The Bird Reich

To take advantage of a work policy granting leave in the event of a pet's death, Peter adopts the oldest bird he can find... and realizes it used to belong to Hitler. Meanwhile, after giving Stewie a signed copy of his book, Brian finds it in a free library, causing Brian to give up writing.

The Bird Reich

April 16, 2023  |  Season 21   |  Episode 16

To take advantage of a work policy granting leave in the event of a pet's death, Peter adopts the oldest bird he can find... and realizes it used to belong to Hitler. Meanwhile, after giving Stewie a signed copy of his book, Brian finds it in a free library, causing Brian to give up writing.

While at work, Peter is tasked with filling in for Stella following her cat's passing, simultaneously learning about the brewery's new bereavement program, granting workers six weeks off in the event that their pet dies. Following a failed attempt to kill Brian, he decides to find an old pet, deciding on an eighty-year-old parrot, whom he names Gonzo and quickly becomes friends with. However, Peter and the guys soon find out that Gonzo was once Hitler's pet. Fearing accusations of anti-Semitism, Lois orders him to get rid of the bird, even calling Animal Control on him, but Peter flees to the local synagogue for some advice. Upon hearing Gonzo recite some Jewish scriptures, Peter and Rabbi Goldstein discover that he was Jewish all along, and was only pretending to be a Nazi to survive World War II. The trio decides to celebrate the revelation with some matzo, but Gonzo chokes on his piece and dies.

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Meanwhile, Stewie, after noticing how much Brian has cleaned up his act as of late, decides to attend the signing for his self-published book, Chasing My TALE. Although the event is a modest success, Brian later finds Stewie's autographed copy inside a Little Free Library. Furious, Brian calls Stewie out on his narcissism and refusal to properly support his dreams, vowing to quit writing altogether so he won't have to annoy him about it anymore. Feeling remorse, Stewie and Chris manage to make Brian's book a bestseller by purchasing multiple copies, which initially works in upping Brian's mood, until Lois reveals their trick. Stewie calls Brian out on his prior insistence that he doesn't need external validation, but Brian reveals he was lying and, being a dog, actually thrives on it. Stewie then reveals that he got rid of the book because he was jealous at how Brian managed to succeed while he has not, and the two rekindle their friendship with Brian promising not to do anything big ever again.

The episode ends with the Griffins mourning the loss of Gonzo, only for the wake to overflow the toilet.