Rickmancing the Stone

Lore & Background

The episode opens with Jerry bidding goodbye to Morty, an apathetic Summer, and Rick after his divorce from Beth. Rick takes Morty and Summer to a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, where they are chased by scavengers called Death Stalkers. Rick notices the group carries a valuable rock of Isotope 322, so he and the kids join them in hope of stealing it. Summer falls in love with the Death Stalkers' leader Hemorrhage and their nihilistic lifestyle, while Morty is given the strength of a giant arm which he uses to vent his rage at his father through fighting in the Blood Dome. Rick steals the rock but is found out and pursued. When Morty and Summer refuse to go with him, having found catharsis in the wasteland from their parents' divorce, he replaces them with androids to fool Beth. However, the androids' well-adjusted behavior causes Beth to doubt her decision to divorce Jerry, forcing him to return to retrieve the real Summer and Morty. Morty's arm takes him in search of its previous owner's killer, after whose death the arm returns to normal and Morty decides to return home. He and Rick help the Death Stalkers use the Isotope to power a more advanced civilization. Summer's relationship with Hemorrhage subsequently falls apart in the comfort of modern suburbia and she decides to follow Rick and Morty back home. Before leaving, Rick steals the isotope. Summer reconciles with Jerry and Morty realizes he must live his own life. In the post-credits scene, as Jerry receives his unemployment check, a growling wolf appears and bullies him into handing it over; the wolf eats the check and regurgitates it.

Reader's Guide

The episode was produced after the show was renewed for a third season on August 12, 2015. The first episode of season three, "The Rickshank Rickdemption," was released on April 1, 2017, as part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools' Day prank. The rest of the episodes were not released until later that year, starting with "Rickmancing the Stone" on July 30, airing weekly until October 1, 2017. The title was revealed on July 13, 2017, and Jane Becker announced on Twitter on July 20 that she would write the episode. The episode stars Justin Roiland as Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, Chris Parnell as Jerry Smith, Spencer Grammer as Summer Smith, and Sarah Chalke as Beth Smith. Tony Hale and Joel McHale make guest appearances as wastelanders Eli and Hemorrhage, respectively. The episode is loosely based on the Mad Max franchise and follows the aftermath of Beth and Jerry's divorce. The A.V. Club called the different family members' unique reaction to the divorce "a surprisingly nuanced take on a complicated, emotionally fraught situation." The Rad-Lands said writing was "intensely off its normal cadence in this episode." The season has a 96% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews. "Rickmancing the Stone" was praised for its plot and characterization, and on its air date was watched by 2.86 million American viewers, the highest viewership of the whole series. Den of Geek said it "wasn't quite the tour de force that the premiere was, but this was still a very well-plotted, pretty funny episode." IGN noted the episode "basically played out as an extended Mad Max parody" and "never felt like 'Rickmancing the Stone' had anything particularly insightful to say."

Did You Know?

• The episode title references the 1984 film Romancing the Stone starring Michael Douglas.
• The episode was watched by 2.86 million American viewers on its air date, the highest viewership of the entire series.
• Tony Hale and Joel McHale made guest appearances as wastelanders Eli and Hemorrhage, respectively.