Stewie teaches Brian how to invest in the stock market, but he quickly develops a money hungry personality. Brian is so focused on money that he doesn't, cannot and perhaps will not see that a sure tip on a protein shake company, whose stock is quickly surging, is not all that it seems. (They slaughter dogs and, after harvesting their insides, puree them into liquid form.)
Meanwhile, Peter and the guys run the bar when Jerome goes out of town to tend to his mother's failing health. Things are going very well when Peter decides that adding a live bull as a novelty attraction — on the surface, allowing people to ride the bull and see if they can stay on for eight seconds to win a prize — is a great ide ... well, let's just say that goes about as well as can be expected.
This episode features examples of these tropes:
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- A (rightly-pissed) Jerome, when he confronts Peter, Joe, Cleveland and Quagmire after he finds out they allowed his bar to be destroyed through their irresponsible decisions. (At least it ends that way for Peter; Joe, Cleveland and Quagmire successfully made decoys of themselves and escaped their well-deserved severe beating. Peter and his decoy ultimately mixed themselves up.)
- The bull, when he goes wild inside the bar, destroying everything in sight and seriously (if not worse) injuring anyone who is in his path, starting with Joe getting decked in the face.
- Deadly Prank: Stewie and Brian's pantsing prank on James Cameron goes awry.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Brian never considered the possibility that the company he's invested in that kills dogs for profit might turn around and kill him.
- Peter thought that a real live bull would be a better substitute for a mechanical bull, without realizing that live bulls are dangerous, even compared to mechanical ones and after cinching its balls with his belt in the process. Joe worsens this by starting a rambling story about his days in high school, which causes the bull's rampage on the Clam.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Stewie and Brian travel to the bottom of the sea in a submersible to pants James Cameron, only to accidentally tear his bottom half from his top half.
- Insult to Rocks: Stewie calls Brian a monster for brushing off the revelation that the protein shakes they're investing in are made from dogs, earning protest from the Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Herry Monster.
- Just in Time: Stewie saving Brian just moments before the plant workers come to take him to the slaughter room.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Joe seems pathologically incapable of acknowledging customers want something other than a Rum and Coke even though he claimed he could make any kind of mixed drink.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Brian, insisting that he proceed with investing in a company engaging in underhanded tactics without regard that his own kind is being killed for profit, finds himself captured, caged and targeted for slaughter, forcing him to rely on Stewie to save his life.
- Moral Myopia: Brian was all too happy to continue investing in the protein shake company after learning that the ingredients are pureed dogs, and chastises Stewie for backing out. Only when the company captures him with the intent of turning him into a protein shake does Brian suddenly have an issue with their methods.
- Never My Fault:
- Brian tries blaming the corruption of Wall Street on his actions. Stewie quickly reminds him that no, he was a scumbag all on his own.
- Attempted by the bull that trashed the Clam by coming up with an alibi. His father sees right through it.
- Oh, Crap!: When Peter and the gang wake up, the night after the bull destroys everything in the bar ... and see the bar in a state of ruins. Things are turned up to eleven twice: First, when they see that a painting of Jerome's mother — the only one he has; Jerome had warned the boys before he left that it had better be in pristine condition when he returns — is destroyed ... and then again when Jerome calls to say he was on his way home. (His mother had died and he was coming home to compose his thoughts and prepare for her funeral.)
- Pet the Dog: In a cutaway Brian imagines dying a death of natural causes but being an inconvenience to his owners. He’s shown as blind, frail, overweight and barely able to stand or eat on his own, but the family uses this trope literally, taking care of him without any issue whatsoever. Lois makes human food to cover Brian’s medicine, and Peter carries him to his water bowl without any joke or complaint.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Brian decides to continue his investment in the shake company even after realising its secret ingredient is his own species. Upon entering the premises, they capture him, seeing him as just another dog for future resource.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge; Jerome, when he sees that the Drunken Clam is in ruins and, after immediately figuring out what happened ... and especially after seeing his beloved mother's photo in shreds ... flies into an uncontrollable rage and beats Peter, and straws made out of Joe, Cleveland and Quagmire to within a fraction of an inch of their lives.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode title is a play on the title of a 2013 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
- The scene panning on sad-looking caged dogs, most if not all of them being horribly mistreated before going to slaughter, is much like various public service announcements from animal welfare and cruelty-prevention groups (most notably, the RSPCA).
- After Stewie tells Brian he's turned into a monster (for deciding to invest in a company that inhumanely treats animals and kills them for profit), Elmo appears and makes comments referring to the Sesame Street Muppet's original portrayer, Kevin Clash, being accused of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old boy but the charges being dropped later when his accuser recanted.
- One of the caged dogs is Rover.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: After finding out dogs are used as an ingredient by the shake company, Brian attempts his deal anyway, convinced they will make exception for an investor. He is instantly captured and dumped in a cage for produce, making clear the company couldn't care less if the dogs are sapient.
