The plot follows eccentric scientist Rick Sanchez as he turns himself into a pickle to avoid attending a family therapy session.

The episode was highly anticipated, with a rough cut animation premiering at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, and was watched by 2.3 million viewers when it first aired on Adult Swim.

He denies that he timed the experiment to avoid the counseling session, but the family notices a telltale mechanism rigged to drop a syringe in him soon after they leave.

In a post-credits scene, the villain Concerto is preparing to kill a restrained Rick and Morty in his gigantic piano, but Jaguar saves them.

[5] Series creator Dan Harmon said that he thought the concept originated from a writer suggesting an episode beginning with Rick turning himself into a pickle.

Harmon commented that initial designs for the rats were "too adorable" considering that Rick murders many of them: Melton said that fur was removed, boils were added and their backs became more arched.

[1] According to Harmon, the writers gave more detailed instructions to animators than for most episodes, in particular "about the process of hacking the cockroach to give Rick mobility".

[4] At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, a rough cut animation of "Pickle Rick" was released, featuring him in the sewer attacking rats.

[10] Three weeks prior to the episode's airing, free Pickle Rick T-shirts and other merchandise were given away at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.

[11] Due to the episode's hype prior to its release, including fans getting tattoos of Pickle Rick, Harmon was not surprised by its later popularity.

[13] Afterward, a number of merchandise products were released relating to the character Pickle Rick and the overall episode, such as a game, Funko Pop figures, a Pringles flavor, a Frosty drink, a breakfast cereal, and in-game customization for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.

[3] Jenny Jaffe of Vulture described the episode as an instance of how Rick and Morty "likes to back itself into corners with the world's dumbest ideas and execute them in the absolute smartest ways".

[11] A number of reviewers commented on the violence: for instance, Jesse Schedeen of IGN said that it contained "a level of blood and gore" matching the season two episode "Look Who's Purging Now".

Club wrote, "I don't think the country of the embassy is ever specifically established, which is part of the joke", though noted that the bodyguards are "European".

[2] Zach Blumenfeld of Paste wrote about the car scene that "the eyes of Morty and Summer [lock] into a thousand-yard stare as their mom and grandpa totally ignore the kids' needs".

[3] Handlen wrote that Rick's choice to live with the Smith family implies "he does recognize a basic need for those relationships", and that he avoids therapy because "he's smart enough to know that Dr. Wong [...] is right".

[21] Schedeen said that Dr. Wong's speech "really cut to the core of his selfish, narcissistic behavior", giving Rick "one of his rare moments of clarity".

[13] Several critics commented on the fan enthusiasm, such as Blumenfeld, who said it was "arguably the most eagerly anticipated Rick and Morty episode ever" due to the large amount of teaser content released.

[11] Matar found it "super-engaging", lauding the "charmingly stupid concept that develops into an absurdly overblown, kinetic action movie plot".

[3] Scott Russell of Paste reviewed that the "batshit fight scenes" were the best part of the episode, with Blumenfeld also enjoying the "beautiful, free-flowing sequences of mass murder".

[21] Greene highlighted the attention to detail, such as the "sound design of Pickle Rick's mustard salve soothing his laser burns", which gave "a strange amount of credence to a crazy premise".

[3] However, Blumenfeld said that the program is better when characters describe their feelings in "short bursts", and criticized Rick's speech to Jaguar as something the show would earlier have "mercilessly mocked".

[19] Greene said that a "certain thread of magic" is removed from separating Rick from Morty, but that the episode's "genre riffing and intense commitment to detail nearly make up for it".