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"The D in Apartment 23" is the sixth episode of the sixteenth season of Family Guy.
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 Brian: I'm not a racist, all right? I just told a bad joke.
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Summary
When an offensive tweet made by Brian goes viral, the resulting outrage forces his family to kick him out of the house; Brian moves into a run-down apartment away from home.
Why It'll Never Be Cancelled
- The premise of the episode is executed amazingly well, as it portrays cancel culture effectively while also criticizing and making fun of the tropes of the phenomenon.
- Although Family Guy often tends to lean towards left-wing ideologies, this episode in particular provides a more objective perspective by showing how both sides can be in the wrong in this situation.
- It's made even more impressive how relatable this episode considering this was released in late 2017, where social media outrage was not as prevalent as it is now.
- Being one of the show's more story-driven episodes, it takes itself more seriously compared to other episodes, while not being too overly melodramatic.
- The episode is based on a real situation where an executive assistant named Justine Sacco made a similar tweet to the one Brian made and also experienced a massive online witch-hunt.
- Brian was likable and sympathetic as he was getting non-stop harassed over a tweet that was taken out of context. He even stood up to everyone who was calling him a racist and called them out for bullying and harassing him 24/7.
- The fight scenes with Freebird in the background were awesome.
- Many hilarious and relatable quotes, including:
- "And just for the record, I love black people! I've watched tons of black porn! So, what do you all want from me?"
- The one audience member who claims to identify as a basketball.
- "You screamed 'black porn' at the top of your lungs in front of women and children!
- "Brian, it's not 2005! You can't just go online and say whatever you want."
- "Looks like a student rally. They probably forgot to study for an exam, so they organized a protest. In the 90s, you just pull a fire alarm, now you hold a protest. That is, when they're not looking down at their phones."
- "Um, what's the name of this place?"
- "Dick's.
- A-And what's that say on your shirt?
- Can I have two balls... and a helmet?
- The most notable scene of the episode has Brian lecturing the angry mob about their motives, and despite his efforts, he is still ostracized by the public. This is a cruel, yet realistic representation of the mass hysteria caused by social media.
- "You know what? Fuck you! I'm not a racist, all right? I just told a bad joke. There's a huge difference. But nobody on the internet ever takes the time to ask themselves "Is this worth freaking out over?", or "Are there bigger problems in this world than this tweet?" Well, I assure you there are! And just for the record, I love black people! I've watched tons of black porn! So, what do you all want from me? Huh? You want to ruin my life? Well, congratulations, you did it! Everybody hates me! I can't leave the house without getting harassed, no one will hire me, I can't turn on my phone without strangers telling me to kill myself, or that they're gonna kill my family! LEAVE ME ALONE! I'm the self-righteous liberal douchebag, not you! I've kissed a transsexual before, how many of you can say that? Where's my fucking medal? I am so far left I'm spinning in circles, you shitheads! INSTEAD OF KILLING MYSELF, I SHOULD KILL ALL OF YOU!"
- It also has a very inspiring moral to watch what you post online, knowing that anything you say can be used against you, and in extreme cases, it can even cost your entire life.
- Overall, this is an insightful view on Brian as a character and is one of the very few modern Family Guy episodes where you can easily sympathize with him.
Cancelled Qualities
- The quote itself may come off as inherently racist.
- The angry mob is unlikable, especially Quagmire, who is especially disrespectful towards Brian, although it was already established that Quagmire and Brian do not like each other.
- Even Brian himself can be dislikable considering how he cursed at the crowd and made a death threat towards them.
- Depressing ending: The episode ends with Brian at the apartment he was evicted from, depressed, ending the episode on an unsatisfying cliffhanger.
Reception
"The D in Apartment 23" received generally positive reviews from fans and critics, praising the episode for its serious portrayal of real-life culture and its accurate depiction of the negative effects the "cancelled" people are dealt with as a result of it, while criticizing the episode's ending. It has an 8.1/10 on IMDb, making it the second-highest rated Season 16 episode under "Emmy-Winning Episode" with 8.2/10.
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