Pilot episodes aren’t always the best predictor of a show’s later tone and focus, and the largely episodic nature of hit animated sitcom Rick and Morty makes it possible for viewers to enjoy most episodes as stand-alone adventures. With six seasons and counting released, however, this blessing can become a curse for first-time viewers curious about the show — where is one to start?
In a show packed with sudden plot twists and obscure recurring characters, it can be tricky to decipher which seemingly self-contained episodes are genuinely beginner-friendly. The following 10 episodes of Rick and Morty feature unique premises and meaningful character interactions with few major spoilers and little need for previous context: in other words, they’re excellent places for those new to the show to dive in. Whether exploring for yourself or hoping to get your friends just as hooked as you, happy watching!
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10 s3e3 — “Pickle Rick”
Adult Swim.
As Rick and Morty episodes go, the premise of “Pickle Rick” is as straightforward as it gets — a mad scientist, Rick Sanchez, has transformed himself into a pickle in order to avoid attending family therapy with his daughter and grandchildren (including his teenage grandson, the titular Morty).
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The ensuing hijinks provide a representative sample of the show’s often-graphic violence and dysfunctional character relationships, but the episode’s goofy context (the graphic violence is committed by a talking pickle) and outsider perspective (the dysfunctional relationships are uncovered by a new therapist) make “Pickle Rick” a relatively silly and accessible experience for first-time viewers.
This episode does reference a significant development in the family’s dynamics that occurred two episodes prior, but is otherwise free of major plot points or wacky sci-fi shenanigans, making it a great choice for those wanting to start someplace simple!
9 s3e8 — “Morty’s Mind Blowers”
“Morty’s Mind Blowers” follows Morty’s discovery that Rick has been erasing some of his memories: the moments from their various interdimensional adventures that are too disturbing, overwhelming, or just plain embarrassing for Morty to continue remembering. As Morty digs through this collection of previously-forgotten experiences, the viewer gets a sometimes funny, sometimes tragic crash course in Rick and Morty’s personalities, relationship, and typical adventures — especially after Rick and Morty accidentally erase all of their memories, and have to piece this information back together for themselves.
It’s not the most flattering introduction to the titular characters, but that’s kind of the point, and the episode is completely free of spoilers, plot development, or major references to previous episodes. If you want to start the show with just as much knowledge as the characters, this is the episode for you!
8 s2e4 — “Total Rickall”
Like “Morty’s Mind Blowers,” the season two episode “Total Rickall” revolves around the memories of the main characters, but its action-packed plot creates a very different tone than the ambling playfulness of “Mind Blowers.”
In “Total Rickall,” the main cast, the five members of the Smith family, realize they’re being targeted by a species of alien parasites capable of inserting themselves into others’ memories. As the parasites multiply, the Smith family find their house increasingly packed with long-term friends and family members who may or may not be real, and they’re faced with the task of working out which loved ones must be slain to defeat the parasite invasion.
Surprisingly, the episode remains decently lighthearted throughout considering the psychological horror of the premise, and literally all the characters outside the clearly-established main cast are brand-new as of this episode — meaning first-time viewers will never have to ask “who’s that?”
7 s4e8 — “The Vat of Acid Episode”
While it does indeed involve several vats of acid, the plot of “The Vat of Acid Episode” primarily explores Morty’s use of a gadget that allows him to save and return to particular moments in time, in the same way many video games allow players to return to previous save points.
The episode references and builds upon a number of related mind-bending movies and television shows that have explored similar concepts, including Groundhog Day, Futurama, and The Prestige, and in doing so crafts a genuinely tender and thought-provoking storyline worthy of an Emmy Primetime Award for Outstanding Animated Program — before crashing back down into consequences equally thought-provoking but far less tender.
This episode is trickier to follow than the previous entries on this list, but for new viewers curious about Rick and Morty’s more philosophical moments, “The Vat of Acid Episode” may be worth your while!
6 s1e2 — “Lawnmower Dog”
The episode “Lawnmower Dog” is the second episode of the very first season of Rick and Morty, and occupies a spot on this list due to a combination of three factors.
Firstly, it includes an “entering-dreams-within-dreams” sequence that playfully spoofs films such as Inception and the Nightmare on Elm Street series, culminating in a surprisingly wholesome resolution.
Secondly, the Smith family dog, Snuffles, embarks on a glorious arc of character development and grapples with serious ethical questions, regarding both the structure of human-dog relations on Earth and his own personal values and priorities.
Thirdly, it contains slightly less explicit racism, misogyny, and child abuse than the pilot episode. If you want to start from the very beginning, but don’t want to suffer through quite as many questionable early-show writing choices, do yourself a favor and begin with episode two.
5 s2e7 — “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez”
“Big Trouble in Little Sanchez” is a particularly good episode for new viewers in that it offers a solid introduction to the entire Smith family, rather than focusing narrowly on the adventures of Rick and Morty. Summer asks her grandpa Rick to become a teenager and slay the vampires lurking in her high school, then has to navigate the unexpected consequences with limited help from Rick or Morty, while Beth and Jerry attend an alien couples’ therapy session that quickly spirals out of control.
Both plots’ premises fall somewhere in-between the simplicity of episodes like “Pickle Rick” and the wildness of episodes like “A Rickle in Time,” earning “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez” a comfortable “average” in terms of Rick and Morty sci-fi weirdness, and neither plot involves spoilers, important recurring characters, or anything else of that nature. If you’re a fan of fiction with well-written secondary characters, this is an excellent episode for you!
4 s5e2 — “Mortyplicity”
This is an episode that will likely make absolutely no sense to new viewers, in a fun way! “Mortyplicity” reveals that Rick has created living decoys of himself and his family members, in order to confuse those with scores to settle against him — and those decoys, who believe they’re the original versions of themselves, have in turn made their own decoys, who in turn believe they’re the originals. When the decoy families begin to question their own reality, the nesting doll gets metaphorically smashed with a hammer, and chaos ensues.
“Mortyplicity” offers little to no exposition about the characters or the world, and is structured so as to keep even experienced viewers guessing as to which family is the original one, meaning the episode is likely to leave first-time viewers reeling in their efforts to process what’s going on. At the same time, this episode is largely spoiler-free and doesn’t tie into the overarching plot, and the premise and its execution are fresh and compelling. If you’re starting out of order because you enjoy the challenge of trying to piece things together, you may find “Mortyplicity” a thrilling puzzle to dive into!
3 s4e5 — “Rattlestar Ricklactica”
“Rattlestar Ricklactica” is one of the lowest-rated episodes of all of Rick and Morty, with a main plot (time travel gone wrong) and a b-plot (a character granted the ability to float must avoid drifting off into space) that have both been done before in countless other shows. Rick and Morty’s spin doesn’t add anything particularly new; in fact, much of the episode consists of references to preexisting media, particularly the Terminator franchise.
This creates an interesting opportunity for new viewers to form an opinion on the show’s characters, art style, and humor independently of the plot — if you like this episode, odds are high you’ll like the rest of the show as well. It also features several genuinely glorious montages about an alien snake society, sssso that’s cool!
2 s4e6 — “Never Ricking Morty”
Warner Bros. Television
“Never Ricking Morty” is likely the least beginner-friendly episode on this list, due to its wild premise, complicated plot structure, and frequent callbacks to obscure side characters from previous episodes. Nevertheless, the fascinating concept and intensely visual humor of this episode are sure to leave a strong impression on new viewers, for better or for worse!
“Never Ricking Morty” opens on a train that’s serving as an anthology storytelling device — in each new car, the passengers take turns telling stories of their experiences with Morty and Rick. This storytelling format quickly dives off the rails, however, as Morty and Rick realize they’re trapped within this storytelling device and resort to increasingly fourth-wall-breaking actions in their efforts to escape.
Given that this episode immediately follows “Rattlestar Ricklactica” in the season four publication order, new viewers may do well to begin with “Rattlestar,” then let this episode autoplay. In doing so, you’ll receive a basic introduction to the world and characters, then witness the same world and characters pushed to their weirdest!
1 s2e1 — “A Rickle in Time”
A firecracker opening to season two, “A Rickle in Time” is a particularly stunning episode, both conceptually and visually (some sequences even overwhelmed the show’s animation software).
Rather than playing with preexisting sci-fi and horror concepts, this episode invents a fascinating new wibbly-wobbliness of its own — each time Rick, Morty, or Summer express uncertainty about something, their timeline splits into multiple equally plausible realities, eventually resulting in an obscene number of parallel Ricks, Mortys, and Summers simultaneously scrambling to reunite their timeline.
The premise is a lot to wrap one’s mind around, and the episode references previously established information (namely that Rick’s daughter Beth is an insecure horse surgeon, and that Rick, Morty, and Summer froze time last season to clean up the house after a party) that may be initially confusing to new viewers, but the delightful creativity of “A Rickle in Time” is a strong example of Rick and Morty at its best.
