The second episode of the 22nd season of Family Guy premiered tonight on Hulu, and you should definitely check this one out. After a long time, we find two plots running simultaneously, each carrying enough content to keep you hooked. In this episode, Family Guy makes fun of the podcasters and true crime documenters while also reminding us how much of an intolerable creature Brian really is. Here’s a detailed recap of the latest FG episode for you.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Does The Brewery Shut Down?
In a conference room meeting, Peter learns that their workplace, the Pawtucket Brewery, will be closed for the following two months because of an ongoing renovation. Apparently, some eccentric investor had really gotten into the idea of making the workplace ‘hip,’ so there’d be a lot of exciting additions like a pinball machine, a nursing area, and many more. However, during these two months, the employees would have to find some other temporary means of income, because adding pinball machines is definitely more necessary than ensuring the employees can put food on their tables. Having received such a long vacation from work, Peter is off drinking with the guys at the Drunken Clam when Joe starts a story about one of the unsolved murder cases of Quahog. Not being especially talented with oration, he quickly loses the attention of his friends, and Peter comes up with a more exciting story to fill in. Being ousted from his main group, Joe rolls over to the bar to find Brian, the liberal-minded, charlatan dog of Peter, scrawling on notepads, looking for ideas for his next novel. Joe mentions one of the unsolved cases in his department, and Brian, being the selfish and egotistical cur he is, immediately jumps at the idea of making millions by making a true crime documentary.
What Do Brian And Joe Plan On Doing?
As Brian starts using the facts from the casefile, he quickly starts changing the descriptions of the victim and the details related to the homicide to make the piece more attractive. He completely alters the physical features, last names, the location where the body was found, and even the way she was murdered, just to cater to the readers who find pleasure in the raunchy details. Joe, being a completely clueless and utterly dull person, interjects with quips that add nothing to the story and make his character look even stupider. Realizing it was a cold case, Brian decides they need to find clues about the case themselves and visit the victim’s family. However, the insensitive comments made by the unlikely duo made the family of the victim throw Brian and Joe out of their house. It’s only while throwing dirt on his droppings on the family’s lawn that Brian discovers a box with a key inside it.
What Happens To The Novel?
The key leads the world’s worst detectives to a storage unit, but the moment they’re about to draw up the shutter, Joe and Brian are surrounded by all the true crime podcasters and hosts of various such shows. From Keith Morrison of Dateline to Serial host Sarah Koenig and even Chris Hansen from To Catch a Predator, everyone wants to cover the case because making a documentary, episode, or podcast about the death of someone is the next big thing in mainstream and pop culture. When the hosts start fighting amongst themselves and one of them ends up dead, the stars quickly start reporting the death of the man, showing they’ll jump at anything for material. Joe is the one to realize that what they were doing wasn’t better than these hyenas, tearing apart a family’s trauma and pain for career gains, and wants to back out. Brian still pushes for the case until Joe puts his foot down. It’s been quite a while since the B-story in Family Guy has been this fun to watch.
Where Does Peter Find A Job?
Meanwhile, Peter has been lazing away in the living room when Lois comes in with the unpaid bills and is shocked to learn that for the next two months, her husband will remain unemployed. She orders him to get a job at the earliest, and he regretfully complies. Sometime later, when Lois walks into the neighborhood Stop ‘N Shop, she’s curious to see a new employee until she realizes it’s her husband, Peter. Anyone who knows the slightest thing about Lois knows that grocery shopping is the only thing that keeps her from going insane, and it’s the only way she can relax. Of course, anyone would need some form of a release if they were married to Peter Griffin. Thus, finding Peter in her happy place completely sours the experience for her, but she tries her best to accommodate her husband’s attempts to find a job, until, as usual, Peter makes it impossible to tolerate.
Why Is Lois Banned From The Store?
Lois finds the groceries in her kitchen out in the open, and the contents of all the cupboards are mixed up. When she tries taking her vitamins, she’s demanded to show a receipt for the same by her son, Chris, dressed as the mall security guard. She’s given a scolding for being a shoplifter, and her father, Carter Pewterschmidt, has to drive her back home for her behavior. The next time she visits the store, she finds Peter in the fish products aisle, and frustrated with his cringe-worthy puns, she yells at him and asks him to quit the job. However, for being rude to one of their employees, the manager of the store bans Lois from shopping at the store ever again, and if it’s any consolation, she promises to put her name in the “In Memoriam” section of their store’s former customers. After a talk with Bonnie, Lois learns that the best way to get back at her numbskull of a husband is by getting a job at his favorite place, the Clam. However, the plan misfires, and Peter is thrilled to see his wife in the uniform. Realizing that there’s no way to make her husband regret his actions, she crashes on the living room couch and is ignored by Peter on his way in. It’s only after Chris asks him to go back and listen to his wife that Peter bothers to find out why his wife is upset. It won’t be the first time Chris has proven to be a better person than his father, despite being portrayed as an imbecile with questionable proclivities.
Does Peter Quit The Supermarket Job?
Finally, being tired of listening to his wife’s complaints, Peter asks his manager to unban Lois from the shop, but he refuses since he’s convinced that she’d shouted at a mentally challenged person (Peter). When Peter refutes this claim, the manager states that the only reason they’d employed Peter was because they thought he was mentally challenged, which is why everyone gathered around and applauded whenever he rode the coin-operated horse outside the store. Peter accepts his termination, goes back to the brewery to find it as it was, and is told by his boss, Preston, that the renovations aren’t happening. Apparently, the eccentric investor used the entire fund as his own holiday, so all these efforts were for nothing. Keith Morrison leans on the wall as is his style while narrating the events, until he’s reminded by Peter that the wall had been freshly painted.
Final Thoughts
As is the nature of the show, it pokes fun at the cliched themes of American society and the lifestyles of people while dropping quite a few funny gags in this episode. After a rather tepid opener for the 22nd season, the second episode picks up the pace and puts enough thought into both stories, making them interesting as well as funny. Ardent lovers of FG will definitely be able to enjoy the latest episodes, thanks to an improvement in the writing. Even though the later episodes lack the usual outlandish and extremely offensive jokes that Peter was infamous for, if the creators can keep up the pace, this year might be big for Seth McFarlane’s brainchild, Family Guy.
