Rick & Morty Season 7 Episode 9 Recap: 10 Funniest Gags & Moments

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 7, episode 9.

While Rick and Morty season 7, episode 9 might have seen the two title characters grapple with the afterlife, this doesn’t mean that their adventure was without its hilarious moments. Rick and Morty season 7’s tone has changed rather radically from one episode to the next. Season 7, episode 2, “The Jerrick Trap,” was a goofy misadventure wherein Rick and Jerry accidentally merged their consciousnesses, while episode 5, “Unmortricken,” was a show-shaking outing that saw Rick, Morty, and Evil Morty finally defeat Rick Prime. However, even this dramatic twist couldn’t keep the series from returning to lighter fare.

There were plenty of stories for Rick and Morty season 7 to pursue after Rick Prime’s surprise death, but most of the episodes that followed were standalone adventures rooted in goofy comedy. Morty became a grotesque psychic appendage attached to his sister Summer, he went on a math-centric adventure with Ice-T and his teacher, and he joined Rick on a self-referential clip show when Rick audited Morty’s adventure log. However, season 7, episode 9, “Mort: Ragnarick,” might be the silliest outing of Rick and Morty season 7 so far despite its plot featuring literal life and death stakes.

10 Jerry Fell Out Of Heaven

Jerry’s reunion with his beloved grandparents was cut short

The opening scene of “Mort: Ragnarick” saw a bemused Jerry arrive at the pearly gates where he was greeted by his late grandmother. Before he could properly understand what was happening, his irritated grandmother noted that this wasn’t the first time this had happened and Jerry found himself falling out of Heaven. This cold open was a misdirect, much like Rick and Morty season 7, episode 8’s opening scene. It transpired that Rick had repeatedly been killing Jerry temporarily, so he could find some evidence of Heaven’s existence. This was all part of an elaborate scheme that soon sent Rick and Morty to Norway.

9 Rick Sourced An Unexpected Convenient Enemy

His Pokeball housed a mythic angry cryptid

In Norway, Rick revealed that he wanted to access Heaven, Valhalla, or any other version of the afterlife to tap into their infinite energy source for his own purposes. To this end, Rick set up a perfect death for himself by revealing he had taken Bigfoot hostage in a Pokeball and was tormenting the cryptid. This way, the Sasquatch would kill him as soon as he was released. Rick opened the Pokeball and was soon soundly trounced by Bigfoot, but not before Morty could poke a few holes in his plan.

Rick explained basic TV storytelling to Morty

Morty asked what would become of Bigfoot after the monster killed Rick, prompting Rick to respond that Bigfoot was merely a B-story to his A-story. Rick referenced TV storytelling conventions in Rick and Morty season 7, episode 7 as well, telling Summer that he expected the episode’s opening gambit to be the basis of that week’s entire adventure. However, this time around, Rick’s trademark self-awareness came back to bite him when Bigfoot turned out to be much more than a mere cog in his machine later in the episode.

Rick only got to celebrate his death for a second

Rick arrived in Valhalla, only for him to immediately end up brutally murdered on the battlefield. He appeared in the Viking afterlife, so naturally, the infamous marauders spent their eternity bloodily killing each other in battle ad nauseam. Thus, Rick only had a moment to celebrate the fact that he was “Dead Rick!” before he suddenly realized that he was also dead meat. Fortunately, he instantly regenerated among the Vikings after dying and soon set about borrowing some of the infinite energy running their version of Heaven.

The legendary monster revealed his religious faith after a brutal murder

Meanwhile, back in Norway, Morty was distraught. Shortly after Rick and Morty’s first Rick-free episode, his grandfather was seemingly dead, and a surprisingly sympathetic Bigfoot appeared to be burying Rick’s body and praying over his grave. Moved, Morty entered the cryptid’s enclosure to comfort him. Of course, this performance turned out to be a ruse and Morty was quickly crushed in the Sasquatch’s massive hands. Morty was then sent to Valhalla as Bigfoot set about trying to kill Rick’s clone.

The Catholic Church’s leader turned out to be Rick’s latest enemy

When Bigfoot got loose in Norway and pursued Rick’s nude, confused clone through the country, it wasn’t long before a shady organization caught up with him. Bizarrely, it was the Pope who wanted to borrow Bigfoot’s services, since he figured that the Vatican could pay a non-human monster to murder its enemies. This Biblical loophole resulted in the Pope using Rick’s clone as bait to make the monster hunt down his foes.

Rick and Morty’s heroes badly underestimated the religious leader

After Rick and Morty season 7’s plentiful celebrity cameos, the series took its mockery of real-world mockery of public figures to the next level with episode 9’s satirical take on the Pope. The Pope proved a formidable enemy for Rick and Morty. The eponymous pair managed to convince Bigfoot to side with them when Rick admitted that he shouldn’t have underestimated the cryptid and used him as a pawn. However, the Pope still beat the trio every time they faced him.

Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and others assisted Rick and Morty’s mission

Soon, Bigfoot’s clout as a monster allowed Rick and Morty to call in reinforcements. The entire Universal monster line-up, including Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Mummy turned up to help them take on the Pope. Hilariously, this didn’t improve their chances, and all the monsters ended up in Valhalla with Rick and Morty.

2 Rick’s “Pope-Ball”

Rick didn’t impress anyone with his tortured pun

While Rick and Morty’s post-credits scenes have proven that no joke is too immature for the series, the show’s antihero did stretch this with one ridiculous gag. When the trio defeated the Pope, Rick caught the religious leader in a Pokeball. He then called it a “Pope-ball,” before insisting that everyone would inevitably have scrambled to make the same pun, and he was only reciting the line to beat the rush. Morty shamefacedly admitted that he had wanted to make the joke while Bigfoot looked on in confusion.

Bigfoot Couldn’t Understand Rick and Morty’s Condescension

At the end of “Mort: Ragnarick,” Bigfoot’s intelligence made a Harry and the Hendersons reference ridiculous. Rick and Morty brought the cryptid to the woods and told him it was time for him to return to nature, tearfully tossing rocks at him to convince him to run off. The problem was that Rick had given Bigfoot the ability to speak, so he was vocal in protesting this fate. Bigfoot complained that he had hoped to get a job instead of returning to the forest after their adventure, but Rick and Morty’s heroes refused to listen until the monster eventually gave up in frustration and walked off as the credits rolled.