Run, Chris, Run

"Run, Chris, Run" is the nineteenth episode of the fourteenth season of the animated sitcom Family Guy, and the 268th episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 15, 2016, and is written by Damien Fahey and directed by Julius Wu.^[1] The title is a play on the 1998 German film Run Lola Run.

Plot

During lunchtime at school, Principal Shepherd reminds the students to nominate for this year's Homecoming King. After a brief discussion, Chris is nominated by his only friend, Neil Goldman. At home, Chris announces the news to Lois, Brian, and Stewie, to Lois' concern. The next day, Chris unexpectedly wins the election, much to the surprise of Lois, Brian, and Stewie, who had come to console him after he lost.

Meanwhile, at the Drunken Clam, Cleveland leaves for a moment to go to the bathroom. Peter, Joe, and Quagmire head out, leaving Cleveland to pay the bill for the boys. Cleveland complains to Jerome, and they bond over more drinks. Later, Cleveland ditches his friends to hang out with Jerome, surprising them. Wanting to get Cleveland back, they decide to try and win him back through antics such as dancing foolishly on his lawn. All of these efforts are met with failure as Cleveland continues to spend time with Jerome.

At home, Lois and Peter give Chris plenty of respect and congratulations for his success, causing him to act like a King. Meg however is skeptical about the votes and believes that they are part of an elaborate prank. Brian and Stewie go to the school to clarify this. They attempt to disguise themselves and sneak in, but Brian gets distracted by two attractive teens and is subsequently thrown out of the school. At night, they see a news story about Chris, 'a fat spazz,' becoming homecoming king, and realize after hearing his interviewed classmates responses that he was elected because the kids pitied him. When Chris comes home he continues to believe he is a King of high importance and power, much to Stewie and Brian's irritation. The next day, as Chris continues to annoy them with his ego, an exasperated Brian reveals the truth to a skeptical Chris.

After Peter, Joe, and Quagmire unsuccessfully attempt a third method to get Cleveland back, they address the idea that Cleveland may be hanging out with Jerome because they're both black people. They head to the Brown house dressed like famous black people to win Cleveland back, but he reveals that he is still angry about the unsettled bar tab he was stuck with and feels Jerome is a better friend. That night, Cleveland tells Jerome of the guys' theory and learns that there's some truth behind it, as Jerome personally considers Cleveland boring but feels a connection to him because of their shared race nonetheless.

Brian and Stewie attend the homecoming dance after Stewie realizes that they were a little too harsh on him and should support him anyway. Principal Shepherd introduces Chris as the prom king. However, when Chris steps up to give another bizarre speech, his classmates give sympathetic comments and it dawns on him that they merely elected him because they thought he was mentally challenged and wanted to feel good about themselves. This infuriates Chris and he storms off. Outside the school, Chris reconciles with Stewie and Brian, having learned from the experience that he doesn't need pity, just his family's support.

After reuniting and patching things up with his friends at the Griffins' house, Cleveland plays Double Dribble with Peter. Peter starts to win, but hits a wrong button at the last minute before the episode ends.

Reception

The episode received an audience of 2.65 million, making it the second most watched show on Fox that night behind The Simpsons.^[2]

Controversy

Fox received complaints after the original video of the Double Dribble gameplay used in the episode, from YouTube content creator 'sw1tched's channel, was taken down due to a copyright claim. The video has since been restored.^[3]

References