After yet another nightmarish adventure, Morty has had enough. He tells Rick, point blank, that he wants out of the crazy escapades. But Rick, ever the manipulator (and loving grandpa?), pleads with Morty to keep going. A deal is struck: Morty gets to lead the next adventure. If it goes well, Morty gets to lead every tenth adventure from now on. If it doesn’t? Morty has to stop whining. Simple enough, right? Well, if you know Rick, nothing is ever that simple.
Rick and Morty Season 1 Episode 5
Meanwhile, back at home, the rest of the Smith family is piling up mundane requests for Rick to handle. Instead of dealing with them himself, Rick hands over the Meeseeks Box, a little gadget that summons blue creatures called Mr. Meeseeks. These guys live for one thing and one thing only: solving whatever task you give them, then vanishing into thin air. Sounds great, right? Except Rick warns them to keep the tasks simple. But, naturally, the family doesn’t really take this to heart.
Rick and Morty head off on Morty’s first adventure as team leader, leaving Beth, Jerry, and Summer to play around with their new blue helpers. Beth, wanting to be a “more complete woman” (whatever that means), and Summer, hoping for instant popularity at school, make their requests. Jerry, though? He just wants to knock two strokes off his golf game. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But this is Jerry, so we already know this is going to go sideways.
Meanwhile, Morty leads Rick to a poor village in a fantasy realm, where the locals are desperate for help. They point up to the sky, revealing a giant world above them (because of course there’s a giant world). Morty and Rick climb a massive beanstalk and arrive in this land of giants. Things go wrong immediately. After making themselves comfortable on a giant’s dining table, the giant, Dale, comes in and sniffs them out. But before he can do his giant thing—likely involving eating our duo—he slips, smacks his head on the table, and dies. Whoops. When his family finds Dale’s body, Rick and Morty are promptly arrested for giant-cide and thrown in giant jail. This adventure is already going great, isn’t it?
While Rick and Morty await trial, Summer’s Meeseeks easily makes her the most popular girl in school by delivering a motivational speech that would make any high school movie proud. Beth’s Meeseeks, meanwhile, gives her a pep talk that boosts her confidence. But Jerry? Oh boy, Jerry. His Meeseeks is struggling. Despite all the coaching and tips in the world, Jerry just cannot get better at golf. Frustrated, Jerry’s Meeseeks does the only logical thing: he summons more Meeseeks. And then more. Soon, there’s an army of Meeseeks all trying (and failing) to improve Jerry’s swing. The longer they live without completing their task, the more insane they become. Golf shouldn’t be this hard!
Back in giant world, Rick and Morty’s trial is over, and they get off on a technicality. Rick is ready to pack it in and call the adventure a flop, but Morty, bless his heart, is still determined to prove this was a good idea. They head down the giant courthouse stairs, where they stumble upon a pub called the Thirsty Step. While Morty heads to the bathroom, Rick enjoys some classic karaoke with a spirited rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama.” In the bathroom, Morty has the misfortune of meeting Mr. Jellybean, an anthropomorphic candy who starts off friendly but quickly turns creepy—very creepy. Mr. Jellybean attacks Morty, trying to force himself on the poor kid. Morty fights back and manages to escape, traumatized and shaking.
When Morty returns, he begs Rick to call off the adventure and go home. Rick, completely unaware of what just happened, tries to brush it off—until he sees the bruised and battered Mr. Jellybean slinking out of the bathroom. Connecting the dots, Rick agrees to leave, but not before offering Morty’s winnings from his card games to the villagers below as a parting gift. Morty is momentarily cheered up, though it’s clear this adventure didn’t go as planned.
Meanwhile, back home, the Meeseeks situation has hit critical mass. The Meeseeks army is in full meltdown mode, now hell-bent on killing Jerry to finally end their misery. They storm a restaurant where Jerry and Beth are on a date, wielding kitchen utensils as weapons. The couple hides in the freezer as the Meeseeks take hostages, demanding Jerry’s head. Feeling defeated, Jerry is ready to surrender, but Beth encourages him to take one more swing at fixing his golf game. Surprisingly, with the help of a tomato and some quick thinking, Jerry nails the shot. The Meeseeks, in a celebratory burst of blue confetti, vanish from existence—finally!
Rick and Morty Season 1 Episode 5
Back in the fantasy realm, Rick and Morty are invited to meet the villagers’ king. Surprise! It’s Mr. Jellybean. Morty, horrified, refuses, and Rick swiftly opens a portal to escape. But before they can leave, Rick decides he’s not letting that jellybean get away with his attack. He opens the portal just long enough to shoot Mr. Jellybean dead. The villagers are left in shock, but Rick and Morty are already out of there.
The episode wraps up with a touching moment: the chaos of the Meeseeks situation helps strengthen Jerry and Beth’s relationship. And in a post-credits scene, we see that the villagers find disturbing evidence of Mr. Jellybean’s true nature. Rather than face the ugly truth, they decide to destroy the evidence and preserve his legacy as a beloved figure. Because, you know, it’s always better to remember the idea of a good leader than the reality—especially when your leader was a jellybean creep.
And thus ends another “successful” Rick and Morty adventure, where lessons were learned, trauma was experienced, and… well, Mr. Meeseeks are probably banned from the Smith household for good.