Brian & Stewie

This is the first time I have ever reviewed anything on any site. I know it's random, but I have to say something about not only the episode but the bizarre response from some people. Then I will get off my soapbox.

Not liking the episode is one thing. Dismissing it entirely because it goes against the wave of the very controversial and often criticized style of a typical "Family Guy" episode makes no sense to me. Nearly every negative review says the same things. "Where's the cutaway gags?" "It didn't make me laugh once!" Answers: "They aren't there" and "It wasn't trying to." Okay, so maybe the momentary way over-the-top gross-out humor and drunk Stewie gags were meant to elicit laughs, and I'll admit that on the former it failed to do so. But I can forgive it. I loved this episode. It is the first time "Family Guy" has really challenged viewers intellectually and spiritually. It is by far the darkest and most existential of any episode. It is the first time that you could actually close-read an episode of it (Brian reading David Copperfield to Stewie as a bedtime story is completely loaded with meaning, FWIW.) So yeah, feel free to expect one thing from "Family Guy" and be disappointed if you are not satisfied with the radical shift in tone. But it's perplexing to see someone say "It didn't make me laugh!" or "There were no non-sequiturs!" Those points are not inherent demerits. For one episode, just one, they were kind of the point.

"Chapter 1". I'm born.

The best episode of Family guy.

I am sort of at a nonplus from both the negative reviews, and the actual talent the writers of this show displayed with this episode. It's rare to see a drama this good in modern times, especially in a show like Family Guy.

Most people have already explained why this episode is already great, but the bond between brian and stewie and the seriousness of this episode, shows that behind all the jokes and laughs theres something more. this episode has my respect and the subject of depression. (10/10)

The rest of the family (except Chris) only appears in the other musical numbers at the end of the episode. Sometimes we have horrible Family Guy episodes we want to forget about like 420 and Seahorse Seashell Party, or mediocre episodes with moments we would like to forget, like April in Quahog or It's Me Peter. This may not be a great episode, but it's a good thing to watch if you need to turn off your brain and de-stress if you're having a dull or bad day.

It inspired me with so many ideas for other kinds of shows that could have bottle episodes like this where Brian and Stewie do random things in 1 room for 28 minutes. It's like that movie Saw where Adam and Lawrence did random things in 1 room for 100 minutes, but much less violent. Although Brian and Stewie itself doesn't shy away from disgusting or violent moments, it's a lot more downplayed than Fresh Heir and Herpe the Love Sore.

For all its disgusting moments, it's a surprisingly sweet story at its core, and the episode excels at telling a 28-minute story with no music or cutaways the would detract from the experience. They argue, they do dangerous fun things together, and they confess their feelings for each other. That's the least I can say without spoiling any details. It's still less impressive than Road to Rhode Island or Crimes and Meg's Demeanor, but another episode I can leave feeling happy at the end even when the plot is minimal, kind of like Frink Gets Testy.

By the way, this isn't the 150th Family Guy episode. It's only the 146th.