Despite that awful joke about how to cut your wrists that did not need to be here, I do not think it will really make any teens watching cut their wrists in real life if they can distinguish fiction from reality. It is not much harm in comparison to the disturbing jokes and cruel moments of Seahorse Seashell Party and Herpe the Love Sore. I gave Brian's a Bad Father a 3 because - both plots could have been salvaged if Alec Sulkin cared a bit more about making us root for Brian in the A plot and Peter in the B plot when they messed up. A Shot in the Dark was a better way to do Peter's B plot, for instance, and Brian's a Bad Father had one good joke that landed for me and won another star from me where Peter did not need Joe or Quagmire because he has silent movie friends. It is even funnier when you pause it to read Bill's long response when Peter asks him what is up. Peter might have been more forgivable if he did not think that just offering Quagmire to shoot him back without going through with it would be enough.
Even if Alec Sulkin really did base this episode on his real dad, it is not a good idea to write a story about his father coming back into his life for selfish purposes if this story wants us to root for Brian the father, and there is no reason to tell us anything about "taking a risk" to give someone a second or third chance unless Brian did anything to prove he really cares about Dylan. This story could have worked a lot better if Brian was trying to write better storylines for Dylan and did not realize that Parent Boppers was too kid-friendly for him to write for it, but even if both plots of Brian's a Bad Father were written perfectly, or as good as conceivably possible...it is a very bad sign either way when we never see Dylan again. Don't make this if you do not want any more episodes to do with Dylan. It would be like Big City Greens ruining Uncaged by having Nancy inexplicably disappear and never appear in any Big City Greens episodes again. Even though they are much different shows with much different types of audiences, it is amazing how many times Family Guy or Friendship is Magic both easily forgive a character in the wrong in their dud episodes, and give them a third chance too easily (see Peter-assment, Seahorse Seashell Party, A Canterlot Wedding or The Cutie Re-Mark for other examples). It is hard to tell if people really deserve a second chance or not, and Friendship is Magic even has an episode about this called No Second Prances. What we should do is treat third chances on a case-by-case basis. If the people who want another chance from us really care about our needs, they will change for us and do whatever it takes for us to forgive them.
