Review: American Dad “Trophy Wife; Trophy Life”

 

Overview(Spoilers Below):

Francine finds herself in a highly vulnerable place when she notices that Stan is starting to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on her help. Francine panics over what this new dynamic might do to their relationship and so she quickly turns herself into an indispensable presence in Stan’s life. It’s not long until Francine soon wants distance from her husband after his old habits kick in when they head into a new business venture together. Meanwhile, Roger, Hayley, Steve, and Klaus all learn that Tuttle is the star of a Korean reality TV show and they become determined to share that spotlight.

Oh, and there’s a straight-up anthropomorphic pickle serial killer that’s on the loose, so it’s just business as usual on the latest American Dad.

Our Take:

Stan Smith is a very stubborn personality. He’s a proud individual and he doesn’t like to ask for help unless it’s absolutely necessary (and he has masterful ways to rationalize it otherwise). Stan may not like to admit when he’s wrong, but he’s someone that repeatedly falls into good luck. Even his failures have a way of turning around into successes, some how. This idea gets expressed in an unconventional way when Stan is forced to depend on Francine’s help, yet this arrangement feeds her unhealthy impulses more than it’s unhelpful for Stan. “Trophy Wife; Trophy Life” is an unusual episode that doesn’t always work, but it delivers a very enlightening story about Stan and Francine’s relationship and many of the neuroses that plague them both.

One of the more interesting dynamics about this episode is that it dresses itself up as an episode about Stan, whereas in many ways it has more to say about Francine’s insecurities within their marriage. Francine has always been content to play the role of doting housewife, but right from the start of this episode there’s rampant evidence of how much she enjoys being there for her husband. This comfort zone comes under attack when Francine learns that Stan is becoming more independent and that he’s needing her less and less. “Trophy Wife; Trophy Life” turns into a very fitting example of “be careful what you wish for,” as Francine wishes upon a “shooting star” for Stan to need her more in his life and then he suddenly finds himself in traction and crippled.

Stan’s uselessness is so pervasive that he can’t even spell his name properly when under pressure (a joke which gets called back to wonderfully later once Stan and Francine’s store opens). However, Stan tries to be self-sufficient here and it’s only until Francine feeds this toxic dynamic further that she wears down her husband’s resistance and takes them both to an unhealthy place.

Stan’s bed-ridden nature actually doesn’t consume much of the episode and Francine runs with this opportunity so hard that she brings him back to shape and he’s even more indebted to her. What is a little confusing about Francine’s rehabilitation tactics is that Stan suddenly exhibits a child-like awe over obligatory trophies. This is at first treated like a cute gag, but it surprisingly turns into the main part of the episode.

Trophies take over Stan and Francine’s lives as they buy a trophy store and make it their own business. Francine is even chipmunking tiny trophies in her mouth so she can taste more like them and therefore appeal more to Stan. It’s such a strange obsession, but it’s fun to see how far American Dad takes it. The series continues to double down on Stan and Francine’s intense obsession with these weird niches, whether it’s trophies or pickles (which become the other dominant force in this episode).

This trophy world initially seems like bliss to Stan and Francine, but as Stan falls into old habits, Francine needs to take on the lion’s share of the work and it begins to cause tension between them. Naturally, the direction that this heads in is that Stan buy’s the pickle shop across the street and tries to turn it into a rival trophy store that will put Francine out of business. It’s an awful plan that brings out the worst in Stan, but it leads to a lot of bizarre pickle gags and digressions. Stan’s obliviousness to so much of the obvious pickle imagery is also an enjoyable running gag that also corroborates just how helpless he is on his own.

The finale of “Trophy Wife: Trophy Life” perfectly distills the episode’s major theme that Stan repeatedly fails into success. His revenge plans against Francine’s store are psychotic, but they go out of control in a way that nearly costs many people their lives. Despite the damage and casualties, the unintentional brine-splosion still leads to the desired outcome that Stan was after. In a weird way, this disaster is still a happy ending for Stan and Francine.

While Stan and Francine continue to have a war with each other through niche retail businesses, the rest of the Smith family find themselves wrapped up in another Tuttle-centric mystery. The satellites that crushes and paralyzes Stan is actually involved with the production of a Korean reality show that happens to center around Tuttle. “Sad Fatso” is like a more depressing and boring version of The Truman Show, but Klaus comes up with the inspired idea of how they should poach off his success. If they all hang out at Tuttle’s place, they’ll all be on Korean TV and liable to get their own spin-offs if they’re lucky.

Klaus and company’s efforts to steal Tuttle’s spotlight are disastrous across the board. Not only do they not find an audience, but they nearly tank Tuttle’s show in the process. The story here isn’t too deep and the group gives up rather quickly on this scheme. Strangely, it’s Tuttle that’s the best part of this storyline and it feels like everyone else just clutters the narrative. Tuttle’s last scene—the redemptive moment for “Sad Fatso” almost pushes him into vaudevillian territory. He eats tainted trash cake and the crowd goes wild. What makes the conclusion of this B-story so much fun is that it’s set at a Korean bar with characters who are complete strangers to us. An elderly lady takes the center stage and becomes the audience surrogate through this weird cultural experiment and moment of celebration for “Sad Fatso.” It’s a great way to bring it to a close.

Many times before I’ve brought up my confusion around American Dad’s increased use of Tuttle and so a storyline that makes him a priority had me somewhat apprehensive. This a fortunate occasion where Tuttle is the right choice for this kind of story and the Korean audience fall in love with his bleak, sad life. There are actually some dark moments here where Tuttle ideates suicide while he talks to one of his best friends, a sweet potato. The episode shows Tuttle at his worst and that’s meant to be the satisfying resolution because it soothes the Korean audience of the reality show. In Tuttle’s real life he’s gained no closure and is even worse off than before. If American Dad continues to lean into the Bill Dauterive angle from King of the Hill for Tuttle then I am all for his increased use.

“Trophy Wife; Trophy Life” tackles some serious issues for Stan and Francine, but the episode still takes some considerably crazy detours for its comedy. For instance, Roger’s shooting star wish that the family turns into candy is just insane as is the mecha-like robot swan satellite that flies away. The extended comedy routine of Stan’s doctor also goes to a myriad of places in very little time. However, by far the most outrageous gag in the episode is the very ending. A tiny snapshot of the final moments of a man’s sad life are scene before he’s killed by the Pickle Man. It turns out that the cryptid Pickle Man is real after all and the fact that the episode goes out on this is a great example of the surreal place the show has reached.

“Trophy Wife; Trophy Life” is a good episode for Stan and Francine and even when certain elements don’t exactly come together, there’s still hilarious comedy present throughout it all. Both the story and the humor aren’t afraid to get overtly silly and it helps balance out what could otherwise be a pretty stark installment.

Watch out for Pickle Man, y’all. Pickle Man is real.