Top 20 Crazy Things You Never Noticed in Rick and Morty

“The Wedding Squanchers”
Remember the days when the time between “Rick and Morty” seasons was nebulous and unpredictable? It was a stressful time for us superfans. But apparently we should’ve been paying more attention to Mr. Poopybutthole for exact release dates. The Season 2 finale ends with the cliffhanger of Rick being locked up in a maximum security Galactic Federation prison. We then get a fourth-wall breaking Mr. Poopybutthole teasing when we might see the storyline get resolved. Thankfully, “or longer” didn’t turn out to be the timeframe for the Season 3 premiere. Indeed, Season 2 ended on October 4, 2015, and Season 3 began on April 1, 2017, the difference of which is almost exactly a year and a half, just as Mr. Poopybutthole said.

“Full Meta Jackrick”
In the Season 6 episode “Full Meta Jackrick,” Story Lord meets his creator, a writer named Jan working for Citadel Toyz. Jan vents his frustration with his assignment, in addition to the URL the company used for Story Train. At the end of the episode, Jan is compelled to kill Story Lord, but Rick says he has to do it with a promotional toy. Funnily enough, if you actually go to story-train.com, you’ll be redirected to the show page on the Adult Swim website. And if you go to rick-plush.biz, you’ll see an actual advertisement for a Rick-Plush doll. Unfortunately, it’s “unavailable in this reality.” The show’s limits for meta humor knows no bounds.

“Ricksy Business”
This episode had us all trying out “The Rick Dance,” and we didn’t need Kalaxian Crystals to do so. But apparently, one alien did. In the first season finale, Rick throws a massive intergalactic party when Jerry and Beth are away. Morty tracks down special crystals thinking it’ll get them home, but all he really does is provide Rick with party favors. Now in the groove, Rick leads the guests in one of his signature dances, but Morty kills the vibe by tossing the remaining crystals outside. From there, a giant creature scoops them up in the backyard, and while Morty continues to lay into Rick, we can see the buzzing monster doing its own version of “The Rick Dance.”

“Pilot”
“Rick and Morty” has always worn its admiration for science fiction on its sleeve, as evidenced by the pilot episode. In it, Rick tries to get Mega Tree Seeds back home, and uses Morty as a drug mule when they go through Interdimensional Customs. A fun chase sequence ensues, but the focus of this entry comes with the scene’s establishing shot. If you look closely at the various creatures populating the main floor, you can spy silhouettes of various sci-fi characters from pop culture. These include a Xenomorph from the “Alien” movies, Quark from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Mystery Science Theater 3000’s” Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Gypsy, and - for some reason - Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus.

“Pilot”
Speaking of the pilot, when Rick wants Morty to come with him on his search for the Mega Tree Seeds, he intervenes in a violent encounter between Morty and school meanie Frank Palicky by freezing the kid on the spot. We naturally expect Frank to eventually thaw, but instead, he soon tips over and shatters into countless pieces. It’s a rough way to go, but it leads to a subtle and very morbid gag later on. When we return to the school later in the episode, we can see the American flag outside at half mast, whereas prior to Frank’s death, it wasn’t. We imagine the school bulletin announcing Frank’s passing was difficult to explain.

Various
While numerous wacky characters are mere one-offs, the Mr. Meeseeks episode was so well received that it practically demanded the scrawny blue guy make reappearances. Mr. Meeseeks also makes memorable cameos, but there are a few instances where the animators have simply drawn him into the background. When we first visit the intergalactic arcade Blips and Chitz, a Meeseeks can be seen giving advice to a gamer behind Rick and Morty. In the “Morty’s Mind Blowers” episode, the memory of them in the Collector’s menagerie shows a pair of Meeseeks trapped in their own display. And based on their agony, we’d say they’ve been existing for far too long.

“Mortynight Run”
In the episode “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!,” an alien race called the Zigerions trap Rick and Morty in endless simulations. Oh, and Jerry, too, but that was an accident. In an effort to keep Jerry pacified and unaware of his reality, the Zigerions approximate their best interpretation of “human music.” However, it’s so simplistic, that not even babies would find it entertaining - which of course means it’s perfect for Jerry. A season later, Rick drops Jerry off at the Jerryboree, an essential daycare for Jerries from different realities. It’s a Jerry paradise, as evidenced by the human music being played faintly in the background. So did Rick lift the human music from the Zigerions, or was he in charge of the simulation all along?

“Bethic Twinstinct”
This one’s obvious for any French-speaking viewers, but it actually goes a little deeper than that. In the episode where Beth and Space Beth fall in love and pull a “San Junipero,” they bond over Venusian wine, prompting Space Beth to implant in her counterpart the ability to speak the planet’s language. Clearly, this is just French, but if Venus is known for their amorous ways, then what better than the language of love? French was also chosen because Beth voice actor Sarah Chalke is fluent in it, in addition to German. Funnily enough, though, six episodes later, actual Venusians make an appearance, and they’re definitely not speaking French. We’re guessing they too have language implants.

Various
For as science fiction-heavy as the show can be, it’s largely stayed away from one of the genre’s most prominent storytelling devices: time travel. Creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have both made it known that they aren’t fond of those kinds of narratives, citing that it’s well-trod ground. While Roiland is no longer affiliated with the show, it seems like Rick too isn’t a fan. To his credit, Rick could probably invent almost anything, and he seemingly has tinkered with time travel before, as he’s had a box on his garage shelf labeled “time travel stuff” forever. So in a way, the show has literally shelved the idea of time travel.

“M. Night Shaym-Aliens!”
Going back to the “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” episode, its biggest guest star is actor David Cross, who voices the Zigerion leader Prince Nebulon. Nebulon, like the other Zigerions, is extremely disgusted by nudity, which Rick uses to his advantage to buy him and Morty some privacy, even though Morty is also a simulation. It’s a funny bit, but considering Cross’s most famous role, it makes even more sense. On the sitcom “Arrested Development,” Cross played Tobias Fünke, who suffers from “never-nude syndrome,” meaning he has a strong aversion to letting anyone see him naked, including himself. It’s a neat character connection, and Cross unsurprisingly plays both to perfection.

Various
In the day-to-day of Rick’s adventures, not everything remains intact. Hey, you can’t make an omelet without cracking a few planets, right? In many cases, the destruction wrought by Rick, Morty, and whatever intergalactic presence they’re pissing off this week is repaired, with the Smith-Sanchez household as good as new by the next episode… But not always. At the end of Season 1, the house and part of the lawn are transported to another dimension; when they’re returned, a huge crack is left across the driveway. The crack never fully goes away, with Jerry weed whacking it later in Season 2’s “Auto Erotic Assimilation.” In that same season, Summer accidentally blasts a hole in the garage roof; it remains lazily repaired with boards for subsequent episodes.

“The Rickshank Rickdemption”
Jerry has it rough. Despised by his father-in-law and disrespected by his family, he’s less the head of the household and more the butt of every joke. Yes, he’s sort of a mess, but it’s not like he’s the most terrible person on the planet, *cough*Rick*cough*. The lonely Jerry is therefore astounded when he makes a friend: Rick of Earth Dimension J19 Zeta 7, aka “Doofus Rick.” The two part ways at the end of “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind,” but evidence that Jerry still thinks of his friend crops up in a later episode. In it, a picture of Doofus Rick (along with a Titanic model and jar of applesauce) can be seen hidden on a shelf in the garage, likely placed there by Jerry.

“Mortynight Run”
Roughly half-way into Season 2, the Smith family home becomes infested with a pest far worse than most. The parasite moves from person to person, creating false memories and identities in a bid to repopulate the planet. While Morty eventually figures out how to defeat them, the show never elaborates on how they got inside in the first place. However, two episodes earlier, at the end of “Mortynight Run,” Rick loads up his spaceship with green crystals; a pink, egg-like lump is clearly visible on one of the rocks. Later, Rick is seen dumping those same green crystals in the trash. As the dead aliens are shown to have similar pink lumps on their spines, the crystals are most likely the culprit.

“Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind”
“Rick and Morty” started off as a riff on the 1985 classic “Back to the Future.” The parody, which followed Doc Smith and Mharti McDonalds on their horrible adventures, somehow spawned the much more enjoyable “Rick and Morty.” With that and a little “Back to the Future” trivia in mind, we get our next entry. The original casting of Marty McFly (who later became Morty Smith) was not Michael J. Fox but Eric Stoltz. Perhaps in some parallel dimension, Stoltz was never recast. And in Season 1’s “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind,” there is an Eric Stoltz version of Morty -- albeit in his role as Rocky Dennis from the film “Mask.” This film was also released in 1985, four months before “Back to the Future’s” summer release.

“Raising Gazorpazorp”
When Morty accidentally becomes a father after procuring an alien sex robot, Rick and Summer head off to the robot’s planet of origin to find out what’s what. On Gazorpazorp, they find a world sharply divided by gender. The females--proud, beautiful, and hilariously passive-aggressive--are the dominant gender. The males, subjugated for their reproductive purposes, have devolved into violently horny monsters. When Rick offends the females, he is put on trial. As he and Summer approach the judge’s throne, the Latin phrase “SIS SEMPER CALUMNIAM” becomes visible. Unless you can read old languages, this might go right past you. However, it roughly means “You are always wrong,” or, if it’s a reference to a passage in Deuteronomy, “constant oppression.” In any case, justice is far from blind on Gazorpazorp.

Various
Of all the Smith-Sanchez family members, Morty is the only one with his own distinct look. No one else has that round ‘lil noggin! Beth and Rick have similar characteristics like their oval face (and of course substance use, but that’s a whole other topic) but it’s Jerry and Summer who are dead-ringers for each other. They literally look exactly the same, especially as Summer is the only leading female character not to wear makeup (she has no eyelashes and no lipstick). Side-by-side, Summer and Jerry are identical, each just sporting different hair and clothes. We’d say like father like daughter, but skin deep is where the similarities begin and end.

Various
Rick is secretly a musician. Before it was directly mentioned, we were given hints to his musical past throughout the series. When a race of giant heads suck Earth into an intergalactic talent contest, a frustrated Morty bails on the whole situation and has to be rescued by Birdperson. At his house, he sees photos of Birdperson’s life, one of which shows him in a band with Rick and Squanchy called “Flesh Curtains.” Rick’s musical aptitude also gets a nod in “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez,” when Tiny Rick writes and performs a song on the spot, and later in Season 3 in “The ABCs of Beth,” Rick is seen fiddling around on a guitar as he writes the song “Doo-Doo Butt.” Perhaps he never lost his musical flair.

Various
Most creators like to subtly put themselves in their work and Harmon is no exception, nor was Roiland. In Season 1, the family pet-turned-dictator, Snowball, transports all the dogs on earth to a new world in reference to Roiland’s earlier project, “Dog World.” In “Auto Erotic Assimilation,” Rick dictates the plot of a fictional TV show as it airs but in fact describes scenes from Harmon’s previous show, “Community.” The following episode “Total Rickall,” features a Nintendo-flipping scheme that Justin Roiland actually attempted. And when three people are sacrificed to the giant heads in “Get Schwifty,” the sacrifice labeled “Thief” is drawn to resemble Justin Roiland. Finally, the closing card “Harmonious Claptrap” follows Dan Harmon’s relationship status, from marriage to divorce and life with his new girlfriend.

Various
Several shout-outs between “Gravity Falls” and “Rick and Morty” creators Alex Hirsch and Justin Roiland have been made. “Rick and Morty’s” “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez” features a small image of “Gravity Falls” antagonist Bill Cipher in the corner of a computer screen. A pair of Mortys wearing Mabel and Dipper headgear can be seen in the background of “The Rickshank Rickdemption.” As for “Gravity Falls,” the real-life publication of Dipper’s Journal #3 features a replica of Ford’s WANTED poster with the message “RICK WAS HERE” written in code. And when Grunkle Stan loses a notebook, pen, and mug into a giant portal, those three items are spat out of a portal Rick opens in “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind.”

“The Rickshank Rickdemption”
After being arrested by the Galactic Federation, Rick shows a Federation agent his memory of the day he perfected portal technology. The memory shows him at his family home, at work in his garage, and happily married before his family is blown up. Compelling … but fake, a false recollection used to facilitate his escape from the brainalyzer. But if you, the viewer, thought there was something familiar about the old Sanchez place, you were right. That’s because the house Rick creates is a replica of Walter White’s house from the critically acclaimed “Breaking Bad,” right down to the hedges. See, if the Federation spent more time watching groundbreaking television instead of trying to do… whatever it is they do, they would still have a government.