Top 10 Family Guy Fan Theories
Family Guy has been on air since 1999 so it’s no surprise there’s a lot of fan theories out there. There are a lot of interesting things about the Griffin family and the wacky town of Quahog. Here are some of the most interesting ones found on the internet. Most of these can be found via Reddit posts
Throughout the show, people wonder who can actually understand Stewie. Brian is the only one who can and everybody else is pretty inconsistent. This theory suggests that it's all in his head and how he sees the world as an infant. This could explain why a lot of the characters are over exaggerated because it's how Stewie sees it. And Brian can talk because to Stewie he's just a member of the family who all can speak. It's all his imagination while in reality Stewie is making baby noises and Brian is just barking.
The show never really explains why Brian is so intelligent and human like compared to most other animals in the series. It's been established that Family Guy takes place in the same universe as American Dad and The Cleveland Show. It's also established in American Dad that Klaus the goldfish is actually a German Olympic athlete who had his brain implanted into the body of a goldfish by the CIA. So it's not too far fetched to believe that Brian is another case of a CIA experiment. This could also be the case for Ernie the Giant Chicken.
This fan theory is rather insane. It suggests that Meg was once beautiful and attractive unlike the outcast she's made out to be in the show. Chris suffered from mental retardation due to lack of oxygen and Meg felt a connection with Chris. Long story short Meg gets into a car accident killing her and Chris. Lois commits suicide while pregnant with Stewie and Peter losing his entire family fell into insanity. Basically he envisioned a world where his family was still alive. That could explain why Meg is treated the way she is for the most part. Although part of him still loved her which is why from time to time he shows compassion to her. Stewie is super intelligent beyond his years because it's Peter imagining Stewie's potential later in life. Peter's idiocy was part of him feeling like he didn't fulfill his role and protect his family while Brian represented the intelligence that was always there. It's plausible considering Peter is the main overall character.
Peter is known to have some pretty crazy vehicles and other insane stuff throughout the series like the Petercopter. I can't imagine that's cheap and he's definitely not making that kind of salary at work. We also know the family tends to struggle financially because Peter is irresponsible and is the type to blow all his money in one place. It's very possible that since the episode "A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" Stewie has been a model on the side and wouldn't give that up considering his ego. He's probably bringing in a ton of money and Peter being the terrible father that he is takes advantage of it instead.
Brian is known to have a writing career in the show. But this theory suggests the show itself was written by Brian which is why he's usually seen as the "voice of reason" in the family. And why a lot of the characters are over exaggerated. It's also why episodes without the whole cast always seem to include him in it.
It's no secret that Peter and Lois have a complicated love/hate relationship. In fairness to Lois, she's the one who has to put up with Peter and his antics, but how much more can she take? She's cheated on Peter on multiple occasions, usually with Brian or Quagmire but also Bill Clinton. And Carter hates Peter so it's not unreasonable to think he'd manipulate her with money to leave Peter. Some evidence to support this theory include the shift in tone in recent seasons and Lois nagging more and not as defensive of Peter as she once was.
This theory suggests that Pre and Post cancellation are actually different universes. Meg was treated better by her family in seasons 1-3 than from season 4 onwards. This would mean that in "Back to the Pilot", Brian and Stewie did not time travel but instead traveled to a parallel universe and this could explain how the characters drastically changed like; Stewie no longer having plots to kill Lois or take over the world, Peter becoming more obnoxious, and Brian going from the voice of reason and a very down to earth character to a hardcore liberal, atheist, and kind of insufferable.
Family Guy hasn't been afraid of breaking the 4th wall although it's difficult to gauge how much the characters know about being on a TV show. There is some connections with American Dad. Some fans speculate that Family Guy is a TV show in American Dad when Stan references Brian. There's also the season 15 episode 4 idea where the Griffins get a behind the scenes look at actors playing their roles essentially. It definitely raises some opportunities to speculate.
McFarlane is the voice actor for Stewie, Brian, Peter, and Quagmire. Borstein voices Lois. This theory states that McFarlane's characters all show affection for Lois. Stewie does try and kill Lois but the theory explains that Stewie has Oedipal complex and doesn't understand his feelings for Lois. Meanwhile Peter, Brian, and Quagmire are all attracted to Lois; although you'd think after so many years he would act on his feelings and ask her out or something.
The Griffin family is pretty set in stone. Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian. However there's a theory that the family could've been bigger. The show mentions Peter Jr. The whole theory rests on this quote from Peter in the episode "Lottery Fever": "Chris, Meg; now that I'm a rich father you will try to impress me and I will remain distant. Go. And Chris try as you may you will never be as good as your older brother who died, he was good at sports and talking.'' It could be Peter just being Peter, but it's possible that there's some truth to it.