TAGGED AS: Adult Swim, Animation, Sci-Fi, science fiction
Rick wasn’t kidding at all when he said this would be the darkest season of Rick and Morty’s adventures yet. Every dark corner season 3 has visited turned out to be not just edgy, but profound, too. You can’t just laugh at it; you also have to appreciate the gravity of the joke. Fans tuned in for Pickle Rick and ended up questioning their life choices.
Just imagine what creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have in store for the season finale.
Rotten Tomatoes takes a look back at the most provocative moments of Rick and Morty season 3 and some of the reactions they provoked. And after Sunday’s finale, we’ll revisit this list to see if any moments topped the season so far.
Anything involving Jerry (Chris Parnell) is obviously lowest on this list, but he should be happy he made the list at all. When Rick took Jerry to a resort where everyone could be immortal and guests killed each other for fun, it really made people think.
Discussing Rick and Morty S3E05 with the bf and nearly slipped into an existential crisis. Thank you, burrito. ? pic.twitter.com/hod3HzseES
— JiaLi (@jialehh) August 22, 2017
Rick and Morty S3E05 messed me up big time.
— Chris (@ChrispyKreme26) August 21, 2017
Jerry still sucks though.
The latest from the Rick and Morty fansite from toonzone: "The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy." How pathetic is Jerry this time? Pretty pathetic.
— Neo Yi (@NeoYi) September 20, 2017
Or was he even our Jerry?
@JustinRoiland the Jerry of Jerry's we saw in whirly dirly was not the original Jerry in #rickAndMorty's new universe before morty night run
— Brandyn Fitzgerald (@B_Fitz) September 13, 2017
When the Vidicators returned, they ended up in death traps Rick assembled while blackout drunk the night before. It was like Rick’s version of Saw just in time for Jigsaw in theaters this Halloween. Only because Morty knew Rick’s darkest beliefs could he solve the puzzles and save everyone, but even Morty had enough.
Rick and Morty's Vindicators 3 episode ended like an alien version of a Black Mirror episode
— boruto's dad's son (@wildaeparade) September 23, 2017
Vindicators 3, Justin was drunk when voicing blackout Rick.
— Harambirney (@DasBirney) September 22, 2017
Morty fighting in a Thunderdome knockoff with a steroid-inflated arm was funny enough, but the scene went really deep when Morty used it to vent all his rage about his parents’ divorce.
Summer cosplaying Tina Turner Thunderdome costume. #RickandMorty pic.twitter.com/aqUT7ObyIa
— Lucid Dragon (@Lucid_Dragon) July 31, 2017
Finally caught up on Rick and Morty… Episode 2 was like Idle Hands meets Thunderdome… FN Loved it!
— Robo Rick (@ElRoboRick) August 6, 2017
honestly when my parents got divorced i could really have done with legaly not thunderdome. thanks @RickandMorty @JustinRoiland @danharmon
— Clown fem?? (@Faekincutie) August 6, 2017
Rick and Beth (Sarah Chalke) finally have an adventure together, back to the childhood world he made to distract her, Froopyland. But Froopyland evolved in the 30 years since Beth was a kid. The Froopys now eat their own human-froopy offspring. If that’s hard to follow, the Froopys put on a graphic play outlining the food chain, and it’s way more than you’d really want to know.
i wish i had my own froopyland… i mean minus all of the cannibalism and beastiality it doesn’t seem that bad.
— bleh (@TayleighP) September 25, 2017
Omg and I thought the Addams Family School play was dark ?? #Froopyland #RickAndMorty
— Amanda (@drawntoinsanity) September 25, 2017
When Rick and Morty went for some “Rest and Ricklaxation,” the interdimensional resort took detox a little too seriously. All of Rick and Morty’s toxins formed their own autonomous beings. Rick’s toxins were no surprise, but Morty’s insecurities and self-doubt got too real, man.
I feel so sorry for toxic Morty.#rickandmorty @JustinRoiland @danharmon @adultswim pic.twitter.com/2yiKDmNFFz
— OctoonianC-137 (@HylianTooni) August 30, 2017
Toxic Morty is me everyday
— Edmund (@Ejarnold540) September 1, 2017
I realized I was pathetic when I could strangely relate to Toxic Morty from @RickandMorty season 3 episode 6
— Meegle? (@MeegleTV) September 2, 2017
For all the brilliance of “Pickle Rick,” one of the most profound elements was the character Jaguar, voiced by Danny Trejo. Jaguar was working for the agency Pickle Rick infiltrated, only doing their bidding in the hopes of finding his daughter. But the agency knew Jaguar’s daughter was already dead.
Danny Trejo posted this via /r/rickandmorty https://t.co/X1vn0PWMKO #rickandmorty pic.twitter.com/mQxHZxMMO2
— Jen Jacob (@jacob_jen828) August 30, 2017
Jaguar should become a recurring character on Rick and Morty. You can never have too much Danny Trejo.
— James Bro-bot (@BioMechGinger) September 9, 2017
@danharmon are we ever gonna talk about the way Danny Trejo says "pickle" for the first time #rickAndMorty
— zertnert (@ZoyaTheDestroya) August 26, 2017
At least Jaguar returned to save Rick and Morty from the killer piano from the season 3 opening titles.
@RickandMorty is jaguar traveling to different universes looking for his daughters how did he get to that piano guy universe
— Maestro (@Hulksmash2790) September 13, 2017
So hard to pick from all of “Morty’s Mindblowers,” but one proved an afterlife not only existed, but Morty ruined it. Floop Floopians want to be killed by a great warrior so they can bask in the orgasmic afterlife. But Morty asks Zik-Zak about evidence and makes the poor Floop Floopian question whether he wants to live after all. Then he gets hit by a truck and goes to a nightmarish hell for dying the wrong way.
I actually wonder what do religious people think of the FloopFloopian scene in #MortysMindBlowers.
— Yuval Nehemia (@YuvalNe) September 20, 2017
"Evidence?! There is supposed to be Evidence?!" :)))#FloopFloopian#RickandMorty pic.twitter.com/XpQmbxKIGk
— Weeping Angel (@W33p1n9_An9l3) September 18, 2017
Two “Morty’s Mindblowers” made the list, and Mr. Poopy Butthole proposing to Morty wasn’t even one of them. When Beth had to choose between one of her children, she chose Summer (Spencer Grammer). Without even thinking about it. So that happened.
Beth chose Summer because Morty is too much like Jerry. He feed Morty his insecurities. #rickandmorty
— Breanna James (@BJamAnimation) September 19, 2017
With all the magnificence of “Pickle Rick,” the most poignant moment came when Rick returned to human form. After dodging a therapy session, Rick and Beth had a genuine moment. They learned nothing from their adventure or therapy, but at least they’re talking again.
I feel that Rick is still in denial about it, hence what we saw at the end of Pickle Rick with him and Beth just discarding what was said…
— Linkara (@Linkara19) September 16, 2017
Or, of course, “Pickle Rick” which ends with Rick and Beth choosing to go drinking rather than take a therapist’s advice seriously.
— Richard J. Anderson? (@sanspoint) September 15, 2017
I think I feel that way because of the season 3 Pickle Rick episode which is all about how Rick and Beth both are just bad at being people.
— Jacob Kristos (@Mr_Kristos) September 13, 2017
Season 3 of R&M seem to be finally fixing this. Beth's enabling of Rick while her children low key cried for help in Pickle Rick's end hurt.
— Harrell Rinehart (@Seifersythe) September 5, 2017
Pickle Rick was all about that, and both he and Beth had to make the choice of either work to fix themselves or let stuff continue falling
— Biting Everything (@VermyFox) August 29, 2017
While Rick and Morty are in Atlantis, this episode returned to the Citadel of all the alternate Ricks and Mortys of the multiverse. A rather docile Rick got paired with a corrupt Morty cop. King Kong ain’t got nothin’ on him. This is the Rickest Morty in any universe.
Same old story. Just Mortys killing Mortys.
— Rick & Morty Quotes (@rick_morty_bot) September 20, 2017
Citadel Cop Morty is a gangster
— ㄣ⃒ BuD ㄣ⃒ (@BDorsey) September 11, 2017
i really, really love what they pulled on the citadel especially the cop rick and morty parts omg
— ?ROW ?ARM?RUST ? (@freshjimint) September 11, 2017
What’s your favorite Rick and Morty season 3 moment? Tell us in the comments!
Rick and Morty’s season finale airs Sunday, October 1 at 11:30 p.m. on Adult Swim.
