The Family Guy season 23 episode 5, "The Chicken or The Meg," which aired on March 16th, was one of the weirdest storylines to date for the animated comedy. There have been plenty of weird episodes over the past two decades, but "The Chicken or The Meg" definitely takes the cake in the category.
We all want Meg to take a break from the cruel grips of her life, so she finds that opportunity when she gets a spot on the reality dating show Sex Farm hosted by Corey from Corey's World. On the show, she costumes herself as a pig and hunts to find love. Family Guy must have researched the MTV and VH1 dating reality shows from the 2000s to create relevancy, as where else will the writers gain the substance?
Meg finds love and starts a relationship with a guy named Nugget in a chicken suit, who happens to be an actual chicken and the son of Peter's arch nemesis, Ernie, the Giant Chicken. They continue their relationship after their Sex Farm elimination and keep it a secret from their dads.
While it's sweet (despite a chicken) that Meg found her person in Nugget, it doesn't take long for Peter to discover what his daughter's been up to. Despite his disapproval, Meg continues seeing Nugget, to the point where he moves in with him, just to get out of Peter's torment.
Things aren't much better at Nugget's house, as Ernie is an exact copy of Peter and belittles the Griffin patriarch to the extent that Meg defends her dad's honor. I never thought I'd see the day she would defend her dad, seeing how he put her through. Still, no one has the right to make fun of Peter unless it's his immediate family because it's his family.
Peter gets upset that Meg has moved out and brings his buddies along to bring her back home. That
But there's a shocking twist to the ending that no one say coming.
Is Ernie the Giant Chicken really dead in Family Guy season 1 episode 5 "The Chicken or The Meg?"
Toward the episode's ending, Meg does something Peter never could, ending the Giant Chicken. While Family Guy has killed off characters because either the cast member passes away or they lost their luster, Ernie's death was probably the most gruesome. Meg literally did what a butcher does, and while this is a comedy, the act was still pretty much stomach-twisting. I was even shocked by the goriness of it.
But does it also mean Ernie is finally gone, and we will no longer get Peter vs. the Giant Chicken fights? The running gag has been a part of the Family Guy culture for over 25 years, and while the writers haven't officially confirmed that the fowl is permanently gone, it appears he is.
The only way to ensure the truth is to see if Ernie returns to pick a fight with Peter again.
Family Guy bits
- The contestants on Sex Farm were fellow Quahog residents
- The QR code Corey provided actually works and leads you to a page of the contestant' in their animal costumes and short bios.
- If Peter has a degree of caring for his daughter, despite not admitting t, then he's an ok dad.
- Meg and Nugget eventually break up, after he comes out.
- Again, "The Chicken or The Meg" was a very weird episode.