Review: Family Guy “Dear Francis”

Overview:

Fox recently released its latest episode of Family Guy, “Dear Francis,” in which Peter gets Lois worried when he blurts out the wrong name, but things aren’t quite what they appear.

Our Take:

During a romantic moment, Peter accidentally blurts out the name, “Francis.” Lois, worried that he’s suffering from some trauma after the death of his father, convinces him to go to a therapist, who puts Peter through a bunch of exercises to help him grieve. However, the audience soon learns that Peter was actually thinking of a new waitress at the Clam, named “Frances.”

The exercises lead to the show’s classic dark humor, from Peter and Meg bonding over a chicken fight to Peter finally crying over his father’s grave… all because his phone died. Thinking she’s helped her husband reach a breakthrough, Lois decides to treat Peter to a family outing at his favorite place, the Clam. Naturally, she figures out what Peter was really thinking.

Peter tries to fix everything with a montage set to “Push It To The Limit” while earning tickets at an arcade, among other pursuits, to win a boombox. When he doesn’t have enough, he simply takes the one-ticket gun and robs the place. He hopes to win over Lois, a la Say Anything, but can’t afford the music rights, which is admittedly a strange joke to make after a music montage. This falls flat, but Peter finally manages to win back Lois by reading a letter he wrote to Francis, one of the exercises she suggested that he do. Granted, it’s mostly questions about what it’s like being a ghost that he just skips over, but it’s the thought that counts.

Many of the previous episodes this season felt like they were evenly divided between various subplots. Thanks to this, it often felt that each story couldn’t be explored to its full potential. While this might not have been the best story to pick, it’s at least nice to see the show break things up for the time being.

While not quite given the full focus, the episode is largely Lois’, with her pushing the plot along. It’s also especially endearing to see her try to help Peter when she thinks he’s still processing trauma. Finally, the ending, which sees her team up with Donna and Bonnie to take care of Frances, really helps the episode end on a high note.

Longtime fans also might enjoy throwbacks to earlier episodes. Notably, Lois kind of gives the show grief for how they killed Francis (i.e., having Peter fall on him while dressed as a clown), rather than retcon it to be something more dramatic. On the other hand, some might dislike how it ignores all the times Peter’s seen Francis as a ghost.

This episode’s storyline might be a little off-putting for some, from Peter being attracted to another woman to Lois thinking her husband has some sort of Electra complex. Still, there are a few fun moments. If nothing else, the “Push It To The Limit” sequence will likely be remembered.