AlthoughFamily Guyseason 23, episode 16’s storytelling was unnecessarily convoluted, the show at least admitted this with a playful, self-aware gag. IfFamily Guy’s season 24 renewalproves anything, it is that the show’s reliance on sheer audacity has paid off. Early on in its run,Family Guymade a name for itself through self-consciously silly jokes.
The series dragged out gags for far too long on purpose and repeated punchlines to the point of almost annoying viewers, using both shock value and surreal detours as unlikely routes to a laugh. While this might sound like a critique, there is no denying the efficacy of theFamily Guyformula.
Family Guy Season 23 Episode 16’s Arcs Were So Convoluted (It’s A Reminder Of The Show’s Overall Storytelling)
Brian and Peter’s Stories Earned Equal Amounts of Screen Time
FromFamily Guymocking its own streaming hometo the show’s reliance on hackneyed sitcom tropes, the series has acknowledged and parodied its own formula for years. As such, it is hard to faultFamily Guyfor its reliance on predictable, sometimes uneven storytelling strategies. A prime example of this came in season 23, episode 16, “Row v. Wade.”
Both plots seemed like they were too dissimilar to even link up and, indeed,Family Guynever even attempted to bring the disparate storylines together.
The outing began with Brian winning a boat onThe Price is Rightwhile Peter woke up from a drunken bender to find an original Banksy drawn on his face. Both plots seemed like they were too dissimilar to even link up and, indeed,Family Guynever even attempted to bring the disparate storylines together.
“Row v. Wade” was never clear on which storyline was the show’s main plot, as Brian’s storyline petered out near its ending while Peter’s plot never involved much in the way of meaningful conflict. Lois complained about Peter’s eagerness to become a living art piece, but the episode’s A-Story was unclear as they both also had low stakes and no substantial drama.
How Family Guy’s Self-Aware Gag Highlighted Its Strong Suit
The Long-Running Cartoon Has A Sense of Humor About Its Loose Writing Style
As such, it made sense when Stewie and Brian calledFamily Guy’s underused heroine Megand, upon hearing Peter’s plot, decided that their storyline must be “The A-story.” Things were then complicated by the revelation that Meg and Chris had another third plot involving a babysitting business. They thought this was the episode’s A-story, but it took place entirely off-screen.
What this gag ended up highlighting was the reality thatFamily Guy’s plots rarely matter, and many of the show’s storylines are merely joke delivery systems. For every rare outing with an emotionally resonant plot, there are plenty that don’t even bother to distinguish between the episode’s A-story and B-plot. As such, the confusionFamily Guy’s characters felt was understandable.
