A Rickle in Time
| "A Rickle in Time" | |
|---|---|
| Rick and Morty episode | |
Two separate realities intersect when Rick shoots a gun into each.
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| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Wes Archer |
| Written by | Matt Roller |
| Production code | 201 |
| Original air date | July 26, 2015 |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Keegan-Michael Key as Fourth-Dimensional Testicle Monster |
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Keegan-Michael Key as Fourth-Dimensional Testicle Monster
Jordan Peele as Second Fourth-Dimensional Testicle Monster
"A Rickle in Time" is the first episode in the second season of the American animated television sitcom Rick and Morty, and the twelfth overall episode of the series. Written by Matt Roller and directed by Wes Archer, the episode first aired on Adult Swim in the United States on July 26, 2015.
In the episode, Rick, Morty, and his sister Summer—having restarted time after freezing it in the season one finale "Ricksy Business"—are in a quantum-uncertain state of existence. An argument leads to the creation of two alternate timelines, which need to be stitched back together fast if they are to escape quantum collapse. The episode's complex main story was the result of multiple revisions, both in the writing and animation stage. Many scenes were so visually dense the show's animation software could not render them.
"A Rickle in Time" received critical acclaim for its humor and elaborate storyline. Though it leaked online preceding its official premiere, it was tied as the single most-watched cable program the night it first aired.
Rick decides to unfreeze time after six months of it being stopped. He warns his grandkids, Morty and Summer, that time could initially be unstable. Rick encourages their parents, Beth and Jerry, to go get ice cream to allow time to stabilize. Morty and Summer develop a sibling rivalry, and the resulting uncertainty tears time apart into two realities—depicted visually as two mostly synchronized parallel realities. They are no longer a part of any timeline, and the garage is surrounded by a black void filled with Schrödinger's cats. Rick uses a Time Crystal to try to mend the timelines together, but Morty and Summer's continued uncertainty prevents the fusion from working. Rick's own uncertainty that his other self is potentially conspiring against him results in chaos.
Soon, a Fourth Dimensional Being with a testicle for a head appears and scolds Rick for attempting to piece time together with just a crystal. He gives Rick, Morty, and Summer time-stabilizing collars that then correctly fuse their times back to its regular place. However, since Rick obtained the time crystal by illegal means, the being tells them that they will go to Time Prison for eternity. Rick attempts to trick the being and instructs Morty and Summer to break off their collars, but the resulting chain of uncertainty further splits their realities into dozens of different timelines. After defeating the testicle monster, Rick notes that time is falling apart. Summer's collar transports her back to her time, but one of the Mortys' collar is broken. With the garage falling away piece by piece, the Morty with the broken collar falls into the spaceless void and Rick jumps after him. He gives Morty his collar and instead prepares to face death. But then, Rick spots Morty's collar floating below him, fixes it, and all three are reunited in their own time.
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