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At long last we finally met the much-promoted Mr. Nimbus, and he didn’t disappoint. Rick and Morty Season 5 started with an episode that saw Rick facing off against his nemesis, a sea god in a speedo who can control the police with his crotch. Yes, he was as ridiculous as he sounds.
If you’re thinking this oddly sexualized foe looks like a certain superhero, you may be onto something. As we’ve covered before, Mr. Nimbus looks an awful lot like Marvel’s sea-dwelling hero Namor. But that’s far from the only secret “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” is hiding. Here are the five biggest Easter eggs and loose ends from Rick and Morty Season 5 Episode 1.
The Tickets Please Guy got a callback.
Another season, another jacked old guy. Because Morty (Justin Roiland) doesn’t understand how time works in other dimensions, in “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” Morty accidentally steals an alien named Hoovy while trying to age up some wine. Of course when Hoovy returns to his home, decades have passed, setting off a chain of events that turn Morty into this entire civilization’s mortal enemy. Halfway through the episode Morty (Justin Roiland) comes face-to-face with Hoovy’s now old son prompting Morty to scream, “Jesus Christ, why is every old guy super jacked?”
That’s a reference to the Tickets Please Guy, Story Lord, and Jesus. All three of them appear in “Never Ricking Morty” and all are surprisingly ripped. Guess if you’re hanging with Rick and Morty you better be prepared to hang with some swole old dudes.
The Smith family is still seeing Dr. Wong.
This season we’re seeing a brand new side of Beth (Sarah Chalke) and Jerry (Chris Parnell). They’re more intimate! They’re open to threesomes! They watch porn together! And it’s all thanks to Dr. Wong, the therapist who completely owned Rick in “Pickle Rick.”
While considering Mr. Nimbus’ offer for a threesome, Beth says, “Dr. Wong hasn’t been wrong yet.” Here’s hoping they only talk about family drama instead of eating poop.
There was a Morty before Morty.
While Morty is serving Mr. Nimbus and Rick, Mr. Nimbus complains that he “liked the other one more, what was his name… Kyle?” A confused Morty tries to ask what that means before Rick brushes him off. Chances are that was just a quick throwaway joke designed to make Morty more resentful of his grandfather. But it’s possible and even likely that Rick had another sidekick before he reconnected with Beth. Since Mr. Nimbus has been Rick’s enemy for years we can assume he would have known this potential assistant. Is that the mysterious Kyle? And are we going to meet him?
Jessica becoming a time god mirrors her arc on the show.
After four seasons of pining over Jessica (Kari Wahlgren), Morty finally got a date with the girl of his high school dreams. And it ended with her becoming a time god. Let us explain.
At one point Jessica becomes trapped in that same dimension Rick and Morty used to age up wine. Morty saves her relatively quickly, but the damage is still done. In a monologue Jessica describes being trapped in crystal, watching life pass her by as she does nothing. It’s a simultaneously haunting and funny moment. But it also reflects Jessica’s entire arc as a character on this show.
“Was I just the object in another story? Could I be more?” Jessica asks. Ever since Jessica first appeared in Rick and Morty that’s been her narrative. The closest Jessica has ever come to getting her own motivations separate from Morty was in “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” when she said she wanted to care for the elderly. Now that she’s decided to just be friends with Morty and embraced her life as a time god maybe she can star in her own plotlines. Give us a Jessica the Time God standalone episode, please.
There was a reference to Rick's ex-wife.
“Diane” has remained one of Rick and Morty’s biggest mysteries. The name of Beth’s mom and Rick’s ex-wife first came up in Season 3’s “The Rickshank Rickdemption.” But since it only came up when Rick was trying throw off The Federation, it’s always been a question if Diane was really her name. Now we know for a fact it was.
While Mr. Nimbus is berating Rick for being a pathetic arch nemesis he says, “If Diane was alive today what would she —” before Rick cuts him off for trying to establish canonical backstory. For once we know that Rick is wrong. More of Rick’s backstory is coming.
