Review: Family Guy “Send in Stewie, Please”

Stewie lets it all-out in a special commercial-free episode.

Overview (Spoilers):

Stewie meets with a child psychologist to talk about an incident at preschool, and it becomes one of the most unique episodes of Family Guy that you have ever seen.  Not, only was this episode cut together to limit commercial breaks, the majority of it also takes place in one room.  That’s right, no cut scenes that have come to define Family Guy.  There is also only three speaking characters throughout the whole episode including guest star Ian McKellen as Dr. Cecil Pretchfield.

Stewie starts off pretty defensive and gets into a whole 5-minute monologue of breaking down his psychologist’s home life.  But, through patience and some tactful questions, Dr. Pretchfield is able to get Stewie to reveal some of his most significant secrets.  Unfortunately, Stewie doesn’t like letting his deep hidden insecurities out, and the episode takes a very dark turn at the end.

Our Take:

It was a breath of fresh air for Family Guy to step away from their long-running formula.  I am in shock that there was only one cutscene in the entire show, and that was a short-lived flashback.  In fact, this is something of a risk for any animated show, putting two characters in one room for over 20-minutes.  Seth MacFarlane proves why he has been keeping this show operating for so long by delivering an incredible performance alongside the legendary Sir Ian McKellen.

As for Stewie’s secrets, there were some doozies.  While we do not get a definitive answer on his sexuality, we now know for certain that Stewie is not British- not in the slightest.  There were some reveals about the baby’s insecurities like his need to be liked, and how he pulls his own hair out.  There is a lot of new canon to keep in mind for as long as we are talking about Stewie Griffin.

The long-winded monologues were surprisingly entertaining, and I found myself enjoying this show more than some of the overstuffed antics of a Peter-centric episode.  It was a risk that really paid off for the Family Guy crew, and how can you not appreciate the commercial-free run on prime time.  That dark turn at the end that I mentioned takes this episode from a fun little special to a memorable event.  A fun shows that cannot be repeated like that again, but we should be happy it is now part of the series.

Score

7/10