In Rick and Morty’s multiverse, characters meet alternative versions of themselves all the time. But none of those meetups have anything on “Bethic Twinstinct”, the third episode in Season 6. What’s fascinating about this episode aren’t the social taboos it gleefully breaks. It’s how breaking those rules may actually be for the greater good. Spoilers ahead.
“Bethic Twinstinct” takes place during Thanksgiving as Space Beth (Sarah Chalke) visits her Earth family. Beth’s relationship with her space rebel counterpart starts innocently enough. After trying to kill each other in Season 4’s “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” and feuding throughout Season 6’s “Solaricks”, the two slowly bond over their love of wine. But the more they get to know one another, the more risqué their relationship becomes. Yep, Beth cheats on her husband with herself.
“‘Bethic Twinstinct’ is a story about self-exploration. And also for the rest of the family, it’s a story about avoidance,” Anne Lane, the episode’s writer, said in a behind-the-scenes interview with Adult Swim.
According series creator and executive producer Dan Harmon, Beth falling in love with herself was a story proposed by Lane. It made sense to Harmon on a narcissistic level, but it also made sense on a more subversive level. “Is Beth a woman who’s allowed to like herself?” Harmon explained.
The episode that follows isn’t just an interesting, forbidden, and oddly sincere examination into what it means to love yourself. It also has the potential to change Beth and Jerry’s (Chris Parnell) historically rocky relationship for the better. By the episode’s finale, Beth, Jerry, and Space Beth have a threesome as a horrified Rick (Justin Roiland) and his grandkids try to ignore what’s happening in the other room.
“It actually brings the trio of Beth, Jerry, and Space Beth to a new level of like a throuple that could actually work in a way that might be better and cleaner and more honest than the way that Beth and Jerry had been functioning on their own,” Scott Marder, Season 6’s showrunner, said.
In any case, it seems like this new dynamic is one that’s going to stick around for a while. The final moments of the episode show Beth and Jerry happily waving goodbye to Space Beth as Rick and the kids frown. Looks like Dr. Wong was right all along. Sexual experimentation may be the key to saving this marriage.
New episodes of Rick and Morty premiere on Adult Swim Sundays at 11/10c p.m.
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