Yeah. I guess once they saw the opportunity to do jokes and pairings with other characters they just gave up on that whole not being able to understand him thing
I always just saw it as if it’s necessary for a joke Mostly brian and chris only understand him but with chris even THATS iffy But the main reason for him not always understanding is just due to the fact that brian needs an understudy for stewie to bounce off of occasionally The story rarely needs lois or peter to hear his input so they don’t hear him unless we get something like the godfather bit; while Stewie can still hold jobs with adults and whole radio shows and sing with frank sinatra jr in the aame breath Its definitely not a case of the family just ignoring him or it being a garfield thing where they just hear babies noises when he talks either tho.
Stewie seemed to age slightly over the years dispite being one years old. In early episodes Stewie was breastfeeding and needed his diaper changed. In later ones he regularly attends pre school and is potty trained.
Yeah, my head canon currently has been that the show takes place over like three years and he’s a toddler now. (Which tracks tbh because Meg ages, too)
I think what it comes down to is that Peter, Lois, and Meg could understand Stewie, but they're so self-absorbed it just flies over their heads, especially in later seasons.
@@consumeroftoons2119 yeah "revived", a reboot is very different, usually they revamp most things about the show, new voice actors, visuals that kind of thing, and it starts from Season 1 again, Family Guy's is def a continuation cuz it just picks up where it left off at Season 4.
I do like how Chris and Brian are the only real family members who can understand Stewie fully. But I like how Peter is learning to understand bits and pieces of his speech over time.
Honestly, I'd love an episode that just focuses on the perspective of someone that can't understand Stewie. Like, what does a conversation between Stewie and Brian sound like from that sort of perspective?
@@river9939 I would think it's b/c Brian actually speaks 'human', so removing his speech doesn't make that much sense. Compared to Stewie where we don't know if he's actually talking or if it's The Secret Life of Pets situation where Stewie is talking in baby, but from his perspective (the viewers) he's actually talking. Unless Brian speaks to Stewie in dog & Stewir speaks to Brian in baby, but that's a whole other ordeal. I get the intention, but I think a more 'realistic' outside look would be Stewie babbling & Brain speaking normally. That's at least my 2 cents anyways.
It honestly makes sense that Meg could be the only one who hear Stewie with only baby speech considering the moments that are focus on their dynamics where Meg is more of a maternal figure to Stewie compared to Lois In the episode “Stewie Kills Lois” Meg ended up taking more of the maternal figure for the family while Lois is missing that Stewie himself also complimented her for this. As well in certain episode where Stewie did get attached to Meg because she saved his life from a grape causing him to do a lot of doting kids stuff that they would done towards their parents and even defended her when she was the better housewife as well. It would make sense that honestly she does see him as her baby brother, even if he is a super genius
@@entimoreng yea but it's apparently "canon" that peter can get those gag vehicles or destroy the house since they did have a repair man come in an episode and ask if any work needs done but peter going missing keeps the house in normal condition, so stewie and brain being out on adventures seems less farfetched if her dad can get custom helicopters on his meager salary.
@@BaeBunni Peter who is known to be horrible with money spending it on something like that is more feasible than a 1 year old and a talking dog building a time machine and using it to do stuff as crazy as create the universe. Plus Peters legal history is spotty at best and hes killed thousands before and he doesn’t have a horrible job. There family isnt poor even without Peter probably getting some of his money form sketchy areas. Plus lets not forget Carter. Carter hates Peter but hes a billionaire and he deep down cares about his family. It’s possible he pays for atleast the mortgage saving Peter thousands a year.
I like to imagine that people can understand Stewie,but only as far as it’s normal for a toddler to talk, so if he says a long sentence, they’re only gonna understand the key words and/or sentences.
Then how come on post 2005 episodes they pretty much never respond or react to anything he says? Irl a baby can't do anything without being lavished with praise and attention. Once Stewie loudly sang the Mr. Belvedere theme song as Peter and Lois sat there frozen in silence. Why weren't they saying something about how cute him singing was? They didn't react at all to their baby hysterically singing a song.
Actually in on of the Earlier episodes Stewie actually asked Meg what are you doing and Meg answers saying, “watching you sleep, cutie pie.” So actually Meg has understood stewie that one time.
Yeah I’d agree there’s plenty of scenes in the episodes that back this up along with maybe one or two ENTIRE episode that fully back this up like the Grammy episode and then I’m pretty sure there’s a newerish episode where they literally show scene changes as if it was a play on a stage or a movie set
I'm kinda glad Chris and Stewie have more stories in more recent seasons. Chris (also Meg) wasn't really a character the same way Peter, Lois, Brian, & Stewie were in the early years so he and Stewie now have someone else to work off of.
You gotta appreciate that this man gives the title of each song he uses before he starts the main segment. I absolutely love it. Great video like usual!!
Do you remember the one joke where Stewie goes something like "I think if we have a movie or finale then maybe the family would understand me. That'd be a good finale right?"
Whats strange to me is that usually parents are the ones who can understand their baby the best, so you would think Peter and Lois would understand him better.
In the original show, they did understand him. But they just took what he said at face value, because he was a baby. This was changed after the show returned, possibly to make him more akin to an actual baby (Who happens to talk, and understands the mechanics of time travel).
i always assumed everyone could always understand Stewie and most of the time they just ignored him because they’re like “what does he know, he’s a baby”
@@MrBlue99912 iirc, our universe's stewie straight up didn't tell anybody about the time travel or interdimensional travel except for Brian, who's the only one besides Chris who ever interacts with him like a person
The closest instance I can think of of Meg understanding Stewie is when she, him, and Chris fight over some money they find in the episode 'ready, willing and disabled.' I'm not sure if she directly responds to anything he says though
I actually forgot about this one when putting the video together, I’d have to rewatch it to be 100% sure! Been a few years since I’ve seen it, I think.
@@ToonrificTariq Understandable that you would forget about it since it’s just a B plot, I only remembered it because I rewatched it a few months ago. And yeah there is one moment in the episode where she responds to something he says. He tells her to raise her hand at on point and she does it
He tells her and Chris to raise their hand to get them to let go out the $26 they raise the hands not holding onto the money then he says they're smart and to give themselves a round of applause and they just glare at him not falling for his tricks. That's 1 of the only times she ever seemed to understand him.
We stopped watching for a few years and recently came back with the newest couple seasons and we were fucking BAFFLED in that scene 🤣 Like who's bitch is this???
Another thing you forgot to mention is any of the times Stewie has performed on stage people have understood what he has said or sung. It may apply to the rule where he must put “emotion” into his words. Since it’s clear he loved performing each time he did (or at least most of them) it might have been the reason people heard him.
I’m convinced Meg can hear Stewie but chooses to not respond actively because she’s kept out of the equation most of the times. In the newer episode where Peter fights his hologram, Stewie thinks of a plan to short him out and you can see Meg actively listening to him yet Lois is still focused on Peter.
Lmao ofc Meg would be the one out of the whole family that never, ever gets to understand him. And my goodness, I just adore your editing whether it's the opening or closing, "chapter breaks," or ones like Stewie's "mommy, mommy, ma, ma." Pleaseee, the unhinged cackle I let out. Thank you for making this!
This is the kind of stuff that you see in a forum thread but man is it more fun in video form, at least for me. I can't really hear the tone of text a lot of the time, so the spoken script really helps, and your recorded lines have a lot of life in them.
7:40 There was also a recent Christmas episode where Lois was the Grinch and Stewie, dressed like Cindy Lou Who, asked her why she was taking their tree and Lois replied back asking why he was dressed like a girl.
10:06 Actually, I found a moment where Meg responds to Stewie. In "When You Wish Apon a Winestein," Stewie woke up and saw Meg watching him sleep. He says "What the hell are you doing?" and Meg responds saying "Watching you sleep, cutiepie." So technically all of the Griffin's have understood him at some point
I think the times when peter and lois understand stewie is because they hear him as if he is speaking in a baby voice and not his actual voice, so they’re not phased when he speaks
Great vid, Tariq! This is one of those Family Guy topics I always wondered about but didn't know if they had any hard rules on any character. It's fun to look at the individual instances to see where they stretch and where they didn't. (Also, I sympathize soooo much with having to do the "this is just for fun" disclaimer at the beginning) 🤣
I would say for comedic purposes it’s Peter, Lois, and certain other characters. Like Cleveland. And for just canon/usual purposes it’s obviously Chris, Brian and other characters outside of the Griffin clan
I believe that only the characters that are considered “dumb” are the only ones who can understand stewie, which is ironic because he’s a genius. The show is full of irony so i wouldn’t doubt it. Thats why Peter can understand stewie but meg can’t.
Peter can't really understand him outside a few instances earlier in the series. Mort on recent episodes seems to understand Stewie and he isn't stupid.
@@thebatmanwhoposts9600 lmao it’s cuz jews are portrayed really badly in the show. Morts character isn’t really “Smart”, maybe sometimes, but most of the times he’s just the laughing stock of the show. It makes sense why he can understand stewie.
@@Pozole3131 Mort successfully runs his own business and to play on stereotypes is very good with money and at math. He isn't portrayed as stupid at all. Besides Peter is clearly way dumber than Mort and can't understand Stewie.
I sorta only like it if brain is the only one that can understand him because it’s consistent most of the other time chris or anyone else can hear him seem like its only for a joke
I find the fact that Meg can’t understand what Stewie says incredibly sad for one reason: Stewie is the only one to stand up for Meg in the later seasons. For example, in the episode Trading Places everyone makes fun of Meg because she’s cooking dinner, and Stewie tells them to shut up and to give her a chance.
Maybe it's based on how child like the characters are, that mainly determines who can hear Stewie the most? Using adult language could also explain why some adults can hear him swear too?, swear words are usually looked upon as childish, despite it being considered adult language.
Ya know Tariq, I love your content man. You have a legit passion for these kinds of discussions. I feel bad when you gotta pump your vid’s after they come out cause man you deserve more views. You got fans man, keep it up we love you
Ngl I do hope they break the barrier between Stewie and Meg at some point, i'd love to see some episodes with them interacting fully Though the thing there is it might be more awkward with them two as you did say that Stewie and Chris being able to understand each other was set up early on and feels more natural anyway. And on the topic of The Stewaway I think there was one or two moments in the episode where Quagmire did respond to smth Stewie said, specifically when they're drunk I remember vividly
The answer is always "comedy logic" Outside of the few characters that explicitly have that relationship with him or random shit that's needed for episode plots to work, they'll always just go for whichever one is funnier. Sometimes that means they act like he's not really there, sometimes that means they can have a back and forth for some joke that doesn't depend on their characterization
Overall it’s weird that everyone treats Stewie like a Pokémon where they hear pika pika most of the time like in the episode stewie’s first word where he curses in church and Chris says “stewie said his first word and it was a swear” even though he can understand Stewie
all I'm gonna say is... In s3e22 of family guy Stewie wakes up to meg watching him and Stewie says "what are you doing?" and meg replies "watching you sleep cutie pie." so I guess meg understands him sometimes?
I saw an episode where meg could understand Stewie. It was in the beginning of Season 3 Episode 22 "When You Wish Upon A Weinstein". Stewie asks Meg what she's doing and she responds " Watching you sleep cutie pie"
But what about us, the audience? What does it say about us that we can understand Stewie? Is it that we are watching cartoons, a media seen as less mature and thus can understand a baby speaking? Or perhaps that we see these characters as family and can connect on that level with Stewie because of it? Or am I just making this all up to do just leave a comment and help to boost this video in my own weird way? … Probably that last one. 😅 Great job on the video!
i imagine it like when a toddler talks to you, most people won't understand what the kid is saying but the parents can catch bits and pieces, especially when its something obvious like asking for the parents, food, and bathroom stuff while sometimes the siblings may understand more and the dog understands it fully because dogs go off of vibes.
Never watched family guy but my best friend did and you’re really making me reconsider the emotional complexity of what I thought was a fart joke type show
Jillian was a part of the main cast for a little bit or at least a more active recurring character, does she understand Stewie or not? I can’t remember off the top of my head.
7:41 I swear there was another time early in the show where after Stewie killed a guy he shouted "Victory is mine!!!" and Lois responded saying "Yes, and so is your cake.". Can't remember what episode it was though.
It's not so much who can understand him but when it's applicable to the joke. Some of the time he's just a regular person, unless the joke calls for him to be a baby. Just like most of the time Brian is a regular person unless the joke calls for him to be a dog. Peter understands Stewie in that Indiana Jones bit because he's inhabiting the character from the movie. Same as in the Star Wars episodes, he's Stewie but he's also Darth Vader when necessary.
Not into family guy, but Tariq’s videos are so funny and well put together that I’ll listen to him talk about anything lol great vid as always! Also, I think I just realized that one of my favorite gags of yours is when you randomly start laughing and the screen gets smaller lol like here 4:25
I think he actually talks like a baby that’s why only some people can understand sometimes him and some people are confused with what he saying but Few can always understand him
A little off-topic, but I have a theory about Stewie. So, you know how in the Family Guy universe, there exist anthropomorphic animals that act like humans and exist functionally in human society, to which nobody bats an eye? Such as Brian, Tim the Bear, or even that big chicken Peter always fights? It's not that there are species of anthropomorphic animals, they just seem to exist within the masses of the normal animal species they're apart of. Brian is anthropomorphic, but his biological family weren't. I believe, as silly as it sounds, that Stewie is an anthropomorphic human. Since the anthropomorphism in other animals brings their sentience to human levels, Stewie's intelligence would evolve further passed a typical human's, thus granting him the abilities to build and design crazy, ludacris inventions such as a time machine, android robots, or a weird dog/human hybrid cloning machine. And of course, the full ability to talk at an adult's level as a toddler. tl;dr: Stewie is an 'anthropomorphic' human.
There is one weird moment in Go Stewie Go. Brian threatened to tell Lois that Stewie was pretending to be a girl on Jolly Farm. Lois just thinks he is an ordinary baby.
That was kind of the driving force behind the joke of him being an evil genius baby in the 1999-2002 run. Peter and Lois didn't take anything he said seriously, because he was an infant, but didn't question how he was able to talk.
I like when Peter gets the whip and stewy does his “cool whip” bit and Peter hits him with the whip and stewy says “i thought you couldn’t understand me!”
I’m pretty sure everyone could understand Stewie before season four. Since every character that interacts with him prior to season four displayed the ability to understand him at one point or another in the first three seasons.
