The third season of Rick And Morty has just wrapped up (read our full recap here), and while some fans may be a little peeved that we didn’t get to witness the return of Evil Morty or Phoenix Person, we were still pretty impressed with the number of slick references and clever touches the show managed to pack into 22 minutes. This is definitely the kind of show you can watch on repeat and catch new jokes every time. But unless you know what to look for, you may never notice some of the finer details littered through episodes. Here’s a small collection of what’s been discovered thus far in “The Rickchurian Mortydate.”
The Janitor
Rick And Morty is known for sticking members of the production team into episodes and the season finale is no different. At the start of the episode we see a janitor arriving at the White House to mop the secret Kennedy sex tunnels. That character is a dead ringer for show writer Mike McMahan, who is listed as the lead writer on episodes like “Total Rickall” and season 3 opener “The Rickshank Rickdemption.”
A Timely Reference
Five minutes into the episode, Rick and Morty completely abandon a Minecraft subplot with Rick declaring “South Park did it four years ago.” That’s pretty accurate, almost down to the day. This episode of Rick and Morty aired on October 1st, 2017. The Minecraft episode of South Park, ‘Informative Murder Porn,’ came out on October 2nd, 2013.
Inferior Portal Technology
There are two details worth noting about the portal used by the president in this episode. First, a soldier uses a lighter to activate the portal, which is the same way portals are activated in Minecraft. And secondly, the color of the portal is blue. That’s the same color as the portals created by the Galactic Federation. Based on that, it looks like the United States developed their portal technology off of information left behind after the Federation collapsed in the first episode of season 3.
Jerry’s Robe
Rick And Morty has never shied away from insulting Jerry, but they went extra subtle in the season finale with this particular diss. The robe that Jerry is wearing when Beth comes to visit him has the Chinese symbol for “weak” written on the back. Makes you wonder how many people are wandering around with similarly derogatory words stitched onto their clothing and tattooed on their skin.
A Familiar Gravity Gun
Here’s another nod to a video game hidden in the episode. The huge ray cannon the president uses on Rick looks and functions pretty much exactly like the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator from Valve’s popular Half-Life series.
The President’s War Machine
The president’s robot battle mount is based off a series of creepy robots created by former Google subsidiary Boston Dynamics that gained notoriety on the internet after videos of them running and being shoved went viral. It’s not too far-fetched that these robots would end up in the president’s arsenal considering the US military was a key backer in their development.
The Conspiracy Film Set
In addition to the large piles of dead prostitutes kept in the McKinley Storage And Waste Warehouse, there’s also what looks like movie sets that have been used to fake various big moments in US history. You can see the car JFK died in, New York on 9/11, the moon landing, and Washington crossing the Delaware. Wait. What’s the conspiracy theory surrounding that last one? There isn’t one, which makes us think it’s a wink to the idea that any big moment in history could be accused of being faked.
More Things Not Included On The White House Tour
Other Easter eggs hidden during the White House brawl between Rick and the president: the skeletal remains of Tupac Shakur (just don’t ask us why he’s there) and a floor in the building clearly set up for Satanic rituals.
A Tribute To Snowball
The location and past of Morty’s secret cabin hideaway remains a mystery, but we did notice an interesting bit of decoration in the background. The family has a picture of their old dog Snuffles / Snowball next to the fireplace, back before he became hyper-intelligent and left earth with all dogkind to colonize another planet.
Mr. Poopy Butthole’s Family
There’s another bit of interesting detail hidden in some background photos. It seems like Mr. Poopy Butthole still has a soft spot for the Smith family, as they’re included prominently in his frame of family photos. Even Beth is there, which makes us think he’s found it in his heart to forgive her for shooting him. And then there’s the picture of Mr. and Mrs. Poopy Butthole getting married. He’s still recovering from his gunshot wound in the photo and can be seen holding a cane.
After a pretty dark season 3, we’re just glad to see he’s doing so well. What better inspiration is there to lead a good and productive life while waiting for Rick and Morty season 4 to arrive? If we could all be a little bit more like Mr. Poopy Butthole, the world would be a better place.
