Summary
Rick and Mortyhas so many wacky and zany characters throughout its six seasons that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. For as a little or big that their role is in the show – from Mr. Poopybutthole to Noob-Noob – they’ve all left some sort of lasting impact on Rick and the Smith family. One thingRick and Mortydoes really well is showing viewers multiple sides of a single character. Just when the audience thinks they know a character, the show flips the script and shows a different side of who they are. A prime example of this is Scary Terry.
Scary Terry started off as a monster who was chasing around Rick and Morty in a dream terrorizing them. But after his shift was over, he headed back home to his family and eventually to sleep, where he himself has nightmares about things scarier than he is. Who is Scary Terry, and what could possibly scare him?
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Which Rick and Morty Episode Introduces Scary Terry?
Scary Terry was one of the first side characters introduced in the show, first appearing in the episode “Lawnmower Dog” (season 1, episode 2). The episode has a couple of different plots happening simultaneously: Rick gives the family dog, Snuffles, sentience before embarking on an adventure with Morty to “incept” his math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold, into giving him an A. Rick and Morty travel into Goldenfold’s dreams, but soon have to travel deeper and deeper (much like the filmInception), eventually going into the dream of a centaur who has nightmares about an abandoned factory while being hunted by a man with miniature swords for fingers.
The sword-fingered monster is Scary Terry, a “legally-safe knockoff of an 80s horror character,“as Rick puts it. Scary Terry chases Rick and Morty around the factory, morphing into different sizes and popping up out of nowhere to cut them off and attempt to slice them with his sword fingers. Much likethe character he’s parodying, Freddy Krueger, Terry can travel through dreams, which foils Rick and Morty’s plan to escape by entering a new dream.
However, Rick and Morty outsmart Terry, who keeps saying, “You can run, but you can’t hide, b–ch!” by hiding instead of running. Terry gives up on trying to find them, and heads home to his family; his wife Melissa and their son Scary Brandon. At home, Terry struggles to separate work life from home life and snaps a little on Melissa. But he quickly apologizes once he upsets their son, and they happily go off to bed.
Rick and Morty then decide to incept Scary Terry,whose nightmare isn’t about any scary monsteror anything, instead, it’s him being bullied at school and forgetting to wear pants. Rick and Morty save him from his night terrors by bringing some pants in his dream and telling off the cruel teacher and other students. Terry decides to help them and travels back through all the previous dreams to get back to the original one and tells Mr. Goldenfold to give Morty an A in math.
The plan works, and Rick, Morty, and Scary Terry go their separate ways. Later, though, Rick goes back into Terry’s dream to hang out with him in a much more laid back classroom.
Did Scary Terry Ever Appear Again?
Unfortunately, “Lawnmower Dog” is the only episode in which Scary Terry makes an appearance. He’s the main antagonist-turned-ally of the episode and plays a big role, but doesn’t ever return (except for the post-credit scene with Rick). “Lawnmower Dog” is also the episode fans say goodbye to the Smith family dog Snuffles, who goes off to live with the other sentient dogs in a society where they can prosper.
Scary Terry makes one brief return in an Adult Swim promotional short forRick and Mortyseason 3, titled, “Rick and Morty Exquisite Corpse”. After Morty drops a flask filled with LSD, he and Rick go on a crazy hallucinogenic trip. During the trip, Scary Terry slithers out from underneath Morty’s bed before they transition into a different scene.
Although Scary Terry never makes an actual on-screen return toRick and Morty, he did appear in the comics as well. InRick and Morty Issue 5, Scary Terry ends up giving Morty his hat – which holds all his powers – to save them from evil scientists in the Dreamverse. By wearing the hat, Morty becomes “Scary Morty” and defeats the scientists.
Who Did the Voice of Scary Terry?
Rick and Mortyoften usesa single voice actor for several characters. As for the voice of Scary Terry, this is no exception. The voice of Scary Terry is Jess Harnell. He was used a lot in the first season of the animated series, being credited to voicing the homeless Santa Claus, Ruben, and the scientist Roger in the episode “Anatomy Park” (season 1, episode 3), as well as voicing the Greebybobes from “Get Schwifty” (season 2, episode 5).
Harnell has also voiced for various other roles, such as Crash Bandicoot in the video gameCrash Bandicoot: On the Run!, as well as several characters throughout theRatchet and Clankfranchise. In addition to voice acting, Harnell is part of a contemporary rock band called Rock Sugar.
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