Line #14 Recap/FamilyGuyS20E1LASIKInstinct


1	After Lois is blinded by a botched LASIK surgery, she exploits her new disability for monetary gain; Peter, Chris, and Stewie must partake in all the activities with Doug that his father neglects.
2	----
3	!!Tropes:
4	* AbusiveParents: Doug's parents are so toxic they make Lois and Peter look responsible by comparison. They only care about Lois hitting him to the extent that they can milk it for their own gain. They're also more interested in screwing each other over than Doug's own well-being. It's so bad that Doug would rather spend time with the Griffins than with either of them.
5	* BadBadActing: When Lois gets her eyesight back, [[ObfuscatingDisability she pretends to still be blind]] so she can keep her brand going. This results in her overly exaggerating her body language [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial and frequently pointing out that she definitely can't see]].
6	* ContinuityNod: Peter brings up when he was blind back in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E3BlindAmbition Blind Ambition]]".
7	* CrazyJealousGuy: Chris acts suspicious and bitter when he learns Doug has been spending time with [[DirtyOldMan Herbert]], jealously claiming that Herbert will lose interest in him as he has all the others. Later, Chris confronts Herbert for attending Doug's little league game and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything leaves angrily with Herbert chasing after while pleading]].
8	* ADayInTheLimelight: For Lois.
9	* EyeScream: Lois' blindness is due to Dr. Hartman teasing a cat in the operating room with a laser pointer, shining it directly into her eye where it claws at them trying to catch it. Thankfully the apparent wounds this caused [[BloodlessCarnage aren't visible]].
10	* ExpyCoexistence: Other episodes of the show confirm that Creator/EllenDeGeneres exists in the ''Family Guy'' universe, meaning that she coexists with Helen Disingenuous, a character that is directly based on her.
11	* ForgottenPhlebotinum: Peter mentions his own experience with going blind back in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E3BlindAmbition Blind Ambition]]". However, no one mentions the eye transplant that [[StatusQuoIsGod got him back to normal]]. Fortunately, Lois ends up not needing one herself.
12	* FreudianSlip: After regaining her eyesight, Lois frequently bungles her attempt at acting blind by saying and doing things to show that she can see. Her ruse is ultimately exposed to the public when she excitedly gushes over Creator/ReeseWitherspoon coming in, before Witherspoon's presence has actually been announced.
13	* InflatingBodyGag: At one point Peter inflates himself with helium to try and catch a balloon he accidentally let go of.
14	* IJustWantToBeLoved: The B-plot is Doug tricking the Griffin men into continuing to do activities with him under the guise of his father because his actual father is neglectful and he desperately wants a family to spend time with.
15	* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Lois gives herself away when she yells in excitement over Creator/ReeseWitherspoon being the one to present her the check to her charity... despite the fact that Lois apparently can't see, and Helen hadn't said who was presenting the check.
16	* ItsAllAboutMe: The split second the family is told that all the things Lois did for them they will now have to do for her, they run away.
17	** Doug's parents, particularly his father, are like this. After the car accident, instead of expressing ''genuine'' concern for him, he just uses this opportunity to threaten to sue the Griffins unless they build a tree house for his son, which he blatantly admits that he does not want to do.
18	** Even before Lois fakes her blindness for monetary gain, she accidentally hit Doug with her car and when Doug's parents threaten to sue her unless she takes cares of him, Lois agrees...to make her husband and kids take care of Doug instead.
19	* MeaningfulName: Helen ''Disingenuous'' is an arrogant, insincere talk show host who treats important charitable causes and inspirational figures as nothing more than trends to cash in on.
20	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Talk show host Helen Disingenuous is a blatant parody of Creator/EllenDeGeneres. Previous episodes of the show have directly parodied [=DeGeneres=] with her actual name, but here she is replaced with [[CaptainErsatz the completely fictional Helen]], due to the real-life [=DeGeneres=] facing numerous allegations of workplace toxicity and abuse prior to this episode's production.
21	* NonIndicativeName: One cutaway is Peter taking an Orangutan to a {{Music/Bananarama}} concert, both ending up disappointed in the audience.
22	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Lois makes a very heartfelt video announcing her blindness with a poignant statement of learning how to see people for who they are while adjusting to her new circumstances. After it goes viral, she immediately decides to spin it into a brand with her as an influencer, even after her eyesight returns.
23	* ObfuscatingDisability: Lois continues to keep up her charade of being blind even after her eyesight is restored.
24	* ParentalNeglect: Doug has these kinds of parents, with his father being the worst of the two.
25	* PlagueOfGoodFortune: Lois' eyesight is miraculously restored just after she started building a wellness brand on going viral from her video about being blind. Her greed compels her to keep up the charade and accept an appearance on a talk show, where Reese Witherspoon coming on to give her a giant check excites her enough to blow her cover on national television.
26	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: The Griffins bail on Lois when Dr. Hartman says they must take care of her now that she's blind, though Meg takes care of her.
27	* ShoutOut: Doug does a decent [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Archer]] impression, even though his voice actor voices Cyril on the show.
28	* TakeOurWordForIt: A gag has Lois using a streaming service for the blind. The programme has two unattractive actors in casual clothes sat at a table reading a script. The script has them state they're characters played by Creator/VanessaHudgens and Creator/ChrisEvans, and they pretend to have a hot make out after a spectacular action sequence. Lois is fully convinced by it.
29	* TakeThat:
30	** Lois asking if Lasik is the surgery where you tell everyone you got it, Dr. Hartman confirming that it's like the veganism of surgeries.
31	** A cutaway gag is about Peter showing Sean Hannity his "[[{{Pun}} Habitat for Hannity]]", which has a lot of features emphasizing him as a white supremacist bigot. The last one is an in-house Mexican to blame all his problems on, whom he apologizes to as building his career on hate mongering.
32	** Lois accepts a guest appearance on ''The [[Creator/EllenDeGeneres Helen Disingenuous]] Show''.
33	** Even though Lois is excited to meet Reese Witherspoon, she is depicted as being too scrawny and weak to hold up a giant check for long, which gets a shut up from Lois when she complains.
34	** The parting shot of the episode is a jab at Burbank for being a poor man's substitute for Hollywood that's still as expensive as Hollywood where most of the jobs are staffed by failed actors.
35	* UnexplainedRecovery: Lois gets blinded from botched eye surgery, then wakes up one morning with her eyesight perfectly restored. How or why this happened is never even questioned in-universe, as Lois is more focused on losing her brand.
36	* UnnamedParent: An early sign of Doug's unhappy home life is that his parents do not say their own names during the meeting with Lois and Peter, and instead spitefully refer to each other as "Doug's Mom" and "Doug's Dad".
37	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Doug's parents suggesting that Lois get eye surgery ends up with her being blind.

Context Recap / FamilyGuyS20E1LASIKInstinct