In which Rogu is sick
Rogu as an concept is a specific lampshading or parody of the Cousin Oliver trope, a “cute” character brought in to change the dynamic of a show. Rogu is specifically designed to be off-putting and annoying. He is, as we are reminded, born of Roger’s tumor and he speaks in broken sentences. He’s specifically a joke character and he’s used sparingly and it’s wonder that they’ve got this much out of him.
The family is sitting around the TV ready to watch Rogu’s unboxing video. When he passes out, the family discovers that he is sick. They try to convince Roger to take care of him but after a trip to the amusement park doesn’t do anything, they take over his care. They try to help him but with Roger being of no use as his persona has to work at the diner, they decide to go to the “good” Dr. Calgary. Calgary decides not to cure Rogu but to put him in a jar.
The family decides to play doctor (to Steve’s bewilderment) but they aren’t sure which cure will work. They try one based on Roger’s information but after realizing Roger knows nothing, Rogu gets sicker. The family also becomes sick after treating Rogu but Roger leaves before he can also get sick. He picks back up at the diner but realizes he wants to help
Roger runs back to the house and promises to find a cure. He discovers that the family has been inhaling sarin gas from bubble wrap. He cures them but Rogu is still dying. When the Smiths realize that Rogu is a tumor they have to do all the things that will help a tumor grow. They microwave Roger, Roger sucks up pollution. This heals Rogu and he’s back to “normal” and Roger decides to take better care of him going forward.
Stray Observations
- “Hey, has anyone see a “87 Pistons Locker Room Candle” lying around?” Hayley and basketball is a character trait that the latest writers are running with and I’m ok with it.
- Steve freaking out the whole time was a solid throughline because of course no one should be able to know how to treat Rogu.
- This episode’s conclusion is a mirror to Frannie 911, where Roger learns he has to be a jerk to stay healthy. Here he has to do bad things to himself to keep Rogu alive
Final Thoughts: This episode was fine. Not a ton of laughs from me but it gave us more depth to the Rogu/Roger relationship, which seemed to be in the background for a while.