Conspiracy
After learning on the news that convicted child killer Joseph Lipnip is to be executed by lethal injection tonight for eating his son Thomas Lipnip, his execution already drawing dozens of other viewers, Beth recalls trying to cope with Tommy’s disappearance by imagining herself lost in her imaginary world called “Froopyland” and laughing at how silly it was. Rick then takes offense and reveals that her “imaginary world” was actually one of his inventions created for her to play in. Beth realizes that this means Tommy may actually still be trapped there and enters the realm with Rick. While Beth argues with Rick about spending her childhood in the “glorified chicken coop” instead of by his side, Rick is captured and nearly fed by the offspring of a giant bird-like creature, losing an arm in the process.
After fighting the bird and her children with a new mechanical arm, Rick and Beth discover that life forms have been created and destroyed using human DNA, suggesting that Tommy is indeed still trapped in the dimension. Beth theorizes that Tommy was consorting with the creatures of Froopyland to produce children that he would consume for sustenance, and Rick adds that it’s also likely that the less palatable of them (to Tommy) would worship Tommy as their god. Rick’s assumption turns out to be true when they are both captured by a group of Tommy’s children (human/Froopyland hybrids). After being captured and brought before Tommy, they learn (to no surprise) that he has become the de facto leader of the dimension and commits incest with his children as well as cannibalism in order to survive, just as Rick and Beth found out. However, Tommy reveals in the game that Beth was responsible for his imprisonment in Froopyland, out of jealousy of his own father. After the game, Tommy decides to put on a “demonstration” of how he makes a living in Froopyland, to which Rick reacts in disgust by quickly leaving with Beth in tow.
When Beth claims that their “adventure” isn’t over, Rick tries to justify keeping Beth in Froopyland for most of her childhood by saying that she was a “scary shitty kid” who often asked him to make borderline, if not shamelessly, psychotic toys. and equipment to use on the neighbors’ children. Beth tries to blame Rick for her actions, claiming that she only did it so that Rick would spend more time with her, and decides to rescue Tommy from the dimension. But when she refuses to apologize for trapping him in Froopyland, Tommy refuses to leave and feeds his children on her, causing her to go into a defense-induced homicidal frenzy during which she likely kills Tommy. Beth returns with her severed finger, and Rick and Beth create an adult clone of Tommy to save his father from a lethal injection. Reflecting on her life, Beth finally confronts Rick and learns that she has two choices: leave her family and travel through space while Rick replaces her with a clone, or stay with her family and be content with the life she has chosen. Her decision remains ambiguous.
Meanwhile, Jerry starts dating Keara, an alien who is very into hunting, much to the dismay of Morty and Summer. After getting exhausted on one of their hunts with Keara, Jerry confesses to Summer and Morty that he wants to break up with Keara, to which they both encourage him to confront her about it. The next day, Summer and Morty find themselves on the run from Keara after Jerry warns them that he wants to kill them. It is then revealed that it is because Jerry claimed that they tried to end his and Kear’s relationship. While trying to kill Morty and Summer, she breaks up with Jerry once he reveals that he also wanted to end their relationship. It is then revealed that she is using him as a springboard to get over a previous ex, much like Jerry was with her.
Post-shoot scene: Jerry’s answering machine plays messages detailing Keara warning Jerry that her new boyfriend is mad at him, the boyfriend calls to say he’s after Jerry, Rick assures Jerry he killed the alien hunter, then says he had sex with Keara. Michael, the owner of the antique shop where Jerry rented his answering machine, also allows Jerry to keep the device because “nobody uses it anymore and it’s only used for display on TV shows anyway”.
