Did Rick and Morty Just Tease the Return of Pickle Rick?

On Sunday the highly anticipated fourth season of Rick and Morty debuted its first episode, adding plenty of bonkers new ideas and wrinkles into the mythology of Rick and Morty but also leaning heavily into established canon. The framework for the episode itself was even built on "Operation Phoenix" from episode 2.07 of the series as Rick is revived in clone bodies across the multiverse. The real blink and you'll miss it reference to the larger world of Rick and Morty came early in the episode though, seemingly teasing the return of none other than Pickle Rick in a potential later episode.

In the episode Rick finds himself harvesting "Death crystals," explaining to Morty that by touching them you can see how you're going to die. When Morty touches one he sees a variety of different ways he may die including being poisoned at a party, melting from acid, and getting his head ripped off by an elevator. Morty asks why there are so many and Rick reveals that since your future stems from your present, your life (and thus your death) is always in flux. As Rick himself touches a death crystal he sees he's own variety of potential deaths including ALSO melting from acid, being ripped in half by a Hulked out version of the cat-like character Squanch, but also being eaten by a dog while once sitting stationary as Pickle Rick. You can see it for yourself on the lefthand side of the image below.

The third episode of season 3 of the series, "Pickle Rick" saw Rick conduct an experiment that transformed him into a living pickle, all as a means to get out of a family therapy session. As the episode progresses, "Pickle Rick" gets lost in the sewer, and must build himself a body to help fight off natural predators (rats) and escape back to the surface world, later engaging the stronghold of a local Russian crime syndicate, where a particularly vicious assassin (guest star Danny Trejo) gets released from confinement, in order to deal with Pickle Rick once and for all.

Since first airing, "Pickle Rick" has become a major highlight of the Rick and Morty fandom. The episode has spawned countless memes, quotables, and a massive set Pickle Rick-inspired merchandise. The episode is now a bonafide cult-classic for its irreverent premise, insane action scenes, and surprisingly touching subtext, about how families do or do not confront the real issues they're facing. In short: it's everything that a great episode of an animated series should be. "Pickle Rick" is the only episode of Rick and Morty to be nominated for and also win a Primetime Emmy award.

Do you think Pickle Rick will return in a future episode? Or was it all just a clever sight gag for the eagle-eye'd viewers of the series? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.

Rick and Morty Season 4 will be 10 episodes in length, much like all of the other seasons of the show, save for the first (11 episodes). However, the release schedule of Season 4 will me much different than in years past. This time around, the season will be split into two halves.

There will only be five new episodes of Rick and Morty released in 2019, including Sunday night's premiere. Another five episodes, the second half of the season, will be released in 2020. While that's a little disappointing for those who wanted a ton of new Rick and Morty at once, it will at least keep the show from once again disappearing for years on end.

The next episode of Rick and Morty will air on Sunday, November 17 at 11:30 pm ET, it's titled "The Old Man and the Seat," a parody of the Ernest Hemingway novel.