Rick and Morty season 5 Episode 8 Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort
The Smiths leave for a trip, leaving Rick home alone. After they leave, Rick goes to the garage and activates the “Best Friend Rejuvenation Sequence”, which brings the cybernetic, half-dead Birdperson out of the wall Rick had stored him in in “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri”. Rick removes his cybernetic parts and tries to bring him back to life, but Birdperson wakes up for just a second, sees Rick, and immediately falls unconscious again. Rick’s Garage AI reports that Birdperson has hidden his conscious mind in his unconscious mind. Left with no other choice, Rick enters Birdperson’s mind to save him.
Rick arrives, naked, remembering their encounter at the alien music festival, using a bystander to direct him to the Birdperson. He goes through a flashback of a battle between Rick, Birdperson, and several agents of the Citadel of Rick, before landing in a flashback of Rick, Birdperson, Squanchy, and several other Resistance fighters planning the “Battle of Blood Ridge”. Memory Rick notices him and Rick reveals that he is just a sentient memory before incapacitating him and completing the device that allows him to track Birdperson with his mind.
He finds Birdperson watching a memory of him and Tammy together. Birdperson rejects his rescue attempt and flies away just as the Gromflomite soldiers attack. Memory Rick joins Rick in the fight and they both win and head off to find Birdperson. In the garage, both Rick and Birdperson have a seizure. The AI that controls Rick’s garage notices neighbor Gene walking by and convinces him to bring as many batteries and solar panels into it as possible.
The Ricks track Birdperson to a large red crystal tree. They split up, Memory Rick entering Birdperson’s memories suppressed by the Federation after being transformed into Phoenixperson. Rick finds Birdperson making bombs out of anger, and upon seeing Rick detonates them in an attempt to destroy his own mind. Flashback Rick sees Birdperson’s death as the tree begins to collapse, and the Ricks run until Rick pauses, remembering his fight with Birdperson in “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri”, defeats Birdperson and orders him to give him his clothes. Destroying the tree turns all nearby Bird People wild.
Ricks go through the “PTSD-Station” to get to Birdperson and end up in the Battle of Blood Ridge. Memory Rick, eager to see this, is pleased to find that the Resistance easily wins the battle, mostly due to the efforts of Rick and Birdperson. As Rick looks for a way out, Memory Rick notes that after the battle, Rick offered to take Birdperson to whatever reality they wanted to go to and stop fighting, but Birdperson refused, saying it wasn’t worth his integrity.
Birdperson takes Memory Tammy to watch the sunrise with him at their house and they are both ambushed by Ricks. As Rick argues with Birdperson to try to take him back, he reveals that both he and Memory Rick learned that Birdperson and Tammy had a child. Birdperson decides to live for her child, who is being held by the Federation, just as the Federation’s memory attacks. The four steal a Federation car and go through Birdperson’s memories.
Rick reminds Birdperson of the time they used the mind erasure gun on Jerry and wandered into Rick’s garage to get the gun. Rick explains that in order to get to the exit, they need to use the memories that Rick and Birdperson share, mostly in anger and sadness, to “interpret” their way to a happier memory of their first encounter, indulging in the use of an illegal Federation substance. Senthol Diempathate. They travel through a friend’s funeral, Squanchy’s attempt at stand-up comedy, and Rick, Birdperson, and Squanchy’s band. When they reach the portal that takes them outside, they are attacked by another Tammy, whom Memory Rick throws into the abyss with her. A black bird-like creature attacks, Birdperson says goodbye to Tammy and Rick, and Birdperson flies out of his mind.
After narrowly escaping the collapse of his brain’s neural pathways and regaining consciousness, Birdperson confronts Rick about not telling him about his imprisoned child until it was “necessary to save” himself. Disappointed, he leaves just as Gene arrives with his batteries. Panicking, the garage pretends not to know him and closes the door. However, Rick doesn’t get mad and tells the garage that he understands.
Meanwhile, Memory Rick is revealed to still be alive after transferring into Rick’s brain. Rick finds him and offers him a drink, Memory Rick follows but hesitates, realizing that this would mean he ends up being the present Rick.
In a post-credits scene, Birdperson’s daughter is singled out by an inmate in a Federation prison and is seen attacking him before being dragged away.
