"Something Ricked This Way Comes" is the ninth episode of the first season of Rick and Morty. It is the ninth episode of the series overall. It premiered on March 24, 2014. It was written by Mike McMahan and directed by John Rice.
Synopsis
Rick is skeptical of Summer's new job at a shop run by the devil. Jerry and Morty argue about Pluto's status as a planet and end up traveling there.
Plot
The Smith family are eating breakfast. Rick creates a small robot purely to pass the butter on the table when Morty comes into the kitchen to ask Rick to help him on his science project. Jerry jumps at the opportunity to work a project with Morty due to his low self-confidence about his intelligence. Morty decides to agree. Summer asks for a ride to her job, which is defaulted to Rick since Jerry is 'busy'.
Rick gives Summer a ride to her job, which is helping out an eccentric old man run a 'vintage thrift store' called Needful Things. The shop is run by Mr. Needful, and has just opened recently. Before Rick and Summer arrive, Mr. Goldenfold arrives on accident (thinking the shop was a Jamba Juice). Mr. Needful knows his name without introduction and gives him an aftershave to help capture female attention. The aftershave is free, but Mr. Needful states "Nobody ever pays here...not with money".
Summer and Rick arrive into the shop, and Rick is immediately suspicious of Mr. Needful, asking whether he is the devil. This accusation startles Mr. Needful who quickly tries to give Rick a microscope, which Rick reluctantly takes as Summer pushes him out the door. Meanwhile, Jerry and Morty begin to work on a solar system model for his science project. Jerry states that Pluto is a planet and Morty attempts to correct him. However, Jerry refuses to say that Pluto is not a planet.
Morty visits Rick in his garage, where Rick scans the microscope and finds that using it would have significantly lowered his IQ. Jerry barges in assuming Morty is asking Rick about whether Pluto is a planet or not. Jerry vehemently argues that if it was once a planet, it could be a planet again. Mr. Goldenfold returns to Needful Things, saying that the aftershave worked but made him impotent. Rick arrives and administers a cure into Goldenfold, showing off that he has manufactured a way to reverse the negative effects of the cursed items. Rick goes around the store, scanning all the items and revealing their curses which scares away the customer base. Mr. Needful and Rick briefly fight before Summer pushes Rick out the door.
Jerry attempts to call NASA to argue about Pluto's planetary status. However, the two are quickly abducted by an alien ship and taken to Pluto, where they meet King Flippynips, the ruler of Pluto. The king is overjoyed that Jerry believes Pluto is a planet, and Jerry becomes a spokesperson to the population, assuring them that they are still a planet. The large cheering crowd quickly inflates Jerry's ego.
Needful Things begins to sell a variety of items, but Summer and Mr. Needful discover it's because Rick as opened a shop called Curse Purge Plus!. The shop removes the curses for a fee, and is an instant hit. This causes a strain on Mr. Needful's confidence and he attempts to kill himself, but is saved by Summer. Summer arrives into Rick's shop to concede defeat, which results in Rick getting bored and burning the shop to the ground.
Jerry becomes famous to the Pluto population, appearing in various events to advocate that Pluto is a planet. Morty meets Scroopy Noopers, a Plutonian scientist who reveals that major corporations are mining plutonium from Pluto's core, thus making the planet shrink and slowly die. Jerry's opinions fall into line with these corporations, who are desperate to keep the public uninformed about the problems. Morty's attempts to persuade his father to tell the populace the truth falls on deaf ears. It's only when King Flippynips captures Scroopy Noopers and reveals he's his son does Jerry work the courage to tell the population of Pluto their problems.
Mr. Needful opens a new business in the technology realm, opening n33dful.com to ravenous reviews. As he congratulates the workforce, he orders security on them and quickly fires Summer who feels betrayed. She reaches out to Rick who offers an idea. The two lift weight and become incredibly muscular and ambush Mr. Needful at a tech talk before celebrating together.
In the after credits sequence, the muscular Rick and Summer beat up various mean-spirited people.
Characters
Deaths
- None
Locations
Trivia
- Beth only has one speaking line throughout the entire episode.
- This is the 2nd episode where Rick and Morty have their adventures separately from each other
- This is also the second episode where Rick and Summer have an adventure together.
Cultural References
- After the credits roll, there is a scene where Rick and Summer beat up several mean spirited people. The second to last one beat up is a satire of the Westboro Baptist Church Protesters.
- The name of the shop, "Needful Things," is a reference to a store in the Stephen King novel of the same name. In the novel, a demon proprietor similarly sells seemingly perfect items in exchange for the souls of customers.
- One of the items seen in the back room of "Needful Things" resembles a PokéBall from the popular game franchise Pokémon.
- The title of the episode is a play on Ray Bradbury's novel, "Something Wicked This Way Comes".
- The song featured in Rick and Summer's workout as well as post credits is X Gon' Give It to Ya by DMX.
- During the post-credits montage, the second victim of Rick and Summer's rampage bears a strong resemblance to a grown-up Randal Weems from Disney's Recess.
- Rick references The Twilight Zone when insulting the Devil's products. And the products themselves actually reference "A Game Of Pool", "Living Doll", and "Printer's Devil".
- When the devil was seen hanging himself, Summer took a monkey's hand and made three wishes with it. Every time she made a wish, a finger would curl up and it would come true. This was a reference to the story "The Monkey's Paw".
- After the devil fires Summer, he plays a quick tune on a violin. This is a reference to the song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
- On top of one of the shelves in Needful Things, there is a doll which resembles Kermit the Frog.
- There is a gauntlet on the floor of needful things which is similar to Billy's gauntlet from Adventure Time.
- In the scene where the Devil is presenting his new app in front of a large audience, he is wearing a black turtleneck. This is a reference to Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple.
- Rick mentions a pair of shoes that would make you run until you die. This might be a reference to Back to the Future the NES game, where you can't stop moving. Rick and Morty themselves are based on Doc and Marty from Back to the Future.
Errors
- Summer asks Rick for a ride to her job despite being given a spaceship in Raising Gazorpazorp. It's possible she doesn't have it anymore.
- Before Rick and Summer beat up the man holding a sign that said "God Hates Fags," there is quick glimpse that switches the word "Fags" into "You."
Other
- n33dful.com was registered by the Turner Broadcasting System, Inc on May 10th, 2013, indicating the production or writing of this episode was completed at least 10 months in advance of its air date.
Transcript
View a full transcript of the episode here.
Gallery
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References
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