Rick And Morty Season 9 Episode 9 Recap And Ending Explained

Morty and Summer have been schooled by Rick for doing mischievous shenanigans with his invention in several episodes across past seasons, and the penultimate episode of the ongoing season of “Rick and Morty” is just another such example. However, lack of engaging action and comedic flair is quite noticeable throughout the episode – which is strange given the series’ recent streak. For a season that has been stacked with excellent emotionally rich episodes, “Salute Your Morts” remains limited to being just another average entertainer with more fluff than stuff.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did Rick Punish Morty And Summer?

The episode opens in Harry Herpson High School, where Morty and Summer have been summoned along with their parents, as Principal Gene V has decided to directly expel them for their rampant, reckless usage of Rick’s tech given it has caused much trouble in the school premises. Acting like spoiled brats, Morty and Summer appear totally unrepentant and literally mute the grown ups by using another of Rick’s thingamajig. Rick asks Rick to arrive, who immediately turns Principal Gene to a carrot after learning he has expelled his grandkids, and the horrid experience forces Gene to revert his decision in fear after he returns to his regular self. Beth chides Rick, mentioning his indulgence has spoiled her children, and proving her right, Morty hurls some insulting remarks towards his grandpa. Rick has had enough of these ungrateful whiny brats, and he shares his plan to send them to a sleepaway camp in a far flung planet where rich people across multiverse send their spoiled kids to have them straighten up. 

En route, Morty and Summer continue to poke Rick by making fun of him, causing him to punish them by sending their space pod crash land in the sleepaway camp planet. However, things are totally different than what they had expected them to be, as the alien brats have taken over the camp by killing all the counselors and guards, and have engaged in non-stop hedonistic activities. Using the trust fund of the brats living in the camp, supply is always maintained – and the place has turned into a completely unsupervised part zone. Despite getting alarmed by the situation, Summer and Morty decide to go with the flow and try to fit in by partying with them nonstop. However, after a point they realize that this has been going on too far, and with no restriction or code and conduct, the brats have become genuinely evil. However, the alien brats remind them that escaping is not an option, and Smith siblings are not allowed to call their guardians either. After one of the aliens gives birth to a child she had conceived, and the rest of partying aliens try to force Morty and Jerry to forcibly chug beer, the siblings finally decide to call it quits and rush away from the camp. 

Jerry and Beth Get Forever High

Meanwhile, at home, in the absence of the kids, Beth and Jerry find some alone time and Beth decides to search for Summer’s secret stash of drugs. They find a unique stash of joints, and without translating the label on them, end up smoking them while reminiscing about younger days. Beth eventually checks up on the label using an alien language translator, and learns it’s a joint which keeps consumers high forever. For some reason, cringe-y Bollywood music often acts as a cue to denote that they are high, a little on the nose in my opinion. Anyway, in their intoxicated state, Beth and Jerry find out that the only remedy to their condition can be found in a different solar system, and call in an interstellar transportation  blob creature to venture there. 

En route, inside the blob Beth and Jerry go through quite a crazy episode while reminiscing about their high school years, prom and romance, not so surprisingly Jerry’s recollection reveals how devoted he really is to his wife. Creating a ruckus inside their transport while remaining high, the couple crash land on the planet where the remedy is supposed to be. However, while getting the remedy, they end up causing chaos by drawing attention of the authorities, and after ingesting it Beth realizes it isn’t even meant to work in sapiens. As Beth gets restless, Jerry reveals that he had already informed Rick and asked for his help, and Beth feels hurt as this implies Rick will continue to treat her like a child. Jerry assures her by mentioning that instead of perceiving this as a downside, she should cheer up by considering that she at least has a safety net in the form of Rick and instead of taking all the responsibilities, she deserves to be taken care of from time to time. As always, high Jerry is the best version of him.

 Rick portals to their location but he can’t be of much help, as he too has taken the forever high joint, and is even more messed up than Jerry and Beth. On the other hand, reaching a dingy local town, where impoverished townsfolk are already pretty dismayed with the rich camper brats, Summer and Morty decide to call Rick for help. They have witnessed first hand what is the result of giving spoiled teenagers total free reign, and have learned their lesson. However, Rick is too high to come up with a response over call, and the townsfolk, led by the owner of the pub from where Smith siblings made the call, plan to loot the camper brats after learning they are no longer protected by the counsel and guards. Bringing out their guns, they round up all the brats, including Morty and Summer, and plan to blackmail their parents for ransom by threatening the lives of these teenagers.

Were the Smith Family Able to Rescue Morty and Summer?

After multiple hiccups, Rick manages to portal himself, Beth and Jerry to the area where Morty, Summer and camper brats are held captive. However, they are in no condition to help the teenagers, which prompts Beth to come up with an inspiring speech to motivate the campers to take control of the situation on their own, and take down the townsfolk to regain their freedom. Using the in-built defence mechanism of Rick’s body, they manage to take down the majority of the armed guards, and getting to the armoury, the teenagers get their hands on weapons which they use to kill the majority of the townsfolk. The leader surrenders, and Rick, still in his dazed state, wrecked up, with no control over his body, takes a dip in the nearby pond. Space Beth arrives to take the Smith family back home and reveals it was she who had supplied the forever high joint to Summer. Rest of the bratty campers are reunited with their parents as well, and things gradually return to normalcy. Space Beth assures that their intoxicated condition will wear off after a few days, but it appears to be quite a chore to handle these three grown ups until then. While returning to their world, Rick, Beth and Jerry continue to act like annoying teenagers, which proves to be enough of a lesson for Morty and Summer. 

What Happens in the Mid-Credits Scene?

In the mid-credits scene, Jerry is seen pitching ideas to his colleagues of the wine company he works at, when he spots Rick, in his gardener attire, staring at him menacingly. Rick had promised that someday he will turn Jerry into a carrot as well. He is enjoying his time intimidating Jerry, who is quite petrified upon imagining the possibilities. 

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