Top 20 Worst Family Guy Episodes

Cutaway scenes may be one of the most iconic aspects of “Family Guy,” and have been a staple of the show since the first season. So you’d think a whole episode centered around the Griffins stuck in a world entirely composed of those scenes would be nostalgic and hilarious all at once. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. While some classic jokes are included, it isn’t enough to make up for the lack of plot. The show seems content for the family to bounce from scene to scene, with not much logic to back it up. The real kicker is when it’s revealed that it was all just a dream - a trope that had already been stale by the time this aired.

After Peter discovers a vestigial twin in his neck, he decides to befriend it. He grows weary of his new brother quickly and opts to have him surgically removed. Afterwards, the rest of the Griffins insist that the twin stay, and he proceeds to take over as the head of the family. While this concept seems interesting at first, Chip – the twin in question – becomes annoying almost immediately. Between his constant positivity and grating, high-pitched voice, it quickly becomes apparent why Peter wants to kick him out. Beyond Chip’s characterization, the plot itself ends up being predictable and one-note. If that were stronger, then the depiction may not be so irritating – but all it does is exacerbate the negative aspects.

Quagmire is interesting – despite having hilarious moments, he’s also a well-established creep. When he’s caught with a teenager, it seems that he’ll finally face consequences for his actions – that is, until his mother makes a sudden appearance. She confirms that he’s only this way because she was promiscuous when he was a child. Not exactly the most airtight defense. Right as he and the viewers accept his sentence, the judge makes a last-second decision to rescind it, due to the inappropriate relations Quagmire’s mother had with him. So, to sum it all up – Quagmire commits a horrible crime, and then gets to walk away scot-free. Even Peter points out how ridiculous the circumstances are, and people at home can’t help but agree with him.

Yes, we know it’s the name of the episode. Yes, we know eventually Brian and his estranged son Dylan eventually make up. But the leadup to all this is so cringe-inducing, so forced that the ends hardly justify the means. Brian even uses STEWIE to apologize for him when Dylan demands space from his father, all this after Brian used the son he never wanted to further his writing career. Meanwhile, the typically wacky antics of Peter and his friends are replaced by arguing, betrayal and shooting each other in the face. This episode really knows how real life, relatable families and friendships work!

Where do we begin on this bowling ball-sized ball drop? Possibly with the “B” story, which explores the incredibly irresponsible sides of Chris and Meg. In this episode, they accidentally push their little brother down the stairs, causing a massive head wound. Instead of bringing their injured sibling to the hospital, they cover it up for weeks! When Peter finds out, he informs them that this is a regular occurrence and eventually helps them blame Lois for the whole ordeal. It’s as bad as it sounds and the “A” story is no better either. Truly a disappointing episode.

After being promoted to forklift operator at the brewery, Peter immediately takes advantage of his new position and uses the machinery around town until he’s eventually fired. Afterwards, Lois becomes the breadwinner, and he becomes impotent as a result. He instantly becomes a caricature of a househusband, complete with a personality change. The portrayal of stay-at-home dads as weak and incompetent did not sit well with viewers. Beyond that, it also contains one of the most infamous scenes in the show’s history. Peter attempts to use the forklift to help a beached whale, only to immediately eviscerate it instead. The brutal scene stands out among the weak story, and it becomes the standout moment for all the wrong reasons.

This show is no stranger to stretching out bits to an uncomfortable extent, but “Con Heiress” takes it to a whole new level. Brian, Stewie, and Quagmire fight for the inheritance of an elderly heiress – whose name is so long that it takes nearly a minute to say. The payoff is minimal, and to make things worse, it’s repeated several times. The subplot isn’t any better – Peter and Chris essentially fight for Herbert’s attention after he mistakes the older Griffin as another teenager. Between that and Herbert’s unnecessary song, it’s apparent that they were just trying to fulfill the time requirement. It’s a creepy B-story, and is only a brief reprieve from the draining main plot.

Throughout the first few seasons, Brian is portrayed as a liberal with progressive ideas. He even fights for the legalization of same-gender marriage and marijuana, and fans respected that he was consistent. All that went out the window when “Excellence in Broadcasting” aired. After Rush Limbaugh makes a surprise visit to Quahog, Brian wants to heckle him – but instead, ends up becoming a fan. This is already wildly out of character, but it’s made even worse when he blindly agrees with everything the controversial host says. He even sings about the wonders of being a Republican. It’s a complete 180 to the character they’d built up until this point, and they never go back– Brian has been a contrarian ever since.

Listen, we know Peter Griffin is designed to be a mean character. He mistreats his kids, makes fun of his wife, treats his friends like trash, destroys the town every chance he gets, etc, etc. However, deep down, he’s always seemingly loved his family and would do anything to protect them - or so we thought. All that is tarnished in this episode when he admits that he in fact hates spending time with his children. So much for the idiot with a heart of gold! Don’t worry, he buys his kids’ love back with an Xbox. Oh, and they bring back “Surfin’ Bird” again. Hilarious.

Donald Trump’s presidency provided plenty of material for comedy writers, and “Family Guy” decided to throw their hat in the ring. After Peter secures a job in his cabinet, the Griffins decide to move to Washington, D.C, where Meg is assaulted by Trump. Many feel that while using Trump and his time in office was fair game, using his lewd allegations as fodder for jokes is crossing the line. Afterwards, Peter fights him– however, it’s nearly indistinguishable from his brawls with the giant chicken. The only aspect that sets it apart from other duels is the fact that it takes place in D.C. While the plot is ambitious, it’s clear that the show bit off more than it could chew.

This show is no stranger to meta jokes, but they still took a risk by stretching one out across twenty minutes. While recording commentary for a fictional episode, things devolve as Peter and Lois reveal past partners and pay disparities. However, viewers found it hard to care about the fight due to the couple having relationship-ending arguments weekly. Not being able to see any of the action hinders the quality of the story, and the format grows old early on. At one point, they even have the voice actors talk to the characters. However, it just comes across as a way to easily resolve the earlier fight, and the resolution feels unearned. While the idea is interesting, the execution ultimately makes it fall flat.

As if the first appearance of Jesus wasn’t risky enough, the show decided to bring him back– this time in a much different light. The son of God is portrayed as a manipulative creep, which numerous people find to be out of line. He manages to convince Peter that Lois is the only woman good enough for him, and Peter reluctantly agrees. However, it’s quickly revealed that Jesus does this annually, and constantly finds new couples to manipulate. Even after Jesus is called out, the deity simply explains it away as a test. The ending feels rushed, and the story fizzles out instead of being properly settled. While there are some funny bits, the controversy surrounding the religious figure’s depiction took center stage.

We’re not sure what the writers were thinking with this one. After a skydiving accident, Peter is hospitalized, where he befriends a man named Mahmoud. As they become closer, Peter decides to convert to Islam. Things go wrong almost instantly when Peter unknowingly joins a sleeper cell that has the intention of destroying a bridge in Quahog. The jabs feel intentionally mean-spirited compared to past gags about religion. The backlash was swift, with multiple critics calling it Islamophobic. The poorly timed Boston Marathon joke – which aired only a month before an actual attack on the race – didn’t help. It was a disappointing route for them to go down, considering how interesting it could’ve been to see the family learn about other cultures.

This show isn’t exactly known for its hard-hitting commentary. In an attempt to shine a light on the harassment of men in the workplace, they wrote an episode about Peter being sexually harassed by his then-boss, Angela. They do touch on some double standards, like how men being victimized by women is taken less seriously. However, any cogent point they make is immediately erased when they completely absolve the perpetrator of any wrongdoing. Eventually, Peter is essentially guilted into sleeping with Angela to prevent her from taking her own life. The lack of justice, although realistic, is disheartening. The audience couldn’t help but feel like the ending was bleak, and found the whole story to be uncomfortable.

This installment of the series is primarily known for having aged like milk. After meeting Glenn’s parent, the guys are shocked when she comes out as Ida, a trans woman. After her surgery, the rest of the characters proceed to misgender her and mock her to her face and behind her back. Even Brian– who had slept with her post-surgery– vomits upon learning the truth. The reaction from everyone feels incredibly overblown, and it makes the viewing experience uneasy. It’s a needlessly cruel episode about an already marginalized community, and many viewers feel that it’s punching down far too much. While Ida is treated more kindly now, it’s hard to forget her introduction.

Alright, here comes the meteor-sized ball drop. Collectively, the worst part about this episode is all the uncomfortable jokes. From Carter giving his grandson… um… a hand to Peter attempting to marry his son, one may notice the absence of laughter and the rise of sounds like “ooh” and “er… wow.” Feel that chill down your spine? That’s your brain trying to escape your body and hide from this episode. Peter tries to marry Chris so that he can steal the money Carter left to him. Pay attention to this recipe, people — one cup of ugly motivations and a whole lot of awkwardness make for a perfectly terrible episode!

From babies getting pregnant to babies getting herpes, this “Family Guy” episode sets a new low for the series. Brian and Stewie become blood brothers, but Brian fails to mention to his infant friend that he has herpes. This causes Stewie to get the disease too and after some pitiful attempts at revenge, the two end up reconciling. Brian tells Stewie that the reason he didn’t tell Stewie about the herpes was that he was “embarrassed.” And, as if that was an acceptable excuse, Stewie forgives him and just accepts the fact that he has herpes for the rest of his life now. Alright, no more. Just talking about this episode makes one need a shower.

This one is a doozy, drawing bad ideas from the others on this list. It’s a bottle episode with more drama than comedy that focuses yet again, on emotional mistreatment. While we have to give Meg some kudos for finally standing up for herself, she completely goes back on it all by deciding to be the family’s martyr. We get that “Family Guy” likes to make taboo jokes and take controversial angles, but the ending pretty much communicates that people in toxic relationships should stay there - and there’s nothing funny about that.

This is a nine months pregnant-sized ball drop. What we mean by that is in this episode… Stewie gets pregnant. Taking his implied obsession with his “friend” Brian to a whole new level, Stewie uses some scientific mumbo-jumbo to impregnate himself using Brian’s DNA. While that is certainly a visual we never asked for, the babies they produce are even worse! It all caps off with them leaving the abominations at a local animal shelter and everything returning to normal. But it will never be normal again, will it? Some sights can never be unseen, no matter how many times you wash your eyes.

Do you know what “Family Guy,” the cartoon featuring an evil mastermind baby and a talking dog, needs? A serious story about abuse, of course! This episode is littered with head-shaking moments, like the scene between Quagmire’s sister and her husband that everyone in the neighborhood is able to hear! A scene that plays out in excruciating detail, one that just makes you wince and ask: why? While the episode ends on a positive note for Brenda Quagmire, it teaches the audience that the best way to deal with abuse is revenge and ultimately murder. You know, classic comedy!