10 Most Controversial American Dad Episodes (So Far)

6. Oediple Panties €“ S3E11

Whilst the title of this episode may be a clever play on words, it is also a disturbing hint at Stan's own relationship with his mother. We're all familiar with the mommy's boy type who is a little too close to their mother, but Stan Smith characteristically takes it too far. Voiced by Swoosie Kurtz, Stan's mother makes a visit to the Smith home after being heartbroken. We gather from Francine's reaction that this is a regular occurrence and that Stan's mother is a little manipulative to make sure Stan is always there for her. Yeah, cliché stuff that we've all heard before, which is exactly what Roger says to Francine when she starts shooting whiskey in the attic. Francine sets him straight by sending him on a trip to the bathroom. Roger opens the door to Stan and his mother sharing a bath together. Stan is singing a rather distasteful shanty that is too explicit to repeat here but let's just say involves Stan sponging down his mother very, very thoroughly. Roger's reaction mimics ours as he sits speechless on the sofa, shaken and sipping a stiff drink. He corrects Francine when she said it was complicated. 'Changing planes at O'hare is complicated. This is...what is this?' he says and we're all thinking the same thing. It turns out Stan has been kidnapping his mother's boyfriends to make sure she stays alone and therefore always needs him. As well as this, he is also far too keen to label Francine, the love of his life and mother of this two kids, as woman B in his life, not being able to possibly rank her above his own mother. For a character that is usually the pinnacle of misogyny and inappropriateness, even this feels a little too much.