With season five of Rick and Morty premiering on Sunday, I thought I would let you know what I think is the best/funniest 15 episodes. I am sure if I revisit this list before season six premieres there will be at least one episode from season five on the list. I was planning on doing just a top ten, but I found it impossible to just name ten episodes. Rick and Morty was co-created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon (Community creator). Justin Roiland also does the voices for both Rick and Morty., both characters are voiced in such a fantastic and funny way I recently did a review for episodes one and two of Loki and while writing I realized I wanted to watch an episode or two of Ricky and Morty while writing. After watching four episodes, and nothing written during that whole time, I figured I should review the new season of Rick and Morty. That thought led to me thinking I should an article talking about my favourite episodes of the show to date. Ricky and Morty was a show that I did not know existed until I heard someone describe the premise, I then watched a clip from the pilot and from then I have been hooked. The premise that got me curious was a Back to the Future rip-off with an alcoholic, capable and narcissistic Doc Brown going on adventures with his slow, weak and teenage grandson. Ricky and Morty is not for kids, and like South Park, Rick and Morty seems determined to offend as many people as possible. This is only fifteen episodes that I really enjoy, there are many more that are also very funny. I decided against ranking the episodes; I tried but I kept changing the rankings, so now I will do it in order of release.
SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 - 'PILOT'
The episode that started the show will always find a way into the top 15 episodes; it always makes me laugh no matter how many times I've seen it. The episode that is responsible for starting all of this is my fifteenth favourite episode, I will always find it hard to not include this episode. The pilot episode is funny, it is not the funniest episode, but all of the stuff we love about the show makes appearances throughout the episode. The opening featuring a drunk Rick waking up a sleeping Morty to go on an adventure is perhaps one of the best character introductions ever. The pilot sets up most of the character dynamics we will see play out over the first four seasons. We see the seeds of Jerry and Rick dynamics, Beth's need for her father's approval, Morty being too timid, a Rick rant, and an adventure Rick and Morty go on that ends badly. The pilot is the first episode to watch if you decide to watch the show.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 - 'MORTYNIGHT RUN"
Mortynight run had me laugh out loud multiple times, Morty and Rick go on an adventure and Jerry ends up with them. Jerry joining Rick and Morty on an adventure would be fun for a lot of different reasons, but in Mortynight Run Rick brings Jerry to a Jerryboree and leaves him there while they go on an adventure. Jerryboree is a daycare another reality's Rick created, it is to keep Jerry safe and occupied while Rick and Morty are busy. Rick sells a weapon he created to an assassin, Morty disagrees and eventually goes to stop the assassin. The episode is hilarious, it is another example of Morty making a bad decision that makes everything a lot worse. The destruction caused by Morty going to stop the assassin is massive, and if Morty had left things as they were a lot less people would have died. Jerry meanwhile is enjoying Jerryboree even though he feels it is an insult to be placed in a daycare.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 3 - 'AUTO EROTIC ASSIMILATION'
In Auto Erotic Assimilation we see Summer join Rick and Morty, they are investigating an abandoned ship in space. Rick plans to loot the ship, but they find the crew who say their home planet was taken over by a parasitic alien. The parasitic alien is a former flame of Ricks, Summer, Rick and Morty go to the planet so Rick can spend time with Unity. While Beth and Jerry are home alone, Jerry is looking for something Rick borrowed and never returned. The search leads to them discovering an alien being held prisoner in a secret room under the garage. Summer has an issue with Unity, because she feels Unity has robbed an entire planet of their free will. Rick and Unity start spending some time together and Unity starts losing control of the inhabitants. Summer realizes that Unity was maybe doing a good thing as once Unity's hold loosens a race war starts. The episode going between the Beth and Jerry story to the Rick story is awesome, the episode is hilarious. I have always loved this episode; it contains just how much of a piece of garbage Rick is and that he knows it.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 6 - 'THE RICKS MUST BE CRAZY'
The Ricks Must Be Crazy has Summer once again joining Morty and Ricky; the episode starts with them seeing a Ball Fondlers movie. After the movie, Rick, Summer and Morty plan on going for ice cream, but the car battery is dead so Rick and Morty must enter the battery to investigate. Summer has her own adventure as she is left in the car and things start to spiral out of control. Morty learns that the car battery is a mini planet that Rick created to generate power for the car, these inhabitants' whole lives are based on performing tasks to generate power. Morty does not like what Rick is doing, but he is forced to go along with it. It turns out that the miniverse has created it's own miniverese to generate power, which Rick, Morty and the alien scientist who created the new miniverse go into to investigate. That universe itself is starting to make its own universe, it is such a funny premise. Rick is proved to be a hypocrite, but he fails to take responsibility for his actions. The Summer story is funny but goes in a very dark direction as the ship uses scarier and scarier methods to keep Summer safe. Rick and Morty can be an incredibly deep show that can also use science and philosophy for comedic effect.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 9 - 'LOOK WHO'S PURGING NOW'
Rick and Morty visit a planet that holds a Purge-like event, they are there by accident, but Rick wants to stay and watch. Morty causes a problem when he sees a young female in need of help, he demands Rick assist her which he does. The female then tricks Ricky into helping save her grandmother, Rick begrudgingly obliges and is shot in the liver for his help. The female takes the car leaving Rick and Morty stranded on the planet and defenceless. The episode is yet another moment when Morty's good nature ends up causing way more damage than had they done nothing. The show works best where Morty does something and Rick needs to intervene to save them, there is something about Rick's sarcastic responses that always makes me laugh. The episode is a parody of The Purge series of films, and it makes great use of the idea in the most violent way possible.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 1 - 'THE RICKSHANK RICKDEMPTION'
The premiere episode of season three might be my favourite episode of the series, any episode that shows our Rick as the smartest man in existence always makes me happy. At the end of season two Rick sacrifices himself for his family's happiness (I don't believe he did for that altruistic reason) especially after watching season three episode one. Rick is in prison where they're trying to break into his mind to steal some of his ideas. Rick is able to escape and then take out all his enemies by the end of the episode, he also made some new enemies too. Jerry was a hero at the beginning of this episode and by the end of the episode, he is crawling home as useless and cowardly as ever. Rick is my favourite character, and I love to hate Jerry. The rant Rick gives at the end of the episode is a classic, this episode just rocks. There is so much setup for future things in this episode, but they are all so small that they fly under the radar until the show brings them back.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 3 - 'PICKLE RICK'
Pickle Rick might be the most mainstream episode of the show so far, there were Pickle Ricks everywhere and the episode was great too. Rick turns himself into a pickle, just because he wants an excuse for not attending a family therapy session. Things go awry, and Rick is forced to journey through sewers, and embassies to make it to the appointment so he can get the cure he invented that Beth took with her. Rick is at his best in this episode, he is forced to constantly think on his non-feet because the problems keep coming. The episode is iconic, it is a must-watch just for the action and brilliance of Rick. The episode also highlights that Rick does love his family, but he is also not a good father or grandfather. Rick's challenges in this episode are all tied to him trying to avoid family therapy, had he just gone to the session none of this would have happened.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 4 - 'VINDICATORS 3: THE RETURN OF WORLDENDER'
Vindicators 3 might be my second favourite episode of the show to date, Rick is just hilarious in this episode. Rick and Morty are asked to join the Vindicators on another mission (we never saw the first one), the Vindicators are a group of intergalactic heroes. Rick does not want to go, but Morty forces Rick to attend, and everything goes wrong solely because Rick is a hateful jerk. Rick hates the Vindicators, and he thinks Morty's hero-worship of them is a joke. The episode is Rick just being savage, he is mean, insulting and monstrous towards the Vindicators. This episode makes me laugh the hardest at some of the jokes, I love it when Rick is just being so mean to people. I don't want to say too much about the episode, because some of the jokes are better unspoiled.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 7 - 'THE RICKLANTIS MIXUP'
The deepest episode of the series to date is The Ricklantis Mixup, the episode does not spend much time with our Rick and Morty at all. The episode spends a majority of the running time on the Citadel of Ricks following various storylines. The various stories are a Morty running for president, a Rick cop partnered with a Morty cop, a Rick working in a factory becomes disillusioned, and a group of Mortys that runaway from their school. The episode is thematically rich, the stories have a tinge of cynicism to them, and the ending sets up something huge that has as of yet to pay off. There is less humor in this episode as it is tackling some issues, but it is still wildly entertaining, and it will keep you hooked for the entire runtime. I am so excited for the return to this story; I have no idea when that will be,x but the popularity of this episode makes it a certainty we revisit it. Before watching you may want to see season 1 episode 10 titled Close Rick-counters of the Rick kind.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 8 - 'MORTY'S MIND BLOWERS'
The premise of Morty's Mind Blowers is simple, Morty is a screwup and Rick has had to remove some of Morty's really big screwups from his memory. Morty finds out about all of his missing memories and forces Rick to let him see them, the episode is a series of little bits from different memories that were removed. There is a twist that I will not spoil to this episode, but after the heaviness of episode 7 Morty's Mind Blowers is the perfect follow-up episode. Morty's Mind Blower is incredibly funny, I think shows just how messed up the dynamic between Rick and Morty truly is. I like any episode that shows Morty screwing up, he is always good for an epic screw-up. Sometimes a simple episode is the best type of Rick and Morty, there is nothing deep here besides that Rick was manipulating what Morty remembers and that all of this has happened before.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 10 - 'THE RICKCHURIAN MORTYDAY'
I am not sure why this episode pleases me as much as it does, but this episode just works for me. The episode is how Rick's and the American president's egos get the better of them and leads to an all-out war between them. Rick has to be the smartest person in the room, and he needs those around him to admit that, when that doesn't happen, he can be a real piece of garbage. The war between the President and Rick escalates until a surprising resolution, the end of the episode sees a seething Rick having to accept his current status in the household. Rick is rarely humbled, but in this episode, he is humbled, not by the president though. The next season builds off of The Rickhurian Mortydate as we see a spiralling Rick. Rick never admits it, but we know that Rick knows that he is a bad guy. There have been many moments in the show where we see Rick struggling with his self-loathing. The fight between the President and Rick is awesome and I love how they both keep trying to one-up the other. Rick is obviously more powerful, but the President refuses to listen to reason and admit defeat (sound familiar).
SEASON 4 EPISODE 2 - 'THE OLD MAN AND THE SEAT'
I just love the premise of this episode; toilet humor always makes me laugh and even though I know it is childish I don't care it is always funny. In this episode, we learn that Rick has a planet where he has constructed the perfect toilet. Rick goes to the toilet and learns that another has used it, Rick then goes on a hunt for the culprit. The culprit is a fairly normal alien named Tony; the episode also features a side story involving Jerry inventing a dating app that destroys people's lives. The episode is funny, and we see that Rick is spiralling as he devotes so much effort to catch Tony. The Jerry subplot is also quite fun, and it is another step forward for Jerry. The planet that Rick builds his toilet is beautiful and the scenic view he has when he is on the throne might be one of the weirdest and most serene images you will see.
SEASON 4 EPISODE 5 - 'RATTLESTAR RICKLATICA'
The first time I watched this episode I remembered being bored, I watched it again several months later and I realized I must not have been paying attention. While on their way back from an adventure Morty is bitten by a snake astronaut, the snake is from a world of snakes who sent the snake into space as part of a space exploration mission. Morty realizing that upon the snake's death the snake planets hope of successfully exploring space is crushed. Morty then buys a snake from a pet store stuffs it into the snake astronaut suit and brings it back to the snake planet. Rick did not want Morty doing any of this, and there are dire consequences because of Morty's actions. Some of my favourite moments of this episode are Rick just being an ass to Morty. The show is at its best when Morty is acting on his own against Rick's wishes and things get out of hand. Morty in those moments thinks he is doing the right thing and Morty then makes things worse. Those moments seem to confirm Rick's cynical view on life might be correct.
SEASON 4 EPISODE 8 - 'THE VAT OF ACID EPISODE'
This episode was something special, Rick comes up with an overly elaborate plan to pretend to be dead, Morty insults the plan, so Rick goes out of his way to prove his plan is good. This episode highlights Rick's need to feel superior, while also highlighting Morty's growing need to challenge Rick. Rick in this episode makes it his mission to prove himself correct; he creates that allows Morty to reset time. Morty uses this device in a series of childish adventures. Morty though eventually meets a woman and has a lot of experiences with her, things take a turn, and the episode ends in both a way that feels predictable and unique. The episode has a very deep and insightful feel to it while also being a story about a petty individual going to great lengths to prove themselves correct. This episode is fantastic episode and is a must watch for the series.
SEASON 4 EPISODE 10 - 'STAR MORT RICKTURN OF THE JERRI'
The season four finale featured the return of a few characters, Tammy, Birdperson (now Phoenixperson) and Beth. In season three episode nine Rick tells Beth that she needs to experience a different life, he says he can make a clone and let her go off on space adventures like he did. Beth returns and believes her dad placed a bomb in her, but Tammy also returns to go after the family. The family now including two Beths have to fight off Tammy, Phoenixperson and the Galactic Federation. The episode is filled with funny moments and some good action, while also featuring a solid emotional core to the film. It will be curious if in season five we revisit the consequences from this episode, this episode is the best season finale of the show so far. Rick's and now Beth's feud with the Galactic Federation is always fun to revisit, I assume we will continue to see them show up from time to time to give Rick and Beth an action-packed episode.
This concludes my list of my favourite Rick and Morty episode to date, join me for my review of the season five premiere shortly. Thank you for reading, stay tuned for a ranking of the Fast and Furious films.
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