Since its debut in 2013, Rick and Morty has become one of the most popular and talked-about animated series on television. The Adult Swim show, which follows the adventures of mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his nervous grandson Morty Smith across infinite realities, is known for its outrageous sci-fi plots, dark humor, and pop culture references. Throughout seven seasons to date, Rick and Morty has produced numerous memorable episodes. But with quality varying from season to season, which ones stand out best?
So, let’s take some time to look through the years of the show and see which seasons have managed to deliver the best of Rick and Morty. We look at factors like overall episode consistency, character development, creativity with sci-fi concepts, pop culture parodies, emotional resonance, and how well each season works as a complete narrative. Certain seasons that take the characters and stories in bold new directions rise to the top. The worst seasons, while still containing standout moments for fans, fail to maintain what makes Rick and Morty so special.
Join us as we break down and analyze the development of this modern animated classic season by season to determine where each fits into Rick and Morty lore. The results may surprise even die-hard fans of the show. So grab your portal gun, and let’s explore the multidimensional weirdness that is Rick and Morty.
7. Rick and Morty Season 5
Rick and Morty Season 5 felt like a major low point for the franchise and still stands as the worst of the season to date. With its premiere on June 20, 2021, with the episode Mort Dinner Rick Andre, it gave what could have been a solid start to the season, but sadly, Rick and Morty Season 5 never found its footing. As the season concluded with a two-episode finale on September 5, 2021, the season left us bored, annoyed, and wishing it could have been stronger. While there were some solid entries into the Rick and Morty lore, especially the episodes Forgetting Sarick Mortshall and Rickmurai Jack, it just felt uneven and forgettable.
Some season highlights include the episode Mortyplicity, which featured the whole family hunting down their alternate reality doppelgängers. This allowed for great character moments, especially seeing Morty take charge for once.
Even episodes like Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular, which featured an event that introduced the world to Evil Morty and the destruction of the Citadel of Ricks, could not erase the overall off-tone that the season managed to deliver to fans. However, the finale did shake up the status quo and provided a clean slate for the next season.
The season was uneven but still contained some standout episodes for loyal fans. The humor was more miss than hit for Rick and Morty Season 5, but the development of characters like Morty and Summer helped drive interesting conflicts and storylines and set the stage for stronger seasons to come.
6. Rick and Morty Season 4
Rick and Morty’s highly anticipated fourth season premiered on November 10, 2019, after nearly a two-year wait. While not as good as previous seasons, it still managed to be entertaining TV. The first episode, Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat, kicked things off in classic Rick and Morty fashion and went in some bizarre directions. This season unfolded in two parts, with the second half starting on May 3, 2020. The second half of Rick and Morty Season 4 managed to stay relatively consistent throughout.
There were definitely some memorable episodes this time around. Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty stands out when Morty makes a soul contract with a dragon, and Rick gets stuck in a crazy magical world trying to save him—pure chaotic fun. Rattlestar Ricklactica is a standout episode, with the Snake Planet saga and the ship that abducts things.
Season 4 stays true to Rick and Morty’s anything-goes style, but I felt some episodes like Promortyus fell flat. The two-part structure also made it feel fractured rather than one cohesive season. But when this show is firing on all cylinders, the sci-fi misadventures are as hilarious and mind-bending as ever.
5. Rick and Morty Season 6
After a few uneven seasons, Rick and Morty returned with a stellar sixth season that refreshed the franchise. This season scales back the multidimensional antics to focus more intimately on the central characters, allowing for meaningful growth and interactions. Episodes like Solarick exploring stranding the family on Earth, and A Mort Well Lived, revisiting the Roy game, are standouts. While Rick and Morty is unlikely to fully recapture the magic of its initial seasons, season six marks a reassuring step in the right direction with flashes of the show’s signature brilliance.
The writing is tighter, the character choices bolder, and the emotional stakes higher. Fans should be optimistic about Rick and Morty rediscovering its brilliance by avoiding reliance on sci-fi gimmicks and instead emphasizing the interpersonal dynamics of the Smith family amidst the cosmic insanity.
For all its irreverence, the show still creates poignant moments. Season six balances goofy comedy with melancholy remarkably well, finding empathy for flawed people struggling to find meaning behind the nihilism. As a long-time fan, I’m relieved to see glimmers of the show I fell in love with. Overall, season six set Rick and Morty on solid footing moving forward, giving a strong entrance to Season 7.
4. Rick and Morty Season 7
Rick and Morty’s seventh season just came out and shows that the series has no plans of slowing down. The show remains as ambitious and unpredictable as ever, with its signature blend of high-concept sci-fi, low-brow comedy, and surprising emotion. This season fires on all cylinders, whether examining friendship and loss or unleashing dinosaur mayhem across the multiverse. The early episodes deliver classic Rick and Morty adventures before the show shakes things up with more serialized storylines later on.
While a few minor gripes exist, like repetitive emotional arcs and an overreliance on guest stars, they barely affect the quality of Rick and Morty Season 7. By getting back to basics, the show recaptures the magic that made it a breakout hit. Rick and Morty continues to evolve while staying true to its core. Seven seasons in, the writing remains sharp, the vision creative, and the voice cast excellent, even after a shaky road with its creators.
Season 7 is an incredibly solid entry for Rick and Morty, showing no signs of decline. It paves the way for more ambitious storytelling down the line.
3. Rick and Morty Season 3
Season 3 of Rick and Morty delivered some of the most memorable and talked about episodes of the entire series to date. At the top of that list is Pickle Rick, in which Rick turns himself into a pickle to avoid family therapy, leading to an action-packed adventure. Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender is also notable for its superhero movie spoof and Rick’s drunken antics that undermine the team.
The season was home to some fantastic including The Ricklantis Mixup, which gave us an in-depth look at life in the Citadel of the Ricks, and The ABCs of Beth, where the show managed to explore Beth’s childhood, revealing her early penchant for violence in a typical Rick and Morty darkly comedic way.
The season ends with the massive cliffhanger of The Rickchurian Mortydate, in which Rick defeats the President in a battle of wits, but his crimes are exposed, and he is forced to leave the family. To tease fans in one of the meanest ways possible, the show uses a post-credits scene to have Mr. Poopybutthole (I still can’t say or write that seriously) break the fourth wall to tell fans they’ll have to wait for Season 4. The show creators at least know how to play with their audience.
With its willingness to embrace dark themes, push boundaries, and deliver nonstop hilarity, Rick and Morty Season 3 cemented its status as a classic. The long hiatus after the Season 3 finale only increased anticipation for the next chapter of Rick and Morty’s surreal sci-fi adventures. It is even more frustrating to know just how much of a letdown Season 4 was compared to the three seasons that preceded it.
2. Rick and Morty Season 1
The first season of Rick and Morty, created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, debuted in 2013 and quickly became a hit on Adult Swim. With surreal animation, improvised dialogue, and densely plotted sci-fi stories, the show carved out a unique voice in the adult animated comedy space.
Many of the early episodes hinted at the show’s potential for greatness. Meeseeks and Destroy introduced the wildly popular Mr. Meeseeks characters while displaying Rick’s sociopathic tendencies. Rick Potion #9 took the show into darker territory by forcing Rick and Morty to leave their mutated home dimension, and Rixty Minutes showcased the show’s talent for improvisational comedy in its parody of interdimensional TV clips.
But Rick and Morty Season 1 is particularly memorable in a few episodes. M. Night Shaym-Aliens! spoofed M. Night Shyamalan movies with a twist that revealed Rick and Morty were trapped in a simulation. Ricksy Business ended the season with a wild house party involving time-freezing. Anatomy Park featured a hilarious Fantastic Voyage-style journey into the body of a homeless man.
With its blend of sci-fi adventure and biting, sometimes disturbing humor, Rick and Morty Season 1 announced the arrival of a bold new animated series. The memorable characters, improvisational comedy, and willingness to go to dark places would only deepen in later seasons, but it all started here. Season 1 began a show that would become a staple for many animation fans.
1. Rick and Morty Season 2
It is not often you have a show where the second season outshines the first in so many ways, but that is what the team behind Rick and Morty managed to achieve. The second season of Rick and Morty takes the wild sci-fi misadventures of the alcoholic scientist and his neurotic grandson to new heights of hilarity and mind-bending concepts. One of the most memorable episodes is A Rickle in Time, in which Rick ruptures the space-time continuum, causing the characters to experience multiple timelines simultaneously.
The creative visuals and rapid-fire jokes give Season 2 our number one spot. We also get more insight into supporting characters like Birdperson, whose dark backstory is revealed in Auto Erotic Assimilation. You can’t beat Total Rickall for sheer laughs, with Rick and the family battling a parasite that creates false memories—the endless parade of random new relatives is comedy gold. And who can forget the journey into the miniature universe in Rick’s car battery in The Ricks Must Be Crazy? The show’s anything-goes spirit allows for limitless possibilities.
While not every episode is perfect, the show’s hyper-creative concepts, nonstop pop culture parodies, and the blend of dark humor and philosophical themes make Rick and Morty Season 2 another winner for this modern animated classic and the best season of the show.
