risky when Night Summer leads a revolution against the waking family.
The episode is genuinely visually creepy with a great horror premise, and the hierarchal dynamic shift with Night Summer as the family's leader has interesting implications for her character. In many ways, Summer is the character who most takes after Rick, and "Night Family" explores her potential as a mastermind.
1 "Rick: A Mort Well Lived" — Season 6, Episode 2
Summer Smith's strongest individual storyline comes in "Rick: A Mort Well Lived," when she is tasked with taking down an alien gang in an arcade while Rick and Morty are stuck inside a game. Although Rick insists she must "do a Die Hard," Summer manages to consistently improvise and outsmart the aliens as a result of her lack of Die Hard knowledge.
Watching Summer hold her own in action scenes is always satisfying, and this episode gives her great opportunities to shine. With her quick-thinking and impressive ability to adapt to situations she finds herself in, "Rick: A Mort Well Lived" showcases Summer's best qualities and grants her a mission entirely to herself.
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