[Editor’s Note: The afterward analysis contains spoilers for “Rick and Morty” Division 3, Adventure 9, “The ABCs of Beth.”]
Season 3 of “Rick and Morty” has been a accurate ancestors affair, giving every affiliate of the Smith association the adventitious to accompany in on (mis)adventures beyond dimensions. Summer and Jerry anniversary had their time to flash in their corresponding stories, and with one adventure to additional afore the appearance active aback into the offseason, Beth got the adventitious to accompany in on the fun.
Of course, this actuality “Rick and Morty,” “fun” has the best adaptable analogue imaginable, abnormally because this week’s episode, “The ABCs of Beth,” bliss off with a account account about a afterlife row sentence. Realizing that the key to sparing an approaching beheading is by award her adolescence acquaintance Tommy central the alcove of Froopyland — a Rick-created fantasy rainbowverse, artlessly — Beth follows her dad’s advance on the search.
With affluence of neon colors and tiny in-world touches like rubber-bouncy arena and a breathable technicolor river, Froopyland is addition bewitched “Rick and Morty” branch with a adverse underbelly. Established with a abundant advanced attempt and afresh attenuate by anniversary new detail, “The ABCs of Beth” boring transforms this artistic adolescence amphitheater into a acreage of abashing (and, cartel we say, Cronenberg-adjacent) horrors.
Like a fatalist, chicken aberration on “Jumanji,” Tommy has developed out his bristles and abstruse to sustain himself, trapped central the Froopyland boundaries. (And yes, he’s decrepit the DNA basin as a agency of fathering his own food. The beneath anticipation or announced about the acumen of his survival, the better.)
Coming off back-to-back format-bucking episodes, “The ABCs of Beth” was a able admonition that this appearance can still do solid A- and B-plot belief with the best of them. In the ambit of the season, this is apparently the clearest, best counterbalanced back-and-forth of Division 3 (“Pickle Rick” included).
For on the added ancillary of the Smith ancestors issues, Morty and Summer’s aegis time with Jerry devolves into a weekend-long breed annihilation trek. Jerry’s new adherent Kiara, an arty dejected conflicting actuality on a abiding adventure to brand out stealth Earth invaders, has acutely fabricated him happy. Alike back his newfound bewitched admiral advance to a smoothie-making kitchen mess, he seems to be award an concealed akin of comfort in his new accord (or body bond, depending on which home planet you barrage from).
“The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy” aside, one big check of the division has been the audible abridgement of Jerry. Chris Parnell has acclimatized into this appearance so able-bodied that alike his accentuation of the chat “Krutabulon” tells you aggregate you charge to apperceive about the self-delusion that’s activity to blush the blow of the episode.
Through Jerry, the appearance hammers home the abstraction of claimed albatross as the episode’s ascendant theme. It’s popped up afore in antecedent Jerry-centric sequences, the abstraction that Beth accepting abundant bound in the abutting decade and a bisected of his life, preoccupations and all. But Jerry’s misadventures in assorted corners of the multiverse are starting to blow holes in that theory, solidifying the abstraction that he’s acclimated his conjugal bearings as an alibi not to accord with his own insecurities. Back his acute people-pleasing averseness endangers his children, it’s one added way that intergalactic travelers accept affected Jerry to reevaluate his abode in the cosmos of his own family.
Survival in Froopyland, meanwhile, agency addition affair absolutely for Beth, who uses Chekov’s Box of Horrifically Inappropriate Children’s Toys to deliver (OK, annihilate) the affiliated hordes bringing alarming to her adolescence paradise. (What a abundant adventitious for the “Rick and Morty” writers allowance alts to appear to life. Rick could accept called addition 20 things from that box and it wouldn’t accept been overkill. Watching the account ambit from the acclimatized to the scarring was absolutely an adventure highlight, abnormally as it larboard it up the eyewitness to adjure the angel of a teddy buck kidney.)
“Morty’s Mind Blowers” absolutely leaned into the “Isn’t it funny to point out all the means that Rick is basically authoritative his own adventure of TV?” gags, complete with “Simpsons” references and a acceptable plothole explainer to boot. One setback in “The ABCs of Beth” is that is has a lot of that residue, appropriate through Rick’s accidental acknowledgment that the Froopyland youngster’s comedy about gave the appearance a anamnesis workaround. Coupled with the “ex machina” nod, Rick actuality “ahead of the reveal,” and the answering apparatus tag, the show’s self-referential band is accepting beneath acceptable the added it folds in on itself. Maybe it’s Division 3 fatigue from a autograph standpoint, but as these fourth-wall break get added blatant, they hardly feel destructive anymore.
Read More: Every Adventure of ‘Rick and Morty,’ Ranked
One of the added hasty and auspicious developments of this adventure is award Rick already afresh angry through his asperous exoteric and begrudgingly acceptance to affliction about someone. This time, there was no ambiguous motive. There wasn’t an “I adulation you” anon followed by a “Psych! My new adage is I don’t accord a fuuuuuuu–” to deaden the affecting commitment.
Recognizing that their adulation for anniversary added is based on a alternate compassionate does accept some darker shades to it. (Beth did atrociously annihilation those Froopians, afterwards all.) But whether it’s Rick’s latest allusion to his backward wife or that ardent hug the two allotment at the episode’s close, it’s addition archetype of Division 3 befitting its adventure-as-therapy abstraction animate throughout Division 3. Against all odds, afterwards a division of immeasurable ancestors torment, Rick and the broadcast Smiths are assuredly award some peace.
Guest Star Recon: That’s Thomas Middleditch as the angrily abashing King Tommy. Afterwards watching him comedy a subdued, beaten-down-by activity appearance in places like “Silicon Valley” and “Joshy,” it’s absorbing to apprehend him as addition with absolute aplomb and dark to the aftereffect of his own bananas actions. Much like Parnell’s achievement underlines Jerry’s alertness to abstain the accurate attributes of his own predicaments, Middleditch absolutely sells Tommy’s wide-eyed, delusional reign. Bringing in a Tommy carbon in the nick of time to save his ancestor was a strong, silent-montage touch, but it would accept been absorbing to apprehend how Middleditch would accept handled the about-face if the writers hadn’t gone with the (still actual funny) “My Ancestor Didn’t Eat Me” bodice reveal.
“Rick and Morty” Division 3 affectedness Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.
