YMMV / Family Guy S 8 E 14 Peter Assment

• Alternate Aesop Interpretation: Mostly in the sense that nobody is absolutely sure what the intended Aesop is supposed to be. The episode shows all the other characters dismissing and outright mocking Peter's concerns about Angela's predatory behaviour, though it never makes a point to prove them wrong and also tries to make Angela herself sympathetic. Due to this ambiguity, it is hard to tell whether the critical satire is aimed at society's dismissal of male victims of sexual harassment, or if it's trying to make fun of male victims themselves by depicting the concept as incomprehensible and absurd.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The episode's plot involving the double standard of female-on-male sexual harassment, though Played for Laughs, would not fly today, given the discussions about the #MeToo/#TimesUp movement.
  • The very concept of a work trying to invoke sympathy for an attempted rapist, for an unjustified reason^note namely, that the aggressor is lonely and just wants somebody to find them attractive, which is NOT a justification, at all is such a morbid and twisted plotline that you wouldn't think it could be topped by any other work in terms of how offensive and backward it is (or that anyone would go as far as making the aggressor successful while still trying to make you feel bad for them), right? You thought wrong.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The episode presents Angela as a lonely, unloved woman that Peter needs to help, even though she openly attempts to harass, blackmail and even rape Peter. If the genders had been reversed, her behaviour would not be treated so sympathetically.
• The Woobie: As idiotic as Peter is, he's portrayed as a victim of sexual harassment. His wife claims that since he's a man, sexual harassment can't possibly happen to him, because in her mind, All Men Are Perverts, and his best friends don't do anything to help him. It's also worth noting that Joe, a police officer, doesn't take Peter's story seriously. It certainly doesn't help that Angela decides to stop beating around the bush and tries to rape Peter, even when he says, "No!" with a terrified expression on his face.

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