![]() ![]() They make the wise decision to tell the story from Francine’s perspective, as the audience is obviously going to view the Stan/Betty thing the same way she does, as an issue that needs addressing. The episode also doesn’t give in to temptation and fill the entire 20 minutes with cheap incest jokes this really is more of a character exploration, just with a subject matter that might gross you out a little. As I’ve said, I can forgive Stan for a lot as long as he thinks he’s doing what’s best for his loved ones, in his own warped way. It’s not like this has come completely out of the blue (Stan has described his mother as “sexy” before), and the episode makes us understand how this dynamic has arisen, as for Stan’s entire childhood Betty was the only person in his life, so he became extremely overprotective of her. I’ll give the writers credit, it’s a massive risk to build a premise on your protagonist having a borderline incestuous relationship with his mother, and I think there are a few moments where ‘Oedipal Panties’ goes a little too far, such as the scene where they’re sharing a bath (I watched the uncut version, so Stan sings “scrub, scrub, scrub your V-jay”). ‘Con Heir’ helped us understand a lot of what makes Stan tick, and his relationship with his mother has been the missing piece of the puzzle for us to get a complete picture of a complex and deeply troubled man. ![]() We know that Stan is such a damaged individual because he comes from a broken home and was forced to become the “man of the house” at a very young age. This, probably more than any previous deep-dive into Stan, informs so much of his personal problems in the present. Very interesting, and often borders on disturbing. Those ropes used to tie up Stan and Francine really don’t look like they’d be that hard to break free from, but I liked that they brought back Steve’s boob-growing pen which they initially led us to believe was just a standalone joke.The show would not be able to get away with saying “retarded” so many times today.Not many shows could make you laugh at a dead puppy but when Roger attached the lead to him and dragged him across the room, I’m sorry, I laughed. The Oscar Gold trailer is just so absurd and hilarious.“Let’s play Highest Number.” “I’m not familiar with it.” “Whoever says the highest number wins.Sex-Pun-to-Come is a lame name, but then really clever when you consider the source material it’s parodying.Pretty good gag with the shaken not stirred beer.“A sixteen hour flight for a bad pun? Yes.You gotta love how they designed Klaus' hair to resemble a goldfish.Unlike the last two Christmas episodes, ‘Tearjerker’ deserves its reputation as one of AD’s early classics, even if it unjustly overshadows other episodes this season which I personally believe are even better. Little touches like this just elevate episodes above the average and shows they put a significant amount of work into the script. It’s no coincidence that the best episodes all have a noteworthy running gag which actually effects the plot several times, in this case being Tearjerker’s crappy secret base, which is always breaking due to him hiring cheap contractors to build it. It’s not that big a deal though as the material we get is still very strong, and Tearjerker is one of Roger’s more memorable personas, even if this episode isn’t part of the canon. Stan, Francine, Roger and Bullock are all used really well and slot neatly into their new personas (especially Roger, who works really well as a Bond villain), but Steve and Hayley get the shaft and are basically given token cameo roles more out of obligation to have them appear than out of necessity for the story. My only critique is probably how the show’s cast is utilized in their new roles. Even if it’s not as consistently funny as ‘Frannie 911’ the aforementioned positives make up for it, and this episode still has a decent amount of strong gags. Not only is the episode well-structured, its parody and satire of the Bond franchise is witty and on-point. And when American Dad goes in, they usually go all in. Most of AD’s contemporaries occasionally do episodes like these (‘The Serfsons’ ‘I, Carumbus’), but a James Bond riff is far more apropos for a show about a CIA agent. I suppose this is what you’d call a “high-concept” episode. This is another one of AD’s more iconic episodes that even casual adult animation fans have likely seen, but this one is more well-deserved, because it’s so stylish and competent in its execution. ![]()
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