TV

American Dad! Season 21, Episode 13, “The Clearview Motel”

In which Francine and Roger take a peep

Francine is depressed because no one wants to tell her anything or spend any time with her. Steve won’t tell her where he bought his shirt (Amazon), Hayley is addicted to her phone, Stan is Stan and Roger is too busy planning his trip down Route 69 (heh). She’s so desperate for interaction that she busts into Tuttle’s house and finds out his relative just died and wants to attend that funeral.

She heads to the funeral but makes an idiot of herself and heads home. She runs into (literally) Roger on the highway and they take the trip back together. It’s getting later and the two decide to find a motel to sleep at. Francine pulls up to the titular Clearview Motel which at first doesn’t seem to have an opening but then miraculously does. They find that no one is at the front desk and just take two rooms on the honor system.

Francine lies to Stan that she’s still at the funeral while she’s in the motel. She spots two eyes staring down at her in the vent and investigates. She finds that the proprietor is spying on everyone and the motel. And after he dies, she decides that she will take over the peeping of the individuals in the motel. Peeping on the people leads Franny on a dark path. She remains entranced and gets lost down a rabbit hole of peeping, eventually getting to peep on her family. Roger leaves but tries to get back, ultimately getting lost. The whole thing Deus Ex Machina’s back to the Smith House and Franny is back with her family.

Stray Observations

  • Francine and Tuttle certainly made up since last week, seeing as how she is comfortable with bursting in on him on the toilet.
  • Roger’s persona in the car is the one chosen by viewers to appear in an episode, Gelatine Lychee.
  • After what seems like an extended absence, we see Rogu this week, pretending to be Francine in the aborted cold open and eating her lipstick.

Final Thoughts Another really solid episode that harkens back to some other epsiodes with their oddness which is almost always welcome. As observed by others who are better than me, this is the Lynchiest episode of the show since maybe Rabbit Ears, an unintended tribute since the passing of David Lynch this past week.