Family Guy Season 22 Episode 8 Review: Baking Sad

Family Guy Season 22 Episode 8, “Baking Sad,” is a relatively solid outing of the long-running Fox show that shines a spotlight on the oft-maligned character of Meg. 

This episode, written by Seth MacFarlane and David Zuckerman, primarily focuses on Meg. It also gives Peter and his friends airtime, although Meg’s storyline is more prominent. 

This eighth episode of the season isn’t nearly as laugh-out-loud as it wants to be, but it’s amusing enough to keep viewers entertained.  

Family Guy’s characters are usually the main draw for viewers, especially considering how long these characters have been around. “Baking Sad” is no exception, as it presents characters in somewhat of a new light. 

This episode focuses on Meg and is a much better Meg-centric episode than the season premiere, Family Guy Season 22 Episode 1, “Fertilized Megg.”  It’s a delight seeing her go — on this episode — from depressed and dejected to “proud and hopeful.” 

Here, we see how bad things are for Meg, who is often pushed to the side and sometimes appears as an afterthought. The premise of her tears becoming the secret ingredient to delicious cookies is undoubtedly unique, if a bit bizarre. But that’s par for the course for this show.  

Perhaps the funniest part of the episode is when Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian go on the “long hallway Shark Tank” to sell her cookies. This is hilariously accompanied by footage of that reality competition show’s judges. 

It’s also quite amusing to see the videos chosen to try to make Meg cry, such as the 2016 election results and a Foot Locker employee getting ready for work. Not surprisingly, the latter is the one that elicits tears. 

Also, Meg gets to bond with her siblings (and dog) in a way she never really has before. Their group hug is somewhat unexpected but also touching. Even though the younger Griffins are often at odds, they care for one another. 

Though Meg is the focus, this episode contains plenty of amusing moments from other characters — namely, Stewie, whose asides include working with a trainer who claims Stewie is “ripped.” 

Similarly, Stewie gets some laughs when acting (and screaming) like Gordon Ramsay, even getting Chris to refer to him as the British chef. 

Of course, there’s also the B plot involving Peter and his three best friends. Their attempt at creating an all-male daytime talk show is funny as an idea, but it isn’t implemented in a way that’s all that interesting. 

That said, the most amusing part is when the guys record a version of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by manually replacing “girls” with “guys.” 

For one, we see very little of the actual talk show. Instead, we mostly see Lois’s and the other wives’ reactions.

In addition, the resolution between Lois and Peter is a bit too quick to be believable. But then again, when has Family Guy ever been believable? 

As has been the case throughout the season, “Baking Sad” is filled with numerous pop culture references, including the episode title, which is a clear nod to the award-winning Breaking Bad.

Some references are a bit dated, such as the dig at Quizno’s, which is not that popular in 2023. There’s also a knock at The View and mention of Meghan McCain’s departure, which is not as topical as it wants to be. 

However, Lois describing Kelly Clarkson’s show as being for the “woman who claps when the plane lands” is quite funny and unique. 

Other references are to Post Malone, Regis Philbin, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others — in any other show, this might seem overkill. But, for Family Guy, this is pretty standard. 

This particular viewer did not appreciate the pile of dead goldfish or the dead horse in Meg’s room. While this is hardly the first time Family Guy has shown dead animals (or humans), it’s still shocking, unnecessary, and unrelated to the plot. Although to be fair, the show often contains things irrelevant to the plot. 

Stray Observations:

• It’s unclear whether or not Meg’s rejection by the University of Rhode Island is meant to be a dig at the university or if Seth MacFarlane just wanted to include something authentic on this episode. 
• We only glimpse a wasted Tom Tucker, which would’ve been funnier as a recurring bit. 
• One cutaway shows Peter and Lois’ wedding night, which contains a rather raunchy (even for this show) bit that is quite funny. 
• Lois’ dad has never been so relatable as when he puts in his AirPods to avoid talking to his daughter (although, usually, it’s the other way around). 
• It’s about time somebody called out Chris’ bizarre behavior, and Stewie does that when he describes something his brother does as “disgusting.” 

What did you think of this episode of Family Guy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Family Guy airs Sundays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.

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