30 Best ‘Rick and Morty’ Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb

Animated sci-fi comedy Rick and Morty has gained a strong following in its over 10 years on the air, becoming one of the most well-known shows currently running. Following the interplanetary adventures of genius yet nihilistic scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson Morty Smith (both previously voiced by the now-fired Justin Roiland), the series has deeply explored many sci-fi concepts.

This ranges from comedic movie parodies to grander and more emotionally potent storylines about the characters’ interpersonal dynamics and Rick’s tragic backstory. Fans are often in discussion about the series’ highlights, with plot-driven episodes usually being fan favorites, making these audience-rated episodes the best on IMDb. Especially with the recent release of the eighth season, there’s no better time than the present to reminisce on the best that the series has to offer.

30

“Analyze Piss” (Season 6, Episode 8)

IMDb Rating: 8.4/10

Annoyed by fighting an endless string of gimmick-themed villains, Rick voluntarily seeks therapy to understand why he attracts such attention in “Analyze Piss.” Rick tries to avoid encouraging more imitators, so when a urine-themed villain named “Pissmaster” shows up at the Smiths’ house, Jerry surprisingly gets involved to defend Summer’s honor. After Jerry wins the fight, he becomes a famous hero, leaving Rick to sort through his emotions about the shift of attention.

Rick and Morty always manages to subvert expectations, making an episode with a title like “Analyze Piss” into one of the more emotionally profound entries of the series. Rick demonstrates growth by empathizing with the Pissmaster, and after relating to the pain in the villain’s life, finds satisfaction from (almost) anonymously redeeming him in the eyes of the public. A mixture of absurd and tragic, “Analyze Piss” takes a ridiculous concept and humanizes it with a complicated exploration of pride. —Brad LaCour

29

“Look Who’s Purging Now” (Season 2, Episode 9)

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10

Rick and Morty make a pit stop in a quaint town just in time for the planet’s night of consequence-free violence and mayhem in “Look Who’s Purging Now.” Rick’s decision to stay and watch a little bit of purging causes the pair to get involved when Morty demands they intervene to save a cute female alien. After their help backfires and leaves them stranded, Rick calls in a weapon upgrade from Summer that brings out a new and violent side of Morty.

Morty is usually the one operating from a moral high ground, so seeing him quickly transform from frightened victim to a blood-lust-crazed murderer is even surprising to Rick. “Look Who’s Purging Now” is an action-packed episode that uses its The Purge-inspired plotline to move quickly while exploring the corruption of a ruling class and the alternative chaos without its existence. The B-plot involving Jerry has some bright spots as well, especially when it’s revealed why he wants to spend time with Summer. —Brad LaCour

28

“Auto Erotic Assimilation” (Season 2, Episode 3)

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10

Rick runs into an old flame when he answers a distress call with Morty and Summer in “Auto Erotic Assimilation.” Rick’s ex, Unity (Christina Hendricks), is a hive-mind organism who has assimilated an entire planet into its consciousness after an emotionally wrought breakup with Rick. The two quickly pick up their romance where they left off, leaving Morty and Summer to question the morality of a hive mind while Rick and Unity go on a bender of drugs and sex.

There are hints at Rick’s self-destructive behavior as a symptom of a deeper psychosis, but “Auto Erotic Assimilation” is the first time the viewer sees how deeply depressed and unhappy the smartest man in the universe is. Rick uses chaos as a form of distraction from his pain, but the same tendencies prevent him from establishing the bond he needs to heal from the death of his wife. The plot of “Auto Erotic Assimilation” is effective emotional sleight of hand, directing the audience towards all the outlandish comedy before revealing insight into toxic relationships and loneliness. —Brad LaCour

27

“Solaricks” (Season 6, Episode 1)

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10

The Season 6 opener, “Solaricks,” dives right into the fallout from the Season 5 finale, showing viewers how Rick and Morty are able to leave the fallen citadel without portal technology. In the process of resetting his portal fluid, Rick sends himself, Morty, and Jerry back to the original dimensions. While Summer works with both Beths to send out a beacon Rick can use for a return, Rick sees the opportunity for long-awaited revenge.

In a series known primarily for consisting of standalone episodes, the decision to resolve lingering plot threads was necessary and gave weight to the stakes the duo faced. “Solaricks” puts one more piece of the Rick and Morty mythos puzzle into place, explaining why this particular Rick “returned” to Beth and set up shop in her garage. “Solaricks” pushes the narrative forward in a meaningful way, answers a few lingering questions, and gives the Smiths an adventure that, for once, bonds them instead of driving wedges. —Brad LaCour

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26

“Night Family” (Season 6, Episode 4)

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10

Rick finds a new device that solves one minor problem but causes an internal rebellion in the Season 6 episode, “Night Family.” Rick allows the family to use a device called the “Somnambulator,” which enables the user to assign unwanted tasks to their sleeping bodies. Quickly, the Smith family passes on all their unwanted chores to their sleeping selves, known as the “Night People,” but when the balance of power isn’t respected, unrest turns into rebellion. As the Night People version of the family attempts to take control of their lives, the waking version of the Smiths must rely on Rick to swallow his pride.

Where a majority of Rick and Morty episodes take cues from science-fiction tropes, “Night Family” has a decidedly more horror vibe, especially in the presentation of the Night People. Summer gets her moment to shine as the leader of the Night People uprising, which gives viewers an insight into how Summer subconsciously feels about the power dynamic in the waking world. Rick and Summer both have strong personalities, and it’s apparent in the events of “Night Family” that, with more confidence, Summer would pose a challenge to Rick. —Brad LaCour

25

“Rixty Minutes” (Season 1, Episode 8)

IMDb Rating: 8.7/10

Also known as Interdimensional Cable, “Rixty Minutes” goes away with the classic adventure-style format and instead acts as Rick and Morty’s take on a clip show, with the duo sitting down and watching television from across the multiverse. Each channel has its own blend of strange and chaotic humor as they look into what television and advertisements are like in different dimensions. At the same time, the prospect of a universe where Jerry is an acclaimed Hollywood actor ends up creating a crisis between Jerry and Beth, scouring through the multiverse to look at their “perfect universe”.

The clip show Interdimensional Cable gimmick is enough to make this a highly beloved episode, especially with such iconic moments and gags as Gazorpazorpfield, Ants in My Eyes Johnson, and the movie trailer, Two Brothers. However, what elevates the episode above the other times that Interdimensional Cable has been brought back is the emotional core and strength of Jerry and Beth’s characters, being one of the first episodes to truly delve into the struggles of their marriage yet uncompromising love for one another.

24

“M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” (Season 1, Episode 4)

IMDb Rating: 8.6/10

One of the earliest episodes of the series that directly plays into meta-commentary and deviations from a classic episode structure, “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” acts as a comedic love letter to M. Night Shyamalan’s signature brand of twists. The episode sees Rick, Morty, and Jerry trapped inside a virtual reality, with aliens observing them and hoping to steal Rick’s recipe for concentrated Dark Matter. However, as they attempt to escape, they realize that multiple virtual realities are stacked on top of each other, making it difficult to tell if they’ve even escaped.

The episode takes a relatively simple concept and runs wild with it, playing into all the possibilities of both a virtual reality state for Rick and Morty to mess with, as well as the repetitious loop of virtual realities on top of one another. The side plot with Jerry’s exceptional day living in virtual reality with low power, yet him still believing it to be Earth, makes for one of the funniest side plots of the first season.

23

“Lawnmower Dog” (Season 1, Episode 2)

IMDb Rating: 8.6/10

One of the few times where both the A and B plots of the episode stand side-by-side in equal importance and notoriety, “Lawnmower Dog” features some of the most direct movie parodies of the series, directly satirizing Planet of the Apes, Inception, and Nightmare on Elm Street. The film sees Rick giving Jerry a device that will enhance the intelligence of the Smiths’ new pet dog, while at the same time, Rick and Morty go on an adventure into Morty’s math teacher’s dreams to get Morty a good grade.

While the intelligent dog plotline is already memorable enough, with the dog slowly coming to terms with the painful subservience to humanity and starting an uprising with his newfound intellect, the real highlight is Rick and Morty’s adventures through the dreamscape. Initially starting as a riff on Inception, their adventure takes a dark turn when they uncover a hilarious Freddy Krueger parody hidden deep within the math teacher’s mind known as Scary Terry. The one-off Rick and Morty character is still among the most beloved in the entire series.

22

“Mortyplicity” (Season 5, Episode 2)

IMDb Rating: 8.7/10

Another episode that delves from the norms of standard storytelling to create a hilarious mystery with its array of twists, turns, and action, “Mortyplicity” acts as the show’s answer to the limitless potential of clones and “decoys.” The episode follows various different “decoy families,” robot duplicates of the Smith family, finding out of each others’ existences and taking each other out so that only one family can remain. However, the scope and scale of the number of families prove to be incalculable, as these decoy families themselves have created their own decoy families, creating an endless feedback loop.

What starts off as a standard adventure quickly delves into a bloodbath of creativity and robot-on-robot violence, with each decoy becoming increasingly more absurd and chaotic than the last. Similarly to some of the other great episodes that focus on versions of the characters that aren’t the main cast, being able to view these different iterations of the character makes for a compelling singular storyline that doesn’t have to worry so much about stakes or impact.

21

“Rest and Ricklaxation” (Season 3, Episode 6)

IMDb Rating: 8.8/10

It becomes apparent relatively quickly during the series that the friendship and relationship between Rick and Morty is far from the healthiest thing in the world, with “Rest and Ricklaxation” directly tackling the duo’s more toxic attributes. The episode sees the duo having just finished a painful psychological collapse after a mission that almost had them killed, deciding to travel to an alien spa that uses a detox machine to extract their negative personality traits. However, these negative traits end up manifesting themselves as physical embodiments of their worst attributes, looking for revenge upon them and the world.

The dynamic and effective look into what Rick and Morty would be like without their negative attributes makes for an interesting and self-reflective view of the show as a whole, further compounded by their abrasive, toxic counterparts. The episode gets a great deal of humor out of creating versions of these characters that, while still Rick and Morty at their core, feel completely different in their approach and view of the world. It all comes together in a nuanced and effective ending that shows that there are positives and negatives to these toxic traits, as it’s impossible to live without any negative traits.