Morty's math grades have become a "stumbling block" to Rick taking him on adventures — Jerry and Beth are deeply worried about Morty's frequent absences and declining grades, even entertaining the idea of sending Rick to a nursing home. To solve the problem once and for all, Rick pulls out a headphone-like "dream-infiltration device," vowing to plant a subconscious suggestion in Morty's math teacher, Goldenfold, that "Morty must get an A." That way, the grandfather-grandson duo can embark on interstellar adventures whenever they want, no longer constrained by schoolwork. Though Morty complains, "Why not just help me do my homework with this tech?" he still gets dragged by his grandfather into the bizarre world of dreams.
Taking advantage of Goldenfold's deep sleep, the two connect to the device and instantly plunge into the teacher's first dream layer: on a flying airliner, Goldenfold is showering affectionate attention on Pancakes, the Black actress he adores. Rick and Morty rush forward, holding a homemade cola bomb and threatening, "Give Morty an A or we’ll reenact 9/11." But they never expect Goldenfold, who wields absolute control in his own dream, to be surprisingly fierce. He not only fights back with rice crackers as shurikens but also pulls out a pistol to chase them down. Worse yet, Rick had set a rule earlier — dying in someone else's dream means dying in reality too. In the nick of time, Rick grabs the stunned Morty and forces his way into Pancakes' subconscious, using the trait that "dream time flows a hundred times faster than reality" to buy some breathing space.
Pancakes' dream is the epitome of an absurd party: in a neon-lit mansion, centaur waiters wander with champagne, while goblins in red pointy hats partied in the corners. Even Morty's sister Summer makes an appearance in the bizarre guise of wanting to play "intergenerational hamburger." Rick knows full well that "to change consciousness, one must first integrate into it," so he immediately changes into formal attire to join the fun. However, his awkward behavior gets him spotted by centaur security guards. As they're about to be dragged away for execution, Rick repeats his trick — knocking out the guards and taking Morty down to the third dream layer: the centaur's horror nightmare.
This is a classic horror movie scene: in a dim corridor, a scar-faced killer with razor blades for fingers, "Scary Terry," is frantically chasing his prey, with the eerie skipping rhyme of a little girl echoing in the background. Even more bizarrely, when they break into the skipping girl's dream, they find the scene identical to the centaur's dream — they've reached the bottom layer of dreams. Scary Terry's pursuit is relentless, and Rick finally realizes that this killer isn't an ordinary dream construct, but a "subconscious ghost" who can freely traverse all dream layers. In a desperate situation, Rick takes the opposite approach, leading Morty into Scary Terry's own dream to resolve the crisis at its root.
There's no bloody chase in the killer's dream — only an insecure boy being mocked by his classmates for "flashing" at school: this is the original form of Scary Terry. Seizing the opportunity, Rick helps Terry stand up to his harsh dream teacher to build his confidence, while threatening, "If you don't help us, you'll be trapped in fear forever." Having his deepest insecurities laid bare, Terry is completely convinced. He not only agrees to help but also becomes a "dream guide," leading the grandfather and grandson back up through each dream layer. In the end, they plant the suggestion in Goldenfold's consciousness that "giving Morty an A will make Scary Terry disappear." When the teacher wakes up, he immediately marks an A on Morty's report card, and the adventure spanning five dream layers finally succeeds.
Meanwhile, the smart helmet Rick slapped onto the family's white dog, Snowball, in just three seconds before leaving is triggering a world-altering crisis. The helmet accelerates Snowball's intelligence by leaps and bounds — he not only learns to read and think but also realizes that human "care" for pets is essentially control and exploitation. With his extraordinary wisdom, Snowball quickly unites all the dogs in the neighborhood, hacks into surveillance systems, cuts off communications, and ultimately leads an "army of dogs" to occupy the city, locking humans in cages and even planning to achieve "ethnic cleansing" through castration. When Rick and Morty return home, their once-docile pet has become an arrogant ruler.
Faced with the out-of-control Snowball, Rick uses the dream device again, making Morty pretend to be seriously injured and dying in Snowball's dream. The emotional bond forged through daily companionship ultimately triumphs over powerlust — Snowball holds Morty's "body" and weeps bitterly, willing to do anything to save him. Seizing the moment, Rick implants the consciousness that "revenge cannot bring justice," making Snowball realize he's becoming the "heartless species" he once hated. After waking up, Snowball has a complete epiphany. He gathers all the dogs and announces: "We should not repeat humanity's mistakes." Then, taking the spaceship Rick provides, he leads his people away from Earth to build a truly equal canine civilization in the universe.
As sunlight floods the room again, Morty grins foolishly at his perfect report card, while Jerry is still scratching his head over the "sudden disappearance of the dog." Only Rick leans back on the sofa, sipping his drink, as if the two "revolutions" that just ended were nothing more than another ordinary weekend.