With absolutely no prior notice (despite a seemingly sarcastic tweet from creator Dan Harmon), Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block gave unsuspecting fans a huge surprise Saturday night. Those who have been chomping at the bit for a release date for Rick and Morty Season 3 were instead given the premiere episode a continuous loop until midnight.  Like most people, my initial reaction was that Harmon and co-creator Justin Roiland were just pulling an April Fools themed prank, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, the giant cliffhanger from October of 2015 was finally wrapped up and people were given a chance to revisit their favorite mad scientist. It seems some pranks can be pleasant.

Then again, pleasant may not be the word. The Season 3 premiere was about as dark and gritty as Rick and Morty gets, with plenty of Rick on Rick violence and some seriously head-spinning plot twists. It also featured some beautifully set up callbacks to earlier seasons and a post-credits scene that’s well worth sticking around for.

Again, there was absolutely no real heads up that this was happening unless one knows when to read a little deeper. In an interaction with a follower on Twitter earlier, Harmon alluded to his ability to make millions of dreams come true.

@karan_shah99 @BrandonJohnsn what if I waved a magic wand and made the first episode of season 3 premiere tonight is that what you'd want

— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) March 31, 2017

Conclusions: Yes, it’s exactly what we wanted and also Dan Harmon appears to be a wizard.

For anyone who missed the episode and all of its Mulan Szechuan McNugget sauce flavored goodness and SEAL Team Rick grit, encores will premiere every day in the coming week at 10 PM. Just be prepared for some seriously Rick being Rick, a little bit of Morty incompetence, and oh so many more questions to be answered. With that being said, strap in. From the mouth of the scientist himself, this year of adventures is going to be the darkest yet.

Stay tuned with mxdwn Television for all your Rick and Morty related news including updates on (now ongoing!) Season 3.