Review: Family Guy “Christmas is Coming”

Overview:

Meg is tasked with taking Stewie to the mall so he can get a photo with Santa Claus. But, as he begins to fear the strange man, she takes it upon herself to sit on his jolly lap, much to her amusement. Maybe a bit too much amusement, as she has a sexual awakening. She attempts to recreate the experience again and again but fails to find the same Santa that made her feel the way she did. But, the Santa she is looking for may be more challenging to track than she thinks.

Meanwhile, as Meg continues to bring Stewie on her search, he develops some significant PTSD of the man in the red coat. However, Brian helps him find peace by doing a little dress-up of his own.

 

Our Take:

Well, that was some Christmas episode. Leave it to Family Guy to take something as wholesome and warming as the holiday season and make it weird and uncomfortable. Honestly, even the most adult of shows tend to lighten up the spirits around the Christmas season. But, Family Guy capitalizes once again by steering away from the formula and taking things a bit too far. To turn Santa into a sex symbol is one thing, but to do it without Quagmire is another. This was definitely not the Christmas special you were expecting.

Meg, the character we love to hate, perfectly has her sexual awakening in front of everyone at the mall. The show avoids getting too descriptive as they are owned by Disney now. But, the innuendos are enough to sell this one over and over. And, like any good sexual awakening, she is left chasing that feeling for the rest of her life. Which means that Meg will always carry uncomfortable feelings about Jolly Old Saint Nick. Which is accentuated by one of the strangest erotic dream sequences ever aired on television.

To make this even more over-the-top and obscene, the whole time Meg is trying to find her jollies, she forces her baby brother along for the ride, so to speak. And, while most small children develop a fear of the man in the red coat at some point, Stewie has a memory to either forcefully work out, or allow mess with him forever. Really, the show just messed up these two children more than they already have, and we are here for it.

The ongoing plot is hilarious enough to carry the episode that lacked in the one-liners it usually leans on. Besides making a Die Hard Christmas carol and an abundant amount of ‘mall’ puns, there wasn’t any significant laugh out loud off-topic moments. Even when Peter is caught as a mall Santa (which is oddly similar to another Animation Domination Christmas special), there weren’t any strong jokes to bring along with it. Thankfully, the story itself is obscene enough that the typical humour isn’t missed.

You have to give it to Family Guy. Eighteen seasons in and they can still come up with some surprising stories once in a while. The series has changed the game on what a holiday special can be about and did so with zero tact or respect. It is edgy episodes like this that made the show what it was in the early days, and it is great that they still have it in them from time to time. Even if you have lost your love for the show as many fans have over the years, this is an episode worth watching. And, you will never be able to look at a mall Santa the same way ever again.