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This past week, Rick and Morty really tested the limits of self love. Was there a small, uncomfortable part of you that feared an episode titled “Bethic Twinstinct” would revolve around something sexually scandalous like Basic Instinct? That hunch was completely right. But what followed was surprisingly romantic.
More than typical episodes, this Season 6 installment was packed with rapid-fire references. For instance, at one point Rick name drops both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Multiplicity — the inspirations behind two Season 5 episodes — in a single sentence. But this episode’s greatest gifts revolved around the subtle in-universe nods it provided. Consider this your guide to the Easter eggs you may have missed.
Earth Beth and Space Beth's "full San Junipero" is a 'Black Mirror' reference.
At the height of their affair, Earth Beth (Sarah Chalke) and Space Beth (Chalke) decide to take their relationship to the next level. They sneak into Rick’s (Justin Roiland) holodeck and immerse themselves in a simulation where they spend the next 50 years of their lives together. When Rick discovers what they’ve done, he incredulously yells, “You did a full San Junipero in here?” That’s a reference to one of Black Mirror‘s very best episodes.
Directed by Owen Harris and written by series creator Charlie Brooker, “San Junipero” revolves around the budding relationship between Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis). But as the episode progresses, it’s revealed that Kelly and Yorkie actually met in a simulated reality that’s predominantly inhabited by the deceased and elderly. In real life, Kelly is a grieving older widow, and Yorkie has been paralyzed for most of her life. Simulations and heartfelt lesbian romance? Yeah, Rick called this one correctly.
Rick may have alluded to Jerry's upgrade earlier in this season.
After Jerry (Chris Parnell) learns about his wife cheating on him with, well, herself, he doesn’t end it all. Instead he does the truly unthinkable and curls in on himself, much like a pillbug. Rick tells the rest of the family that he installed that feature after a drunken night when Jerry told Rick a shell he could control was what he wanted most in the world. Though this is the first time we’ve seen one of Jerry’s upgrades, “Solaricks” implied that he does have them.
After Rick and Morty (Roiland) saved the Beths and Summer (Spencer Grammer) from a space monster, Morty asked why his moms and sister need space helmets and he doesn’t. “I do childproofing stuff while you’re asleep,” Rick said, causing everyone to remember Jerry. We knew that Rick has given himself several upgrades; “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy” revealed that he has class C or above cybernetic augmentations. We also know that he’s given Morty the ability to breathe in space without a suit and turn into a car. But now we know this isn’t just a Morty thing. Rick has probably given the whole family customized sci-fi powers.
That Venusian wine foreshadowed what was to come.
Though Earth Beth and Space Beth end up speaking French, the wine they bond over isn’t from France. It’s from Venus. It’s a joke that works on a couple of levels. Venus was the Roman goddess that represented love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. But as time has gone on, she’s a figure that’s come to embody female desire and sexuality. As for why Venusian sounds like that, French cinema has a long and storied history of critically praised sad, sapphic films. The second the Beths mentioned Venus, we should have known that things were going to get sexual.
This was the second time someone has used the Gloppy Drop System as an excuse to betray the family.
While the Beths are hiding their affair, they volunteer to go to the Gloppy Drop System to get ice cream. This officially marks the second time a member of this household has used Gloppy Drop ice cream for nefarious intentions. In Season 2’s “The Wedding Squanchers”, Rick uses the delicious treat to leave his family and turn himself in to the Galactic Federation. From now on, if someone mentions Gloppy Drop anything, be wary.
What Morty's thankful for is a meta joke.
“Bethic Twinstinct” ends with Rick, Morty, and Summer trying to eat Thanksgiving leftovers and ignore the very loud threesome happening between their moms and dad. In a desperate attempt to distract his grandkids, Rick asks them what they’re thankful for. Summer says water, and Morty nearly breaks down, saying, “Fucking, are you fucking kidding me? Why? Why? Discovery Channel. Discovery Channel. Why?”
That weird answer is a shameless nod to Adult Swim and Cartoon Network’s new parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which is owned by Discovery, Inc. The merger took place in April of 2022. And considering the precarious place animation has been in since Discovery has become a more active owner, there’s a distinctly dark edge to this joke.
Speaking of darkness, this final scene reveals something about the Smith household that’s never been explicitly stated before. Most of the time, Rick, Morty, and sometimes Summer’s portal traveling escapades have been framed as silly side adventures. But Summer and Morty begging their grandfather to fix his portal gun implies that the kids have been using these adventures to escape from their dysfunctional household. Observant fans have likely suspected this for years, but this is the first time the series has explicitly confirmed it.
