Review: Family Guy “The Talented Mr. Stewie”

 

 

Overview:

Stewie is feeling good. 

He has been awarded ‘Busy Bee’ two weeks in a row at daycare and his relationship with Rupert could not be going better. That is until Stewie discovers that Rupert was once the companion of Chris and went by the name of Skippy.

Full of jealousy Stewie breaks things off with Rupert and gives him back to Chris. Although, this sends Stewie over the edge. The baby begins sleeping around with new stuffed animals, and soon he heads off on a spiritual journey to Bali, Venice, and a retreat in India.

Stewie does manage to rediscover himself, which leads him to the conclusion that if he wants to be happy, he must murder his brother and his former best friend.

 

Our Take:

Stewie takes centre stage for the second week in a row of Family Guy. Last week’s season 19 premiere featured the smallest Griffin speaking his first words to the family. This may or may not carry some continuity, as Chris can uphold a conversation with the baby, yet things don’t seem to have changed with Lois.

This week we deep dive into Stewie’s more personal relationships. More specifically, his strange, often sexual, relationship with his beloved stuffed teddy bear, Rupert.

We have seen this power couple go through rough patches before. Although this time Stewie has discovered Rupert’s history, which can cause turmoil for the strongest of partnerships. This time it has caused the baby to go over the edge.

Watching Stewie travel internationally to places like Bali and Venice offered an entertaining second act. But the real highlight to this episode is in its conclusion.

Stewie is one of those strange characters who can be miserable and terrible to other people, yet we still cheer him on. But in recent years the sadistic little one-year-old has lost his edge. His attempts at slaughtering his mother have become fewer and farther between, and we haven’t seen the darker edges of his character in some time.

Well, Stewie showed us what he is still made of tonight when he orchestrated an elaborate evening with the intentions of murdering his older brother and his former best friend. The climax gets vicious as Stewie and Chris fight their battle to the death on a rowboat in the middle of a dark lake. Thankfully, Rupert is able to smooth things out with his companion before things go too far.

This episode does many things right. To begin with, we always love stories about Stewie. As mentioned earlier, Stewie is an anti-hero with layers of complexity which makes him one of the most enjoyable parts of the series.  

But what truly pays off in this episode is the complete three-act structure.  Family Guy can get flimsy when it comes to delivering a proper story with a beginning middle and end. “The Talented Mr. Stewie” gives fans a well-rounded plot with a crisp three acts. While there was a minimal sacrifice of cut-scenes, the ones that they managed to squeeze into this episode paid off.

What is frustrating is despite putting all the pieces in place for a successful story, the episode still feels average. As fans, we want to enjoy the show to its fullest. Unfortunately, as a sitcom Family Guy fails to deliver like it once did. These dramatic storylines are only worth watching to discover the episodes that go beyond and break the rules. Family Guy is at its best when it is doing something completely different. It is episodes like these ones that make the special ones more fruitful.