Rick and Morty is having arguably its best season yet.
Whether it be upping the mindf*ck ante or further fleshing out the Rick and Morty universe (welcome back, Evil Morty), the instant cartoon legend seems to be firing all cylinders this season, especially during the “Pickle Rick” episode.
A self-contained episode, “Pickle Rick” sees Rick Sanchez turn himself into a pickle for the specific purpose of avoiding a family counseling meeting. However, a series of unfortunate events leaves Rick in dire circumstances, forcing him to rely on his sheer scientific knowledge. And according to co-creator Dan Harmon, it was inspired by an episode of Breaking Bad.
via Fast Company:
“A big inspiration for the Pickle Rick story, though, was the Breaking Badepisode where the Winnebago breaks down in the desert. It’s more than a bottle episode, it’s specifically a bottle episode of Breaking Bad where we get to see Walter White up against primal forces instead of watching him negotiate and bluff with street dealers and kingpins and using his access to cool chemicals and any equipment he wants to make any bombs and crystal meth and stuff. It was interesting to watch him trapped in a hot van, about to die, and having to fall back on his basic science knowledge to keep them alive, while also seeing what he was like under extreme stress in the hot desert heat. That was a big inspiration.”
The episode Harmon is referring to is “4 Days Out”, the ninth episode of the second season that finds Jesse and Walt trapped in the desert when the battery to their RV dies.