Since 2013, almost a decade ago, Rick and Morty have been entertaining millions around the globe with season after season of complete insanity. Loud, bombastic, chaotic and just a little gory, that’s how I would summarise Rick and Morty, and with each added season, the show just becomes… more.
One of the main selling points of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty is how the show manages to go from high to high, season after season, without running out of momentum. Instead, each episode brings a new, dark and always twisted adventure for Rick and Morty and sometimes the rest of the family to embark on.
Over the last nine years and five seasons of Rick and Morty, there have been 51 episodes. Each of those episodes has taken viewers to places they never thought, imagined, and, in some cases, wanted to go.
To get viewers ready for the launch of Rick and Morty season 6, we here at NAG looked back at the previous 51 episodes, picked our brains, and came up with what we believe is the ultimate list of episodes to watch before the new season drops.
From the very start of Rick and Morty until now, we’ve chosen an episode from each season and linked it to the episode on Netflix for easy viewing: enjoy.
Season 1, Episode 5 “Meeseeks and Destroy”
Rick: Oh, great adventure, buddy. Rick and Morty go to a giant prison. You know if someone drops the soap it’s going to land on our heads and crush our spines, Morty. You know, it’ll be really easy to rape us after that.
Perhaps the most memorable of all the Rick and Morty episodes and the most quoted, Meeseeks and Destroy put Rick and Morty on the map and was also responsible for the birth of Rick’s catchphrase: “Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub!”
Season 2, Episode 3 “Auto Erotic Assimilation”
Morty: Uhm, should we maybe stop somewhere and get you a coffee? Maybe splash a little water on your face, or…?
Unity: No, no. If I wanted to be sober, I wouldn’t have gotten drunk.
While many Rick and Morty episodes heavily feature both Rick and Morty, Summer doesn’t often get to share in the screen time – until now. Auto Erotic Assimilation is one of the episodes that most heavily features Morty’s sister, and it’s also one of the most fun episodes of the series as a whole.
Season 3, Episode 3 “Pickle Rick”
Rick Sanchez: Come on, flip the pickle, Morty, you’re not gonna regret it. The payoff is huge. I turned myself into a pickle, Morty! Boom! Big reveal! I’m a pickle! What do you think about that? I turned myself into a pickle! W-w-what are you just staring at me for, bro, I turned myself into a pickle, Morty.
Morty Smith: And?
Rick Sanchez: And? What more do you want tacked on to this? I turned myself into a pickle and 9/11 was an inside job?
Morty Smith: Was it?
Rick Sanchez: Who cares, Morty? Global acts of terrorism happen every day. Uh, here’s something that’s never happened before… I’M A PICKLE! I’m pickle Riiiiiick!
Perhaps the most well-known and “viral” episode of Rick and Morty to date is “Pickle Rick”. On paper, it’s a concept that should never have worked (like many Rick and Morty episodes), but it does, and it even won the series its first-ever Emmy.
Season 4, Episode 2 “The Old Man and the Seat”
Rick Sanchez: Don’t use your dead wife as an excuse. You s#*t on my toilet because you don’t know your place. And your place is nothing! So next time you stumble on to a toilet that feels to good for your ass, trust me, it is!
Tony: You’re not going to kill me?
Rick Sanchez: Don’t tell me what to do!
The Old Man and the Seat is an entire episode revolving around Rick’s toilet and the lengths he will go to protect his sacred space. It also features a cameo from Ted Danson from Cheers – what’s not to love?
Season 5, Episode 8 “Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort”
Young Memory Rick: Morty?
Rick Sanchez: Oh uh, hypothetical grandson we go on adventures with.
Young Memory Rick: You’re one of those creeps who moves in with abandoned adult Beths.
Rick Sanchez: It’s more complicated than that.
Young Memory Rick: You live with a version of our dead daughter. It better be.
While many episodes have focused on Rick’s struggles (read inability) to create meaningful relationships with those around him, few have focused on the relationships he was able to form. Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort is one of those episodes – giving insight into one of Rick’s oldest and best friends, Birdperson.
Season 5, Episode 1 “Mort Dinner Rick Andre”
Mr. Nimbus: Say goodbye to your precious dry land, for soon it will be wet! WET!
Rick Sanchez: Yeah, global warming’s already doing that, asshole!
To call Mort Dinner Rick Andre a great episode is to underplay it. The episode is so great, in fact, that it ended up being nominated for an Emmy this year in the ‘Outstanding Animation Category. Inspired by a 1980 movie called My Dinner with Andre, the opening episode of season 5 introduces one of Rick’s rivals, Mr Nimbus.
South Africans will be able to binge their way through Season 6 of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty starting from Monday, 5 September over on Netflix – just 24 hours after the US premiere.
To celebrate this latest season, we at NAG got to interview the voices behind Bath and Jerry, and if you missed it, you can read the entire interview here. We also got to watch the first few episodes of season 6 early, and you can follow this link to read our thoughts on it.
Are you excited for another season of Rick and Morty? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to check out the latest from #wormageddon by following the link here.