In celebration of American Dad's 250th episode, the show once again goes completely off the rails in an episode that was probably written by someone on literally every single drug in the world. It's also an incredible episode, easily the best since I started reviewing this show.
Right away, "Persona Assistant" has some incredible gags to start things off. First we get a look at all of Roger's different personas in action, ranging from an ostrich-riding serial killer to a newborn baby, somehow. This transitions seamlessly to interrupting the show's opening musical number, as Roger's workload causes him to miss out on his verse. We get the central conflict of the episode very quickly, as Roger has a stress related tumor and Stan is forced to take over managing his personas. I feel like this episode is not the easiest for me to describe, given so much of it relies on visual gags rather than an actual storyline. How in the world am I supposed to just tell you about Roger's tumor being named Rogu, spouting legs and becoming its own character? Some things just need to be seen to be believed.
Stan's flippant attitude towards Roger's personas, naturally, leads to total anarchy in Langley as a roller blade repairman decides to rob a store and it all escalates from there. It's another great sequence as mob bosses blow each other up and Stan is forced to realize just how much his alien friend matters to his beloved town. In an attempt to fix things, Klaus helps Stan bring back Ricky Spanish(and takes a shot at Reddit) which of course only causes more chaos. The finale sees Ricky Spanish face off against Jeannie Gold, and is ended by Rogu in it's own Ricky Spanish garb who takes Stan out for good. I will say that despite how fun this episode is, the pacing was once again a little wonky. Some of the jokes didn't land for me simply because of the general quantity over quality mindset. Still, this entire plot was simply fantastic, and it's great to see what the show is capable of, even after all these years.
That's without mentioning the episode's B-plot, as Steve joins his school's jazz choir and is forced into taking performance supplements. I don't feel like this story really needed to exist at all, and while some of the visual gags are great, there just wasn't enough content to make anything feel worthwhile. I did love Steve's frenetic scatting providing the score to the Ricky Spanish-Jeannie Gold showdown, nice way to tie in both plots.
9/10
This episode was just a pleasure to watch, a celebration of everything American Dad is and a look at the future with the introduction of new character Rogu. I don't know how it would rank in terms of the show's best episodes, but I don't think it matters. Happy 250th, American Dad. Here's to many more to come.
Right away, "Persona Assistant" has some incredible gags to start things off. First we get a look at all of Roger's different personas in action, ranging from an ostrich-riding serial killer to a newborn baby, somehow. This transitions seamlessly to interrupting the show's opening musical number, as Roger's workload causes him to miss out on his verse. We get the central conflict of the episode very quickly, as Roger has a stress related tumor and Stan is forced to take over managing his personas. I feel like this episode is not the easiest for me to describe, given so much of it relies on visual gags rather than an actual storyline. How in the world am I supposed to just tell you about Roger's tumor being named Rogu, spouting legs and becoming its own character? Some things just need to be seen to be believed.
Stan's flippant attitude towards Roger's personas, naturally, leads to total anarchy in Langley as a roller blade repairman decides to rob a store and it all escalates from there. It's another great sequence as mob bosses blow each other up and Stan is forced to realize just how much his alien friend matters to his beloved town. In an attempt to fix things, Klaus helps Stan bring back Ricky Spanish(and takes a shot at Reddit) which of course only causes more chaos. The finale sees Ricky Spanish face off against Jeannie Gold, and is ended by Rogu in it's own Ricky Spanish garb who takes Stan out for good. I will say that despite how fun this episode is, the pacing was once again a little wonky. Some of the jokes didn't land for me simply because of the general quantity over quality mindset. Still, this entire plot was simply fantastic, and it's great to see what the show is capable of, even after all these years.
That's without mentioning the episode's B-plot, as Steve joins his school's jazz choir and is forced into taking performance supplements. I don't feel like this story really needed to exist at all, and while some of the visual gags are great, there just wasn't enough content to make anything feel worthwhile. I did love Steve's frenetic scatting providing the score to the Ricky Spanish-Jeannie Gold showdown, nice way to tie in both plots.
9/10
This episode was just a pleasure to watch, a celebration of everything American Dad is and a look at the future with the introduction of new character Rogu. I don't know how it would rank in terms of the show's best episodes, but I don't think it matters. Happy 250th, American Dad. Here's to many more to come.
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