YMMV / Family Guy S 12 E 6 Life Of Brian

• Broken Base: Opinions of the decision to kill off Brian were all over the place, all of which extremely passionate. Some thought it was a daring move on the part of the writers to kill off one of the most popular characters, others saw the whole thing as a desperate plea for ratings, and others still were completely benign because they knew that it would be undone in due time. But the most vocal were probably the dedicated fans who took the whole thing as a slap in their face.
• Critical Dissonance: "Life of Brian" is one of the most despised episodes among the fanbase for being a shameless Ratings Stunt. The AV Club, however, gave it an A-, the highest grade out of any Season 12 episode.
• Ethnic Scrappy: Italian-Americans really didn't like Vinny.
• Glurge:
  • The writers milk the emotional weight of the story for all it's worth, but because of the show's strictly un-serious reputation, it comes off as sickeningly disingenuous and incredibly forced.
  • Some viewers found it rather hard to take the episode seriously because it portrays Brian as a saint who could do no wrong, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was, at best, a very flawed person and at worst a Jerkass who doesn't deserve nearly the level of sympathy he gets in-story.
• He Really Can Act: While it's really hard to buy this episode's emotional writing, Seth MacFarlane does a really phenomenal job at delivering Brian's last words before his death.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • That silly joke of Mayor West pouting that no one came to his funeral and then passing through the crowd of mourners as a spirit would really ring sour just a few year later after Adam West passed... and made a few brief posthumous returns to the series as a ''real'' ghost.
  • Similar to BBC Three in the UK airing "Viewer Mail #2" when news of Robin Williams's death broke out, ITV2 (another UK TV channel) scheduled an airing of this episode on September 8, 2022... which ended up being the day Elizabeth II died.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Vinny tells Peter that he's a pussyhound...which means he's part cat. There would be a later episode where Brian (whom Vinny replaced in this episode) himself would discover that he has a small amount of cat DNA and begins acting like one.
• I Knew It!: As early as the episode was announced, lots of people began to theorize that Brian would somehow come back. Sure enough, two episodes later, and he returned.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Let's face it: not many people thought Brian's death would stick. Seth MacFarlane himself lampshaded it on Twitter after "Christmas Guy" aired.
  I mean, you didn't really think we'd kill off Brian, did you? Jesus, we'd have to be fucking high.
• Memetic Mutation: The scene where Brian gets run over by a car often gets edited into other scenes in works featuring dogs (such as Bluey) for sheer shock value.
• One-Scene Wonder: The Black woman hitting Joe with her purse at Brian's funeral, if only because the bit is one of the few moments in the episode that's legitimately funny and she's the only person demanding the cops actually do something about the guy who ran Brian down.
• Tear Jerker: Despite this episode's infamy, Brian's death is still immensely heartbreaking, and it leaves the Griffins, especially Stewie, utterly distraught. The speech Peter gives at Brian's funeral isn't any better.
  Peter: This is probably the worst pain I've ever had to go through, and I've sprained my ankle twice. Um...the truth is, Brian wasn't just my dog. He was my best friend in the whole world. He was smart, he was loyal, and I guess what I'm trying to say is he was like a brother to me. And I-I'm gonna spend the rest of my life missing him.
  • Later on, Vinny finds Stewie sobbing outside, When he asks what's the matter, Stewie reveals that while the Griffins are getting used to Vinny, he isn't.
  Stewie: Fine. Do you want to know what's the matter? You're the matter! Everyone in this family is so damn thrilled with you, they've forgotten all about Brian! Well, I'm not thrilled! I'll never forget Brian! (tearfully) He was my best friend... You're not supposed to lose your best friend at my age. You're not supposed to lose him ever!

---