The Return of the King (of Queens) (Family Guy)

The Return of the King (of Queens)
If this is what the future of cable TV looks like, maybe it's okay that it's dying out.
Series: Family Guy Part of Season: 22 Episode Number: 9 Air Date: December 17, 2023 Writer: Wellesly Wild Director: Brian Iles Previous episode: Baking Sad

The Return of the King (of Queens) is the 9th episode of the 22nd season of It originally aired on Fox on December 17, 2023, and was written by Alex Carter and directed by Greg Colton.

Plot

While the family is decorating for Christmas, Peter Griffin discovers that Lois sold the TV and isn't happy about it. He is told to give Netflix a chance, and does before Kevin James comes in, needing a place to live now that he is unemployed.

Why It's Neither the King or Queen

1. The first part of the episode features Peter childishly whining about the Lois cancelling the cable subscription and selling the TV. The idea sounds interesting, but is ultimately half-baked.
2. Speaking of which, Lois selling the TV is unnecessary, as not only does Peter make a sufficient living off of his job at the Paw Tuckett Brewery, but Lois's father is extremely wealthy. If they couldn't afford a cable plan, Carter could've just covered it.
3. The guest appearance from Kevin James feels rather forced, and unlike most celebrity guest episodes, Kevin James doesn't actually play his character.
4. A few of the jokes are needlessly drawn out.
   1. The reference to Braveheart is another example of Meg torture the first time, a massive step back from the previous two episodes. In addition, it's also self-admittedly cheap, with him saying that he's "Just demonstrating that I'm still relevant by making a very old movie reference." In addition, this joke is repeated twice more.
   2. When Lois asks Peter for 50 examples of a sitcom rule that you have to let guests stay when they knock on the door, he obliges. Then she wants 50 more, but she pretends to hang herself to cut it short.
5. While it is par for the course for Family Guy to mock other networks and studios, their jabs at Netflix are very ill-informed. Not all Netflix originals are about naviging life in a small town after a murder, which ignores several breakout hits for the service like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Squid Game.
   1. Peter thinking about Bartholomew, his favorite dog, is repeated with Lois thinking about her favorite dog, which, again, is needless.
6. Despite being a Christmas episode, the holiday isn't really relevant to the plot until the third act.
7. While the concept of celebrities literally fading away when losing popularity is interesting, it feels rushed in order to move a plot along in the last few minutes.
8. Overall, it ends the time of the series airing on Sundays at 9:30 PM on a sour note.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Kevin James is consistently likable throughout the episode. While staying with Peter, he gets a job as a UPS driver, and actively seeks to integrate with normal society.
2. The ending, while admittedly forced, is still rather heartwarming and promotes a message of unity.
3. As stated in WtES #7 The concept of celebrities literally fading away when they lose popularity is clever.
4. The joke of Peter demonstrating how to pay bills is quite hilarious, feeling like something from early post-cancellation seasons.

Reception

Based on 263 reviews, the episode has 6.0 on IMDB.