Liam Hoofe takes a look at the best ten episodes of Rick and Morty so far…
Rick and Morty are back! After what feels like an eternity of waiting, Rick and Morty season 3 finally got going last week, with the second episode of season 3 ‘Rickmancing the Stone’ airing last Sunday.
The show’s return has been eagerly anticipated and the series has become something of a pop culture phenomenon over the last few years. Rewatching the show’s back catalogue it is easy to see why. Chocked full of in-jokes, bat-shit crazy plots and characters so bizarre Noel Fielding would think they were strange, Rick and Morty continues to grow in popularity with each passing episode.
To celebrate the return of Rick and Morty season 3, I decided to sit back and revisit every single episode of the show’s first two seasons, and the first episode of season 3, to give you my take on the top 10 Rick and Morty episodes, of all time.
10: M-Night Shaym-Aliens
M-Night Shaym-Aliens is the first of the show’s episodes to really delve deep into the sci-fi genre and it is one of season 1’s funniest episodes. Up until this point in the show, the other characters had pretty much been kept away from Rick and Morty’s dimension travelling adventures, so the addition of Jerry to this episode really added a lot.
The whole virtual reality, inside a virtual reality, inside another virtual reality premise is highly amusing but Jerry’s storyline during the episode is the real highlight. Seeing Jerry enjoy the best day of his life, only to find out that it was all just a simulation is absolutely hilarious and the show’s closing moments, with Jerry, Rick and Morty flying back to earth are comedy gold.
9: Wedding Squanchers
The season 2 finale of Rick and Morty is a little bit chaotic at times, but it is one of the most important episodes in the show’s history so far, and features plenty of memorable moments.
The episode starts with the family going to Bird-Person’s wedding, which is funny enough and brings back some great characters from the show’s earlier episodes, but things really begin to get juicy when Rick and the family are on the run from the Galactic Federation following their betrayal at the aforementioned wedding.
While being consistently funny, the show also introduced a softer, more caring side to Rick, that has had fans theorising about his origin story ever since. It also really gives the show a grander narrative and added some real continuity to proceedings.
8: Pilot
I recently revisited the whole of Rick and Morty and was surprised to discover that the first episode was a whole lot better than I’d remembered it. Pilot sets up everything that comes in the following seasons expertly and, unlike a lot of other shows, really shows no signs of growing pains.
Rick and Morty’s quest to get the magic seeds is hilarious, and the scene where Rick is ranting maniacally at Morty as the episode goes off the air is a great indication of the things to come in the following seasons.
7: Ricksy Business
While the season 1 finale of Rick and Morty may have arguably the weakest subplot in the history of the show, its central plot more than makes up for it, with Rick throwing a crazy inter-dimensional party at home while Jerry and Beth go on a Titanic themed holiday.
The episode introduces us to so many of the show’s best supporting characters, with Squanchy, Bird-Person and of course, Abradolf Lincler all making appearances here. It also offered us a look at a different, more personal side to Rick, especially when the episode ends and he bonds, very briefly, with his grandchildren. It is also the episode where we finally find out what Rick’s iconic phrase ‘wubalubadubdub’ means – adding a whole new layer of mystique to the man himself.
6: The Ricks Must be Crazy
The Ricks Must Be Crazy has an absolutely hilarious premise. When Rick’s ship breaks down, he reveals to the grandkids that his car battery is actually a microverse – one he created himself purely for the purpose of powering his ship.
Rick and Morty have to enter the battery to find out why it has stopped working, only to discover that the microverse has now created its own microverse to power everything for them. The episode features many hilarious moments, notably Rick’s ‘Peace among worlds’ gesture when he arrives on the planet. It is also one of the show’s more blatantly physical outings – raising several questions about the nature of existence, and whether it really matters.
As show subplots go, this also has one of the series’ best. Summer being protected by the AI in Rick’s ship takes the episode to some very dark, and absolutely hilarious places.
Originally published August 5, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
