Even by Rick and Morty standards, something is seriously amiss in the new trailer for season five's next episode.
What begins with a Mr. Poopybutthole-like figure being chased through the Sanchez household – though hopefully not to "completion" – ends with Rick driving to an unknown location and revealing one of his new harebrained schemes.
Yes, Rick has clones. Not just any clones: multiple copies of the Smith-Sanchez clan have been dotted all around the country in case anyone has their sights set on Rick.
There's even a mention of Space Beth, the possible clone version of Beth – we're still not sure which is which – that was introduced in the fourth season finale. It's yet again proof that the show's creators are always about 12 steps ahead of its fandom in anticipating what it wants. Any passing mention to one of the Adult Swim series' most tantalizing mysteries is sure to have people tuning in in their droves next week.
But one of the Rick and Morty season 5 trailer's biggest talking points actually comes from Rick himself. Specifically, he's talking normally. No intermittent belching or stuttering. Has Rick finally gone sober? Or is this Rick another clone?
The second episode's title, "Mortyplicity", should clue us into that theory. It's a play on the title of the 1996 comedy Multiplicity, starring Michael Keaton and Andie MacDowell, in which Keaton played a man named Doug who was able to duplicate himself, with small differences to each clone. We've already had the Citadel of Ricks, but the Replacement Dimension Rick and Morty escaped to after Cronenberging Earth C-137 could be about to be infested with an unhealthy amount of Ricks.
Rick and Morty, after all, is a show that isn't afraid to blow itself up its entire premise for a few laughs. The season five premiere has already seen Jessica become a 'time god' and Rick’s tragic backstory being used for meta commentary. Don't put it past Dan Harmon and company to pull the Rick-shaped rug from underneath us once again. Maybe, just maybe, everyone's been a clone all along.
Find out when the next episode drops where you live with our Rick and Morty release schedule.
