Scammed Yankees (Family Guy)

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Scammed Yankees
How prophetic is it that the episode's name fully sums up how much of a large-scale anomaly it is compared to any other poorly-received joint this show offers...
Series: Family Guy Part of Season: 14 Episode Number: 12 Air Date: January 17, 2016 Writer: Ray James Director: Jerry Langford Previous episode: The Peanut Butter Kid Next episode: An App a Day

"Scammed Yankees" is the 12th episode of the 14th season of Family Guy.

Plot

When Peter and Carter fall for a Nigerian prince cyber-scam, they head off to Africa to get their money back. Meanwhile, Brian becomes enamored by Meg’s friend Patty.

Why It Ended Up Scamming Itself

1. This episode is very racist towards Africans and people of African descent as it constantly makes jokes at their expense as it portrays all of the people of Africa as war torn, disease riddled, and morally bankrupt people.
2. There is a very offensive joke about a trio of African kids, with two of the kids dying of malaria and being whisked away by mosquitos while the third kid gets abducted by Herbert, who is wearing a mosquito costume and is using blackface makeup. It is implied that HERBERT MOLESTED THAT KID. Plus, the use of blackface is a very controversial method many actors who in the 19th and early 20th century use for their movies and stage shows, with the method being controversial due to it being considered a mockery of African Americans.
3. The episode makes Carter unlikable midway in the episode as he terrorizes an African village and turns on Peter all in revenge for being scammed when he finds out that he is unable to get the money he is cheated out of back.
4. There is a very infamous joke about the Ebola virus in the episode because of the small pandemic it caused around the time this episode aired.
5. The episode overuses jokes concerning racism towards African Americans, lethal diseases, and pedophilia.
6. Brian is at one of his absolute worst moments and he is completely out of character in this episode as the subplot has him lust after Meg’s friend Patty, who is still a teen. This portrayal of Brian is inconsistent with his previous depictions as he is shown to care about many of the women he dates. However, this episode turns him into a complete Quagmire clone.
   • The episode also tries to uncharacteristically depict Brian as the villain, but Brian was not depicted as such in any of his previous depictions. This shows that the writers are aware of Brian’s flaws, yet they do not care and deliberately want to make him worse and forcefully take away all his redeeming qualities in the process.
7. Brian’s sudden sexual interest in young teenage girls is not only poorly executed but also does not make much sense given that Brian is 8 years old (56 in dog years), and Patty is 17, meaning that Patty is technically older than Brian. The episode also fails to mention Brian’s age in both the human and dog years. Because of this, the episode would be better suited for a character like Quagmire as Quagmire is known to lust towards teenage girls. Had Quagmire been shown to be making these advances towards Patty instead of Brian then that would have made the subplot better due to making Quagmire’s predatory instincts a serious issue to be focused on and treated in a deservedly negative way.
8. There was a mean-spirited joke about Carter going lion hunting with a dentist, which is a reference to Walter Palmer shooting Cecil the Lion.
9. Bad moral: if someone tries to scam you, you should give them money because the scams are actually pleas for help to get them out of poverty as shown when the plot twist reveals that the scam Carter fell for helped an African village build infrastructure. In reality, getting scammed is actually hurtful as it causes the victim to be at risk of identity theft and possibly lose all their money.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Meg, Lois, Peter, and Stewie are likable in this episode. Peter and Lois aren't flanderized like they usually are, and this is one of the few times in Seasons 8-15 where Meg has her original personality.
2. While Carter becomes despicable in the later half of the episode, his behavior in the first half is understandable because nobody likes to be scammed out of their money.
3. "Hamburger."

Reception

While the episode got a 6.9/10 on IMDb, several fans criticized the episode for its racist jokes, mean spirited tone, and Brian’s OOC behavior.

References

1. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4863440/

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