Here’s how Rick ended up “soul bonded” with a dragon in Rick And Morty season 4 episode 4. For such a misanthrope, Rick Sanchez has had quite a few love interests. Alongside the enigmatic figure that is his ex-wife Diane, Rick has had relationships (or at least brief encounters) with a Predator/Xenomorph-like alien named Kiara, the sentient planet Gaia and Princess Ponietta – a member of a race of subterranean, cannibalistic horse-people who he fathers a human-foal hybrid with.
In Rick And Morty season 4 episode 4 – AKA “Claw And Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty” – Rick sort of added a dragon to his list of conquests and brought Morty and Summer along for the ride. That sounds awful (and it really is), so more context is needed. The episode sees a wizard called upon by Rick to gift Morty a pet dragon named Balthromaw (voiced by Game Of Thrones’ Liam Cunningham). After signing a blood contract that makes Balthromaw officially his, Morty starts living out all his wildest Dungeons & Dragons fantasies but it soon becomes clear Balthromaw is not too taken with his new owner.
In fact, it’s Rick who ends up becoming close to Balthromaw. After Rick finds the dragon’s treasure stash the pair realize they have a lot in common and inadvertently participate in an act known as “soul-bonding” – a quasi-sexual experience that connects their souls. As much pleasurable as the encounter seems for Rick it soon transpires that having a soul bond with a dragon has its downsides.
When the wizard that facilitated Morty’s dragon adoption learns that Balthromaw has broken their contract by soul-bonding with Rick, he sentences him to death. Because Balthrowmaw and Rick are bonded, this means Rick will die too so he must rescue the dragon. They come across other dragons living in self-exile and learn from them the only way to break Rick’s soul bond is by killing the wizard. However, the only way to do that is with a huge “soul bond orgy” (involving Rick, Morty, Summer and the other dragons) which generates enough energy to take down the wizard.
Understandably uncomfortable with the pseudo-incestuous dragon orgy they’ve participated in – alongside how promiscuous dragons are – Rick, Morty and Summer part ways with Balthromaw despite his best efforts to bond with them again. And so concludes Rick And Morty season 4 episode 4, quite possibly one of the weirdest ever episodes of the show (and that’s not even mentioning its side story featuring a talking cat voiced by Matthew Broderick).
