Life of Brian

I first read about this episode online as I was out of town and wasn't able to catch it when it first aired. I've been a pretty big fan of Family Guy since it's inception in 1999 and enjoyed growing up watching it as a "safe" show that always raised my spirits. Knowing this I was shocked when I read about MacFarlane killing off arguably the deepest character in the cast with little warning and it took me a day or two to muster up the courage to actually watch the whole thing.

There was not much difference in the episode as a whole in regards to comedy style and language. Brian and Stewie had their usual chemistry that was fun to watch and Peter mixed things up with a quip here or there. The show began with Brian and Stewie running from a group of armed, 21st Century Native Americans which set an accurate focus on at least Stewie for a majority of the episode.

The critical (and controversial) event in question does not happen until just before midway into the episode. This was an interesting strategy but effective in surprising the viewer(s) (at least those who had not been on the internet before watching) when Brian is struck down. The second half of the show has probably been used by most to recover and process what they just saw. Again, besides this there is very little else of note on which to comment (which in itself makes up very little of the episode anyway.)

I was saddened watching Brian die. Not only was he one of my favorite characters (and a dog at that), but his relationship with Stewie was one of the few really rich parts of the show that had developed with age. It was also tough to see Stewie struggle in the aftermath of his death and reveal for only the second or third time how much Brian really meant to him.

What warranted the low rating? There was no further emotional digging after Brian passed. Sure the rest of the family was crying and obviously sad but even then there was a briefness and laziness to their lines and emotions. Brian was the family dog and best friend for 12 seasons, and Stewie is the only one to really say anything more than the usual, "Oh, sad, he's dead?" Even by the end Stewie seemed to recover rather well and embrace the new dog Vinny despite his hatred for him when he first arrived. I know he confided in Vinny about Brian which thawed his heart a bit, but it still was off.

I guess the bottom line is it did not feel like the show truly represented the emotional repercussions of Brian's death within the family. Stewie was much closer, but even then something did not feel quite right. A character as important as Brian dies so suddenly, you would expect a much deeper reaction amongst the Griffin's than what was given.

I can draw only one conclusion from this: Brian's death is not permanent. It was not meant to be an event (in itself) to change the makeup of the character's themselves. Otherwise, we would have seen a much more thorough look into how each family member coped with the grief.

I know it's a cartoon, but when you grow up with a show and the writers decide to sever it's most important relationship in the blink of an eye you take a bit to recover. Seth MacFarlane has a knack for allowing a few episodes before revealing his true intentions, and I like to believe he is a smart man who knows what he is doing. If my suspicions are correct this rating could jump a great deal.

Until then this was a bit of a cheap shot to the feels.

Okay, I see why this episode got a 3.8/10. Because Brian Griffin got ran over by probably Quagmire. And he got replaced by that ugly, gay, pathetic dog, Vinny with the worst accent ever (Ariana Grande's Cat voice is a lot worse, she's such an attention begging harlot). I was very, very happy when Brian came back. They could have killed off Meg after the events of A Fistful of Meg, which got a SIX point 7 out of 10 when it should have gotten an EIGHT or maybe NINE point 7 out of 10 cause they kept on hurting Meg. I know one episode where they ALMOST killed off Meg because Meg hanged herself at the end of the episode, which I laughed at.

With hindsight, it seems that season 12 was when Seth MacFarlane told Fox that they needed to give him complete creative control to do whatever he wanted.

The result was an episode that fails as both comedy, and drama, because there was never any reason doubt that MacFarlane writing out what he'd already told us was his favourite character in favour of another voice actor would only ever be a temporary stunt.

That 25,000 people fell for it and demanded the inevitable return of Brian was rather sad.

The episode isn't a total dud: there are the usual racist tropes, and a couple of moderately well observed character jokes even after The Incident.

But the core concept is rushed and forced, like the rape jokes that MacFarlane is obsessed with making.

At this point we were already four seasons beyond MacFarlane's interest with the whole show, and he was already busy stinking up the screen elsewhere, in Ted, and hosting the Oscars. Everything since then has just been managed decline.

Why Do They Get Rid of Brian? He was a great character on this show.Without him this show is gonna suck.Ratings gonna go down people if you don't bring Brian back.Just get rid of Meg no one cares about her.Now there is no more Stewie And Brian Adventures.Those were my favorites.But they suddenly cancel it for what to get low ratings now.Family Guy Is never gonna be the same without Brian Griffin.A Huge Mistake From Seth Mcfarlene Green etc. You Guys Are gonna regret losing Brian griffin.All Of our opinions are saying we want Brian to be on this show still he is one of the best characters on this show.This show will drop big time ratings each week now without Brian Griffin. Guys Brian Is Gonna Be Back Soon.

I didn't feel that I wanted to watch an episode widely publicised as portraying Brian's death.

We have lost sufficient family, friends and pets not to need a lesson in grief or any reminder of the intense pain that accompanies loss. However, this was handled in true FG style, and I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see an element of sensitivity creeping in.

Whilst not the best FG episode around, but it is a fair reflection of how terrible life can be, and I felt the message that "you never get over the pain of losing a loved one, it just subsides to the point where you can live with it" was put across extremely well.

Whether it was "trolling" or not, it was successful in attracting publicity to the show. Perhaps it was the writer's way of telling us that the show cannot go on forever?

(Yes, this is written in real English)