Brian Griffin: Forever in our memories...
He is survived by his best friend Peter Griffin and his family Lois Griffin, Chris Griffin, Meg Griffin, and Stewie Griffin... he was 11 years old
written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)
A bit of an elitist, an alcoholic aspiring writer often seen driving around in his Toyota Prius, a defining feature that screams "I care about the environment," at least according to him. Regardless of his many faults and his penchant for romancing human women, Brian Griffin will be forever missed after his tragic death at the hands of a d-bag in too much of a rush to stop for a dog in the street. He is survived by his family, the Griffins, and his many friends around his hometown of Quahog, RI.
He was 11 Years Old...
Okay g33ks! So in case you haven't seen this past Sunday's Family Guy, the show took a serious turn for the heartstrings. Longtime member of the ensemble, the Griffin family dog Brian, has died (SPOILERS). I felt compelled to write about this episode because the team over at Family Guy really took this episode and made it an equally somber and loving episode. You don't normally go to Family Guy to shed a tear (or two) or find an episode that makes you actually care, Peter hatches some inane scheme to get rich/find beer/infiltrate High School and somehow the entire family is always thrown right into the mix. But this time the episode seemed to focus heavily on the Griffin family and how they are coping with the death of a beloved friend.
Joining the cast for this episode was Tony Sirico (Sopranos' Paulie Walnuts) playing the role of Vinny, seemingly the only other talking dog in Quahog. Eventually the family comes to terms with Brian's death with only Stewie continuing to resist moving on. As the episode closes, Stewie shows a side of himself you rarely see on Family Guy... genuinely shedding tears for his fallen best friend and turning to the the comfort of Vinny to finally help move on. Even the story Vinny shared about his previous owner's death (though the cause was in pure Family Guy humor fashion) was surprisingly touching. The episode ends with Stewie getting put to bed by Lois and Vinny falling asleep on his bedroom floor.
welcome Tony Sirico as Vinny
I was half expecting some hair-brained alternate reality scheme to bring the beloved family dog back, but the episode ends with a touching scene so uncharacteristically Family Guy and I've come to realize that this could actually be the end for the character. To be honest, I know that Brian was such an important member to the dynamic of this lovingly dysfunctional family, but if his death goes the way of the Swanson kid (who died fighting a war) I would be okay with it. Tony Sirico was fantastic as Vinny and I guess we'll have to wait till next week to see if Brian actually STAYS dead.
Regardless of what route they decide to take this long running series, I gotta hand it to the whole team for bringing us a Family Guy episode that actually made me feel something beyond the humor, and if Brian stays dead... I'll miss ya you pretentious alcoholic dog.
