Family Guy is completely unashamed of its own identity. The show and its creators are intelligent enough to lean into the criticisms. And if something is criticized, they'll only do it even more. For example, some people think a joke has been run well into the ground? Family Guy will bring it back just to spite them. Some people find the show too gory and violent nowadays? They'll make it even gorier and more violent.
One of the biggest criticisms aimed at the show is that it doesn't make any sense. However, Family Guy is well aware that it doesn't make any sense. As evidenced by...
10 Da Boom
Family Guy started its weirdness early. Originally airing on Boxing Day of 1999, Da Boom served as a parody of the Y2K panic. In the episode, Y2K actually hits and the world falls into an apocalyptic wasteland. The Griffin family wander the wasteland in search of sanctuary, and when they finally find it, Stewie falls into a puddle of radioactive material and turns into a multiplying, egg-laying octopus. It is intentionally bizarre and nonsensical, and the storyline is simply hand-waved as a dream of Pam Ewing's.
9 E. Peterbus Unum
One of the weirdest and most nonsensical episodes of Family Guy has to be season two's E. Peterbus Unum. At this point, it was obvious that Family Guy was ditching the somewhat grounded, Simpsons-esque approach of its earlier episodes in favor of more bizarre and outlandish stories. In this one, Peter discovers that his property doesn't technically belong to the United States and starts his own country called Petoria. The episode even included real-life dictators like Saddam Hussein and an "invasion" of the U.S. when Peter took over Joe's pool. It was a weird one.
8 Family Guy Viewer Mail #1
As the title suggests, this episode of Family Guy is yet another intentionally weird one that is largely played for confused laughs. This episode plays out as a "special" in which the characters of Family Guy act out viewer ideas for stories. In one, Peter is turned into a giant lump of fat after having his bones taken away by a genie. In the second, the Griffins gain superpowers and wreak havoc on the city. The third and final is a Little Rascals parody. It was a decent idea, and there were shades of Treehouse of Horror in there, but it never quite gelled.
7 Jungle Love
Jungle Love is certainly one of the most adventurous episodes of Family Guy. In it, Chris runs away to South America after getting hazed at high school and joins a native tribe. When the Griffins find Chris and ingratiate themselves within the tribe, Peter becomes a King thanks to the $37 in his pocket.
In the end, Chris and the Griffins are driven away from the tribe, and Meg is killed by a barrage of darts. It's a parody of Indiana Jones, but it's somewhat funny that her "death" was never mentioned or brought up again.
6 The Splendid Source
By season ten, Family Guy had gone all-in with the weirdness, resulting in equally peculiar and exciting episodes like The Splendid Source. In this one, Peter and his friends try to find the source of dirty jokes. Whatever that means. The concept itself is ridiculous, but it only gets weirder from there, as the gang is kidnapped and taken to a remote island run by geniuses who craft all of the world's dirty jokes (The Secret Order of Dirty Joke Writers). Fans either dropped Family Guy by this point or they went along with the madness. There was no in-between.
5 Stewie Is Enceinte
Things got even crazier with season thirteen. Featured in the season is 'Stewie Is Enceinte', a crazy episode that sees Stewie impregnating himself with Brian's DNA after their friendship begins to deteriorate. He gives birth to numerous Stewie-Brian hybrids, and they proceed to act as supporting parents (like taking the little ones to the park). However, their support eventually wanes, and they eventually decide to drop the children off at an animal shelter, effectively restoring the status quo. And fans are just supposed to accept that Stewie and Brian now have children together...
4 The 2000-Year-Old-Virgin
Serving largely as a parody of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this episode sees Peter trying to get Jesus laid. For some reason, Jesus is a canonical character in the Family Guy universe, and the characters regularly interact with him.
In this one, Peter and Lois find Jesus in a mall, and when Peter takes Jesus out for the night, he discovers that Jesus has never had sex. However, this is merely a ploy of Jesus's, as he uses it to sleep with multiple women. It's undoubtedly offensive to many, but it's also a very strange story that doesn't make a lick of sense.
3 Patriot Games
'Patriot Games' isn't well regarded within the Family Guy fandom - for numerous reasons. One of the primary reasons is the two surreal stories that play out throughout the episode. In one, Peter is recruited to play for the Patriots (after meeting Tom Brady at a high school reunion?) and becomes a star football player. In the other, Stewie repeatedly beats Brian in a brutal fashion (like shooting him in the kneecaps and setting him on fire with a flamethrower) because Brian owes him money. The second subplot is particularly nonsensical - especially considering Stewie and Brian's otherwise solid friendship.
2 Petey IV
Family Guy always gets a little weird whenever real-life world leaders show up. In season sixteen's 'Petey IV', Peter and his friends buy a Russian bootleg copy of Rocky IV and discover that the ending has been altered to depict a Russian victory. Peter writes to Vladimir Putin, who shows up in Quahog and invites Peter back to Russia with him. They enter into a boxing match, the match ends with a dance, and Peter reveals to the audience that Putin had poisoned his tea and given him radiation sickness. It's like watching a fever dream.
1 Switch The Flip
'Switch the Flip' is inspired genius, but it still doesn't make much sense. Stewie offers to swap bodies with Brian, but things go off the rails when Peter and Chris get involved as well. Things even get even more complicated when a transformer swaps bodies throughout the whole of Quahog. It's certainly one of Family Guy's most inspired and inventive stories, but it may prove disappointing to those who enjoy the more grounded and realistic episodes.
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