History Recap / RickAndMortyS3E9TheABCsOfBeth

** Summer and Morty repeatedly do this to Jerry over both rushing into a relationship with Kiara, and being secretly uncomfortable with the way her species looks. Played with a bit in that Summer claims this makes him racist even though Kiara is a member of a different '''species''' rather than a different '''race''' - and palso she claims he's sexist by bragging about having a girlfriend with three boobs and two vaginas.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Downplayed. Tommy's father was sentenced to death row for murdering his son (and it's publicly accepted that he also ate him), though Tommy was just trapped in Froopy Land. Legally, this seems ridiculous since there were no remains to use as evidence to make a conviction, but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_murder_convictions_without_a_body there are cases of murder convictions without a body]]. still, you have to wonder just what "evidence" the court ''did'' have against him.

** Summer and Morty repeatedly do this to Jerry over both rushing into a relationship with Kiara, and being secretly uncomfortable with the way her species looks. Played with a bit in that Summer claims this makes him racist even though Kiara is a member of a different '''species''' rather than a different '''race''' - and also she claims he's sexist by bragging about having a girlfriend with three boobs and two vaginas.

* OperationJealousy: Turns out that Kiara was doing this with Jerry to make her ex jealous, which makes her rant toward him having her as a rebound hypocritical (especially given how she was chasing him and the kids in anger earlier). TheStinger reveals they patched things up friendily though.

** Beth's rant about wanting her father's attention as a child must've struck something in Rick, because he spontaneously offers her to help him so they can spend some overdue quality father-daughter time cloning Tommy and using the clone to stop his father's execution.
** In TheStinger, Rick leaves Jerry a message that he killed Kiara's jealous boyfriend, right after said boyfriend left a threatening message, even mentioning he was looking out for him. Of course, the next message has Rick telling Jerry he slept with her though given he doesn't comment much else on it, it was probably just to let him know.

* PsychoExGirlfriend: Kiara tries to kill Summer and Morty after Jerry breaks up with her can be together after Jerry lies that he can't be with her because they don't want him to. Jerry comes clean to save his daughter's life. She spares Summer but is now angry at Jerry for lying. Luckily, her ex shows up and distracts her while Morty, Summer, and Jerry escape. TheStinger implies she's over it now, though, and that she's back to being on good terms with Jerry.
* PsychologicalProjection: Discussed. Jerry accuses Summer and Morty of being uncomfortable with the idea of him dating an alien, and later when he wants out, asks if he can use them as an excuse, to which Summer rebukes:

* TheStinger: After the credits, we are shown Jerry's answering machine, which his left the following messages:
** Jerry's ex warning him about her furious and jealous boyfriend coming to kill him.

* UnwantedRescue: Justified; Tommy refuses to go home with Beth at first because he hasn't found a way out in decades and believes "Froopy Land" is the real world. Then when she tells him he has to come home to save his father's life, he refuses to listen to her until she apologizes for pushing him into the mud.

* ExactWords: Summer promises to help Jerry figure a way out of his relationship with Kiara if he only admits to being a closet racist, a beta male sexist, and that he dragged her and Morty into a terrible situation out of nothing more than pure selfishness. As soon as he does, they both leave, with Summer claiming that getting him to admit those things about himself ''was'' helping him out.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Beth completely fails to bring the real Tommy back from Froopy Land. Rick pulls her out via portal gun when he realizes that Tommy is not reasonable and will demonstrate his bestiality and cannibalism-incest to strangers without remorse. Beth goes back on her own and tries to reason with Tommy. Just as she makes some headway, she refuses to apologize for ruining his life and that of his father's, and has to fight his entire army. At best, she returns home with his finger, to clone him and save his father from lethal injection.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Rick gets annoyed when Beth tries to get on the moral high ground on wanting to return to Froopy Land to save Tommy. He had just learned that Tommy went missing in Froopy Land because Beth tried to drown Tommy in a honey swamp and abandoned him. Rick then pulls out a box of her disturbing childhood toys and explains that she was terrorizing the neighborhood and created Froopy Land so he wouldn't have to clean up after her. He knows he is a bad parent and a scientist who has terrorized others, but at least he admits that he is one, and Beth is like him in the worst way.
* HypocriticalHumor: Kiara rants about how [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters duplicitous humans are]] when she finds out Jerry used her as a rebound to get Beth's attention. Turns out she was doing the same thing with her boyfriend. Naturally, Jerry gets just as offended (though given how she was chasing him and his children over a rebound thing, he's got more reason to be upset.)

* JerkassBall: '''Summer and Morty''' grab it: When their father is literally begging for their help with dumping Kiara, ''a telekinetic alien hunter with super-speed and intense commitment issues'', all they do is make him admit horrible things about himself and tell him to be honest, ''then ditch him''. Doubles as an IdiotBall moment as they should know that Jerry isn't exactly a paragon of bravery or honesty.

** Kiara can hunt anyone she likes due to her culture and suffers no consequences, apart from an awkward encounter with her ex. This includes strangling Summer, a child who has no means of defense. Even by the end, she starts a new relationship with Rick and Rick onscreen doesn't punish her for threatening his family.

* LampshadeHanging: When Kiara's ex shows up and distracts her with an argument over why she's hunting on his turf, Morty tells a [[SkewedPriorities Jerry offended by the notion]] he was ''her'' rebound that he's been handed his "Ex Machina".

** On a mundane level, a woman threatens her paramour's children when he tries to break up with her and blames the kids. There is nothing funny about that given how often it happens in real life.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Tommy's father was sentenced to death row for murdering his son (and it's publicly accepted that he also ate him), though Tommy was just trapped in Froopy Land. Legally, this is ridiculous since there were no remains to use as evidence to make a conviction.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_murder_convictions_without_a_body Wellllllllll...]]

* NeverMyFault: Neither Rick nor Beth admits any fault to each other or Tommy about any of the bad things that have happened.

* CannotSpitItOut: Platonic variation where Rick says anything ''but'' he loves his daughter Beth when she asks him why he'd help her leave her current life behind. The closest he gets is saying he ''might'' love her, or that it might be that he likes her... because she matters so little.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Summer and Morty are furious that their father used them to break up with Kiara and nearly gets them killed as a result, when he should have been honest about him being on the rebound. They tell him this repeatedly as he tries to take them on the lam.

* DeusExMachina: After Jerry confesses to Kiara the real reason he wants to break up with her and she begins her HumansAreBastards rant, her own ex-boyfriend suddenly shows up and implies she was using Jerry as a rebound. Morty lampshades this by saying Jerry was "handed an ex machina."

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Rick is a terrible father, but he emphasizes to Beth that he explicitly made Froopy Land childproof so that she wouldn't drown or get hurt; any hostile creatures are a result of Tommy "humping" everything out of boredom. When Tommy rapes an innocent Floopy Land creature, even Rick was disgusted and kept yelling at Tommy to leave it alone. The last straw was when Tommy tries to [[EatsBabies eat the resulting fetus]] seconds later, [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere and Rick just decides he has had enough.]] He also correctly tells off Beth on realizing that she deliberately abandoned Tommy in Froopy Land, because he made it to protect the neighborhood from her.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Beth completely fails to bring the real Tommy back from Froopy Land. Rick pulls her out via portal gun when he realizes that Tommy is not reasonable and will demonstrate his bestiality and cannibalism-incest to strangers without remorse. Beth goes back on her own and tries to reason with Tommy. Just as she makes some headway, she refuses to apologize for ruining his life and that of his father's, and has to fight his entire army. At best she returns home with his finger, to clone it and save his father from lethal injection.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Rick analyzes the bird DNA and realizes it was mixed with human DNA, Beth quickly deduces that Tommy has been impregnating the Froopy Land inhabitants and has been eating the descendants, for a source of protein. Later on, it's revealed that she deliberately tried to drown Tommy in the honey swamp and left him to die in Froopy Land. Of course she'd know what he had to do to survive.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Double-subverted. Beth after encountering Tommy decides that she's going to go alone into Froopy Land and bring him back because it's the right thing to do, especially with TheReveal that she abandoned him there on purpose and got his father condemned. She reveals her identity to Tommy and begs him to come home so that his father won't be executed. Tommy is too far gone to return home for his dad, however, and only agrees to if Beth will apologize. Beth refuses, so Tommy sets his children on her, and she fights her way through, returning home with his finger. Then she manages to clone him with Rick's help and save Tommy's father. Beth afterward feels really guilty on realizing how many lives she ruined, including that of Tommy and his family, and realizes that she is amoral like her father.

** On a mundane level, a spouse threatens her paramour's children when he tries to break up with her and blames the kids. There is nothing funny about that given how often it happens in real life.

* AmbiguousCloneEnding: Beth's choice at the end of the episode isn't disclosed: did she decide to stay, or did she accept Rick's offer to make a perfect clone of her while she went traveling? The Beth we see again at the end of the episode seems much cheerier and involved with her children than usual, which could point to a "perfect mom" clone-Beth or to a Beth finally at peace with herself and her choices. On top of that, even if she did accept Rick's offer, Beth would also be able to KillAndReplace the clone to return to her old life later on. Rick could very well make another clone in the future, [[OpeningACanOfClones so from this point onward, Beth could switch places with her clones an indeterminate number of times]].
* AmicableExes: Kiara, despite initially being angry when Jerry tells her the real reason he wants to break up, seems over it by TheStinger, leaving him a heads up on his answering machine her new boyfriend saw his texts to her and advices him to just ignore him if he calls.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Amidst all of the deadly, illegal and/or disturbing things, Rick mentions rainbow colored duct tape as one of his creations for Beth as a child.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Tommy's father was sentenced to death row for murdering his son (and it's publicly accepted that he also ate him), though Tommy was just trapped in Froopy Land. Legally this is ridiculous since there were no remains to use as evidence to make a conviction.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Most of the episode is centered around Beth believing that her father didn't love her and refused to spend time with her as a child. Rick doesn't disavow her of the notion, but he takes offense at how she belittles Froopy Land. Toxic and hateful as Rick is, he does take Beth to her childhood "chicken coop" to prove how real and safe it was. Then at the end, when Beth is terrified that she is evil, he tells her that she's smart, and it means that like him that she'll want to take the universe for a ride until it throws her off; if she wants to take that ride, he'll help her do it, whenever she wants. If she doesn't, he'll support her anyway.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In-universe, Beth and Rick are arguing about Beth being a sociopathic child or a child wanting attention.

* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: A common theme in "Rick and Morty", but this episode deserve special mention. It ''should'' be a big reveal that the world is ruled by the child Beth abandoned there, who sustains himself by raping the inhabitants and eating his own children. In this show, Rick and Beth figure it out almost instantly, and don't seem at all shocked by it. When Tommy confirms this, they're more annoyed than disturbed.

-->"Rayguns, a whip that forces people to like you, invisibility cuffs, [[BearTrap a parent trap]], a {{lightning gun}}, a teddy bear with anatomically correct innards, [[NightVisionGoggles night vision googly-eye glasses]], sound-erasing sneakers, false

** Beth is outraged that, when she was a child, Rick would rather dump her in Froopy Land than spend some time with her. Rick, however, is completely aware and unapologetic of being a terrible father, pointing out that Beth and him are NotSoDifferent.

* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: A common theme in "Rick and Morty", but this episode deserve special mention. It ''should'' be a big reveal that the world is ruled by the child Beth abandoned there, who sustains himself by raping the inhabitants and eating his own children. In this show, Rick and Beth figure it out almost instantly, and don't seem at all shocked by it. When Timmy confirms this, they're more annoyed than disturbed.

** Tommy's family suffered a TraumaCongaLine: Tommy disappeared after Beth abandoned him in Froopyland, his father was arrested and convicted for his murder, and his mother nearly watched her husband die by lethal injection.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Tommy's father was sentenced to death row for murdering his son (and it's publicly accepted that he also ate him), though Tommy was just trapped in Froopyland. Legally this is ridiculous since there were no remains to use as evidence to make a conviction.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Most of the episode is centered around Beth believing that her father didn't love her and refused to spend time with her as a child. Rick doesn't disavow her of the notion, but he takes offense at how she belittles Froopyland. Toxic and hateful as Rick is, he does take Beth to her childhood "chicken coop" to prove how real and safe it was. Then at the end, when Beth is terrified that she is evil, he tells her that she's smart, and it means that like him that she'll want to take the universe for a ride until it throws her off; if she wants to take that ride, he'll help her do it, whenever she wants. If she doesn't, he'll support her anyway.

* BerserkButton: Downplayed. Rick has no reason to take Beth to Froopyland, except to prove to her that it was real and one of his creations. He's insulted that she disparaged his creations, especially since it took a lot of work.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Double-subverted. Beth after encountering Tommy decides that she's going to go alone into Froopyland and bring him back because it's the right thing to do, especially with TheReveal that she abandoned him there on purpose and got his father condemned. She reveals her identity to Tommy and begs him to come home so that his father won't be executed. Tommy is too far gone to return home for his dad, however, and only agrees to if Beth will apologize. Beth refuses, so Tommy sets his children on her, and she fights her way through, returning home with his finger. Then she manages to clone him with Rick's help and save Tommy's father. Beth afterward feels really guilty on realizing how many lives she ruined, including that of Tommy and his family, and realizes that she is amoral like her father.

** Entering and exiting through Froopyland is done with a small tube that you use to "draw" the portal, similar to ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone''. Said chalk is also [[Literature/HaroldAndThePurpleCrayon purple]].

* SuicidalGotcha: Rick lets himself fall from a cliff at Froopy Land, only to reveal that the ground below was bouncy.

** Tommy's family suffered a TraumaCongaLine: Tommy disappeared, his father was arrested and convicted for his murder, and his mother nearly watched her husband die by lethal injection.

* EverybodyKnewAlready: By the time the King of Froopy Land reveals himself, [[GenreSavvy Rick and Beth have already correctly guessed who he is and how he's sustained himself for the last few decades]]. For good measure, they spend most of Tommy's monologue trying to stop him from explaining what they already know.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Upon witnessing Tommy "preparing dinner", Rick promptly draws a portal in the floor and exits as quickly as possible.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: When Tommy rapes an innocent Floopy Land creature, even Rick was disgusted and kept yelling at Tommy to leave it alone. The last straw was when Tommy tries to [[EatsBabies eat the resulting fetus]] seconds later, [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere and Rick just decides he has had enough.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: '''Summer and Morty''': When their father is literally begging for their help with dumping Kiara, ''a telekinetic alien hunter with super-speed and intense commitment issues'', all they do is make him admit horrible things about himself and tell him to be honest, ''then ditch him''. Doubles as an IdiotBall moment as they should know that Jerry isn't exactly a paragon of bravery or honesty.

** Jerry compares Keara to Cheetara from 'WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985''.

* PsychoExGirlfriend: Kiara tries to kill Summer and Morty after Jerry breaks up with her claiming that he can't be with her because they don't want him to. Jerry comes clean to save his daughter's life. She spares Summer but is now angry at Jerry for lying. Luckily, her ex shows up and distracts her while Morty, Summer, and Jerry escape. TheStinger implies she's over it now, though, and that she's back to being on good terms with Jerry.

* PsychoExGirlfriend: Kiara tries to kill Summer and Morty after Jerry breaks up with her can be together after Jerry lies that he can't be with her because they don't want him to. Jerry comes clean to save his daughter's life. She spares Summer but is now angry at Jerry for lying. Luckily, her ex shows up and distracts her while Morty, Summer, and Jerry escape. TheStinger implies she's over it now, though, and that she's back to being on good terms with Jerry.

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Subverted. Beth tries to reason with Tommy, so that he can come home and save his father's life, and doesn't seem to get any headway until she reveals her identity. Then Tommy says he wants an apology; when Beth refuses to take responsibility, Tommy sets his army on her. She has to fight her way through, and returns home with his finger to clone.

* RealityEnsues:
** Morty and Summer hate the bubble gun because the bubbles have a limited amount of oxygen, or "no air" in their words. When they arrive at Jerry's place, they're gasping for breath when the bubbles pop.
** The last time that Tommy saw Beth, they were children. He thus doesn't recognize her as an adult until she reveals herself.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Rick analyzes the bird DNA and realizes it was mixed with human DNA, Beth quickly deduces that Tommy has been impregnating the Froopy Land inhabitants and has been eating the descendants, for a source of protein. Later on, it's revealed that she deliberately tried to drown Tommy in the honey swamp and left him to die in Froopy Land. Of course she'd know what he had to do to survive.

* AnArmAndALeg: Rick loses an arm to a mutant Froopy Land bird. Rick manages to fix it before the episode is half over.

* ActionGirlfriend: Alien badass hunter Kiara is [[NonActionGuy Jerry's]] new girlfriend. She turns into a DarkActionGirl when she goes all WomanScorned on him and his family.

** In TheStinger, Rick leaves Jerry a message that he killed Kiara's jealous boyfriend, right after said boyfriend left a threatening message, even mentioning he was looking out for him. Of course, the next messege has Rick telling Jerry he slept with her though given he doesn't comment much else on it, it was probably just to let him know.

* WomanScorned: Kiara tries to kill Summer and Morty so she and Jerry can be together after Jerry lies that he can't be with her because they don't want him to. Jerry comes clean to save his daughter's life. She spares Summer but is now angry at Jerry for lying. Luckily, her ex shows up and distracts her while Morty, Summer, and Jerry escape. TheStinger implies she's over it now, though, and that she's back to being on good terms with Jerry.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Kiara is allowed to hunt anyone without consequence because it's the way of her people. She doesn't see anything wrong with killing sentient beings.