It’s fairly certain that more than one person has asked this question in the history of Family Guy since it is one of those that you can’t help but wonder about when it comes down to the overall manner in which the show is represented. Why in the world can Brian understand Stewie but no one else can? Well one theory seems to be that the entire story of Family Guy is being told from Stewie’s viewpoint and is therefore able to explain the more outlandish moments that might otherwise be kind of mundane if taken from a different point of view.
Think of it, the Griffin’s are more or less a truly dysfunctional family that has a laundry list of problems that would keep a team of psychiatrists busy for years. But what if their story is being told from the point of view of a small child that is seemingly intelligent enough to concoct a story that makes absolutely no sense at times and is played up to such a grandiose level that is outlandish even for an animated sitcom? Stewie is a very young child and there’s no telling just how many embellishments a child will use in their daily lives to describe a world they don’t fully understand. Come on now, a lot of us likely thought the world was a lot different when we were younger, only to realize when we grew up that those things we thought were so daunting and the people we thought were huge really aren’t as intimidating as we initially believed.
It would also go a long way to describing how he relates to the rest of his family. With Brian it’s kind of obvious that he has a love/hate/love relationship with him since he tends to rely on Brian at times and see him as his wing man, while at other times it would seem that he and Brian are constantly at odds with one another. Brian is of course the only person that can understand him while the rest of the family can understand Brian but not Stewie. Weird isn’t it? Anyway, Stewie likely sees Peter as nothing but bumbling fool and this holds out with the theory that Stewie is running the narrative. In this view Peter is able to get away with a lot more nonsense and is the kind of guy that no one can figure out why he’s not in jail or a mental ward. Lois on the other hand is the strict mother that makes Stewie mind and as such becomes his nemesis as she thwarts his every attempt to dominate the family as he tries sometimes.
Meg and Chris don’t seem to garner much regard from Stewie, other than the fact that he thinks they’re both rather pathetic. His relationship with his siblings is one that seems to be beyond his scope in light of this theory as they don’t really interact all that much and tend to steer clear of one another. But it’s kind of what you might expect since siblings that are separated by more than just a few years don’t always have the strongest bond in the world since they are at different points in their lives. Stewie though is the kind of kid that thinks he’s the smartest person in the room and yet can’t seem to pick up on his own little quirks until he really stops and analyzes himself.
This theory is kind of fun to think about actually since it makes a lot of sense in some ways but not enough in others. Stewie is by far one of the most popular characters on the show and people don’t seem to mind the constant question that’s been hanging over the program for so long. More than one person has asked why Brian can understand Stewie and no one else can, but the answer has always been kind of elusive since it would seem that the showrunner really wants to focus on the show more than the many questions that are being asked on a continual basis. That seems fair enough given that Family Guy has been one of the most popular shows on TV for a good amount of time now. But every now and then the questions do seem to deserve an answer, but this one is among those that might never be fully answered since it might kill the whole vibe of the show. Imagine if Stewie’s point of view was stripped from the show and he became just another babbling, cooing baby that had grandiose plans that were never going to be realized since most of the time he was babbling in ways that only he could understand. Also think about this, if Stewies point of view was taken away the rest of the family might be halfway normal.
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