Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
This week Rick and Morty went full Dungeons and Dragons in an episode packed full of dragons, wizards, and soul bonds. And it was all weirdly sexual…? For an episode that was supposed to be a wholesome story about a boy and his dragon, “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty” is about as risqué as Rick and Morty episodes come.
Season 4 Episode 4 starts with some classic Smith family deceit. Morty only helps his grandfather on his latest mission if he can get a dragon, a promise that Rick fully intends to break. But after Morty holds him to it, Rick delivers a real live magical dragon to soul bond with his grandson. The only problem is that dragons are sluts.
Balthremar quickly soul bonds with Rick despite his contract with Morty. And then he tries to soul bond with anything and anyone else for good measure. While Rick, Morty, and a magically upgraded Summer (voiced by Spencer Grammer) go on a quest to empower dragons everywhere, Jerry (voiced by Chris Parnell) has his own problems. Namely, a talking cat that refuses to explain why it can talk and who demands to go to Florida.
As far as sexually charged Rick and Morty adventures go, you can’t top “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty.” But between all of those soul bond orgies and dildo staffs, there were a few surprising Easter eggs. Wondering what you may have missed in this week’s episode? We have you covered. Here’s your guide to Rick and Morty Season 4, Episode 4. And if that’s not enough secrets for you, here’s your guide to Episode 3, Episode 2, and Episode 1.
'Rick and Morty's talking cat was voiced by none other than Matthew Broderick.
We may not know why the cat can talk, but we do know who voices him. Season 4’s Florida-loving cat was voiced by none other than Ferris Bueller Day Off and Daybreak star, Matthew Broderick. That may explain why this feline was more interested in slacking off than answering questions.
'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham made a perfect fantasy cameo.
Speaking of perfect casting, Rick and Morty‘s leading fantasy character Balthremar the dragon has a connection to one of the biggest fantasy series around. Balthremar was voiced by Liam Cunningham, best known for playing former smuggler and House Stark loyalist Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones. In addition to Game of Thrones Cunningham has also starred in Hunger, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and Clash of the Titans.
The talking cat may be a reference to I Am Sorry, John.
It says a lot that in an episode teaming with magic, there’s really only one question left at the end of “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty”: Why can the cat talk? There’s no definite answer to that one. Season 4, Episode 4 ended with Rick (voiced by Justin Roiland) and Jerry (voiced by Chris Parnell) panicking and vomiting after learning this Florida-loving cat’s truth. But there is one theory connected to a popular meme that’s starting to gain traction. The talking cat’s dark past is a reference to the I Am Sorry Jon meme.
Creepy Garfield, better known as I Am Sorry Jon, refers to a series of comics that flip the script on Garfield, turning the lasagna-loving cat into a monster stalking his owner. It’s as disturbing as it is ridiculous. But Rick and Morty has a history of making Garfield edgy for no reason. One of the spots in “Rixty Minutes” featured a Gazorpazorp version of Garfield screaming at Jon and calling him a “milquetoast piece of human garbage.” According to this theory either the talking cat is dark Garfield or the whole bit is just an homage to a really silly meme.
One of the dragon's treasures is a Dan Harmon Funko Pop.
The dragon’s rare treasures weren’t all Hi-C Ecto Coolers and Star Wars Spin Pops. If you looked closely there was also a reference to treasures that would only be valuable to Harmon devotees. Last year Starburns Industries, Dan Harmon’s production company which is behind Rick and Morty, launched a campaign for a comic on Kickstarter. The anthology comic book featured stories from Patton Oswalt, Paul Scheer, Sara Benincasa, Jackie Kashian, and more as well as animation from Robert Hack, Tania Del Rio, and Sarah Burrini.
Sounds awesome, right? And guess what one of the prizes for donating to this campaign were? A custom Dan Harmon Funko Pop. If that’s not equivalent to an issue of the very first Superman comic, we don’t know what is.
Jerry's memory being wiped was a reference to "Morty's Mind Blowers."
After seeing the horrible truth about why the cat can talk, Rick decides to wipe Jerry’s memory, leaving him as the only one who remembers these horrors. The gun Rick uses and memory wiping in general is a callback to “Morty’s Mind Blowers,” a Season 3 episode that completely revolves around Morty (voiced by Justin Roiland) attempting to recover the memories he’s lost thanks to Rick. But this episode’s memory wipe may also be hiding the answer to a lingering question from Season 3.
As “Morty’s Mind Blowers” explains, blue vials contained memories where Morty messed up, purple was reserved for the family messing up, and blue was all for Rick. But “Morty’s Mind Blowers” never states what the yellow and green vials meant. Based on this solo talking cat adventure, we can assume one of them is probably connected to wiping Jerry’s memories.
