Top 10 Things you Missed in Rick and Morty Season 6 ep 1
#10: “Solaris”
Paying attention to episode titles can give insight as to what a given episode is about. More recently episode titles refer to other works with the words ‘Rick’ and ‘Morty’ placed in somewhere. Often these aren’t parodies but tend to relate thematically to the original work. In this case “Solaricks” refers to “Solaris”, the novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem which has also been adapted to film. The story is too complex to get into here but it deals with themes of confronting one's own past, guilt and psychological trauma. When Rick returns to his home dimension, we learn he’s built an AI of Diane as a way to punish himself, even trapping those there in an endless time loop.
#9: “That Avengers Guy”
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Season 6 opens right in the aftermath of Evil Morty leaving the Central Finite Curve. His actions have stranded our Rick and Morty in the saucer they took to escape the now destroyed Citadel of Ricks. Rick's narration of their dire situation serves as a quick recap of the previous season’s events. If this opening looks familiar that’s because it's almost taken directly from “Avengers: Endgame.” He even lambasts Morty for not writing down his speech saying he doesn’t have a helmet like that “Avengers guy.” Frankly, we don’t know what’s worse, Rick’s admitted lack of creativity or him pretending not to know who Iron Man is.
#8: Cronenberg World
After Rick accidentally sends portal gun travelers back to their original universes, Morty winds up in the Cronenberg dimension, a place where everyone transformed into terrifying creatures after Rick created a love potion for Morty and things went awry. A lot has changed since the world was last seen in season 3. As Morty wanders around looking for his family he apologizes for last time when Beth, Summer and Jerry were frozen by agents from the Citadel of Ricks. As Morty continues to wander, he passes the spot where his formerly family setup camp and Summer would entertain Beth and Jerry in a cardboard box fashioned as a TV.
#7: The Jerryboree Mix-Up
Top 10 Things You Missed In Rick and Morty Season 6 ep 10
Given that “Rick and Morty” is a show containing interdimensional travel it can be tricky keeping track of the different versions of the show’s characters. Back in season 2 we learned that some version of Rick created a daycare for Jerrys as they don’t seem to do well on adventures with Rick and Morty. When the duo drop off Jerry at the Jerryboree they get a ticket to retrieve him later, similar to how a coat check works. When they return to pick him up, there’s confusion as to which is their Jerry as Morty lost the claim ticket. Rick is unconcerned and carelessly swaps Jerrys with another Rick. It turns out they picked up the wrong Jerry after all.
#6: Wolverine Claws/X-Men Vending Machine
Even though there was plenty of time for Rick to explain his plan, he entrusts Summer with the task of enabling a beacon so he can find his way back from his original dimension while also being able to save Morty and, begrudgingly, Jerry. As Summer prepares, Space Beth comments on how Rick has her involved in his schemes. Summer doesn’t mind as she gets paid in cool things like Wolverine claws. The claws she bears are similar to those of Laura Kinney, or X-23, and not Logan. Taking a closer look at the vending machine shows a few other interesting trinkets such as what appears to be Cyclops’ goggles, Magneto’s helmet and Thor’s hammer. Rick definitely knows who Iron Man is.
#5: Downbeat
With Morty back in his original universe, the Cronenberg dimension, he encounters his original father. Jerry reveals that Beth and Summer have died after being trapped in ice. Jerry learned to cope with his situation by reading the books “Four Agreements”, “Eat, Pray, Love” and “The Dark Knight Returns”. Seemingly unaffected by this news Morty suggests they play Downbeat, saying they never finished it. In season 4, we actually see Rick, Morty and Summer playing Downbeat. After Rick asks how to win the game, Morty replies that they never get that far. The game’s box describes it as being 2-3 minutes of endless fun but we’ve yet to see the game played all the way through.
#4: Season 2 Toxicity
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Once Rick rescues Morty and gives up on chasing Weird Rick, for now, he, Morty, Summer and the two Beths go get Jerry from his original dimension. We find him at dinner with his family and it does not sound like a healthy environment. When Beth and Rick show up, Rick comments on feeling “season 2 vibes.” Back in season 2 Jerry and Beth’s relationship was in dire straits, even space counseling couldn’t save it. Although their divorce and reconciliation was a painful process, it probably was for the better as Jerry even comments that he’s glad they spent time divorced.
#3: Rick Ruins Another Earth
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Even though Rick claims to be the smartest in the Universe, and thanks to the Central Finite Curve that tends to be the case, it doesn’t prevent him from screwing up. When the Smith family returns home, they find Season 2 Jerry who releases Mr. Frundles, a parasitic creature that quickly destroys the Earth. The Smiths now have to find a new replacement dimension similar to Rick and Morty did after the event of “Rick Potion #9.” Of course, this isn’t directly Rick’s fault but he did keep Mr. Frundles around and he did bungle the portal gun reset. Who knows how many times replacement dimensions have been needed.
#2: Rick’s Original Plan
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The more we learn about Rick’s past the more questions it raises. When we first learned about the death of Diane and Beth, in season 3, we wondered if that was true since it was part of Rick’s plan to break out of space prison. In the season 5 finale, we learn from Rick’s crybaby backstory that not only is it true but it sent Rick on a revenge quest against Weird Rick. It turns out that Weird Rick is our Morty’s original Rick. It would seem then that Rick only returned to Beth and her family in the hopes that Weird Rick would return.
#1: Weird Rick Was in the Tube
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This one is easy to miss if you stop watching “Rick and Morty” once the end credits roll. In this post credit scene, Cronenberg Jerry comes across Weird Rick just as he’s putting on pants explaining that he was naked to screw with another guy. This, of course, refers to earlier when Rick and Morty enter Weird Rick’s lair and are met with a recorded message claiming that maybe he’s present or not. It turns out Weird Rick was there after all and Rick came face to face with his tormentor before being convinced to leave by Morty.
