Review: American Dad “Multiverse of American Dadness”

Overview:

Forget about your Sling Rings, American Dad is ready to disrupt the multiverse to the beat of its own doom drum! A malevolent alternate version of Steve Smith goes on a multiversal killing spree that puts Prime Steve in his cross-hairs. Hayley becomes Langley–and the multiverse’s–best chance at survival in a story of sibling love that spans time and space.

Our Take:

American Dad has found a high capacity for success when it tells particularly exaggerated storylines that almost feel like they should be out of canon. There are extravagant episodes set in the future and twisted “What If?” experiments that creatively play with genre. It’s become a high bar to clear and a broad riff on the multiverse isn’t something that will work for every show, but American Dad understands how to both play into and against type with this sort of story. It’s these grandiose stories that tackle the nature of everything and all existence that become the best opportunities to examine life’s minutiae and the frayed relationships that matter most to determine if they’re constants or personal huddles that can be conquered.

Another very smart decision that’s made early on in “Multiverse of American Dadness”–and one that the episode explicitly makes sure that the audience is aware of, no less–is that this particular multiverse parody draws inspiration from James Wong’s Jet Li vehicle, The One. This is the best cinematic multiverse reference point to pull from (and a legitimate cult classic from the early 2000s that audiences should check out) rather than American Dad simply doing an extended Dr. Strange or Spider-Verse riff. It’s the type of odd pivot that American Dad does so well and even had fun with a few episodes back in “Frantastic Voyage.” There’s an excellent joke where one of the universes that’s visited–The Universe Where Satire Works–seems to be one in which American Dad’s original politically-charged agenda worked and the show never needed to change course. There are also considerably more on-the-nose (yet still enjoyable) visual gags, like when the final fight glitches between an anime art style and South Park’s aesthetic. These temptations are understandable and “Multiverse of American Dadness” doesn’t let these forms of fan service overpower the storytelling. There’s thankfully no impromptu visit from Peter Griffin in the Family Guy universe or something to that effect. 

“Multiverse of American Dadness” is a bold episode that feels like the type of experiment that would open or close the season. This is an especially big installment for Curtis Cook to tackle for only his second episode of the series, following last year’s “The Fast and the Spurious.” “Multiverse of American Dadness” absolutely sticks its bold landing. It wouldn’t be difficult for these radical elements to get away from the episode and for it to feel more akin to something like Rick and Morty or Futurama. “Multiverse of American Dadness” distinctly feels like American Dad, through and through, and Cook really rises to the occasion here. There’s even a deep cut reference to Stan’s “barely canon” brother. 

There are certainly more extreme episodes of American Dad that are out there. There are even those that dabble in comparable time travel or multiverse shenanigans. American Dad can sell even the wildest and most ludicrous of stories as long as its characters are true and its themes stay on point. “Multiverse of American Dadness” should feel like American Dad’s taken on heightened science fiction rather than its impression of another series. “Multiverse of American Dadness” is very successful, but it sometimes skirts this line before it delivers some very strong laughs, satisfying storytelling, and smart surprises. This is an idea that works best when the episode continually delivers variations on the same theme and American Dad has so much fun whenever it plays with the minor differences between each universe. It’s a device that could have grown stale very quickly rather than one that consistently bears fruit. 

“Multiverse of American Dadness” does reach a fairly pat resolution that conveniently comes together as Hayley realizes how much she appreciates her big brother. However, the big swings that this episode takes, especially in its final act, make it much easier to excuse any storytelling concessions that facilitate moving the story along. It’s not uncommon for huge concept episodes like this to get lost in genre tropes and overlook the necessary human element to it all. “Multiverse of American Dadness” makes sure that its characters represent the episode’s foundation before it gets too lost in sci-fi hijinks.