Review: Family Guy “The Bird Reich; A Bottle Episode”

Overview

Peter tries to take advantage of a work policy granting leave in the event of a pet’s death; Stewie causes Brian to give up writing; Lois is blocked from a vacation rental app and accused of stealing; Stewie and Brian try to sell saltwater taffy.

Cutaways

Sound of Music, Crypto Carl, 5 Miles Away

Our Take

FOX’s April 2023 return of Family Guy featured two episodes airing subsequently that really at their core couldn’t be more different in terms of the style. For my money, “The Bird Reich” from Julius Sharpe felt more like an American Dad episode, focusing on non-sequitor’s rather than the tried-and-true Family Guy recipe that is usually found in episodes like cutaways and fantastical elements which I felt Artie Johan’s “A Bottle Episode” had more of.

I thought “A Bottle Episode” was certainly the funnier of the two. The James Taylor bit was fantastic, and the overall premise following Lois’ battle with AirBnB was hilarious. Sometimes when Family Guy gets its chance at making fun of a new social platform that everyone knows, i.e. Twitter, YouTube, etc., it comes off a bit formulaic. But, “A Bottle Episode” got to exaggerate Lois’ evil side all-the-while throwing in an equally inside jab at Door Dashers. Meanwhile, the Stewie and Brian bit was a bit lame, a typical Family Guy “get rich quick scheme” that they’ve done ten thousand times.

“The Bird Reich” dealt with some funny Hitler gags, but personally, “The German Guy” is the definitive episode on the topic for me by a mile. I’m also sick of “Brian writing” premises. Most of the jokes are inside Hollywood gags and we’ve seen this tired premise on display thousands of times. Peter’s bit had a funny premise attached to it, but the execution was a mess as we didn’t even get to see Peter’s plan for an extended work hiatus even come to fruition despite the successful climax. Like, what would Peter have done with the paid hiatus sounds like a much funnier premise than a bit with a near-death bird that speaks German.

In any attempt, this week’s dual-episode premiere is a perfect encapsulation of the up-and-down efforts of Family Guy. While “A Bottle Episode” was hysterical, “The Bird Reich” featured a dual of premises that either presented numerous times before OR didn’t flesh out.