The complicated saga of Beth and Space Beth will return to the forefront of Rick and Morty season 8’s focus after two seasons on the back burner. Realistically, Rick and Morty season 8 can’t hope to bring back every existing storyline, subplot, and supporting character that fans want to see again. Ever since Rick and Morty‘s Prime Dimension was forgotten early in season 1, the show has made no bones about embracing its chaotic, ever-shifting canon.

Rick and Morty season 7 seemingly saw Mr. Poopyʙuттhole’s multi-season arc come to an end, only for it to start all over again. Similarly, Rick and Morty season 7’s Rick Prime death brought Rick’s longest character arc to date to a definitive close, offering viewers real closure when it came to his nemesis. However, Rick and Morty’s season 7 ending complicated matters by seemingly bringing back Rick’s late wife, Diane. This episode asked whether undoing Diane’s death would be a good thing after all, complicating Rick’s internal journey all over again.

Beth and Space Beth’s Relationship Will Return In Rick and Morty Season 8

Two Of The Outing’s Ten Episodes Focus On Beth and Space Beth

Since Rick and Morty must balance standalone episodes with serialized stories that further the show’s overarching canonical plot, it is no surprise that season 8 can’t bring back every fan-favorite supporting star. That said, Rick and Morty‘s episode тιтles imply Space Beth will play a bigger role this time around, and this would be a welcome change of pace for the series. Space Beth hasn’t been a major main character since around season 6, episode 3, “Bethic Twinstinct,” although she has appeared plenty of times as a minor character.

Beth and Space Beth’s relationship with each other is complicated, dating all the way back to season 3, episode 9, “The ABC’s of Beth.” While both Beth and Space Beth have received more focus in Rick and Morty’s tie-in comics, the show itself has only used the duo sparingly. Beth was offered the chance to clone herself so she could live a life of intergalactic heroism and adventure at the end of “The ABC’s of Beth,” and season 4’s finale “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” revealed that she took Rick up on this offer.

The problem was that neither Beth knew which of them was the original Beth, the mother of Summer and Morty, and which was the clone. In the finale’s twist ending, Rick revealed that he had erased that information from his own mind since he didn’t want to be responsible for Beth’s choice. Beth and Space Beth have had a troubled relationship in the years since, although “Bethic Twinstinct” saw them start a surprisingly romantic affair that eventually ended up entangling Jerry, too. It was a funny, unexpected twist that made their dynamic genuinely unpredictable.

Rick and Morty Season 6 Focused On Beth and Space Beth’s Complex Story

Season 4’s Finale Was The First Major Beth/ Space Beth Episode

While “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri” was the first chance Space Beth and Beth had to share the screen together, their relationship has steadily grown deeper since that outing. Outside the romantic relationship with Jerry, the pair seem to maintain a pretty close bond. Space Beth often acts as a member of the Smith family, appearing as a minor background character in episodes that don’t center on her or Beth specifically.

By the looks of things, Rick and Morty season 8’s Easter special, “The Last Temptation of Jerry,” will center on Beth’s luckless husband. However, the storyboard clips from episode 2, “Valkyrick,” and episode 6, “The Curicksous Case of Bethjamin ʙuттon,” both center on Beth and Space Beth. In the former, one version of Beth handily incapacitates a ground of bug alien guards. In the latter, Beth’s humdrum workday is contrasted with Space Beth’s day of adventuring throughout space, meaning viewers may get new insight into their shared dissatisfaction with their lives.

Beth and Space Beth Complicate Rick and Morty’s Biggest Character Change

Rick’s Mistakes Make His Redemption Harder To Envision

It is always fun to see more of Space Beth, who brings out a new, wilder side of Beth while also acting as an interesting character in her own right. However, Rick and Morty season 8’s renewed focus on Space Beth inevitably means the show must interrogate Rick’s character failures. Rick has gotten much better in recent seasons, treating Morty as more of a human being and an equal. He has even grown less self-destructive since he defeated Rick Prime.

However, erasing his memory and switching the two Beths was one of his lowest moments in the history of the series. For all of Rick’s growth in season 7, Rick and Morty season 8’s decision to re-center Beth and Space Beth could cast Rick in a bad light thanks to his shortcomings as a father.