Review: American Dad “A Little Extra Scratch”

Overview:

Hayley becomes a subject of suspicion within the Smith family after her newfound extravagant wealth begins to raise some flags. Francine assumes the worst about her daughter, but her paranoia grows into desperate codependency after the truth makes her want to help Hayley on her latest enterprise rather than hinder her efforts. Francine and Hayley become an unstoppable entrepreneurial team, but Stan and Roger struggle to find the same success with their “get rich quick” scheme. Stan’s financial hopelessness pushes him down a path that’s painful–both figuratively and literally–but might turn him into a lucrative internet celebrity with the right magic.

Our Take:

Hayley is one of American Dad’s most inscrutable characters who, despite her continued growth since the show’s start, frequently gets reduced to a lazy, high slacker. Some of Hayley’s most rewarding American Dad stories are the ones where she stumbles into some responsibility. “A Little Extra Scratch” becomes both a good occasion to indulge in this idea, as well as American Dad’s chance to take on the pharmaceutical industry (finally!). “A Little Extra Scratch” is a mixed bag of an episode that turns into a larger meditation on the growing estrangement that Francine feels towards her daughter and that they’re no longer the “Daughter Mama Charm-a-rama” that they once were. Thankfully, prescription meds might be able to repair this fractured friendship. 

“A Little Extra Scratch” is a conflicted episode that works just as much as it doesn’t. It almost feels like a meta representation of Hayley and Francine’s didactic sales techniques that tonally pull the audience in different directions. There are some strong character-driven moments, a reckless self-aware attitude, and some sublime background jokes like “chimputees” and Dr. Moe Munny M.D., the latter of which is never even said out loud. The broader story and the involved players in “A Little Extra Scratch” all connect, but it largely loses its way when it comes to the episode’s more granular details. “A Little Extra Scratch” works best when it’s not held up to great scrutiny and is simply enjoyed as a chaotic bonding exercise between Hayley and Francine. Some audiences may require more in their American Dad episodes, but that’s why a bear fist fights a pharmaceutical rep while he’s torn to shreds by wolves and komodo dragons.