DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Rick and Morty episode “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril. 

Wubba lubba dub-dub! The penultimate outing of Rick and Morty brings forth much-needed character development and an incredibly ridiculous premise. Much like last week’s “Analyze Piss” found Rick attending therapy and taking on the mantle of Pissmaster, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” finds Morty becoming king of the sun and inciting a solar system-wide war after bucking tradition by not removing his penis. Everyone is up in arms about it in this Game of Thrones parody. 

Let’s face it — it wouldn’t be Rick and Morty without serious character growth and childish hilarity coexisting in one episode. 

Ready to delve into “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort”? Let’s get to it. 

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We open with Rick (Justin Roiland) and Morty (also Roiland) waiting in line for food on an asteroid. Rick complains the whole time, as is his modus operandi. Morty expresses kindness to two men dressed as knights. One of them seeks to offer his sword to Morty. This means Morty will succeed him as a Knight of the Sun. Rick urges Morty not to accept said sword. A handful of aliens witnessing the interaction grow curious about this unique sword. 

Finally, Morty, irritated with Rick’s behavior, accepts the knight’s sword. Then, the offering knight plunges the blade through his heart, making Morty the latest Knight of the Sun. Morty and the other knight are transported to the Sun instantly. Next, we get a nice lil exposition dump. We learn that the Knights of the Sun serve their king on the sun. They’re essentially immortal — they can live forever, but they can also die if they choose. Oh, and the heat from the sun doesn’t burn them. I’d get 10th-degree burns from living there. 

A trio of knights kneel before Rick and Morty in the Smith/Sanchez family garage in Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 9, "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort."

RICK AND MORTY — Season 6 Episode 9, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort.”

Additionally, Morty discovers he can leave whenever he wants, including taking trips to Earth to visit his family. The rules are pretty flexible. Morty, a.k.a. Sir Mortaniel, meets the king, who reveals the knights protect the Solar Scepter, the object around which all worlds revolve. The Knights of the Sun are revered like gods. 

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Before Morty can officially become a knight, he must remove his penis. It’s the worst kind of initiation. Rick reappears on the sun, and he and Morty attempt to leave. However, Morty cannot depart unless he dukes it out with the king. Rick arms Morty with an AI sword that’s watched Blade (and enjoyed it). Morty deftly and swiftly defeats the king. The king, shamed, sacrifices himself, making Morty the new king of the sun. A king with a dick? How will the order survive? 

Morty tells his new subjects he’ll visit every Sunday and hightails it out of there. Rick claims he’ll yield the floor to Morty more often. He’s a changed man! Grampy’s practicing kindness. Before Morty can process what Rick’s saying, a trio of Sun Knights appears in their garage. Morty’s their king, and they’re unsure what to do with themselves.

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So, they join Morty, Rick, Beth (Sarah Chalke), Space Beth (also Chalke), Summer (Spencer Grammer) and Jerry (Chris Parnell) for dinner. The knights regale the table with song. Morty learns the group believes the solar system revolves around the Solar Scepter (not the sun), so he endeavors to teach them an astronomy lesson. Once the knights discover the truth (and physics) of it, they abandon their posts on the sun. Naturally, madness and mayhem ensue. 

Later, the Smith/Sanchez clan witnesses a full-on attack on the sun from afar. One straggler knight stuck in the bathroom number two-ing informs the family that the Sons of the Moon are storming the walkway on the sun. 

Thus, Rick and Morty embark on a trip to the Moon. There, they find a planetary council convening to discuss the lack of knights on the sun. This move leaves the Solar Scepter unprotected. We meet the various ruling parties on our solar system’s planets, including Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. Fun fact: a man who looks identical to Santa Claus is the Earl of Earth. That tracks. There’s also a dude who looks like King Trident from The Little Mermaid. 

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Morty arrives, revealing his new status as the Sun King. He tries to broker peace between the planets, but everyone’s power-hungry. Plus, whoever has the Solar Scepter will rule the galaxy. A skirmish between the planetary representatives breaks out, so Rick and Morty again flee the scene. “Goodbye Blue Sky” by Pink Floyd plays during a montage of Solar War I. Admittedly, this song is the perfect choice to complement such a montage. 

Rick sits in a serene field and meditates on Rick and Morty.

RICK AND MORTY — This photo isn’t from the episode, but isn’t it pretty? Could you imagine if the episode was 22 minutes of Rick sitting in a serene field?

As the planets fight over the Solar Scepter, Morty begs Rick for advice. He wants his grandpa to stop “yes and-ing” him. However, Rick’s putting Morty in charge. Whatever unfurls next is on him. Morty decides to reassemble the Knights of the Sun as their king. He and Rick find them holed up in a dilapidated house, utterly blitzed out of their minds. The perks of being immortal — they can’t overdose on drugs. 

Morty rallies them to the cause and persuades them to resume their posts on the sun. Rick swoops in and steals the Solar Scepter from Lithdor (Jack Black), leader of the Viscounts of Venus. And just like that … the war is over. It simply ends. 

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Next, everyone gathers together on the sun to celebrate the end of Solar War I. Morty must still remove his dick to continue being the king. Lithdor oversees the proceedings, while Rick secretly promises to supply a prosthetic, so Morty doesn’t have to be dick-less. Unfortunately, the war brought about a technological surge, so Lithdor presents a few screenings Morty must undergo to ensure he isn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. 

When the viscount catches the fake penis, Morty and Rick flee. Morty decides their only choice is to jump, which Rick supports. Our fave sci-fi duo jumps into the sun. 

Later, we see the knight who resembles Samwell Tarly (Daniel Radcliffe) enthusiastically regaling the tale of King Morty the Molten, the courageous king who sacrificed his life because of overwhelming remorse. The community was so moved by his brave sacrifice that they did away with “stem stumping.” 

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Of course, Rick and Morty sci-fi-ed their way out of there while persuading the masses they were dead. We see them standing in the shadows, listening to Sam Tarly recounting events. One of the knights glimpses the living, breathing King Morty the Molten, but he doesn’t breathe a word of what he sees to anyone (because Morty not-so-subtly threatens him). 

Rick and Morty fall into the fiery depths of the sun in Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 9, "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort."

RICK AND MORTY — Season 6 Episode 9, “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort.”

In the end-credit scene, one detective busts up the food truck on that asteroid. He frees the caged hotdogs and sets them free at sea. Unfortunately, a bird swoops down and scoops up Special Agent Mongo Bongo. At least he died a hero and freer of hotdogs. 

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“A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort” boasts an impressive supporting voice cast. Not only do we have Jack Black and Daniel Radcliffe on the roster, but David Mitchell, Robert Webb and Matt King of Peep Show also voice the other prominent Knights of the Sun. 

Additionally, this outing references “The Vat of Acid Episode” twice. Firstly, when Morty asks Rick if this is “Vat of Acid” again after the latter refuses to disagree with him. Secondly, when the Sam Tarly knight calls what Rick and Morty fall into a “vat of sun.” Even our pair leaping into the sun simultaneously is reminiscent of “The Vat of Acid Episode.” 

It’s interesting watching Rick try to be more agreeable with Morty. He claims he’ll only do it for one episode/adventure, but who knows? Perhaps he’ll make it a habit. All in all, this isn’t the series’ best outing; however, it’s fun nonetheless, with intriguing new characters added to the show’s intricate mythology and a delightful nod to Game of Thrones. It’s less convoluted than previous episodes and feels more focused because of that. 

Rick and Morty drops new episodes every Sunday at 11 pm on your Adult Swim affiliate.

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Melody McCune
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