Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 4, episode 6, "Never Ricking Morty."

Rick and Morty returned from its season 4 hiatus with a meta episode that trolled fans expecting an epic storyline utilizing many of the series' most beloved characters. While there were a shocking number of cameos and some individually surprising appearances, it seems highly unlikely that any of this will be referenced in the future, as "Never Ricking Morty" was a story about stories as well as a commentary on Rick and Morty's fandom.

The plot of Rick & Morty season 4, episode 6, "Never Ricking Morty" found Rick and Morty as captives of a cosmic being known as the Story Lord, who trapped them on a literal plot device; a metaphorical train of thought made literal, traveling through space. Each car of the train was devoted to a different anthology. Some of the passengers were traveling to try and kill Rick at the end of the line and shared stories of why they hated him. Others told tales of how they once dated Rick. There was even a car devoted to alien beings sharing stories of how Rick saved Christmas.

Related: Rick & Morty Theory: Why So Many Nazi Worlds Are Created

This was all part of the Story Lord's plan to break beyond the Fifth Wall by draining Rick and Morty of their narrative potential or, failing that, just run them into the ground and kill them. This left Rick and Morty trying to literally derail the narrative (and the Story Train), even as they experienced flashbacks and flash-forwards of potentially canon events that might have happened or might yet happen, with several characters from earlier in the series putting in appearances. Here's a breakdown of every character who had a cameo in "Never Ricking Morty."

Birdperson/Phoenixperson

Birdperson and Rick Sing Together on Rick and morty

First introduced in the Rick & Morty season 1 finale "Ricksy Business," Birdperson is a person who is also a bird. A being of great wisdom, Birdperson and Rick have a largely unexplored past, which involved fighting the Galactic Empire and committing "numerous atrocities in the name of freedom." Sadly, Birdperson was transformed into a cyborg slave of the Galactic Empire and now answers to the name Phoenixperson. Birdperson appears briefly in a short musical number, which hints that Birdperson and Rick may have been lovers at one time. In a later scene from a potential future, Birdperson appears as Phoenixperson, wrestling with Rick in the middle of a battlefield.

Plutonians

Rick and Morty Musical Theater Alien Fans

Native to the alien world of Pluto, the Plutonians are one of the more oddly prolific species in Rick and Morty's cosmology. They were first seen in the background of the alien ship simulation in "M. Night Shaym-Aliens!" but took on a more prominent role in "Something Ricked This Way Comes," when their leaders embraced Jerry Smith's insistence that "Pluto was a planet." A Plutonian can be seen among the alien fans of Earth's musical theater, who engage in a discussion of the best Rick and Morty musical numbers. The Plutonian appears to be dressed as Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, blending in with the other cosplaying aliens, who are dressed as characters from Cats and Phantom of the Opera.

Mortimer Smith, Jr.

Rick and Morty Two Guys in Morty's Story and Morty Jr. In Picture Cameo

The product of Morty's brief but revolting love affair with a Gazorpian sex robot, Mortimer Smith, Jr. grew to maturity over the span of a day in the Rick & Morty season 1 episode "Raising Gazorpazorp." While his Gazorpian genetics pushed him to destroy, Morty Jr. was ultimately convinced to channel his urges to lay waste to all that stood before him into a creative outlet and became a successful novelist, writing about how horrible Morty was as a father. A picture of Morty Jr. as a toddler can be seen in the background of a terrible story Morty makes up to break through a narrative seal.

Related: How Rick & Morty Season 4 Episode 6 Sneaks In A Coronavirus Reference

Abrodolph Lincoler

Rick and Morty Abrodolph Lincoler in Never Ricking Morty

Abrodolph Lincoler was the end result of one of Rick's most pointless experiments. Forged from the DNA of Abraham Lincoln and Adolph Hitler, Rick had intended to create a morally neutral politician that would be unswayed by emotional arguments. What he got instead was a confused, overly-emotional hot mess. Lincoler seemingly sacrificed himself to save his fellow party-goers in the the Rick & Morty season 1 finale "Ricksy Business," but one scene suggested that he somehow survived, acquired a tween sidekick with a disfigured face and sought out Rick's help for some unspecified reason.

Snuffles

Rick and Morty Snuffles Fights Cat In Mech Armor

First seen in the Rick & Morty season 1 episode "Lawnmower Dog," Snuffles was Morty's beloved pet dog until Rick, at Jerry's request, increased Snuffles' intelligence in a bid to make him stop peeing on the carpet. Rick being Rick, he overdid things, and Snuffles was soon leading a canine revolt against humanity, ala Planet of the Apes. Snuffles and his cybernetically-enhanced brethren appear in a flash-forward sequence, doing battle with an army of similarly-armed cats.

Tammy Guetermann

Rick and Morty Tammy Guetermann fights Summer Smith

At one time, Tammy Guetermann was one of Summer Smith's closest friends. In truth, Tammy was a deep-cover agent for the Galactic Empire, posing as an ordinary American high school student as part of an intricate plan to lure as many rebels on the Galactic Federation's Most Wanted List out into the open as possible. She accomplished this by getting engaged to Birdperson and springing the trap at their wedding. Tammy is now apparently the ruler of what remains of the Galactic Empire following Rick's engineering their economic collapse in the Rick & Morty season 3 premiere. She briefly appears in the same flash-forward battle as Snuffles, engaged in a lightsaber duel with Summer.

Evil Morty

Rick and Morty Evil Morty with Army of Ricks

An evil version of Morty from an unknown dimension, Evil Morty is engaged in a Machiavellian scheme. The ultimate goals of this scheme are unknown, leading to many different theories, but thus far his plotting has seen him take over the Citadel of Ricks as the first Morty to ever be elected President. Evil Morty is seen leading an army of Ricks at the start of a sequence which the Story Lord claimed was Rick and Morty's final battle.

Related: Rick And Morty: Rick Got The Wrong Jerry (Not The Ticket Theory)

Mr. Meeseeks

Rick and Morty Army of Mister Meeseeks

A species of ever-helpful, blue-skinned men, the Meeseeks are all named Mr. Meeseeks and are brought into existence to accomplish a single task. Existence is painful for Meeseeks, so they are quite efficient about accomplishing whatever they set out to do as quickly as possible, so they can return to oblivion. A large, angry group of Meeseeks can be seen among Evil Morty's army.

Gazorpians

Rick and Morty Gazorpians

Male Gazorpians are among the most dangerous and aggressive creatures in Rick & Morty's multiverse, taking pleasure in wanton destruction and the suffering of others. They are so awful, in fact, that the females of their race began living apart from them, continuing the propagation of their species through specially designed sex droids/incubators. A large number of male Gazorpians can also be seen among the ranks of Evil Morty's army of darkness.

Mr. Poopybutthole

Rick and Morty Evil Morty and Evil Mr. Poopybutthole and Army of Ricks from Never Ricking Story

Mr. Poopybutthole is one of Rick's oldest friends and one of the few of his allies who also befriended the Smith family. Ever cheerful and optimistic, he was most recently seen as part of the team Rick assembled to pull a heist in the Rick & Morty season 4 episode "One Crew Over the Crewcoo's Morty." Sadly, it appears that hard times are coming for Mr. Poopybutthole (or at least, one version of him) as he appears to have been warped by some dark force, and looks more like Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars than his usual cheerful self when we see him standing beside Evil Morty.

Blips and Chitz

A man is trapped in an arcade game machine in Rick and Morty.

Finally, while more of a locale than a character, the episode also features a quick cameo by Rick Sanchez's favorite place to spend a day off from being the multiverse's most awesome super-scientist; Blips and Chitz. The intergalactic arcade is the setting of a sequence featuring the ticket-taker on the Story Train, who seemingly returns to reality after being sucked into space and bisected after a fight with Rick. The suggestion is that he was playing a virtual reality game like the "Roy: A Life Well Lived" game which Morty played in the Rick & Morty season 2 episode "Mortynight Run." The truth turns out to be much weirder and incredibly graphic.

More: How Many Times Rick & Morty Have Changed Universes