Despite being a pop culture icon itself, Rick and Morty is no stranger to packing hidden references to other pop culture icons. Considering that the whole show is a dark and twisted parody of Back to the Future. There are so many references and easter eggs hidden with Rick and Morty’s three short seasons that there’s no way we could fit them all into on article, but we’ll touch on some of the best and funniest easter eggs that most fans may have missed. So whether we’re connecting the chaotic and brutal world of Rick and Morty to a show on the Disney Channel or simply pointing out that Rick’s patented burp-talking (a reference to comedian Foster Brooks) isn’t as original as some people may think, so let’s pull out that cursed microscope and analyze the squanch out of Rick and Morty until we can’t brain good no more.
Rick Brings The Parasites Home
Fans who remember the episode entitled “Total Rickall” from season one probably remember the telepathic parasites that embed themselves in good memories with the various members of the Smith family. Well, those paying close attention to the end of “Mortynight Run” just might see Rick loading his trunk with some glowing green geodes, one of which has the eggs that will birth the parasites just two episodes later. It’s also possible to see Rick tossing the “glowing rocks” in “Jerry’s kitchen” before Rick paints the dining room in a lovely shade of parasite. Thankfully, Rick can always count on Mr. Poopybutthole.
The Gravity Falls Connection
Eagle-eyed fans of the Disney XD series Gravity Falls may have noticed while watching “Close Rick-Counters Of The Rick Kind” that Gruncle Stan’s Mug, pen, and notebook that were sucked into a gigantic portal. While Rick and Morty are trying to get the Squanch out of dodge, Rick opens several portals to throw off the Ricks on their tail. One of the portals he opens spits out the exact items Gruncle Stan lost in Gravity Falls. Conspiracy?! We think not. Merely a nod to the Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland’s friend, and creator of Gravity Falls, Alex Hirsch. Pay close attention during the scenes in the Citadel to spot a pair of Mortys that look an awful lot like Mable and Dipper with their Rick.
Harmonious Claptrap
While Rick and Morty has been rewarding fans for sticking around past the credits since episode one, something many fans may not have stuck around for or even noticed is the difference in the Harmonious Claptrap vanity card between seasons two and three.
This easter egg is a bit sadder than anything of the other entries on this list, but after season two, the Harmonious Claptrap Vanity card changes from Dan Harmon seated with his wife and their dogs and cat to Dan Harmon lying on a couch alone surrounded by his pets, vodka bottles, and garbage. A tough image to take in after realizing this change occurs after Harmon’s divorce back in 2015.
Rick’s Room
Fans that stuck around after the credits of “Close Rick-Counters Or The Rick Kind” were treated to a rare glimpse into Rick’s personal space, his bedroom. We see Rick enter as Jerry sits on his cot, lamenting Doofus Rick’s recent departure. As usual, what’s interesting about this scene is everything other than the unemployed lump of carbon wasting space on the cot. On Rick’s wall we can see that he has been tracking all the adventures he and Morty have been on (and perhaps forming some sort of conspiracy theory). Stuck to the wall and covered in the obligatory conspiracy strings you can see pictures of a Cronenberg monster, Mr. Meseeks, Prince Nebulon, Dr. Xenon Bloom from “Anatomy Park”, and even Aberdolf Lincler from the next episode is there.
Needful Things
In the season one episode “Something Ricked This Way Comes”, fans get to see Rick and Morty’s take on the age-old debate of science vs. the supernatural. When the Devil opens up shop in town and begins selling cursed items to the townsfolk that carry terrible consequences, Rick can’t help but rain on the fallen one’s parade. Stephen King fans may recognize a similar plotline from his work “Needful Things”, which sees a stranger selling false valuables for cheap, but with one catch: you must pay for the item by pranking your neighbors. What starts out small eventually snowballs into full-blown chaos. If you happen to notice the name on the sign outside the devil’s shop in Rick and Morty, you’ll find the title of King’s work, “Needful Things”.
The Community Easter Eggs
Any fans that have been following Dan Harmon’s career at all are aware that before his success with Justin Roiland and Rick and Morty he ran and wrote a little show called Community. While fans of Community may never get to see another Dan Harmon-led episode, there have been a few easter eggs thrown in just for them.
For instance, in “Auto Erotic Assimilation”, while Summer and Morty and trying to get back home, Rick can be seen commanding a group of familiar looking cast members to perform on the while he sits with Unity. In the “Morty’s Mind Blowers” episode, Rick says “It’s more like a clip show made from clips you haven’t seen before.” this is a reference to the Community episode “Paradigms of Human Memory” which was exactly that.
The Ricklantis Mixup
There is so much going on in this episode that it absolutely demanded its own entry. From the Marty Mcfly Morty to a Willy Wonka Rick, heck, there’s even a Justin Roiland Morty. There’s just so much to dive into in this episode. Something even eagle-eyed fans may have missed is the reason behind the confusion of the Rick and Morty from the Citadel when they discover Rick and Morty C-137 in the dimension they’ve popped into. We know that Rick and Morty have switched dimensions once, but fans learned during “Morty’s Mind Blowers” that after Morty catches the attention of the squirrels (which is after they escape to from the Cronenberged Universe), they again abandon another universe. The one thing that we know for sure is that Evil Morty has likely discovered the location of Rick C-137 thanks to an all-too-quick humble brag about destroying the Citadel at the beginning of the episode. Wubalubadubdub.
