'Rick and Morty' Season 4 Episode 6 Preview: A magical squirrel and some Christmassy awkwardness awaits
Wubba lubba dub dub. ‘Rick and Morty’ season 4 is all set to be back on air after it went on a midseason break in December last year. Before the break, five episodes of the Adult Swim science fiction comedy series had aired. So, what shenanigans are the mad scientist-meek grandson duo going to partake in episode 6 of season 4?
According to the IMDb synopsis for the episode titled ‘Never Ricking Morty’, Rick and Morty find a magic squirrel and travel to space where they do some over the clothes stuff. Well, that explains so much, doesn’t it? According to fans on the Rick and Morty subreddit, the episode is a play on the classic 1984 film, ‘The NeverEnding Story’. The film follows a boy who finds a magical book that tells of a young warrior who is given the task of stopping the “Nothing”, a dark force, from engulfing the mystical world of “Fantasia”. Knowing ‘Rick and Morty’, however, it is altogether possible that the homage to the film may not have anything to do with the central plot.
Adult Swim has not released a teaser trailer for the episode. The only hints about what lies in episode 6 can be taken from the trailer of the second half of the season. The trailer begins with an army of Ricks, as the Earth C-317 Rick (the prime Rick, also known as the Rickest of all Ricks) tells the Rickputor to initiate an “unnecessarily bada** suit-up”. What follows is a montage of scenes from what can be from any episode from the upcoming half of the season.
What does look somewhat relevant (although it is really hard to tell with ‘Rick and Morty’), is a scene where Rick is seen playing with a giant snow wolf. The trailer also sees the return of Snuffles, Morty’s former cuddly pet that gained super-intelligence and the power of speech in season one. Snuffles, who begrudges the human race for turning dogs into servile pets then takes his army of dogs with him and leaves for another dimension.
Adult Swim, on Saturday, May 2, also released another short clip without revealing if it was part of the upcoming episode. Creators of ‘Rick and Morty’ have released several independent short sketches that have nothing to do with any of the show’s episodes, so this clip being something similar is not out of the realm of possibilities.
Anyway, the clip shows Rick and an alien called Goomby return to the snow-covered Smith family home in a Santa Claus sled. The decorations all around suggest it’s Christmas. Rick, holding a bunch of wrapped gifts, thanks Goomby for helping him, saying that had it not been for him, he’d be late for tonight.
As Rick enters the home to his family, Goomby stares at the merrymaking with a melancholic expression. Just as he turns his back to the home to leave, Rick appears again to wish him a happy Christmas. The tender moment turns hilariously awkward in a second when Goomby assumes Rick was inviting him in. What follows is something of a classic Dan Harmon trope involving awkward pleasantries and forced politeness. It leaves viewers with a tonne of second-hand embarrassment.
While it is unclear if this clip has anything to do with the episode, the appearance of a snow wolf in the trailer, and wintery-Christmas in this one can suggest that they may just be related.
So, there you have it. It may be a spin on ‘The NeverEnding Story’ and it may involve Christmas. Either way, it is likely to be as crazy as any ‘Rick and Morty’ episode.
‘Rick and Morty’ premieres Sunday, May 3 at 11.30 pm EST only on Adult Swim.