“Rick and Morty” has been a staple in many households for its unique and nihilist humor, with fans hoping for new episodes each time there is another release. Without knowing what the future season holds, here is a ranking of the top five “Rick and Morty” episodes:
5. Total Rickall
First on the list is Total Rickall, an episode filled with deception and humor. It begins with the Sanchez family eating dinner with a new person in the family, called Uncle Steve. Steve claims to have bought the plane tickets for the family as thanks for letting him stay with them. This all goes awry after Rick Sanchez walks into the room, notices something suspicious and shoots Steve in the head. Steve then transforms into an alien parasite and dies.
Throughout the rest of the episode, the family attempts to figure out who is real and who is just a parasite, with comedic characters such as Mr. Poopybutthead being introduced for the first time. Overall, the trick to finding parasites is that they can only create kind-hearted memories, in which the real Sanchez family has very few. Because Total Rickall is both filled with mystery and comedy, it gets the number five spot on this list.
4. Look Who's Purging Now
This next episode follows Rick and Morty as they navigate through a planet that is reminiscent of “The Purge.” It all starts when Rick needs to make a pitstop on an alien planet to search for windshield washer fluid, only to realize that the inhabitants remain peaceful by purging each other one day each year.
The episode contains a lot of action, suspense and violence that keeps the audience engaged regardless of what is currently going on during each scene. Look Who’s Purging Now introduces many interesting minor characters as well. The action picks up greatly towards the end of the episode, which makes it a must-watch for any Rick and Morty fan.
3. Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender
Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender was initially negatively received on release as it did not further any story elements that audiences cared about. Instead, audiences were introduced to the Vindicators, an Avengers parody that is full of violence.
In this episode, the Vindicators call for help through a magic crystal, prompting Morty to ask Rick if they can go. At first, Rick is reluctant to help out the Vindicators, but Morty convinces him to go. Once they get to the Vindicators headquarters, they brief Rick and Morty about an evil monster called Worldender.
After the Vindicators alongside Rick and Morty find Worldender’s hideout, they notice that Rick already killed the beast while blackout drunk, rigging the place with traps while at it. The team is now tasked with trying to escape the facility, all while learning new things about each other.
2. Pickle Rick
As the title of this episode suggests, Rick is a pickle for the majority of the episode. The reason why he is a pickle is a confusing one, where he wanted to find an excuse to get out of going to family therapy. Rick original’s plan was to turn himself into a pickle then inject a vaccine to turn back after the family left, but the plan was thwarted after Rick’s daughter stole the vaccine from him. Rick, stuck being a pickle, has to survive being a pickle until his family gets back with the vaccine.
Pickle Rick is infamous for its absurdist humor of focusing on its pickle storyline. Much of the comedy throughout the episode is Rick merely existing as a pickle, but is a great introduction to the characters of the show for anyone who has not seen previous episodes.
1. Rickmurai Jack
Rickmurai Jack is arguably the best episode in the entire series because of its thrilling story-telling. It starts with Rick fully accepting his new crow sidekicks, using them as a replacement for Morty. However, Morty still wants to be Rick’s sidekick, and emotionally blackmails him to join Morty once again.
However, the blackmail required Morty to use a serum that he got from a citadel full of alternative universe Ricks. This citadel is full of plot points and suspense, more so than any other episode in the series. Because Rickmurai Jack deals with elements of time travel and alternative universes, it allows the audience to create questions about the characters and the universe of “Rick and Morty.”
