Review: American Dad “A Song of Knives and Fire”

Overview: 

Stan and Francine find that their lives have entered a bit of a rut that Stan longs to escape from through the freedom of firefighting. Stan’s lofty wish becomes a reality, but his current passion reaches an impasse with Francine’s latest fascination. A risky balance is reached that achieves peace between Stan and Francine, but all of this happiness is in danger of going up in flames when Stan learns the truth behind Francine’s new method of stress relief.

With more and more of Langley on fire, Roger attempts to bring some class and suspense to the community through the misunderstood art of knife throwing, but struggles to engage his audience.

Our Take:

Stan and Francine are an electric couple when their chaotic compulsions work together in tandem. There are few united fronts that are stronger than Francine and Stan, but American Dad also highlights the marital strife that frequently invades their happy lives. This is one of the deepest wells that American Dad draws from when Stan and Francine are pushed together and forced to examine themselves and each other. This is usually rich material for American Dad and some of the series’ most enjoyable episodes are the ones that get to the bottom of Stan and Francine’s unconventional romance. “May the Best Stan Win”, the more recent “Stan & Francine & Stan & Francine & Radika,” or “When A Stan Loves a Woman,” which might be the narrative apex of their relationship, are all a testament to how creatively satisfying this material can be when it’s properly heightened. In this sense, “A Song of Knives and Fire” doesn’t break any new ground for American Dad, but it’s still able to use Stan and Francine’s romantic ambivalence as the catalyst for a hilarious, thought provoking episode that never feels like an echo of the past.

There are some excellent jokes that grow out of Francine’s pyromania, but the strongest sequence of the episode might be Stan’s incredibly accurate “fire whispering” that he does as he examines charred rubble. There’s even a stylized sequence that glorifies Francine’s arson and Stan’s corresponding firefighting skills that creatively uses flames as artistic transitions. It’s an imaginative and expressive moment that really stands out in the episode. This also results in some excellent tonal whiplash once Stan’s selfless act to rescue Francine ends “A Song of Knives and Fire” on a morbid visual that’s up there with much of American Dad’s past acts of tremendous brutality.

“A Song of Knives and Fire” is an excellent episode of American Dad that relitigates old conflicts in a new and exciting fashion. It’s an entry that perfectly uses Stan and Francine to their respective strengths, which successfully pulls these characters apart only to unite them as a stronger couple than ever before. An episode of this nature could easily lose itself in Stan’s egotism, but Francine’s fiery passion steals more of the focus and even properly contextualizes Stan’s actions in a way that makes sense. “A Song of Knives and Fire” proves why Stan and Francine still work as a couple after so many years and that when spark comes to match these two will have each other’s backs. It’s not easy to tell a touching love story through arson, deceit, and skin grafts, but American Dad shows that romance is still alive and well in the Smith home.

Oh, and Francine’s brand of liquor is SadGrl Vodka. Update your records accordingly.