Peter adopts the oldest bird he can find and discovers it was once owned by Hitler. Meanwhile, Brian is discouraged from writing after finding a signed copy of his book at the Little Free Library.
Tropes:
- The Alleged Car: Peter cuts Brian's brakes to collect on his company's pet bereavement policy. Fortunately for Brian, a Prius can be stopped by "cupping the wind."
- Bilingual Bonus: Gonzo's first line shows he understands English, Foreshadowing that he knows more than just German.Peter: He's like the son I never had.Gonzo: Und du bist wie mein dicker vater! Translation
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: Peter asks Gonzo the "Nazi bird" what he wants to watch. The bird responds with "Fox."
- Black Comedy: When Lois finds out Gonzo used to belong to Hitler, she is offended that Peter brought him to Meg's school play of The Sound of Music. Cue a flashback to the play, where Gonzo is calling out to the Nazis where the von Trapp family is hiding (with Joe sitting nearby to translate). Carter joins in, much to Babs' frustration.
- Black Comedy Pet Death: Gonzo dies from choking on a piece of matzo. The Griffins hold a wake for the bird in the bathroom, but the toilet overflows because Peter forgot to flush it before he tossed in Gonzo's body.
- Confidence Building Scheme: Stewie and Chris try to restore Brian's confidence in his writing by purchasing multiple copies of his book so that it'll be a bestseller. It initially works until Lois exposes their scheme.
- Driven by Envy: It turns out Stewie donated his copy of Brian's book to the Little Free Library because he was jealous of Brian's success (or so he claims).
- Freudian Excuse: This episode explains why Brian's ego constantly needs stoking: he's a dog, human approval is all he really lives for.Stewie: Why do you even care? You're the one who said you don't need external validation.Brian: Of course that was a lie! All I care about is external validation! I'm a dog! "Good boy" is literally the best thing you can say to me!
- Godwin's Law: Poked fun at. When Lois yells at Peter for owning a bird that used to belong to Hitler, Peter counters that "That's, like, 40% of Americans right now", a jab at the Republican party.
- Good All Along: Peter and Rabbi Goldstein discover that Gonzo is actually Jewish when he recites some scriptures from the Torah. The parrot was only pretending to be a Nazi so he wouldn’t get killed during the Holocaust.
- Noodle Incident: Joe learned German during a trip to Germany but offhandedly mentions his parents didn't buy him a return ticket. Why his parents left him stranded in Germany and how he got back to the U.S. go unexplained.
- Off the Wagon: When the episode begins, Brian has just quit drinking. Upon finding out that Stewie donated his copy of his latest book to the Little Free Library, however, he quits writing and relapses.
- Pet's Homage Name: Peter names his new parrot Gonzo as a reference to the Muppet of the same name.
- Seeking Sanctuary: Peter and Gonzo take refuge in a Jewish synagogue while on the run from Animal Control. It's there where Peter and the rabbi discover that the parrot is actually Jewish and had only been pretending to be a Nazi to survive the Holocaust.
- Self-Deprecation: Stewie points out that a ton of Family Guy writers have written books that haven't gained traction, except for Gary Janetti who's only notable because he has an Instagram. When Brian asks if Seth MacFarlane wrote a book, Stewie replies that a signed copy is cheaper than a new one.
- Status Quo Is God: Once again, the Griffins are mentioned to regularly attend church despite all of them being depicted as atheists in the previous episode.
- Take That!: Stewie points out that many celebrities buy their own books to get on the NYT bestseller list. Chris singles out Donald Trump Jr. as one of said celebrities.
- Teeny Weenie: Lois points out that Peter can't release revenge porn of her without showing his penis to the world. Peter asks a stenographer to strike that from the record, and she responds that she might need tweezers to find it.
