On its surface, Rick and Morty is about a genius, boozy grandfather (Rick) and his not-so-smart grandson (Morty) going on interdimensional, interstellar adventures. But, more than that, it’s a pop-culture heavy, sometimes violent, endlessly quotable, and often intellectually rigorous animated show that is also delightfully weird. Think of it like Back to the Future mixed with a healthy dose of Futurama.

The show succeeds, in part, because its creators (*Community’*s Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, who voices both Rick and Morty) have established a world with few boundaries. Yes, that’s partly the nature of a sci-fi series, but it’s clear they worked to keep the plot flexible. That agility means that, in a single episode, we explore the concept of time bifurcation and have Morty’s mom, Beth, frantically perform impromptu surgery on a deer. It means that Rick can make devices to solve (or create) nearly any problem, from improving the intelligence of a dog to opening portals to other dimensions. And it means that we can explore normal Earthly woes, such as dealing with an unrequited high school crush … and then the consequences of genetically altering that crush, along with the rest of the human race, so that they turn into hideous, writhing monsters.

Yes, there are also fart jokes. But, just as you begin to worry about the show’s sensibility, it presents you with some seriously dark humor or dives into theories of parallel universes and space-time.

The second season of Rick and Morty concluded on Sunday, which means it’s time to get schwifty and catch up on two full seasons of one of TV’s most creative shows. Here’s how to binge on these episodes like Rick on Collaxion Crystals.

Rick and Morty

Number of Seasons: 2 (21 episodes)

Time Requirements: If you’re dedicated to sitting through four-hour blocks of the show, you could easily complete two seasons in a weekend. For a more leisurely pace of three-episodes per day, it’d take just a week. (Word to the wise: If you’re tempted to switch to the next episode at the start of the credits for the sake of speeding things up, don’t. The post-credit scenes are worth the extra minute or two. Personal fave: the one at the end of “Total Rickall.”)

Where to Get Your Fix: Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes. AdultSwim.com offers every episode for free, though some are locked for cable subscribers only.

Best Character to Follow: The action tends to follow Rick and, as Season 2 progresses, his storyline becomes more complex. Is he a sociopath? Or does he actually care for his family? What secrets of their universe(s) will he reveal to us? And will we ever find out who the heck is Morty’s grandma? It’s clear the guy has some weird, deep-seated emotional baggage, and in the second season we start to see him battle with the existential crises that come with being hyper-intelligent, growing old, and knowing more about human existence than would be good for anyone.

Seasons/Episodes You Can Skip:

The episodes are so short that, even if one doesn’t connect for you, it isn’t a huge time investment. But, if you have to skip anything, the pilot is, interestingly, the weakest. You won’t miss out on much plot as long as you know a bit about the characters going into it—and, hey, you’re reading this, so you’ll be fine. (Though, you really can't miss the monologue Rick delivers over Morty, as he lays on the floor writhing.)

Seasons/Episodes You Can’t Skip:

Season 1: Episode 2, “Lawnmower Dog” At Jerry’s request, Rick puts a cognition-amplifier helmet on Morty’s dog, Snuffles, to make him more intelligent. But when the family exploits his newfound smarts, Snuffles rebels—building a cyborg dog army to enslave humans, demanding he be called Snowball, and asking some very, er, sensitive questions. Meanwhile, Rick and Morty adventure, Inception-style, into the dreams of his math teacher.

Season 1: Episode 5, “Meeseeks and Destroy” “I’m Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!” Rick shows the family how to summon blue creatures called Mr. Meeseeks. They serve to solve a problem by any means necessary, before—poof!—disappearing. Of course, Jerry (Chris Parnell) manages to screw it up, triggering an enraged army of Meeseeks, anxious to get the job done and willing to kill to do it.

Adult Swim

Season 1: Episode 6, “Rick Potion No. 9” A love serum intended to make Morty’s crush, Jessica (Kari Wahlgren), fall in love with him goes terribly awry when her flu spreads it far and wide. Rick tries to fix this by showering the population with different combinations of genetic materials. As you might expect, it doesn’t go as planned. The ending is one of the best of the series so far. (And the beginning of the episode features one of its best lines: “You don’t bring dead babies to Passover.”)

Season 1: Episode 8, “Rixty Minutes” This is the most YouTube-shareable episode ever. While Beth (Sarah Chalke) and Jerry use virtual reality to explore how things would have turned out if they’d aborted Summer (harsh, right?), Rick and Morty check out TV from multiple realities (life would be complete if only someone made Two Brothers). It also features an amazing monologue from Morty, in which he explains to Summer (Spencer Grammer) about how, per Episode 6, their backyard holds a dark secret.

Season 1: Episode 10, “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind” When we meet Ricks from dozens of alternate realities, all with their own Morty to accompany them, we learn one of the reasons why Rick hangs around his not-so-bright grandson. While that happens, a surprisingly touching friendship blossoms between Doofus Rick and poor, sad, desperate-to-be-loved Jerry.

Season 1: Episode 11, “Ricksy Business” Ever think about what would happen if a bunch of teenagers and aliens got together for a house party? Wonder no more! When Beth and Jerry jet off to a Titanic-themed getaway (which goes terribly, terribly wrong), Summer and Rick throw a party for all their friends—and accidentally send the house to another dimension. If you plan on following the show, this is an important one for later plot development. Extra points for learning The Rick Dance.

Season 2: Episode 2, “Mortynight Run” Not only do we get to see Rick and Morty take on the surreal games at Blips and Chitz (more on that below), but Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Concords guest stars as a gaseous being named Fart. In typical form, Clement sings a bizarre, and highly addictive, song for Morty, accompanied by a trippy music video.

Season 2: Episode 3, “Auto Erotic Assimilation” In which we meet Unity (voiced by *Mad Men’*s Christina Hendricks), Rick’s ex-girlfriend who just happens to be, uh, an alien hive-mind that takes over and controls entire civilizations. Featuring an uncharacteristically emotional final scene set to Chaos Chaos’ “Do You Feel It?”

Season 2: Episode 4, “Total Rickall” Even if you’ve never met a clip show you liked, give this one a chance. An alien parasite finds its way into the Smith house, multiplying in the form of increasingly bizarre characters that implant fond memories in the Smith’s heads to prove their existence. (A somewhat obvious Easter egg, but a fun one nonetheless: The intro credits for the rest of the season feature some of these new characters implanted into different scenes.)

Season 2: Episode 6, “The Ricks Must Be Crazy” Sure, it’s fun watching Rick and Morty visit the microverse Rick created to run his car’s battery (featuring guest voicing from Stephen Colbert!), but the subplot of this episode kills—literally. Rick instructs the space car to do all it can to keep Summer safe while they explore inside. Think of the car like Mr. Meeseeks in the form of ruthless machine. Watch the whole episode chronologically, and then rewatch just the sections about Summer and the car over and over again.

Season 2: Episode 7, “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez” This is one of the few episodes where Jerry and Beth’s adventures end up being much better than Rick, Morty, and Summer’s. While the other three engage in some Earth-based drama (Rick creates a younger version of himself to hunt down a vampire at the high school), the Smith parents take on couples counseling on another planet.

Season 2: Episode 10, “The Wedding Squanchers” The episode opens with Birdperson getting hitched to Tammy (Cassie Steele) on Planet Squanch, but things quickly unravel after Birdperson reveals to Beth that he, Rick, and many of the other wedding guests are considered intergalactic terrorists. Brace yourself for a big plot twist and a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved for, oh, “a year and a half, or longer.” Thanks a lot for the reminder of the long wait until Season 3, Mr. Poopy Butthole. Sigh.

Why You Should Binge:

The show is a must-watch for fans of sci-fi and adult animation. Binge-ing means you’re more likely to pick up on recurring characters and themes, which is especially important for Season 2. The show is also becoming increasingly mainstream—earlier this year, the R&M team even did a Simpsons Couch Gag. And, trust us, you don’t want to be the last of your friends to know who Ants-in-My-Eyes Johnson is.

Best Scene—"Roy: A Life Well-Lived":

“You beat cancer and then you went back to work at the carpet store? Boo!”

The Takeaway:

“The world is full of idiots that don’t understand what’s important. And they’ll tear us apart, Morty! But if you stick with me, I’m gonna accomplish great things, Morty, and you’re gonna be part of them. And together, we’re gonna run around, Morty, we’re gonna do all kinds of wonderful things, Morty. Just you and me, Morty. The outside world is our enemy, Morty. We’re the only friends we’ve got, Morty! It’s just Rick and Morty. Rick and Morty and their adventures, Morty. Rick and Morty, forever and forever, a hundred years Rick and Morty, some things. Me and Rick and Morty runnin’ around and Rick and Morty time, all day long, forever. A hundred days Rick and Morty, forever a hundred times. Over and over Rick and Morty.”

If You Liked Rick And Morty You’ll Love:

Adventure Time is an obvious go-to for its fantastic themes and shared voice actors (Roiland voices Lemongrab, and R&M has regular guest voicing from Tom Kenny, the guy behind Ice King). Plus, unlike Rick and Morty, you can watch this one with the kids. Also check out AT creator Pendleton Ward’s Bravest Warriors, a series of funny, sci-fi, adult shorts. And, of course, you can always revisit the animated sci-fi classic Futurama.