'Rick and Morty': The Ted Danson Easter egg has only one logical outcome
Wouldn't Beth and Ted Danson be the perfect couple?
Rick and Morty could have a crossover with The Good Place, if the second episode of Season 4 is any indication.
We might as well call it a Ted Danson Easter egg.
In “The Old Man and the Seat” that aired Sunday, we’re introduced to a new new alien race called the Monogotrons, who are hellbent on spreading a distracting dating app to entire planets so they can steal water from them.
Taika Waititi’s Glootie works as Rick’s intern, and he tricks Jerry into helping develop this app on Earth. The results prove disastrous, with people around the world going mad in the search for their soulmate.
The only person to ignore this app is Beth, but at the end of the episode, when she reconnects with Jerry, she can’t help but take a look at her soul mate match, who just so happens to be … Ted Danson.
Beth matched with Ted Danson, and we really wish we could see them meet?
This confirmation that Ted Danson exists in the Rick and Morty universe could set up a cameo or even guest role from Danson. Within the dating app, Danson appears as his present-day self in an outfit that’s inspired by his character from The Good Place, a demon who calls himself Michael. He has large glasses and always wears sharp suits with bow ties.
Ted Danson as Michael on 'The Good Place'.
Danson’s public image feels like a reflection of his character on The Good Place, so even though he may be about twice Beth’s age, them being soul mates feels kind of perfect.
Beth’s ongoing frustrations with Jerry as a husband arose because he can’t take care of himself. In addition to working hard at her own job as a horse surgeon, she has to put a lot of work into taking care of the family. Jerry’s high maintenance, a bit of a rube, and isn’t all that fun. Danson, however, seems bright, cheery, self-sufficient, ebullient, and charming.
As much as we all love laughing at Jerry’s inadequacies, Beth would be great with someone who has a kind of fun-loving, infectious energy that would bring out her more adventurous side.
Danson is a national treasure recognized these days as one of the main characters on NBC’s The Good Place, a quirky sitcom that explores a complicated version of the afterlife, but his first claim to fame was as Sam Malone on the show Cheers.
Mel Magazine published a piece claiming Danson has been “quietly rad for 30 years,” despite a glaring transgression during the 1993 roast of Whoopi Goldberg where he appeared in black face and used racial slurs. Much more recently, he told Us Weekly that being married to his wife, Mary Steenburgen, “feels like heaven on Earth.”
Doesn’t that sound like the kind of doting treatment that Rick’s daughter deserves? We can only hope that this isn’t just a one-off joke and that Danson might one day voice himself on Rick and Morty, but for now, we can take comfort in knowing that Danson and The Good Place might exist in the Rick and Morty universe.
The crossover might even occur during the presumed Interdimensional Cable 3 episode later this season.
Rick and Morty Season 4 airs Sunday nights on Adult Swim at 11:30 p.m. Eastern.
If you want to learn more about Danson’s eccentric demon on The Good Place, check out this video:
