Brian Griffin: An Icon in Ruin

Over the years I think I've made it clear that I have a certain fondness for the character of Brian Griffin from the popular adult animated comedy Family Guy, but as time, as gone on the character I once loved, has gotten worse and worse and today we're going to explore that with Brian Griffin: An Icon in Ruin.

#FamilyGuy​​ #BrianGriffin​​ #BriansInTheChat

[ryaquazaoffical]

When you’re sad that a character dies but then wish he stayed dead after he returned, you know they really fucked up something

[guilhermehank]

Lets not kid ourselves, Brian is basically Seth's fursona.

[swiftlyaswiftie]

One of the best moments was brain and stewie talking about suicide or when he tried to give up both his kidneys. The line "I am willing to give up my 8 years so you can have 40 more" it's so heartbreaking without being overly cliche

[kamez]

Seasons 1-3 Family Guy: a middle class family getting into wacky situations
Modern FG: complete fucking psychopaths

[melodicsatisfactionproductions]

Considering Brian is mostly Seth's natural voice, part of me thinks Brian is somewhat reflecting how he feels about the show in a way. Brian's death signifying that he's done now and no longer cares

[jockeyfield]

"he thinks i'm in love..."
"OH MY GOD!"
"..."
"YOU CAN TALK?!"
this single joke is funnier than anything else family guy has made past season 3

[tylerhackner]

Went from wise, straight dog to peter’s shenanigans to complete pos. Also can’t wait for the family guy ranking

[Flip-a-dip-dip]

Seth MacFarlane committed character assassination on his own self-insert. Don’t see that happen too often

[Captain_Hapton]

Seth McFarlane has basically admitted on multiple occasions that Brian is just his window to voice his own opinions on the show.

[psychonaut]

I came up with the idea that the show could have an episode that explains that the reason Brian dates women younger than him is because he lost that old woman. He's afraid that if he dates a woman his age that she'll die before him. It'd be a great premise for an episode but Family Guy doesn't do episodes like that anymore.

[Montymole_]

The worst thing about Brian is how his nose looks like a hole from certain angles. It makes him look like Birdo & it kinda weirds me out

[romanrepublicbc]

There’s an episode in season 19 where Brian is actually a good guy again. He dates a woman with a kid, and at first doesn’t like him. But quickly they become great friends. When she eventually breaks up with him his main concern is spending time with her kid. Eventually though, he becomes the kids babysitter, and it’s hinted they spend more time together. I hope they do more with this connection, and expand on his relationships outside the family

[ComicalRealm]

Some fun facts about Brian Griffin:
-Brian attended Brown University in Rhode Island, however he failed to graduate.
-He drives a Toyota Prius
-He is eight years old, which is 56 dog years!

[NateIsLame]

Mark: “I’ve been watching a lot of earlier Family Guy for an upcoming video…”

Me: Oh no.

[BrazenScull]

You summed Family Guy up perfectly in the opening minute alone. Family Guy didn't just drop in quality; it became a different show entirely. The first three seasons, compared to anything that came after, may as well be their own seperate series. A series I miss dearly.

[peterpumpkineater]

Brian's true downfall was his stealth levels in the video game

[JUSTAROBOT_AKA_JAR]

Brian is the person I compare my close friends to when they start going down hill.

[Sawta]

I've never been quite able to put my finger on it, but I think I finally figured it out: The change for how they wrote Brian's character was a reaction to who he was paired with. When Brian was with Peter, Brian was able to play the straight man, comment or criticize on the theme in order to get Peter back on track, or even make himself look smart in comparison to Peter's stupidity.

When Brian got paired with Stewie (which I do feel works better, thematically) Brian wasn't really able to fit those same roles. Stewie was already level-headed, and was over the "Kill Lois" thing for the most part. Stewie was obviously smarter than Brian, so Brian didn't have room to comment or criticize much because of the intelligence gap (insults aren't criticisms). Brian couldn't even keep Stewie on track of whatever the topic was meant to be, because Stewie's entire shtick was counter to what an infant is supposed to be. Stewie goes on adventures, blows things up, time travels, etc. Stewie is the absurd and fantastical; an eccentric dandy with a desire for adventure and mayhem. Peter is (mostly) grounded; a stupid, fat drunk who is easily amused.

I suppose Brian can still play the straight man with Stewie, but that's kind of a given!

[malcolmy]

Yeah the writers hate Brian remember that one episode where brain really loves this girl to the point of not even trying to force himself on her and trying to take it slow only for Cleveland to come and steal the same girl?

[nobodyspecial]

I feel like the episode where Quagmire dresses him down was the real turning point. Like that gag is a pretty standard comedy trope, having someone list a beloved character's flaws/mistakes to reframe them as a dick from certain angles. Except it was like the entire writing staff just agreed with the speech and ran with it. Suddenly the douchebag Quagmire described WAS the character.