| “ | [off-screen] Beth: Ugh! |
"Bethic Twinstinct" is the third episode of the sixth season of Rick and Morty. It is the 54th episode of the series overall. It premiered on September 18, 2022. It was written by Anne Lane and directed by Douglas Einar Olsen. The episode is rated TV-MA-L.
Synopsis[]
As Beth takes the concept of self-love in a bold new direction on Thanksgiving, Morty and Summer self-soothe by playing a realistic video game.
Plot[]
Following up on her promise in “Solaricks,” Space Beth comes back to the Smith Family house for Thanksgiving. During her stay, her relationship with Beth develops after they bond over a bottle of Venusian wine. Eventually, their casual flirting develops into a full-on love affair. Summer and Morty notice this first, and quickly become obsessed with playing an ultra-realistic alien video game in a bid to avoid thinking about it. Rick figures out what’s going on and tells Beth while he understands (having done something similar himself over the years), she needs to think about how this will affect her family: he, Morty, and Summer quickly become concerned about Jerry, who had previously claimed he would kill himself if Beth left him. When Beth begins to express doubts, Space Beth admits to the affair in front of Jerry, who promptly rolls up into a pillbug (a protocol Rick built into him that he’d forgotten about). Rick reveals that Jerry can only emerge from the pillbug by his own choice, and trying to force him out will only make things worse.
While Rick joins Morty and Summer in focusing on realistic video games, the two Beths soon find their fundamental difference in how they think of Jerry: Space Beth thinks he's pathetic and would rather leave him in the pillbug shell, while Beth still loves him and tries to encourage him to come out. Eventually, the two Beths decide to wipe their knowledge of each others’ existence using Rick's Memory Wiping Machine, despite Rick pointing out this would just leave the rest of the family to deal with the knowledge of what happened. Jerry, overhearing this, leaves the shell and declares he won’t let them lobotomize themselves over him, but says he is still leaving Beth. Eventually, it emerges that Jerry is more upset that the two Beths hooked up behind his back than the fact they did it and he actually quite enjoys being cuckolded. As Rick, Morty, and Summer uncomfortably listen from the dining room table, Jerry and the two Beths have an increasingly sexual conversation that culminates in all three of them hooking up. Rick is forced to calm Morty and Summer down as they finally break down over the situation.
Space Beth bids the family goodbye while promising to keep an eye out for her space grandson. Rick quickly gets rid of the Venusian wine that apparently caused the two Beths to fall for each other.
During a post-credits scene, Jerry visits the Jerryboree in an apparent attempt to pull the same love affair with himself that Beth did. He is not permitted to by the receptionist, due to the Jerryboree having an issue with this in the past, but he runs into a stray Jerry on the streets with a similar desire. The two share a quick kiss before deciding their curiosity is satisfied and quickly part ways.
Characters[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
- Beth Smith (5126) (flashback; no lines)
- Jerry's school friend (flashback)
- Naruto Smith (mentioned)
Deaths[]
Locations[]
- Dimension 5126 (flashback)
Episode notes[]
Trivia[]
- This is one of the five episodes of Rick and Morty to be rated TV-MA from the FCC, the others being Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate, Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender, Unmortricken and Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie. This is because strong language was often used in the episode.
- The "Venusian" language is just French, providing an opportunity for Beth's voice actor Sarah Chalke to show off her French-speaking skills. Chalke is also fluent in German, a talent she utilized in some episodes of Scrubs.
- French cinema has a long and storied history of critically praised sad, sapphic films.[2]
- In celebration of Season 6, Pocket Mortys' weekly updates coincided with new episodes, including new avatars for players to collect. With the release of this episode came Teen Jerry as an avatar, plus Pill Bug Morty and Holodeck Morty to catch.
Themes[]
- The episode's basic premise was pitched by Anne Lane as an exploration of self-love and avoidance. Dan Harmon noted that there is a question of Beth being a woman who is allowed to like herself, which this episode addresses with her literally falling for herself. Avoidance manifests in Morty and Summer's attempts to avoid thinking about the affair (until they are literally forced to listen to it from another room), and Beth's own reluctance to address it with her family.
- A major theme in this episode is consequences. Beth and Space Beth engage in the affair without thinking about the consequences of their family finding out, leading Rick to warn them that lying about it will only make things worse. He even goes so far as to criticize them for trying to make the issue go away by wiping their own memories. In both cases, Beth criticizes him for being hypocritical, as he is guilty of the same actions, to which he admits. Lane has confirmed that Beth's actions in this episode are an intentional parallel to Rick, in her trying to explore the greater universe after becoming bored with her home life.[3] Rick has been reckoning with the consequences of his nihilism and carelessness since "Solaricks", which puts him in a mindset to try to bring Beth to her senses. In a way, he is also dealing with the consequences of his decision to clone Beth from "The ABC's of Beth" and "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri", in that he is experiencing first hand the disastrous effect it has on Morty and Summer and having to comfort them in absence of Jerry and Beth.
Series continuity[]
- Rick once again gets a Thanksgiving presidential pardon by transforming into a turkey, as previously shown in "Rick & Morty's Thanksploitation Spectacular."
- This means that a full year has passed between Rick & Morty's Thanksploitation Spectacular and Bethic Twinstinct.
- Rick's lack of a portal gun, due to the events of "Rickmurai Jack" and "Solaricks" is repeatedly brought up in this episode, with it being a major driver in Rick, Morty, and Summer's inability to escape the uncomfortable environment of the Smith Family household while the two Beths carry on their affair.
- Space Beth and Beth's potential affair was first hinted at in "Solaricks", when Space Beth complimented Beth's outfit.
- Space Beth and Beth attempt to use Rick's memory wiping machine, seen in "Morty's Mind Blowers" and "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri."
- Space Beth mentions she will keep an eye out for her grandson, prompting a disturbed Morty to realize she is referring to Naruto Smith.
- The Mr. Meeseeks Box is in Rick's window cabinet.
- Jerry returns to the Jerryboree, last seen in "Mortynight Run", apparently to attempt his own affair with another Jerry.
- The Gloppydrop system ice cream was previously mentioned in “The Wedding Squanchers”.
- Jerry, Beth, and Space Beth’s relationship is very similar to the relationship between Jerry’s parents and Jacob Philip from “Anatomy Park”.
- Space Beth calls Jerry “a worm”, referencing Jerry’s worm-like mytholog from “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez”.
Cultural references[]
- The episode's title is a reference to the film Basic Instinct.
- Space Beth claims that her spaceship is "bigger on the inside", directly comparing it to TARDIS from Doctor Who.
- The game "GETTIN' TO A STREET FIGHT!" is a parody of the video game series Street Fighter.
- One of the characters in GETTIN' TO A STREET FIGHT!, Kickpuncher, is a reference to the fictional movie franchise of the same name that appeared in Community.
- Rick chides Beth and Space Beth for using his holodeck to create their own "San Junipero", referencing the episode of the same name from Black Mirror.
- Many speculate that Morty's mini-rant about the Discovery Channel is a thinly veiled jab by the creators against them, given their infamous handling of many beloved shows due to the merger with Warner Bros.
- One of the video games looks very similar to Final Fantasy, where the sword is too heavy for Cloud to lift.
- Rick restates if Beth and Space Beth want to erase their memories, mentioning the films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Multiplicity.
- Jerry mentions the television series, The Handmaid’s Tale, when responding to Space Beth saying how he wants to permit their love.
- Rick mentions the titular character of the Shrek franchise when warning about forcing Jerry about his pill bug form.
- When discussing about Jerry’s pill bug shell, Rick mentions Summer asking for your thoughts on the DC film, Wonder Woman 1984, as a useful way to use the pill bug shell.
Transcript[]
View a full transcript of this episode here.
References
|
https://comicbook.com/anime/news/rick-and-morty-season-six-episode-titles/
Gallery
Click here to view this page's gallery.