The Beths Become Kids Again, Broh
Rick and Morty Season 8, Ep 6 Review
Back in the season three episode, “The ABCs of Beth” we learned from Rick that when she was a kid, Beth was kind of nuts. Besides leaving her friend in the imaginary world her dad made for her, she apparently had a penchant for violence and a desire to hurt people. Since we’ve never met a kid version of Beth, we had to take Rick’s word for it…until now. Not only do we seethe Beths become kids again, but they’re every bit as psycho as Rick claims.
At least, most versions of Beth were like that. We don’t know what Rick’s original Beth was like.
Beths Become Kids Again
The Smith family is going on a day trip to this alien-made amusement park that Rick claims is a hilariously bad version of Earth. However, Beth and Space Beth are in too foul a mood to want to go and stay behind. That leads them to discussing when they were last genuinely happy, and that leads them both to turn themselves back into kids using a device on Space Beth’s ship. Unfortunately, the device also reverts them mentally as well as physically. As a result, both Beths become psychotic, bloodthirsty kids who terrorize anyone they come across, like their neighbor, Gene.
I’m a kid at heart myself, so I understand the appeal of wanting to return to being a child. After all, life was simpler when most of us were kids; ergo, it was happier. However, I’m also smart enough to understand that nostalgia has a tendency to blind us to what the past was really like. I loved being a kid, but that also meant dealing with my growing body, going to school every weekday, and the stress of homework. In Beth’s case, we see that Rick was not exaggerating when he said his daughter was nuts as a kid. Rick’s aren’t always the best dads, but at least they had the common sense to make sure their daughter couldn’t hurt anyone…most of the time.
Aww, Rick Really Does Love Beth!
Meanwhile, Rick is also dealing with his nostalgia crisis when he discovers that the theme park he loved, Earth World, has become cleaner and more gentrified. It’s more like how Earth is, at least in America, and it irritates him to no end. He’s the kind of person who thinks a park of inaccurate rides and rusty nails everywhere is hilarious. That leads him to seek out the park’s creator, voiced by Danny DeVito, which leads him to what’s left of the original park. In keeping with the warning about nostalgia filters, it’s not as cool as Rick remembers, and he opts to bail on it to fix the crisis the Beths have started. They end up turning the tables on him, though, and age him up to 360 years old! Those implants of his mean he’s going to live for a long time.
As messed up as the entire thing is, it does lead to a heartfelt moment between Rick and his daughters. The Beths vent their anger at how they were abandoned by Rick (their Rick), and Rick admits he’s proud of both his daughters. It’s another small example of how their relationship has become healthier as the series has progressed, and it’s nice to see.
Another Disastrous Theme Park
Meanwhile, things go downhill for the rest of the Smiths. Morty almost gets it on with an alien, only to realize she’s only into him because he’s human. Summer and Jerry discover that the park owner is insane and sics its mascots (humans with giant heads) on the park to kill everyone. Why? Because that’s what happens in movies involving amusement parks. The trio are barely able to escape with their lives, and in the end, they all agree that the place sucked.
This was a fun episode of Rick and Morty. It’s not one of its better episodes, but it was still entertaining enough to watch. Plus, I really liked how it satirized all those horrible amusement parks we see in movies. The fact that it overtly references Jurassic Park is funny.
“The Curicksous Case of Bethjamin Button” a 3.5/5
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