Review: American Dad “Beyond the Alcove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Klaus”

Overview: 

Francine’s plans to throw the ultimate dream dinner party quickly warp into a living nightmare when one rogue element gets completely out of control. Francine’s concerns that Klaus and his unique opinions will taint her gathering turn out to be completely off base, but her situation grows even worse when she realizes that Klaus, a fish, is a greater social butterfly than she is. Francine’s calculated mission to ruin Klaus’ cred turns into an enlightening lesson in empathy for both of the involved parties. Suddenly Francine’s worries over dinner party dominance are the least of her problems after Langley falls under the spell of an oddly charismatic dictator.

Our Take:

The past few seasons of American Dad have been a goldmine for Klaus fans. The supporting character’s increased presence has been consistently well-handled, whether it’s in smaller doses, a sizable B-story, or as the episode’s driving force, which is the case in “Beyond the Alcove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Klaus.” Klaus is a character who’s been deconstructed from many different angles, but it’s a rarity that he’s positioned against Francine and at odds with the matriarch of the Smith family. Francine can be just as driven and unstable as Stan or Roger, which means that it’s never a good idea to cross her the wrong way. “Beyond the Alcove” kicks off with a feud between Francine and Klaus, but the fragile dynamic that exists between them functions as the microcosm for all of Langley in this broader episode of American Dad. 

The plot in “Beyond the Alcove” is quite focused, but there are still some disparate elements that make a big impact and accumulate to some of the episode’s bigger laughs, whether they’re character-based or just random bursts of nonsense. Nerfer, Hayley’s alternative friend (who’s voiced by Rachel Dratch), is fun in small doses, but she still makes enough of an impression that she could turn into the next Danuta. There’s also some Rogu present, which is always a good thing. One of the best jokes from the entire episode involves Klaus’ cultural litmus test for Francine after he questions whether she’s seen Parasite after she admits that she’s never seen Get Out. The Get Out reference is supposed to help connect the dots regarding the episode’s heightened twist, but it’s even funnier that the nod to Get Out is swallowed up by irrelevant praise for Bong Joon-Ho. Longtime fans will also probably chuckle over how one of Francine’s dinner party guests is named Parker Deay, who is one of American Dad’s writers.

“Beyond the Alcove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Klaus” isn’t the definitive Klaus episode of American Dad, but it’s a successful entry that understands how to get the most out of this maligned character. Several American Dad episodes from this season have featured humble storylines that expand in  grandiose ways. “Beyond the Alcove” is certainly guilty of this indulgence, but it manages to find an angle wherein the hypnotic imprisonment of an entire city can still feel quaint and character-driven. It’s a worthy addition to Klaus’ canon that leaves enough lingering animosity between Francine and Klaus so that a future clash is inevitable. 

Hopefully next time Klaus will steal mind control tricks from Donnie Wahlberg instead of his brother.