Rick and Morty Episode 86: Jer Bud

Jerry is anxious about a long-awaited job interview, and Space Beth gives him a worm-like alien remedy that is supposed to eat away his worries. He initially resists, but Rick humiliates him and pushes him into taking it, while Morty heads off on a separate trip and meets up with his old dog companion on a planet ruled by dogs.

The worm quickly changes Jerry’s demeanor, and he becomes calmer and more confident as he goes into the interview. That confidence helps him perform unusually well, but the episode reveals that the worms are not simply curing anxiety: they are feeding on his worries and steering his behavior to keep him emotionally open and compliant.

As Jerry’s interview continues, Rick, Space Beth, and Beth realize the worms are manipulating him, and they try to deal with the problem before it spirals further. Jerry’s boosted confidence ultimately carries him through the meeting, and the episode treats his success as both genuine and oddly compromised by the worm’s influence.

On Morty’s side, his visit turns into a reunion with his old dog on a strange dog-run world, where he gets caught up in the planet’s social and political tensions. He sees how the dogs have built an oppressive system around humanoid creatures they created, and his presence ends up affecting the conflict around them before he and the dog he came to see reconcile.

By the end, Jerry’s interview situation has turned into a surprisingly successful new chapter for him, while the story leaves the impression that the family has dealt with, or at least contained, the worm problem for the moment. The post-credits beat shows that Jerry is already functioning in his new role and is doing well enough in it to impress others with how calm he seems.