Updated June 8, 2020 165.1K votes 28.1K voters 1.8M views
Voting Rules
Vote up the most plausible Family Guy fan theories.
Family Guy has grown more and more bonkers over the years, introducing a multiverse and time travel. With an interesting cast of characters, great political satire, and hilarious Peter Griffin quotes, what's not to love? With 2017 marking its 16th season, there is a whole lot of canon to the Family Guy Universe (FGU). And what do you get when you have a whole lot of canon in a universe? Fan theories.
Yes, Family Guy fan theories range from the truly preposterous to epiphanic. But who is Susie Swanson? Who is she really? One thing's for sure: Family Guy poses a lot more questions than it does answers, and that can't just be apathy towards its own continuity, right? Well, fans refused to believe it, so take a gander at some of these fan theories about Family Guy and vote up the most credible ones. Be warned: this list contains spoilers. If you're all caught up on the show, be sure to also check out more shows like Family Guy.
Reddit user iFornication makes an interesting argument for why some people can understand Stewie and why some can't: because the entire show is a manifestation of Stewie's perception of the world, i.e., "How an infant sees the world and tries to understand it from his limited knowledge." The Redditor argues that the shenanigans of the show are extremely exaggerated because it's all from a baby's perspective. His most compelling point is that Brian has the ability to talk, due to the fact that Stewie just understands the dog as a member of the family, all of whom can speak.
Although this deleted Reddit user denigrates his own argument that Peter and Lois had a son who died, it's actually somewhat convincing and the comments help it along. The user points out that Peter explicitly states they had a son who died, and even though it's in a gag, it doesn't change the fact that he said it. 789yugemos points out in the comments that there is even a throwaway gag depicting another child.
9,235 votes
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8,075 VOTES
Brian's Substance Abuse Issues Are Reflected In The (D)Evolution Of His Character
Uber-confident Reddit user GrandmasterSexay makes a rather compelling argument that over time, Brian's alcoholism has morphed his character, just as the disease does to its victims in real life. He argues that Brian becomes "dumber" over time because he has his "wires crossed," referring to the degenerative effects that alcoholism has on the brain. That said, GrandmasterSexay's categorization of it as "progressive d**chiness" may be a tad harsh.
8,075 votes
4
8,117 VOTES
Pre-Cancellation And Post-Cancellation Are Different Universes
Reddit user hohoswackyquest has a flawless explanation for why the first three seasons of Family Guy are bad and weird, and why the characters are all different from the rest of the series after it came back from being canceled: they're two different universes. Most of hohoswackyquest's argument lies in how different the characters are, especially how Meg is actually loved by her parents pre-cancellation. And the Redditor explains the time travel episode, "Back to the Pilot," where Stewie and Brian go back to the pilot by claiming they didn't time travel, but actually went to a parallel universe.
Damn. Maybe hohoswackyquest's right. OR! Maybe the writers had to change everything about the show because it wasn't good, hence the cancellation.
8,117 votes
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7,400 VOTES
Brian Is Intelligent Because He's A Human In A Dog Body
Although Family Guy has been on air roughly since the Carter administration, there are still aspects of the Griffin families life that remain mysterious. For example: Exactly why is Brian Griffin intelligent?
A writer at WhatCulture theorizes that Brian is smarter than your average dog because he was once a human who had his brain inserted into a canine body by the CIA. Remember, Family Guy is set in the same universe as American Dad!
In American Dad!, the talking goldfish Klaus is actually a German athlete who had his brain swapped with a fish by the CIA. It's entirely possible, then, that all the intelligent animal characters in Seth McFarlane's shared animated universe are the product of illegal experimentation by the CIA, including Brian Griffin.
It is well established that American Dad! and Family Guy exist in the same universe. It is also established that little Susie Swanson's inner monologue is voiced by Patrick Stewart, who also voices Avery Bullock. That's just a funny subversion of expectations, right? Wrong! In American Dad!, the CIA has a device that allows a person to remotely control an avatar of any shape or size. In "Virtual In-Stanity," Bullock does indeed have an avatar: a baby. He utilizes this avatar for, er, nutritional purposes. Redditor TCromps takes this a step further and theorizes Joe and Bonnie's daughter, Susie, is one of Bullock's avatars. Set your phasers to mind blown.
