Rick and Morty: M. Night Shaym-Aliens! Rewatch

June 9, 2015 4:54 AM - Season 1, Episode 4

Rick and Morty awake to find themselves trapped inside an alien simulation, part of an overachieving plot to trick Rick into divulging the recipe for his special black matter spaceship fuel. Meanwhile, Jerry, also trapped in a separate simulation, has the best day of his life.

Note: David Cross guest stars!

Rick and Morty can be found on Adult Swim or on HuluPlus or other fine streaming places.

posted by Atreides (17 comments total)

I think this episode was the one that made me really fall in love with the show, and it was because of Jerry's simulation, how it enacted the personal fantasies of a tiresome, petty and self-involved man. I liked that the writers weren't relying on crazy aliens or monsters, just the sad, little inner life of Jerry.
posted by picea at 10:00 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yes.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 AM on June 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

My man!

If you're the sort of person who enjoys saying things during sex that immediately cause your partner to re-evaluate their decision to have sex with you, "HUNGRY FOR APPLES?" is supremely effective without being gross.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:54 AM on June 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Which is more than can be said for "GOT MILK?"
posted by Sys Rq at 11:56 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

"Hey Jerry, don't worry about it. So what if the most meaningful day of your life was a simulation operating at minimum capacity?"
posted by Rhaomi at 12:38 PM on June 9, 2015 [9 favorites]

Every show should end with the saxophone solo from Baker Street.
posted by cazoo at 12:39 PM on June 9, 2015 [5 favorites]

I enjoy that the first if you google "human music" the first video is this.
posted by lizjohn at 2:53 PM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is it revealed how Rick realizes that Simulation II is also a simulation, such that he tricks the Zigerions into killing themselves? I can't remember, but I don't think it is. That leaves me somewhat unsatisfied. Of course, “Baker Street” makes up for it.
posted by ob1quixote at 5:02 PM on June 9, 2015

Is it revealed how Rick realizes that Simulation II is also a simulation

The (fake) ingredients for (fake) concentrated dark matter are immediately on-hand for no reason: "Wow, Morty, lucky break."
posted by Sys Rq at 5:37 PM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

Likewise, arguably, the final twist that Rick knew that everything was a simulation is another nod to M. Night Shyamalan's knack to keep throwing twists out. I agree with Sys Rq that it was probably that moment when Rick figured it out.

It's reassuring to know that at some point, hopefully, any alien race that attempts to trap us in a simulation will put a pop tart inside a giant toaster for a house.
posted by Atreides at 7:56 AM on June 10, 2015

My Man!
posted by Catblack at 4:02 PM on June 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

The great thing about this episode is people can just keep posting "My man!" and "Yes!" on the discussion thread and it really doesn't get old. Well, for me it doesn't, anyway.

Human music, tho
posted by town of cats at 7:56 PM on June 15, 2015 [5 favorites]

Is it revealed how Rick realizes that Simulation II is also a simulation?

Possibly because Jerry's simulated tux survives the fake simulation ending. Rick comments on this "Why are you dressed as a waiter?"

But really, the writers don't keep perfect continuity with the simulated/not-simulated clues, so maybe don't read too much into it. For example, at the very end Rick should have been naked because he discarded his original clothing in a storm drain in the first simulation.
posted by ryanrs at 4:01 AM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

My man! Rick knows the outermost simulation is a simulation from the very beginning, and basically tells us as much. That's what the whole cold-open with him complimenting what a good job they did with Morty was about, in retrospect.
posted by Navelgazer at 5:34 PM on December 29, 2015

My man! Rick knows the outermost simulation is a simulation from the very beginning, and basically tells us as much.

Then why's he so freaked out in the close?
posted by kenko at 5:03 PM on May 28, 2017

the clothing is a red herring I thought, Rick mentioned that nanobots are used to render everything they interact with, so presumably those are still in use after the non-interactive parts of the simulation gets shut down.
posted by numaner at 1:13 PM on August 9, 2017

you've heard of Simpsons Wave, now enjoy some Jerry Wave, aka "human music"
posted by numaner at 1:14 PM on August 9, 2017