Of the six characters at the center of the story of Family Guy, Brian Griffin might be the most normal. This doesn’t quite add up, because he’s a dog. Who can talk. He’s a white Labrador struggling to make it as a writer, while enjoying the finer things in life. No one in the show really seems to care that he’s a dog, so the audience has to view him with the same moral compass as we would a human.
As such, there have been a number of times when many of the bizarre happenings in Quahog have made us feel sorry for him, and possibly even more times that we’ve been furious with him. Here are five of each.
FELT BAD FOR HIM: When He Died
Despite him being a consistent fan favorite throughout the run of the show, Seth MacFarlane decided to kill of Brian Griffin in 2014.
The episode ‘Life Of Brian’ shows the anthropomorphic dog being hit by a car and killed, and soon replaced with a dog (who fans hated, and successfully convinced the creators to kill off and bring Brian back again a couple of episodes later) called Vinnie. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Brian here, because, well, he was dead.
HATED HIM: When He Abandoned His Son
In season six, we learned that Brian had a son with a woman named Tracy. Both 100% human, by the way. He left her before their son was born, forcing them into a deteriorating life in which Dylan never had a father.
Brian might have eventually decided to find his son and helped turn his life around somewhat, but eventually, he still remained disconnected from him.
FELT BAD FOR HIM: When He Donated His Kidney
A running joke across many animated adult shows is that The Simpsons already did it. In the episode ‘New Kidney In Town’, that much is certainly true: Brian needs to donate a kidney to Peter just like Homer needed to donate a kidney to Abe.
Things take a genuinely emotional turn when the family has to come to terms with the fact that Brian was going to have to donate both of his kidneys to save Peter.
HATED HIM: When He Kissed Meg
This one is weird on so many levels. Although the characters in Family Guy often overlook Brian’s canine construction, it’s still very strange to see a dog kissing a teenager (Meg is only eighteen).
Beyond that, they’re technically part of the same family and have the same surname!
FELT BAD FOR HIM: When He Had His Face Broken
One of the worst things Peter Griffin ever did was tie Brian’s toy rope to the car and drive around Quahog with Brian being thrown around the street.
The end result saw Brian slam into a fire hydrant and completely destroy his face. Even in cartoon form, it’s a pretty graphic injury to look at.
HATED HIM: When He Became An Author
Throughout the entire show, Brian was always trying to make it as a writer in some way. In season nine, he finally gets his break after self-publishing a successful self-help book.
It’s his treatment of Stewie (who is actually mostly trying to be helpful for once) that really made us hate him, as he became selfish and heartless as his fame developed.
FELT BAD FOR HIM: When He At Stewie Got Stuck In A Bank Vault
Arguably the best episode in Family Guy history is the simply titled, ‘Brian And Stewie’. It’s exactly that: the two of them stuck in a bank vault talking, with no cutaway jokes and no real storyline.
It’s both comedic brilliance and emotional perfection. In the third act, Brian reveals that he has a gun in his vault in case he ever wants to commit suicide.
HATED HIM: When He Destroyed Rupert
Rupert and Stewie have a complex relationship. On the one hand, Stewie is a baby and Rupert is an inanimate teddy bear. On the other hand, Rupert is Stewie’s confidant, best friend and, in a weird way, lover.
In the episode ‘Dog Bites Bear’, Brian destroys Rupert in a fit of rage, and we’ve never been angrier at him.
FELT BAD FOR HIM: When He Felt Bad For Destroying Rupert
However, Brian quickly realized what he had done and felt huge guilt. There might have been a pretty brutal fight in between, but in the end, Brian helped Stewie scatter Rupert’s ashes.
He also bought him a replacement Rupert and allowed Stewie to believe that his best friend had returned to him.
HATED HIM: When He Misled A Blind Woman
Brian, again, despite being a dog, was a notorious womanizer. In the episode ‘The Blind Side’, he meets a blind woman named Kate who hates dogs.
Brian didn’t tell her, and when he met her parents, was wrapped head to toe in bandages to cover up his true identity. Even after she finds out and the two break up he simply puts on a different voice and tries again.