‘Rick and Morty’ Season 8 Is Wasting the Potential of One of Its Most Important Storylines

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 8.Over time, many shows can suffer from a loss of perspective when they go on for long enough, and Rick and Morty remains no exception. Despite being mainstays of the story for much of its run, both Beth Smith (Sarah Chalke) and her husband Jerry (Chris Parnell) have mostly become footnotes since they reconciled, either being ignored outright or devolving. The cure to this disease might lie in an episode solely dedicated to them, one where the pair can actually develop for the first time in several years without the distractions brought by another subplot. Having a great concept for an episode is no guarantee that it will work, but it would be a bold move by a show that has struggled to remain relevant and has the potential for a resonant story.

Beth and Jerry Have Become Sidelined in ‘Rick and Morty’

When Rick and Morty first started, one of the most important dynamics in the Smith family was the failing marriage between Beth and Jerry, something for which Rick (Ian Cardoni) has never forgiven them. During the first three seasons of the series in particular, it became a power struggle and was a subject for entire subplots, making way for some of their best episodes to date. After they both choose to reconcile, their bond largely takes a backseat to our titular heroes themselves, and the marriage between Beth and Jerry has become mostly a comedic footnote and usually an unfunny one.

For example, while Mr. Nimbus (Dan Harmon) is one of the funniest one-off characters in the show, neither Beth nor Jerry makes a dent with their roles during the story of the season 5 premiere. Their only real purpose in the episode is to have a running joke about them each wanting a threesome to explore their marriage, which is probably the least funny part of an otherwise great episode. Since then, they’ve both gone for whole episodes without appearing, and the show could do much more to get back to prominence if it wanted.

In addition to receiving less focus than they once did, the Smith couple have also faced their own unique problems as characters. Ever since her debut in the season 4 finale, Space Beth has increasingly taken the role the original Beth once had, with the recent season 8 episode “Valkyrick” being another story dedicated to her. The show has also tried playing this for comedy by having both versions meet each other, but the result was one of the worst and most uncomfortable episodes in years.

On the other hand, Jerry has become a victim of what has often been called Flanderization, where a single trait of a complex character becomes their sole defining attribute as a show goes on for long enough. In the first three seasons, Jerry was often an insecure but loving dad who learned from his mistakes and was mocked more by Rick himself than anyone else. Since then, he’s devolved into just a loser archetype and the joke of the entire family, and it’s a notion the show has never tried to deconstruct or subvert for actual drama.

A Bottle Episode for Beth and Jerry Could Be Uniquely Memorable

Jerry in 'Rick and Morty' Season 8. — Image via Adult Swim

While Beth and Jerry might not be quite as prominent as they once were, there are still signs that the writers may have greater plans for them. In the ongoing eighth season, “The Last Temptation of Jerry” shows their romance is far from dead, but it’s a good episode that still finds itself distracted by crazy events on other worlds. Even when the show had been in its prime, storylines like the pair saving a deer together or attending an alien couples counseling center are usually overshadowed by whatever the other characters are doing. What this couple really needs is a bottle episode, where we can get a glimpse of their bond as their relationship recovers.

At first glance, an episode solely about Jerry and Beth might seem pretty out of the box for Rick and Morty, but it’s less radical than one might think. They have both undergone separate adventures with Rick a few times, but never alone or with each other. Such an idea would not be truly untested waters, either, as Rick and Morty has done a few bottle episodes before involving the Citadel, and they have been wildly successful.

Yes, most stories still remain episodic and isolated, but the show has also become more interconnected too, and it allows characters like Morty to slowly evolve over time. Doing the same thing for Beth and Jerry would be a great opportunity to give them both proper development and explore exactly how their marriage has recovered, in both comedic and dramatic fashion. Whether it’s a more grounded story or involves wacky science elements, it would be a great reminder that Jerry is still a good father, while giving Beth the attention that she truly deserves.

Rick and Morty swirling in a green vortex in Rick and Morty.

Sorry, but If You’re Watching ‘Rick and Morty’ for the Lore, You Were Always Going To Be Disappointed

“It’s just Rick and Morty! Rick and Morty and their adventures, Morty!”

After Eight Seasons, ‘Rick and Morty’ Needs To Start Taking Risks

Jerry watches an argument between Beth and Space Beth in a scene from 'Rick and Morty.' — Image via Adult Swim

After twelve years, it’s not a surprise that Rick and Morty has begun to have some creative struggles, and it’s still a big question about how they can pull themselves out of that hole. They’ve already revisited earlier stories from the series, and there are several more they could do, but a dramatic episode like this would be something truly unique. As for how the episode could unfold, there are countless ways such a story might play out in terms of the setup. Maybe they get lost in space after messing with one of Rick’s many gadgets, or they have yet another therapy session with Dr. Wong (Susan Sarandon) back on Earth.

Regardless of how such a story begins, though, it could become a fan favorite if the two Smith parents are treated as well as Morty (Harry Belden) and Rick have been in recent years. Television lives and dies by its writing, and bottle episodes are always very risky, but they can also be incredibly effective, and committing to something so different would certainly gain the attention of its fans. More than a simple experiment, there is some real potential here for an emotional and powerful narrative about what it really means to earn and preserve love by working for it. In an era where Rick and Morty feels like it’s been in sharp decline, that alone would mark it as a great achievement.

All episodes of Rick and Morty can be streamed on HBO Max in the U.S.