Mom's the Word
| "Mom's the Word" | |
|---|---|
| Family Guy episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 12 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | John Holmquist |
| Written by | Ted Jessup |
| Production code | BACX11 |
| Original air date | March 9, 2014 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Lauren Bacall as Evelyn | |
| Episode chronology | |
"Mom's the Word" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the 222nd episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 9, 2014, and is directed by John Holmquist and written by Ted Jessup.[2] In the episode Peter's mother, Thelma Griffin, dies of a stroke. After the funeral, Thelma's friend Evelyn arrives to support Peter, but ends up kissing him. This episode was Lauren Bacall's final acting role before her death on August 12, 2014 from a stroke.
Plot
Lois gives Peter grief for eating an entire tube of raw cookie dough (which Peter thought was a sausage with raisins). At the Pawtucket Brewery, Peter is bored while sitting through a meeting until his stomach starts to give him trouble (as a result of the raw cookie dough and a taco he found in the parking lot) and he soils himself trying to get to the restroom while evading various people. When in the restroom, Peter is washing his pants with the toilet water. Peter (while wearing his shirt as pants) comes home from work to find his friends and family gathered in the living room. After a rant where he thought the incident at work had leaked out to Quahog, Lois explains that they found out his mother, Thelma, died of a stroke. After the service, a woman named Evelyn approaches Peter and tells him she was Thelma's closest friend and the two connect after she tells him about her husband, Walter, dying some time ago. The two begin spending a lot of time together and Peter begins seeing her as a surrogate mother.
Peter takes Evelyn to the bar and introduces her to Joe and Quagmire. When they leave upon being obviously disturbed by her (it was also shown that Joe was saving his regained walking ability for Susie's wedding as he abandons his wheelchair), Evelyn attempts to seduce Peter by kissing him. Later that night, Peter tells Lois what happened and she suggests Peter talk to Evelyn. When he confronts her, Evelyn lies and says her medicine made her act in an uncharacteristic way and the two become friends again. After spending more time with her, Peter realizes she was lying as she continues making advances towards him and immediately ends the friendship. The next day, he visits his mother's grave, where he sees Evelyn. Evelyn apologizes to Peter and explains that Peter's the first man to pay any real attention since her husband died, and she had taken advantage of that fact. Upon hearing this, Peter realizes that what happened between him and Evelyn was also partially his fault---due to missing his mom so much, he had looked to Evelyn as a replacement. Peter and Evelyn reconcile, but while they hug, Peter accidentally cracks Evelyn's spine, thus killing her. He places Evelyn on a nearby bench and immediately leaves her for the groundskeeper to handle.
Meanwhile, Stewie develops a fear of death after Brian explains to him at Thelma's funeral that everyone is going to die at some point, including Stewie himself. Brian attempts to console him by seeking out several religions and showing Stewie their beliefs on the afterlife like visiting a Jewish temple, the Quahog Buddhists Temple, and a Catholic church. Stewie is unsatisfied (even after reading several religious texts) and asks Brian what he believes happens after death. Brian, despite the fact he went to Heaven in Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure and has also met Jesus Christ in person multiple times, believes that nothing happens after someone dies (reflecting his atheist views). This leads Stewie to believe that life isn't really worth living, and he then makes several unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide: 1.) He tries hanging himself where his head is too big, 2.) He tries to coerce Joe into shooting him, but fails and 3.) He tries the "toaster in the bathtub" trick, which gives him toast-making superpowers. During his final attempt by jumping out the window, he's stopped by Brian, who tells him that no one truly knows what happens after death and that he should seek out his reason to live. Stewie tells Brian that he has always wanted to be a singer-songwriter, but when he is about to sing to him, Brian just gives him a gun and tells Stewie to kill himself.
Reception
Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+, saying "The good parts of "Mom’s The Word" are more than outweighed by how tonally inconsistent it is...it’s almost impossible to pay attention to the episode as a whole, especially when the episode attempts to do something a bit weightier than the show’s normal outings." Thurm did however praise the sub-plot, saying, "the better plot spinning off is the Brian and Stewie B-plot (surprise, surprise)."[3]
The episode received a 2.2 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic and was watched by a total of 4.56 million people. This made it the most watched show on Animation Domination that night, beating Bob's Burgers and two episodes of The Simpsons.[4]
References
- ↑ "Ariana Grande Will Appear On FOX's "Family Guy"". Disney Dreaming. 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
- ↑ "Family Guy Episode Guide 2014 Season 12 - Mom's the Word, Episode 12". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- ↑ Thurm, Eric. "Family Guy: "Mom's The Word"". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- ↑ "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Resurrection', 'Once Upon a Time' & 'The Amazing Race' Adjusted Up - Ratings". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2014-03-11.