In which the Smiths go to dinner

Stan is asking everybody at work about their weekend plans (as he always does). Dr. Weitzman offers Stan a coupon for a new buffet in hopes of joining him. Stan steals the coupon without inviting Weitzman and takes his family to the buffet. After being led to the VIP section, they discover that it is all part of the plan by Dr. Weitzman to drug and kidnap them so that he, along with his cyborg, can have a family of his own.

The family all try to escape. They believe a locked door is their exit but when they open it they discover the skeletons of other families. They manage to get Weitzman to admit they killed themselves in order to not be with him. This allows the family the chance to escape. However, they discover they miss the buffet. They all attempt to return but Weitzman blows a hole in the place to let them back in. They then try to find another buffet, but this one is run by Tuttle.

Meanwhile, Roger becomes a flower in another excruciatingly numb B-plot. Hit with malaise, Roger plants himself in a field as a flower, is dug up by “flower pirates”, sold off to a shop, is bought by a man for his lover (who loves ugly flowers). Roger thinks he finds peace eventually but the man and woman are discovered by the woman’s husband and a gunfight breaks out. This kills the vibe for Roger.

Stray Observations

• Stan has patented rules for the buffet, one of which is always have a good time, which initially makes him reluctant to break out
• Jeff thought the family was playing a really good game of hide and seek, even after he injured himself and required a hospital stay.
• Klaus gorges himself on terrible soup but why didn’t he just float in there? can he not swim in soup
• “Good. They all have guns. That will deescalate the situation”

Thoughts: This was mediocre. The B plot sucked. Dr. Weitzman is not the kind of character that can carry this kind of episode. Plus, the whole thing went by so fast I didn’t even realize that it was that far along until there were five minutes left. It zipped along from point to point and made no impact.