The WORST Family Guy Episode of Each Season

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most disappointing episode of each season of the long-running animated sitcom. Spoilers will be mentioned, so you are warned! Which season do you think had the worst episode? Let us know in the comments below.

Season 1: “The Son Also Draws”

The first season of the show is solid, but still has some flaws. In “The Son Also Draws”, the writers developed Chris and Peter’s relationship by having the latter come to terms with the former wanting to pursue art. We get glimpses of his father’s outdated worldviews, such as him implying that he only loves his child because he’s a scout. We know he isn’t exactly Father of the Year, but that still feels harsh. It isn’t until he gets a message from his spirit guide, The Fonz, that he learns to accept his son for who he really is. While it isn’t bad by any means, it certainly pales in comparison to the rest of the debut season.

Season 2: “There’s Something About Paulie”

We know that Peter Griffin isn’t the best TV husband, but he was pushing the limits even back in the beginning. This episode focuses on him not letting Lois have any input. From buying a non-functioning car to carelessly allowing a member of the mob into their home, he goes out of his way to disregard her. When she finally puts her foot down, his complaints about it result in a hit being put on her. Even when they’re asking the Don to call it off, he still talks over her – and asks for dessert instead. While he finally gets it by the end, the combination of his choices and Paulie’s personality made this the most annoying segment of an otherwise strong line-up.

Season 3: “The Kiss Seen ‘Round The World”

After taking on an internship at Channel 5 News to be closer to Tom Tucker, Meg and Neil Goldman – a student who constantly harasses her – end up with their lives at stake. Thinking they’re about to die, she kisses him – which is then televised all over town. He then can’t help but rub it in by making T-shirts. To save face, she goes on the news to convince people she hates him, which is mean-spirited at best. So what was Neil’s reaction to this? Threatening to jump off a building, of course. The extreme response was then cheapened after she saves him, and he reveals he essentially did it for her attention. It’s uncomfortable to say the least, and neither character comes out looking great.

Season 4: “Jungle Love”

Season 4 is considered to be one of the best, but that doesn’t mean that every installment is without fault. “Jungle Love” was the most disappointing, focusing on Chris running away to a South American tribe after being the target of hazing. There, he quickly becomes revered, and even marries the chief’s daughter. The main issue comes from the jokes quickly becoming stale, and primarily relying on references. While the series is known for its referential humor, the prominence of it in this episode was draining. Additionally, a few of the bits feel overly drawn out, killing them in the process. The best thing we can say about this is that it introduced Carrie Fisher’s character, Angela.

Season 5: “Bill & Peter’s Bogus Journey”

Originally, Lois was portrayed as a loving wife, but this episode reveals some of the cracks in her character. After Peter befriends Bill Clinton, she disapproves of their relationship. When she decides to talk to the former president, she ends up sleeping with him instead. It was completely out of character, as was her defense of her actions. Instead of going to therapy or divorcing, she tells her husband he can choose anyone to be with – and he picks her mother. Luckily, he ends up not being able to go through with it, although he does accidentally sleep with Clinton. Then Peter and Lois rekindle their relationship like nothing happened. It was a jarring moment, and was the first instance of their dynamic shifting.

Season 6: “Play It Again, Brian”

While Brian’s crush on Lois was well known by this point, here’s when it started to become an actual issue. After winning an essay contest, he invites Peter and Lois to the ceremony. Brian and Lois hang out after the event, and he uses their marital issues as a way to get closer to her, which leads to him throwing himself at her. Naturally, Peter was upset, and the two of them ruthlessly battled it out. While an incident like this would completely end a friendship in real life, in typical “Family Guy” fashion, he was immediately forgiven. It was a case of the show setting up emotional stakes and refusing to resolve them, which is an issue that persists today.

Season 7: “The Juice Is Loose”

It’s one thing to make jokes about the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, but centering an entire story around the controversial figure was an odd choice. Peter invites the ex-athlete to his home, to the horror of his family. We know he isn’t the most observant, but him not knowing about the case felt unrealistic, even for him. When an angry mob comes to run the former athlete out of town, Peter dissuades them from doing so by giving a speech about forgiveness. If he had been accused of pretty much anything besides murder, then this would have been a great moment about not putting celebrities on a pedestal. Instead, it ended up being a hollow setup for a bad punchline.

Season 8: “Peter-assment”

There’s a reason heavier topics aren’t often tackled in this program. After Peter goes into work without his glasses, Angela becomes smitten with him. She begins to harass him, even going so far as to physically grab him. When he tries asking for help, he’s derided by his own wife and essentially told that men can’t be harassed. While this did help shine a light on some double standards, it was still hard to watch. There isn’t even a happy ending. Peter feels compelled to sleep with her so that she doesn’t end her own life. Even if he used Mort instead, the implications are unsettling. She absolutely should have faced some sort of consequence, and yet, nothing came of it.

Season 9: “Excellence in Broadcasting”

While Brian’s character started to transform earlier, season 9 is when his true self came out. He had been shown as a critical thinker with his own set of beliefs, but “Excellence in Broadcasting” did everything it could to reverse that. When controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh came to Quahog, the canine abandoned his own principles to instead follow in his footsteps. It was embarrassing to see him try and convince others – and himself – that he wasn’t anything more than a contrarian. He even resorts to attempted torture as a product of his new mindset. While we understand wanting to add some nuance to the character, this did the opposite of that and instead retconned his intelligence – which unfortunately ended up being a permanent change.

Season 10: “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q.”

While bottle episodes can be a great way of adding depth to some sitcoms, that unfortunately isn’t the case here. “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q” is focused around Quagmire trying to rescue his sister from an abusive relationship. There are several drawn out fights the viewer has to sit through, and some of the characters even call the victim names. Joe’s career isn’t helping her situation, and so the guys decide that the only way to end things is to kill her partner. All in all, it was emotionally draining, with hardly any comedic moments. With this and “Seahorse Seashell Party,” they proved that they were extremely out of their depth when it came to emotional topics.

Season 11: “Turban Cowboy”

Moments like this make it hard to root for the program. After a sky-diving incident, Peter meets a Muslim man in the hospital and befriends him. Quagmire and Joe immediately make their prejudices known – and in another series, they would be proven wrong. But this is “Family Guy,” so instead of having a nice lesson about not judging those different from us, they validate those dangerous tropes by having Mahmoud run a terrorist cell. While the series had made countless cracks against various religions, it had never portrayed their followers as truly villainous – until now. They tried playing both sides by alluding to unfair aspects of the justice system, but it came across as a cheap attempt to not be seen as Islamophobic.

Season 12: “Herpe the Love Sore”

Sometimes it’s possible to push the limits of a character too far. Between Peter trying to marry his son in “Fresh Heir” and Brian giving members of the family a venereal disease in this episode, viewer loyalty to the show was tested. In “Herpe the Love Sore,” Stewie innocently wants to become blood brothers with Brian – and is then infected with herpes when Brian fails to disclose his status. Not only is that disgusting, it’s also illegal. When it’s revealed that Chris also has it, the two brothers set out to get revenge – only to drop it when the dog confesses he kept it a secret out of humiliation. Between the story and the visuals, it’s gross, and destroys Brian’s character even further.

Season 13: “Stewie Is Enceinte”

This is the moment where the program jumped the shark. After feeling as though Brian is ignoring him, Stewie decides that the most rational option is to impregnate himself with his friend’s children. With him being a literal baby himself, the implications are already uncomfortable at best. We can’t even blame Brian for his initial reaction. When they do have the children, they immediately prove why a dog and toddler make horrible parents. Their kids are literally falling apart in front of them, and so they decide to just completely abandon them and move on with their lives. It was an incredibly unpleasant storyline, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it was the last straw for many.

Season 14: “Peter’s Sister”

For the most part, Peter isn’t shown with siblings. However, in season 14, his sister Karen was introduced. They don’t have a great bond, and a lot of her mistreatment towards Peter is reminiscent of how Peter treats his daughter. While it’s interesting to see him get a taste of his own medicine, Karen takes it too far. It sucks the fun out of the moment, and also gives a glimpse into the generational abuse he was a victim of and which continues. The end also felt undeserved – Meg puts her aunt in a coma, and it’s implied that she doesn’t survive. Although she wasn’t a great sister, there was no reason she had to die.

Season 15: “Hot Shots”

Some topics don’t need to be tackled by this series, and the vaccine debate is definitely one of them. After learning about supposed side effects, Lois immediately goes on an anti-vaxx crusade, even arguing that they cause autism. It made people realize just how much she had morphed from the person we had seen in the first few seasons. She and Peter manage to turn the whole city against the medicine, and it isn’t until a measles outbreak occurs that they realize they’re wrong. While Sean Penn is able to save the town in time, Lois still refuses to apologize for what she’s done, and instead chastises him for lecturing her. It was an irritating episode, with some of Lois’s worst moments.

Season 16: “Send in Stewie, Please”

While the concept of Stewie in therapy is certainly interesting, the writers weren’t able to stick the landing. Anything that was revealed about him, such as his British accent being fake or his personality being a farce, was dropped by the end, leading people to wonder what the point was. Additionally, a lot of the jokes felt drawn out, particularly, his assessment of his doctor’s life. The fact that there were no cutaways meant that the whole plot was essentially one long conversation – and unlike in “Brian and Stewie,” it had no impact on his character by the end. The cherry on top was when he let the counselor die, showing that his evil side had never truly left.

Season 17: “You Can’t Handle the Booth!”

Sometimes, we can’t help but wonder if Peter and Lois even like each other. In “You Can’t Handle the Booth!,” the Griffins are recording DVD commentary, but get derailed by constant arguments. At one point, Lois even claims that Chris isn’t Peter’s son. If the couple had never fought before this, then maybe viewers would have been more invested – but they were used to their toxicity at this point. In a bizarre twist, Seth MacFarlane makes an appearance as himself to tell them that they’re all fictional characters, so nothing they do truly matters. Of course, the couple immediately reconciles, and goes through the song and dance of them saying they love each other. It was a cop-out ending to an already flat story.

Season 18: “Bri-Da”

Quagmire may hate Brian, but sometimes he takes his resentment too far. After Brian reunites with Quagmire’s transgender parent Ida, they decide to rekindle their relationship. The two are genuinely happy, and the audience gets to see Brian progress as a character. Unfortunately, Brian tries to press Quagmire into a sort of father-son relationship, despite the son in question being an adult. After Brian embarrasses him at a backyard football game, Quagmire gives Ida an ultimatum – her child or her boyfriend. It was manipulative, and he didn’t even look apologetic as the couple said their reluctant goodbyes. It was a rare moment where the fans felt sympathetic toward the dog, which goes to show how awful the demands were.

Season 19: “Cutawayland”

Talk about wasted potential. Peter and Lois get trapped in a place consisting of their cutaways, scenes that interrupt the main scene. They decide to take this opportunity to spend some time away from their children. Beyond that, the plot didn’t really go anywhere until the whole family was stuck with them. Most of the run time was filled with references to previous jokes, which lost its charm early on. While the eventual solution was fun as a callback, it felt rushed. To add insult to injury, the whole experience actually ended up being in Peter’s head the whole time. While we know Cutawayland could never truly exist, it still felt like they took the easy way out.

Season 20: “HBO-No”

The anthology episodes of the sitcom are usually hit or miss. While some stay true enough to the source material, others just feel like a wild guess. “HBO-No” was unfortunately the latter. The gang recreates different HBO originals, mocking the various tropes. Peppered throughout the parodies are self-deprecating jokes about their lack of awards – which were way too similar to a previous segmented installment. Fans felt as though the show had phoned in the jokes, particularly when it came to “Game of Thrones.” It was a classic case of an interesting concept but weak execution. It also didn’t help that there had already been another slightly underwhelming anthology, “Rock Hard.” Including two in one season came across as excessive and slightly lazy.

Season 21: “The Candidate”

It’s sad to see how Peter and Lois’s relationship has transformed. In “the Candidate,” Stewie runs against Doug, his enemy, for the role of Snack Captain. It’s a pretty standard election, with the two utilizing smear tactics. Then it takes a dark turn when Chris tells his opponent that he was an accident. Naturally, this rattles the baby – and his sibling didn’t help by giving him a tape of the night of his conception. He learns the unfortunate truth – that he, and all his siblings, were conceived non-consensually. Peter is even heard being fearful and telling her to get it over with. In the end, it didn’t matter – Stewie won after Doug suddenly died. It was a rash ending, and of course, never mentioned again.