Family Guy Season 23, Episode 12 Finally Fixes One Of The Show’s Biggest Quagmire Problems

SPOILERS for Family Guy season 23, episode 12, “One Foot in Front of the Mother.”

Despite more than two decades of characters staying largely the same, Family Guy just showed that even adult animated sitcoms can achieve character development by finally addressing an ongoing Quagmire problem. As one of Peter’s oldest friends, Glenn Quagmire has been around for a long time. He’s participated in some of the best Family Guy episodes of all time, and his catchphrase “giggity” has become such an enduring symbol of the show that it’s essentially made its way into common parlance. But he’s now undergone a character change that could be lasting enough to carry into Family Guy season 24.

Amid years of accusations that Family Guy stole from The Simpsons, one thing Seth MacFarlane definitely didn’t steal from Matt Groening was the idea that his main character’s best friend would be a sexual assailant. Family Guy season 23, episode 12 makes reference to Quagmire’s older characteristics and the day they changed, attributing the shift to March 5, 2018, the day after the Academy Awards recognized the #MeToo movement by featuring several of Harvey Weinstein’s victims. And while it’s great that Quagmire’s become less problematic, that shift in focus cast the spotlight on another issue with his character.

Family Guy Season 23, Episode 12 Ends The Feud Between Quagmire And Brian

They Finally See Eye To Eye After 15 Years Of Rivalry

Quagmire’s feud with Brian in Family Guy began all the way back in 2008, long before Glenn’s more problematic characteristics started taking a back burner on the show. Glenn has long called Brian out on his hypocrisy, his arrogance, and his remarkable ability to be both a spendthrift and a penny pincher at the same time. There have been previous attempts at ending the feud, such as when Quagmire covered Brian’s dental work in season 13, but this ended with Brian betraying Glenn in just the right way to confirm Quagmire’s already low opinion of him.

Family Guy season 23, episode 12 finally does away with that in a much more promising way. After Quagmire gets fed up with Brian’s barking, he has Joe fit Brian with a shock collar. However, Brian responds by fitting Quagmire with his own collar, which puts Glenn in a bind when he’s attacked by coyotes and unable to call for help. In the end, Brian is the only one with sensitive enough ears to hear Quagmire’s pleas and save his life from the coyotes, and the episode ends with them having reached a new understanding.

Why Quagmire’s Rivalry With Brian Has Been Bad For The Character

Glenn Seems Like Little More Than A Curmudgeon Now

Joe’s character in Family Guy might have elevated the series to become one of Patrick Warburton’s best roles, but Quagmire is an arguably bigger institution. Even casual viewers could recognize him and recall his catchphrase with ease. But Quagmire’s need to become less problematic left him with few other character traits to replace what was lost. His feud with Brian worsened, and he seemed to become more of a curmudgeon overall as a result of the shift.

Family Guy fans seem to have disagreed with several decisions made on the show around the same time. Shortly after the Academy Awards that changed Quagmire forever, Family Guy aired what’s largely considered one of the worst moments in Family Guy history, a season 16 episode in which Stewie visits a therapist and earnestly explores his sexuality. This happened only one season before Family Guy swore to start phasing out gay jokes, and two seasons before the show walked back on that pledge. But Quagmire becoming more hateful in the wake of his rapist tendencies’ disappearance would remain.

How Quagmire And Brian’s Friendship Can Change Family Guy For The Better

New Story Ideas Are Now Accessible To The Show

Some of the worst Family Guy episodes have occurred since Quagmire and Brian started exchanging blows, but the series has a great chance to turn that around now. Fans who enjoy seeing Quagmire and Brian duke it out don’t need to be worried about huge changes, as they can still exchange pleasant jabs as more friendly rivals from here on out. But allowing the characters to become friends means that the series can now incorporate them into stories that might not have worked if they could only be paired up as enemies acting begrudgingly as allies.

In fact, it’s even possible that some of Quagmire’s best episodes have yet to be written now that he and Brian seem to have made right with each other. Even without Quagmire’s more problematic side, Glenn and Brian seem to take equal pleasure in womanizing. They’d probably make excellent wingmen, assuming that Family Guy doesn’t reset the status quo by having them go after the same woman to renew their rivalry. The sky’s the limit for Brian and Quagmire stories now that the two are friendlier, so it’s exciting to see how the series might make use of that.

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