Recap / Family Guy S 21—E2: "Bend Or Blockbuster"

The Griffins head on a road trip to the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon in order to resolve a family movie night.

Tropes:

• Call-Back: The rest of the family bring up past instances where Peter has done stupid and/or dangerous stuff, while also pointing out that it's a lot of fun:
  • The time Peter had tiny arms for a while.
  • When he bought a horse, a falcon, and a parrot.
  • The "little guy" that lived in his neck.
  • His fights with the Giant Chicken.
  • The time he bought a blimp with his face on it.
• Deus ex Machina: The Griffins are saved from the Blockbuster employees by Amazon drones, which have been spying on them and determined that they were in danger. The only prior reference to Amazon in the episode came when Peter complained about them as a streaming service, and nothing about invasion of privacy or drone technology was mentioned.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Peter can't pay the late fee for the Blockbuster movie he took years ago (which measured at about $32,000), so he steals the VHS he wanted to buy for Lois and the kids to enjoy a movie night. In response, the two remaining Blockbuster employees decide to murder Peter and his family.
• Driven to Suicide: Lois explaining the rules of Euchre in the kitchen is so boring and difficult to understand that Peter shoots himself. He ends up in Hell, where the Devil proceeds to explain to him the rules of Euchre. Peter is so horrified by this that he shoots himself again and ends up back in the kitchen.
• Genre Savvy: One of the clerks says he reads a lot of screenplay books. When the family is later cornered on the cliff, he tells his co-worker that this is the part where it looks like the protagonist has lost but will instead double down. Peter opts to take his chances by jumping off the cliff (saying it worked for Rambo), with the rest of the family reluctantly following.
• Here We Go Again!: At the end of the episode, the family finally gets the movie, only to find that they don't have the right adapter cable for the VCR. With a loaded shotgun in hand, Lois announces that the last Circuit City is in St. Augustine, Florida, implying that they're about to go on another road trip.
• Hope Spot: Throwing a post on the windshield
• Lampshade Hanging: One of the employees at Blockbuster has read a lot about the mechanics of screenwriting and calls attention to a couple of tropes.
• Loophole Abuse: The balloon operator Lois hires has a restraining order him his ex-wife but claims that it only covers "side to side" and thus allows him to dumb garbage on her house.
• Pet the Dog: According to Peter, renting and watching a movie from Blockbuster was the only time he and Francis got along.
• Self-Deprecation: During the Call-Back sequence, Stewie interrupts to say not a single one of these examples is a good thing.
• Shockingly Expensive Bill: After driving three days to Oregon, Peter finds out he can't rent any movies because of a late fee, which he can't pay because it's $32,000 dollars.
• Shout-Out:
  • Peter wanted to rent Sliver, only to find the Blockbuster guys put in Season 2 of Sliders by mistake.
  • The Griffins leaving the diner while being watched by the Trump supporters is a parody of the final scene from The Birds.
• Take That!:
  • To Lindsey Buckingham for denying the show the right to use "Holiday Road."
  • The episode takes a shot at middle America for being unfriendly to the Northeast and supporting Trump.
  • Another shot is taken at Blockbuster itself for clinging on to late fees, to the point of destroying the company.