Brian Griffin is back. The Family Guy Christmas Special saw the family’s famous dog return from the dead in something that could be called a Christmas miracle.
When the creators of Family Guy had Brian killed in a tragic garage accident, the fans were outraged. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , a petition on Change.org demanded his return, not happy about him being replaced by an Italian dog who was meant to be a perfect foil for baby Stewie. It seems the fan outrage was completely unnecessary because Seth MacFarlane revealed it was all part of the plan. They weren’t going to leave Brian Griffin dead.
Family Guy ‘s creators had intended it as a “fun” way to shake things up and keep the show fresh, stating that it was less traumatic than killing off Stewie, Chris, or Meg. Some of the outraged fans had claimed they would have preferred that Meg be killed off instead of Brian.
Fans in the know may have asked how the creators of Family Guy intended to bring Brian Griffin back. Although it wouldn’t be surprising for the show to resort to some kind of controversial cure or even necromancy, those were not the routes taken. The answer to his return lies with a much more innocent method which has been seen in previous episodes.
The following sequence of events is how Brian the dog was resurrected.
He’s alive… ‘Family Guy’ resurrects Brian the dog http://t.co/TMgP9pN4dL @NBCNewsEnt
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 16, 2013
It began with Stewie expressing to Santa Claus his sorrow over Brian, “I want my friend back. My best friend, my dog, Brian, he’s dead. It’s our first Christmas without him and no one has even mentioned his name. I don’t care about this stupid carnival or Christmas; I don’t care about anything but Brian.”
When it appeared that Santa wasn’t doing anything about bringing Brian Griffin back from the dead, Stewie took matters into his own hands. He remembered spotting himself in the mall with a backpack containing a time travel device, and the plan had begun. Stewie convinced Vinnie to distract his earlier self while he used the device to go back in time and save Brian’s life.
When Stewie did the deed, he told Brian how much he would have missed him, to which Brian replied, “ Thank you for saving my life . A lot of other families would have just gotten another dog and moved on.”
It seems the episode poked fun at what we were told was the original plan, and delivered it through the character whom we thought was dead for good. As for Vinnie, we might see him again, but he’s not part of the family anymore. When Stewie went back in time and saved his life, the Griffins didn’t need to buy another dog. That timeline was erased.
Are you happy with how Family Guy brought Brian Griffin back?