I've had better days Lois...
Airdate: January 13, 2008After Peter loses his mustache in a fire, he stuffs his sorrows with McBurgertown burgers, until he has a stroke. Meanwhile, Stewie poses as a high schooler as part of a bet with Brian.
"McStroke" contains examples of (YMMV goes here):
- Actor Allusion: The cow, voiced by Ricardo Moltalban, says that many cows were killed, including..."my beloved wife".
- And Your Reward Is Edible: After Peter saves the life of the man who owns and operates the Quahog-location of McBurgertown, he offers Peter a lifetime supply of free burgers from the restaurant as a way of thanking him for saving his life.
- Animal Gender-Bender: The talking cow has a masculine voice and is addressed as "Mister Cow", but male cattle are bulls.
- Author Tract: Played for Laughs (sort of). When Peter gets cured with stem cells.Peter: How long was I in there?Guard: About five minutes.Peter: Why are we not funding this!?
- Auto Erotica: Several girls are heard engaging in rough (although audibly painful) sex at the popular makeout point. Connie and Stewie attempt to indulge in this as well, only for Connie to be turned off by Stewie's "baby penis."
- Backstabbing the Alpha Bitch: See Laser-Guided Karma below.
- Big Eater: After losing his mustache, Peter begins binge-eating (roughly 30) free hamburgers which results in him getting a stroke.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Connie's belief in this is how she humiliates Stewie after showing his "baby penis" to her and telling everyone about it, not knowing he really is a baby in disguise. Stewie apparently defies this in response.Stewie: "Well, for your information, I don't want a big penis! I think they're messy!
- Bilingual Bonus: The Italian deli owner whom Peter attempts to converse with does respond in (somewhat clunky) Italian (What? You're crazy! Get away from here! I'm tired of you! I'll punch you in the head!).
- Deus ex Machina: After Peter suffers a stroke, we see how his life is changed by his new lifelong condition and how he and the family struggle to come to terms with it. But then one day, just by chance, Peter sees a stem cell research lab and walks in. Five minutes later, he walks back out, now completely back to normal.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Before Peter has his stroke, he mentions how can't feel anything on the left half of his body, which is a precursor to a stroke.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first part of the episode is about Peter growing a mustache and committing to the lifestyle that comes with having one. He ends up being mistaken for a fireman and loses his mustache in the fire he rescued, after which he's despondent until the man he saved rewards Peter's kindness with free burgers for life. Peter eating 30 burgers in one sitting causes him to have a stroke, which has a massive impact on his life, although he thankfully stumbles on a stem cell research lab and they restore him back to normal. The final part of the episode is about Peter seeking revenge on the burger joint whose burgers he got a stroke from eating and rescuing a cow alongside Brian.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Peter criticizing Lois for trying to hand him a beer to his paralysed left arm. He's being a jerk and brought this mess on himself, but he can't even lift that arm.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Stewie tricks Connie into kissing him and frames her for lewd conduct with a baby. Likewise, while Peter loses his moustache saving someone from a fire at a local fast-food business, said person happens to be the owner of the location, who promptly gives him free burgers for life.
- Likes Older Women: Stewie, who's 1 year old, briefly dates Connie, who's 17 years old.
- Mid-Battle Tea Break: When Brian and Peter rescue a talking cow, they're chased by two guards. The Montage shows them all in a band, playing music together.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Connie, for being tricked into making out with a nude baby. See Laser-Guided Karma.
- Never My Fault: Peter blames McBurgertown for his stroke, to which Brian points out that it was Peter's own fault due to eating thirty McBurgertown-burgers in one sitting.
- Pun: After Peter crashes the car next to a river because he can no longer drive properly, a crew team rows by.Coach: Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!
Peter: Stop mocking me! - Scooby-Dooby Doors: Used in the chase scene.
- Serious Business: Peter risks his life to save the owner, but somehow flips out over losing his mustache.
- Shout-Out:
- "With great mustache comes great responsibility!"
- The chase scene with Peter, Brian, the cow, and the security guards is set to "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
- Something Something Leonard Bernstein: The Trope Namer song pops up when a post-stroke Peter is driving and tries singing along, his condition giving him a speech impediment while sounds like the song's rapid-fire, nigh-incomprehensible lyrics.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: "Another Pleasant Valley Sunday" plays while Peter, Brian, and the cow escape from the slaughterhouse.
