Papa Has a Rollin' Son

"Papa Has a Rollin' Son" is the second episode of the fourteenth season of the animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 251st episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on October 4, 2015, and is written by Danny Smith and directed by Steve Robertson.^[1]

Plot

At The Drunken Clam, Peter Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, Cleveland Brown, and Joe Swanson talk about the upcoming Father's Day. While Peter has already met Quagmire's dad Dan/Ida Quagmire and Cleveland's father LeVar "Freight Train" Brown, Peter mentions that they haven't met Joe's father Bud who Joe is estranged from. Peter, Quagmire and Cleveland invite Bud to town which angers Joe as his estrangement comes from his father's intolerance to handicapped people and that his father is currently unaware of his disability, prompting Peter to suggest hiding the truth. They try using a horse to pass off as Joe's legs, but Peter provokes it into destroying Joe's living room as it then escapes onto the streets. Peter and Joe decide to switch places and assume their roles in their respective families. Bud arrives at Joe's house and after falling for Peter's disguise, mocks Joe for his disability. Peter reveals to Joe and his family that he invited Bud to move in with him and Bonnie, as he is content with the support Bud provides. Though goaded by Peter, Joe fails to reveal his identity to his father.

Meanwhile, Stewie and Lois visit Dr. Hartman, who reveals that Stewie will only grow up to be 5'1", much to Stewie's dismay. Upon visiting the mall with Brian, Stewie meets a version of Tom Cruise who turns out to be a little person. He invites Stewie to spend the day with him to embrace the perks of being short. Stewie and Tom have a great time together. Stewie confides his time with Tom with Brian, but Lois receives a call from Hartman, who reveals that he misread Stewie's results, meaning that Stewie will be average height and Stewie is relieved. Tom visits Stewie and when the latter explains the mix-up and suggests not spending time with him anymore, Tom gets angry. At Stewie's school, Tiny Tom Cruise confronts Stewie and tries to unleash his wrath, but Stewie escapes to his house and begs Brian to help him.

Joe takes out the trash as Bud and Peter play catch and mock him. Joe snaps and beats Peter into submission and reveals his identity to Bud, along with the truth that he became handicapped after being shot in the line of duty. Bud reveals that he was afraid that Joe or anyone else he loved would become handicapped. Joe tells Bud to confront his fears and Bud accepts Joe and his paraplegic state.

Brian and Stewie head to the park where Brian pretends to run off and Stewie "calls for help." Tiny Tom Cruise appears and when Stewie points to the direction Brian went, Cruise heads into it only for Brian to trap him in a box and mail him to Zappos. Upon Tiny Tom Cruise being released from his box, the Zappos clerk notes he lasted two weeks before being sent back in.

At The Drunken Clam, Joe is pleased that his father has accepted his current state. Upon Peter noticing that Cleveland is wearing a hat with the Toronto Raptors' name on it and commenting about it, Cleveland comments that he was given the hat by his father and will throw it out by the end of the week. Peter apologizes to Joe for losing one of his pants. In the final scene, the horse that is still in Joe's pants is on the street as Mayor Adam West drives up to it asking "Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy jeans?"

Reception

The episode received an audience of 3.56 million, making it the third most watched show on Fox that night behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Simpsons episode "Cue Detective".^[2] Lisa Babick of TV Fanatic gave the episode 3.0 of 5.0 stars, noting " I spent more time shaking my head and rolling my eyes than I did laughing during Family Guy Season 14 Episode 2. And the only times I did laugh was when Stewie was on the screen."^[3]

References