The best Brian and Stewie episodes in Family Guy history remain some of the best for the animated series overall thanks to their strong relationship. While characters like Peter, Quagmire, Meg, and even Lois, to an extent, are good for rapid-fire jokes, Brian and Stewie have a deeper connection and often bring the heart to the series that otherwise would just be an afterthought. Through Family Guy’s run, Brian and Stewie seem to have grown even closer, and while they weren’t the original partners in crime, they are easily the best duo on the show now.

At the beginning of Family Guy’s run, the central duo was Peter and Brian. Peter would do and say ridiculous things as a less family-friendly version of Homer Simpson, and Brian would react to his antics as the dry, deadpan voice of reason. However, as the show went on, the writers found that there was even more comedic potential in pairing Brian with diabolical baby Stewie. From Brian accidentally reversing the course of time to Stewie getting pregnant with a bunch of their human-dog hybrid babies, Stewie and Brian’s relationship has defined Family Guy’s storied history.

15

Road To Rhode Island

Season 2, Episode 13

The most popular Brian and Stewie episodes are the “Road To…” installments. They parody the Road To… movies starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, which were all adventure and comedy gags with almost no plot, a perfect fit for Family Guy. “Road to Rhode Island” was the first of these and in a wholesome Family Guy moment, this story leads Brian to the puppy mill where he was left as a baby and his mother.

In the episode, Brian agrees to go pick up Stewie from his grandparents’ summer home, but after getting drunk and losing their plane tickets, they take a road trip back home. The strong writing earned the episode an Emmy nomination, although it lost to The Simpsons. This Brian and Stewie episode was also notable for its musical numbers, with Seth MacFarlane, who voices both Brian and Stewie, flexing his singing abilities by performing a duet with himself.

14

Road To Rupert

Season 5, Episode 9

One of the reasons the Brian and Stewie episodes of Family Guy are so memorable is that Brian is a talking dog and Stewie is a talking baby that most characters can’t understand, meaning that the duo’s adventures are always odd from the off. However, they’re even funnier when it’s a plot that leans into something typically related to dogs or babies — such as when Stewie loses his favorite toy. If there is one character on Family Guy who could come between Brian and Stewie, it is Rupert. Stewie’s beloved teddy bear is almost always by his side.

“Road To Rupert” finds Brian accidentally selling Rupert at a family yard sale leading Stewie to drag him on a cross-country journey to get him back. The episode lacks some of the adventure of other “Road to” episodes. However, there are plenty of memorable moments, including a song and dance number that puts Stewie alongside musical movie icon Gene Kelly.

13

The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou

Season 5, Episode 11

Brian and Stewie episodes often see one of them taking care of the other, whether it’s tracking down Brian’s biological parents or rescuing Stewie’s favorite toy. However, the plotlines grow steadily more ridiculous as the show goes on, especially when the show seems to forget that Stewie is a baby and Brian is a dog — as with season 5’s “The Tan Aquatic With Steve Zissou”. The plot sees Stewie gets into tanning after Peter takes him out in the sun without sunscreen, but he overdoes it and fears he might have cancer.

In one of the best Family Guy episodes, while Stewie waits to hear back from the doctor, Brian helps him check off all the items on his bucket list. Since Stewie isn’t definitely dying, Brian has very little patience for his convoluted, demanding final wishes. The episode also has a nice homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with Stewie wanting to visit the Art Institute of Chicago.

12

Saving Private Brian

Season 5, Episode 4

As well as being both a controversial Family Guy episodes and one of its best moments of social commentary, this Brian and Stewie adventure also has some of the funniest moments the two share. In season 5’s “Saving Private Brian”, the plot starts simply enough, when Brian visits the military recruiter who tried to sign up Chris to give him a piece of his mind. However, things take a turn for the ridiculous when Stewie ends up enlisting both himself and Brian and they’re deployed to Iraw.

In this Brian and Stewie episode, after passing boot camp, the two are shipped right off to fight, and sending Stewie and Brian to the frontlines was a great lens through which to satirize the Iraq War. Besides just being another example of the terrible things Stewie can do, the premise is just a vehicle for jokes at first, but Stewie convinces Brian to stick with it because he has a history of quitting, giving the episode an emotional arc lacking from most Family Guy installments.

11

Friend’s Best Man

Season 24, Episode 13

This is another episode that focuses on the third-wheel nature of Brian, Stewie, and Rupert’s relationship. In “Friend’s Best Man,” Stewie announces that he is engaged to his stuffed bear and that there is to be a wedding. As usual, Brian doesn’t take this entirely seriously. However, that changes when Stewie announces that he has asked Chris to be his best man. Brian might find the whole thing ridiculous, but he still wants to know that he means something to Stewie.

The boy-marries-his-teddy-bear angle obviously opens the door in this Family Guy episode for a whole bunch of jokes, both between Brian and Stewie and around other characters within the story. Still, what’s so fun about “Friend’s Best Man” is Brian’s jealousy over such a small, childish thing that he would rather everyone believe doesn’t matter to him. It gives the vibe of a sweet and quirky Bluey episode—just one that’s wildly inappropriate.

10

Yug Ylimaf

Season 11, Episode 4

As well as the “Road to…” premise, a common theme of Stewie and Brian’s adventures in Family Guy is the pair using Stewie’s time machine. In one of the many time travel Brian and Stewie episodes, after his pickup attempts fail miserably, Brian starts using Stewie’s time machine to impress women in season 11’s “Yug Ylimaf.” While the time machine may belong to Stewie, this Brian and Stewie episode shows that Brian is just as capable of messing with forces beyond his understanding and with disastrous consequences.

When he tries to turn back the year-o-meter to cover his tracks, time starts moving in reverse. Brian screws something up and Stewie is left struggling to fix it in one of Family Guy‘s best sci-fi adventures. However, in “Yug Ylimaf,” it’s left in Brian’s hands to save the day and fix everything when the reverse time catches up with Stewie’s birth, making for a fun twist on the formula.

9

Stuck Together, Torn Apart

Season 3, Episode 19

While many of the best Brian and Stewie episodes come in later seasons of Family Guy after some of their funniest quirks and mannerisms had been fully established — such as Stewie’s barely-concealed attraction to Brian, or Brian ultimately being a pretty sleazy guy — the earlier seasons had some incredibly memorable adventures for the pair. The best Brian and Stewie episodes often find a way to show that the two can’t quit each other.

While Peter and Lois give separation a try, Brian and Stewie get stuck to each other with industrial-strength glue in the season 3 episode “Stuck Together, Torn Apart.” Naturally, after having to spend every waking moment together for days on end, Brian and Stewie grow to hate each other. But they eventually use the time to bond and become so close that even after the solvent arrives, they keep holding hands.

8

China Doll

Season 23, Episode 11

Brian and Stewie head out on another unlikely trip in Family Guy season 23 when Stewie discovers a “Made in China” label on his beloved bear, Rupert. The discovery inspires Stewie to reunite Rupert with his original family, and Brian goes along for the ride, though somewhat reluctantly, to discover the factory in China where Rupert was made and the assembly-line workers Stewie considers to be the bear’s parents.

Like every other episode of Family Guy, especially those that centralize Brian and Stewie, “China Doll” is completely ridiculous and inappropriate. Of course, that’s all part of the fun. Still, there’s some of that rare heart in this episode, which combines the shared-adventure chaos of the “Road to…” episodes with a surprisingly wholesome look at Stewie’s care for Rupert (and Brian’s care for Stewie).

7

North By North Quahog

Season 4, Episode 1

This Brian and Stewie episode is full of hilarious moments not because of quasi sci-fi antics courtesy of one of Stewie’s devices, nor does it feature a road trip. Instead, it’s funny simply because it repositions Brian and Stewie doing regular adult activities and, much like when they tried to fix up a house together, failing spectacularly.

While Peter and Lois are on vacation trying to spice up their marriage in “North by North Quahog” (the first episode after the show was un-canceled by Fox), Brian is left in charge of the kids and instantly proves to be an ineffective disciplinarian. Stewie helps out, and Brian and Stewie quickly morph into a bickering married couple. This was one of the early episodes that solidified Brian and Stewie’s dynamic and started them on the journey to becoming Family Guy’s central double act.

6

Movin’ Out (Brian’s Song)

Season 6, Episode 2

One of the first episodes that showed just how jealous Stewie can be when it comes to Brian is when Brian gets an apartment with his girlfriend in “Movin’ Out (Brian’s Song).” Despite being a baby, Stewie moves in to help with the rent and establishes himself as an annoying roommate, with his absence also hilarious not being noticed by Lois and Peter.

Brian thought Stewie got on his nerves at the Griffins’ house, but that was nothing compared to sharing an apartment with him. Since he’s still just a baby (albeit a baby with walking-around money), Stewie wants to sleep in Brian and Jillian’s bed when he’s scared. In the end, with all his terrible decisions and actions, Stewie proves to be a terrible roommate. The episode is made all the funnier thanks to Jillian, voiced by Drew Barrymore, one of the best recurring Family Guy characters.