Review: American Dad “Now and Gwen”

Spoilers Below

Hello there, fine readers. Another week has begun with a brand new American Dad. I must say I didn’t enjoy this episode quite as much as the rest of the season, but we were bound to hit a bump in the road eventually, right? Allow me explain and let’s get this review started.

In “Now and Gwen” Francine’s sister, Gwen comes to visit but brings along some less than legal tendencies. Meanwhile, Stan tries to teach Steve the best way to hug a woman to get maximum enjoyment. Finally, Roger makes a visit to the hospital in search of information leading to treasure.

“Now and Gwen” is an episode with a lot of moving parts. Every member of the Smith family had a role to play in this episode, and that’s what I enjoy seeing. The problem for me arises when not enough screen time is dedicated to fleshing out an entire subplot. Sometimes what we’re left with seems like the bare minimum. In this episode we had three subplots going at once. As somebody who personally prefers just one solid story, I often overlook the use of two because that’s just the nature of these shows. Three subplots is where I must draw the line. Roger’s role in this episode felt out of place to me, I wish he had stuck with Klaus and continued working the “drama” gag together. When you only have twenty-two minutes in an episode, you need to be careful how much time you give each subplot. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it worked this time around.

There was still a lot of good with this episode, enough to say that I still enjoyed it overall. I only had one complaint, and while it may be a big one, it didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment of the episode. I had to mention it though, because for me it was a huge wrench in an otherwise fine episode. A lot of the jokes were funny, I loved how they used Klaus this episode. Stan and Steve’s subplot was also very funny. I liked how that one came together. There were a lot of funny moments, which is ultimately most important in my eyes. I also liked that the episode revolved mainly around Francine without the need to involve Stan directly. It really makes her character feel independent, which is always good.

Overall, fine episode. I wouldn’t blame you if you skipped this one, but it’s also worth the watch if you ask me. I had some fun with it. If it had chopped out that bit with Roger in the hospital, and maybe gave some more time to one of the other subplots, I think I would have enjoyed this episode a lot more. Even if they had kept Roger and Klaus together in this episode, I think it would have enhanced that gag. There is still a lot to enjoy in this episode, so don’t let me scare you away from it.

A nice and short review this week, I didn’t have too much to say about this one. What did you guys think of “Now and Gwen”? Enjoy it a little more than I did? Agree with my thoughts? Let us know, and enjoy the rest of your week, gang.