"Season's Beatings" is the fifth Christmas episode of the FOX animated series American Dad!.
Synopsis[]
Stan hears of the church putting on the story of Christ at the mall and rushes to get the lead role, only to be told by Father Donovan that he is too fat. He is instead given the role of Santa Claus but when he finds out that Roger got the role of Christ he attacks and beats him senseless. Shocked at the attack, church leaders around the world universally agree to kick Stan out of all religion. When he asks if there is any way to stay in the church, he is told it is almost impossible, given that the only three acceptable ways are to kill the Anti-Christ, discover the Holy Grail, or donate large sums of money.
Meanwhile, Jeff tries to talk Hayley into adopting a child. She says no but he adopts one anyway and names him Nemo. She is angry at first but is quickly charmed by him. While Stan is watching him, he discovers he bears the numerals 666 which is considered the mark of the beast and is convinced he is the Anti-Christ. Stan gets Father Donovan to come see the marking and they agree to go to the orphanage where Nemo came from only to find it burned to the ground. As they search the remains, Father Donovan discovers Nemo's birth papers. Nemo senses Father Donovan's discovery and causes the remains to collapse on him, severing his legs. He is able to share that Nemo is indeed Satan's son before he dies.
Stan, Roger, and Jeff travel to Vatican City to obtain a set of sacred daggers to kill the Anti-Christ. Although Stan is barred from entering the catacombs, Roger and Jeff are able to do so to search them. Nemo sees them through the eyes of a rat and causes the catacombs to flood, washing Jeff away. Roger climbs out and finds the daggers and escapes with them after attacking a Cardinal. Roger and Stan return home to discover Francine putting up Christmas lights while a possessed Steve scampers around. When Stan tells Hayley that they need to perform a ritual killing of Nemo, she fights to protect him and ends up shooting Stan. He awakes in the hospital and finds everything is back to normal. He's accepted back into the church when it turns out that Roger's eggnog "pimp" cup was really the Holy Grail. Nemo is sent off to Alaska to be raised by Sarah Palin and become the future Anti-Christ.
Trivia[]
- Although the episode is appears to be set before the events in "Rapture's Delight", Jeff was not present in the latter.
- This is the second time that Stan dresses as Santa Claus, the first being in "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever".
- Francine mentions that Muhammad Ali became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after changing religions. In reality, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- Unlike his Family Guy Italian counterpart, American Dad's Pope is a fairly faithful likeness to Pope Benedict XVI.
- The chart that shows the people who are excommunicated from the church include Andy Dick and Seth MacFarlane.
- Nemo is Omen spelled backwards.
References[]
- The episode's title is a pun on the term "Season's Greetings".
- The plot with Hayley and Jeff's child turning out to be the Anti-Christ is an homage to the 1976 horror film The Omen.
- Nemo's head starts spinning and vomiting like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist.
Availability[]
The episode made its home video debut on the Family Guy Christmas: Ho Ho Holy Crap DVD, released exclusively ay f.y.e. in 2013.
See also[]
- "The Best Christmas Story Never"
- "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever"
- "Rapture's Delight"
- "For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls"
- "Minstrel Krampus"
- "Dreaming of a White Porsche Christmas"
- "Ninety North, Zero West"
- "Santa, Schmanta"