Beth Smith
Bethany Smith is one of the main characters of the American animated television series Rick and Morty and the resulting franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Beth is a veterinarian who specializes in horse surgery, who in the first three seasons is struck with a deep sense of dissatisfaction with her life, stemming from her belief that she has "settled" in her marriage, family, and job, leading her to accept her father into her household after he abandoned her as a teenager. Known for her selfish and humorous personality, alcoholism, and abrasiveness when criticized, the character has been well received. She is the level-headed and assertive daughter of mad scientist Rick Sanchez, mother of Morty and Summer Smith, wife of Jerry Smith, and grandmother of Maria, Naruto, Thoolie, and Morty Smith Jr.
Rick C-137's original daughter Beth died when she was a child. Later, Rick crashes into an alternate Smith household having the show's main Beth. This Beth was abandoned by her Rick about 20 years ago. This Beth is 34 years old and is an equine veterinarian ("horse doctor") at St. Equis Hospital; Rick subsequently abandons this Beth's reality in "Rick Potion #9" for another identical one, bringing Morty with him. Several episodes have dealt with Beth's dissatisfaction with her life, having wanted to become a "real" surgeon before she became pregnant with her daughter Summer at 17. Beth is depicted as being unperturbed by her father Rick's destructive and dangerous tendencies around her son Morty. She, from childhood, views Rick more favorably than her mother due to their parental separation despite Rick having abandoned her when she was 15. As a child, Beth is depicted as having had sociopathic personality traits; following the character's cloning, her space-faring adventurer "Space Beth" self in the fourth season finale is depicted as having taken up her father's former position as the leader of resistance movement "The Defiance" against the government of the Galactic Federation.
Series creator Justin Roiland has observed that Beth was developed as a character whose behavior would realistically enable Rick to be able to take Morty on their adventures despite her own misgivings, describing them as one who "fetishizes exceptionality. She believes that Rick, as crazy as he is, is the better of her two parents even though she was raised by her mother and she blames her mother's unremarkability on her father's departure, and will do anything to keep her father back in her life." Addressing Beth's continuous "unhealthy" search for approval from her father in an interview with HitFix, Dan Harmon stated that: "Kids can sometimes idolize their worst parent and blame their supportive parent for chasing off the dad with the guts to leave. ...She believes that Rick, as crazy as he is, is the better of her two parents even though she was raised by her mother and she blames her mother's unremarkability on her father's departure and will do anything to keep her father back in her life."
The character has received positive reception. Inverse complimented Beth's characterization in "The ABC's of Beth" compared to "Pickle Rick", and "the obvious realization that Beth finally vocalizes: She spent years worshipping her father while trying to always do the right thing. But she realizes that he’s a terrible person, and she’s exactly like him." Screen Rant similarly described "the father-daughter relationship between Beth Smith and Rick Sanchez [as] genuinely one of the deeper and more complicated relationships explored in the show, with the history between these two family members stretching for quite some time." in addition to praising their relationship with Space Beth in the fourth season, ranking Beth as having the second-best character arc in the series behind Rick. VerbStomp described Beth as "both insecure and controlling, intelligent and doubtful, family-oriented and cold. She’s somehow the polar opposite of every emotion at the exact same time", before "ping[ing Beth] as the [most] troubled character of the show", while 411mania praised how "Beth [may] seem cliché on the surface but [her] wants and needs are so fleshed out that we quickly learn what makes these three tick and why they’re anything but ordinary."
