The Old Man and the Seat

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The Old Man and the Seat is the second episode of Rick and Morty’s fourth season. It was written by Michael Waldron and directed by Jacob Hair, and it loosely adapts Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. The episode aired on November 17, 2019.

Plot
An alien intern named Glootie helps prepare breakfast for the Smiths and asks for help building a dating app. Rick leaves the house for a private, perfect toilet moment, while Summer and Beth quarrel over a lunch date. Jerry and Morty get involved and try to shut down Glootie’s app, called Lovefinderrz, which tempts users to chase love at the expense of real life. They are taken to Glootie’s mothership, where an alien leader explains the app is meant to distract humanity and steal Earth’s water. Eventually, the app is sabotaged and users delete it.

Meanwhile, Rick discovers someone has invaded his private lavatory. He confronts Tony, an inventor and the intruder. Tony’s attempts at living in a fantasy world inside Rick’s bathroom are stopped by Rick, who uses a chemical to trap him in a dreamlike reality. Tony’s insistence on being friends with Rick is rejected. Rick later learns Tony has died in a ski accident while trying to live life to the fullest, and he attends Tony’s funeral, insisting they were not friends. Back in the bathroom, holographic versions of Rick mock Tony’s loneliness. In a post-credits scene, Jerry takes Globafyn and imagines his own perfect life as a competent, appreciated water-delivery driver.

Themes and reception
The episode centers on loneliness and the desire for privacy. It features guest appearances by Sam Neill, Kathleen Turner, Taika Waititi, Jeffrey Wright, and Sherri Shepherd. It was well received by many critics, though some noted it felt a bit underwhelming in places. Viewership was about 1.66 million in the U.S., with a 0.97 rating among 18–49-year-olds, making it one of the lower-rated episodes of the series at the time. Critics praised the humor and emotional moments, with ratings ranging from solid to high.