Summary
- Brian and Stewie’s relationship is the heart of Family Guy, bringing depth and emotion to an otherwise comedic show.
- The “Road To…” episodes featuring Brian and Stewie are fan favorites, offering adventure, comedy, and heartfelt moments.
- Brian and Stewie share a unique bond, often taking care of each other and going on wild adventures together. Their dynamic is what makes them the best duo on the show.
The best Brian and Stewie episodes in Family Guy history remain some of the best for the animated series overall thanks to their strong relationship. While characters like Peter, Quagmire, Meg, and even Lois to an extent, are good for rapid-fire jokes, Brian and Stewie have a deeper connection and often bring the heart to the series that otherwise would just be an afterthought. Through Family Guy’s run, Brian and Stewie seem to have grown even closer throughout the years, and while they weren’t the original partners in crime, they are easily the best duo on the show now.
At the beginning of Family Guy’s run, the central duo was Peter and Brian. Peter would do and say ridiculous things as a less family-friendly version of Homer Simpson and Brian would react to his antics as the dry, deadpan voice of reason. However, as the show went on, the writers found that there was even more comedic potential in pairing Brian with diabolical baby Stewie. From Brian accidentally reversing the course of time to Stewie getting pregnant with a bunch of their human-dog hybrid babies, Stewie and Brian’s relationship has defined Family Guy’s storied history.
15 Road To Rhode Island (Season 2, Episode 13)
The most popular Brian and Stewie episodes are “Road To…” installments. They parody the Road To… movies starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, which were all adventure and comedy gags with almost no plot, a perfect fit for Family Guy. “Road to Rhode Island” was the first of these and in a wholesome Family Guy moment, this story leads Brian to the puppy mill where he was left as a baby and his mother. In the episode, Brian agrees to go pick up Stewie from his grandparents’ summer home, but after getting drunk and losing their plane tickets, they take a road trip back home. The strong writing earned the episode an Emmy nomination, although it lost to The Simpsons.
14 Road To Rupert (Season 5, Episode 9)
If there is one character on Family Guy who could come between Brian and Stewie, it is Rupert. Stewie’s beloved teddy bear is always by his side with the two sharing an odd relationship. “Road To Rupert” finds Brian accidentally selling Rupert at a family yard sale leading Stewie to drag him on a cross-country journey to get him back. The episode lacks some of the adventure of other “Road to” episodes, however, there are plenty of memorable moments, including a song and dance number that puts Stewie alongside musical movie icon Gene Kelly in a wonderful moment.
13 The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Season 5, Episode 11)
Brian and Stewie episodes often see one of them taking care of the other. Stewie gets into tanning after Peter takes him out in the sun without sunscreen in season 5’s “The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” but he overdoes it and fears he might have cancer. In one of the best Family Guy episodes, while Stewie waits to hear back from the doctor, Brian helps him check off all the items on his bucket list. Since Stewie isn’t definitely dying, Brian has very little patience for his convoluted, demanding final wishes. The episode also has a nice homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with Stewie wanting to visit the Art Institute of Chicago.
12 Saving Private Brian (Season 5, Episode 4)
Brian visits the military recruiter who tried to sign up Chris to give him a piece of his mind. Stewie ends up enlisting both himself and Brian in season 5’s “Saving Private Brian”. In this Brian and Stewie episode, after passing boot camp, the two are shipped right off to fight, and sending Stewie and Brian to the frontlines was a great lens through which to satirize the Iraq War. Besides just being another example of the terrible things Stewie can do, the premise is just a vehicle for jokes at first, but Stewie convinces Brian to stick with it because he has a history of quitting, giving the episode an emotional arc lacking from most Family Guy installments.
11 Stewie Is Enceinte (Season 13, Episode 12)
In this Brian and Stewie episode, Stewie notices Brian growing distant in season 13’s “Stewie is Enceinte,” and he decides to get closer to him in the most disturbing way possible: stealing Brian’s DNA and impregnating himself with a bunch of human-dog hybrid babies. It’s a great Stewie and Brian episode, but because of its dark premise and graphic moments, it’s also a controversial Family Guy episode. Stewie and Brian manage to bond over trying to figure out the kids’ confusing biology once the seven human-puppy hybrids arrive. The episode also played the trope of adults being oblivious to everything going on as they never even noted Stewie’s pregnancy.
10 Yug Ylimaf (Season 11, Episode 4)
In one of the many time travel Brian and Stewie episodes, after his pickup attempts fail miserably, Brian starts using Stewie’s time machine to impress women in season 11’s “Yug Ylimaf.” When he tries to turn back the year-o-meter to cover his tracks, time starts moving in reverse. Brian screws something up and Stewie is left struggling to fix it in one of Family Guy‘s best sci-fi adventures. However, in “Yug Ylimaf,” it’s left in Brian’s hands to save the day and fix everything when the reverse time catches up with Stewie’s birth, making for a fun twist on the formula.
9 Stuck Together, Torn Apart (Season 3, Episode 19)
The Brian and Stewie episodes often find a way to show that the two can’t quit each other. While Peter and Lois give separation a try, Brian and Stewie get stuck to each other with industrial-strength glue in the season 3 episode “Stuck Together, Torn Apart.” Naturally, after having to spend every waking moment together for days on end, Brian and Stewie grow to hate each other. But they eventually use the time to bond and become so close that even after the solvent arrives, they keep holding hands.
8 Peter’s Daughter (Season 6, Episode 7)
If one thing sums up Stewie on Family Guy, it is that he is a schemer. Stewie convinces Brian to invest in a fixer-upper in the B-plot of season 6’s “Peter’s Daughter.” They quickly find they’ve bitten off more than they can chew as neither of them knows the first thing about home renovation, and they have constant communication problems (primarily with the classic “over” walkie-talkie bit). When Stewie suggests blowing up the building, he and Brian dive away from the explosion in dozens of different camera angles, the same way action movies milk explosions for every ounce of spectacle they can.
7 North By North Quahog (Season 4, Episode 1)
While Peter and Lois are on vacation trying to spice up their marriage in “North by North Quahog” (the first episode after the show was un-canceled by Fox), Brian is left in charge of the kids and instantly proves to be an ineffective disciplinarian. Stewie helps out, and Brian and Stewie quickly morph into a bickering married couple. This was one of the early episodes that solidified Brian and Stewie’s dynamic and started them on the journey to becoming Family Guy’s central double act.
6 Movin’ Out (Brian’s Song) (Season 6, Episode 2)
Brian gets an apartment with his girlfriend in “Movin’ Out (Brian’s Song).” Stewie moves in to help with the rent and establishes himself as an annoying roommate. Brian thought Stewie got on his nerves at the Griffins’ house, but that was nothing compared to sharing an apartment with him. Since he’s still just a baby (albeit a baby with walking-around money), Stewie wants to sleep in Brian and Jillian’s bed when he’s scared. In the end, with all his terrible decisions and actions, Stewie proves to be a terrible roommate.
5 Back To The Pilot (Season 10, Episode 5)
In season 10’s “Back to the Pilot,” Stewie takes Brian back in time to Family Guy’s pilot episode to see where he buried a bone. The stakes are raised when Brian seizes the opportunity to prevent 9/11, which has dire multiversal ramifications. The episode has a lot of meta gags about how much Family Guy and its characters have changed since the pilot episode as the glossy, modern Stewie and Brian enter the cruder animation of the show’s early seasons. If there is one Family Guy episode that slams home how much the show has changed over the years, it is this one.
4 Brian & Stewie (Season 8, Episode 17)
Easily the greatest Brian and Stewie episodes in Family Guy history outside the “Road to…” specials is the extended episode that puts the focus squarely on their friendship. It also featured one of Family Guy’s saddest moments. In season 8’s “Brian & Stewie,” the titular duo gets locked in a bank over a weekend. A prime example of a bottle episode, “Brian & Stewie” breaks many Family Guy traditions. It has no other characters, no cutaway gags, and no music besides the opening theme. Brian and Stewie simply sit in the bank’s safe deposit box room, which leads to a deep dive into their relationship. Brian reveals that he occasionally has suicidal thoughts and Stewie reveals that he depends on Brian, which gives him a reason to live.
3 Road To The North Pole (Season 9, Episode 7)
“Road to the North Pole” has the distinction of being, not only one of the best “Road to” episodes, but also one of the best Christmas episodes of Family Guy. The story follows Stewie becoming disillusioned with Santa after a bad experience at the mall and heading out to the North Pole to kill him. The episode represents some of the best aspects of what makes Family Guy a great adult animated series. There is a lot of dark humor as well as some of the best songs the show has ever produced. It also features some true highlights of Brian and Stewie’s shenanigans, especially their ill-fated attempt to take over for Santa.
2 Roads To Vegas (Season 11, Episode 21)
The most hilarious and ambitious of the “Road to…” Brian and Stewie episode on Family Guy is season 11’s “Roads to Vegas.” This was also and it was much darker than other Family Guy episodes. Stewie tries teleporting himself and Brian to Vegas for a Cher concert, and when the experiment seems to have failed, clones of Stewie and Brian arrive in Sin City. While one Stewie and Brian have the time of their lives, the other Stewie and Brian suffer the consequences.
This episode was actually part of a two-part season finale for Family Guy. With the bad luck coming to one of the Brian and Stewie combinations and the death of one in each duo, it delivered a great parallel story without getting bogged down with the normal non-stop barrage of jokes that often interject in Family Guy episodes. When watched as a one-two punch with “No Country Club For Old Men,” it showed how the show was hitting on all cylinders in season 11.
1 Road To The Multiverse (Season 8, Episode 1)
The multiverse in the MCU and other superhero movies has become hugely popular, however, Family Guy beat them all to the punch years earlier with “Road to the Multiverse.” It’s not surprising that Stewie was able to invent a device that allows him to visit different realities within the multiverse and it is even less surprising that things go wrong when he and Brian decide to take the device for a spin.
The mayhem causes Brian and Stewie to hope between different realities in their attempt to return home. This results in hilarious gags like them winding up in a musical yet surprisingly dark Disney universe, a Flintstones universe, and a universe where dogs are the dominant species. The episode is a perfect setup for the typical Family Guy delivery of rapid-fire jokes while also forming a genuine story around the gags.