Review: American Dad ”Blonde Ambition”

Spoilers Below

In “Blonde Ambition”, Hayley feels the color of her hair is holding her back from having her voice and message heard. In an attempt to gain recognition for her causes, she decides her best bet would be to dye her hair blonde. Meanwhile, Stan learns of a new luxury neighborhood being constructed and becomes infatuated with the idea of moving to the area. When he goes to visit the neighborhood with Steve, he finds his dream home and begins picturing what life could be like if he lived there.

I think this was a great episode to start off the new run on TBS. It was a very strong episode with witty humor and used each character effectively. With the exception of Klaus, it seemed every member of the family played a key role in their respective sub-plots. Both of the stories were interesting to see unfold and I found myself laughing at the majority of the jokes. I was a little nervous to see how this episode would be, but when I found out that they would be releasing it early, I figured that it must be pretty decent. I was glad to see that it met my expectations. It did everything that should have: made good use of each character, made us laugh, brought some somewhat interesting stories. I would have liked to see them go beyond my expectations with this episode, but ultimately I was happy with what I watched.

While I watched I felt that I was being reminded of what this show can be. Now, I’m not saying American Dad is out of the woods yet. Season premieres tend to be very good, but gradually decline in quality as the season progresses. This could be a similar case and I’m interested to see if it can be consistently good. I felt that “Blonde Ambition” should have had one central story that brought together the entire family. As the show begins a new chapter on a new network, I would have liked to see one very focused story. It would have made it feel fresh and new. I thought maybe even the conclusion of Stan’s sub-plot could have altered the show in an interesting way. That didn’t seem to be the case. This would have been an excellent mid-season episode, but I would have liked something a little more special for it’s season premiere, especially on a new network. Stan’s sub-plot also became a little weak halfway through. I was really into it when it got started, but I became bored of it towards the end. Like I mentioned before, it met my expectations but a part of me wishes they went a little more above and beyond.

I think we’re in for an interesting season of American Dad. The promos during the episode mentioned this would be the edgiest season yet. I don’t watch much TBS, but perhaps they’ll let the writers get away with more than Fox would? I didn’t see anything that outrageous in this episode, so maybe they were just trying to create buzz. However, I liked this episode. I hope to see a lot more of this as the season goes on. It wasn’t without it’s issues, but overall I don’t have many complaints. My worries that TBS may not treat this show right have been extinguished. They’ve already done some cool things for the show like create an Instagram account for Roger, bring a custom car to New York Comic Con, and aired this episode early. They seem excited for American Dad and that makes me excited. They’re on the right track if you ask me.