In one of the most unexpected TV deaths since “Game of Thrones” killed off Ned Stark with almost no fanfare (we’re still reeling over that one. The f—, GOT??), “Family Guy” lost one of its central characters in last night’s episode, “Life of Brian.”
If the title of the episode wasn’t spoiler enough, watch out, BIG OLD SPOILER COMING ATCHA RIGHT NOW:
Oh my God! They killed Brian! Those bastards!
For those who have never seen Seth MacFarlane’s cartoon series (or stopped watching after every college bro with a Solo cup of Miller Light and a less-than-honed sense of humor started yelling “Family Guy” quotes in your face in lieu of conversation in line for the keg), Brian is the family dog, voiced by MacFarlane, who’s been the voice of reason on the show since its debut in 1999.
And now he’s dead. [videoembed id=259654]
In his final episode, he was stuck by a car and killed, which is sort of weird considering how many times he’s been impaled/bludgeoned/thrown off buildings/endured other fatal blows, mostly at the hands of Stewie, without dying throughout his tenure. But, all dogs go to heaven, and all TV characters have their run, so maybe it was time.
In what was an atypically heartrending episode, Brian was replaced by a new dog named Vinny (voiced by Tony Sirico of “The Sopranos”) who may or may not kill the show for many diehard fans, if the already trending hashtag #BringBackBrian is any indication.
