American Dad Season 14 Episode 19 Review: Kloger

This American Dad review contains spoilers.

American Dad Season 14 Episode 19

“Well if I’m being honest, this lone wolf has been howlingly lonely.”

When you’ve been doing a show for fourteen seasons, it’s understandable to see its cast of characters finding themselves in a number of romantic situations with each another. Experimentation (or desperation, in some cases) is the key to keeping something feeling fresh and surviving. Accordingly, through its many years, American Dad has explored certain romantic gambles like Roger and Francine, Roger and Hayley, Hayley and Snot, Hayley and Bullock, Hayley and Reginald, and even Stan and Steve during some bizarre virtual reality shenanigans. Roger and Klaus are one of the few existing combinations that the show has left. It’s an idea that simultaneously seems brilliant, but also primed for disaster. Fortunately in the case of “Kloger,” it’s an example of the former.

“Kloger” gets things rolling with Stan and Francine about to go out on date night, a situation which results in Roger being left on his lonesome. The episode is more concerned with what Roger is up to during all of this, but seeing why Stan and Francine both appreciate the opera is pretty damn sweet and a good distillation of who they are (it’s the same on-point characterization that later highlights that Klaus’ idea of finishing a crossword puzzle is coloring all of the squares black). Roger is left to check out the new steakhouse’s porterhouse solo (or rather, Lucy Lemore, a character who is comfortable with eating alone, does), but it’s an experience that just ends up feeling empty to him. Meanwhile, everyone else in Langley Falls seems to have romance on the mind (even the ladybugs are in heat), making Roger’s loneliness feel all the more pronounced.

This ends up launching Roger into the messy world of online dating, which is kind of like Roger opening Pandora’s box. The idea that he’s just sharing photos of “used” tissues as some sort of medal of honor made me laugh far too hard. Of course he would. This all happens to culminate when Roger goes to meet his online suitor, with it turning out to be Klaus of all peop—fish. The two laugh off the awkwardness of the situation that they’ve stumbled upon, but the hilarious mix up ends up blossoming into something genuine and fairly sexually charged.

Roger and Klaus decide to keep their relationship a secret, as things are always hotter that way. The two then don’t hold back in having sex wherever possible. It’s worth mentioning that sex between the two of theme consists of a number of weird actions, some of which include Roger dunking Klaus into his sucking mouth. Yeah, this is a weird one.

Things get interesting once Roger and Klaus’ torrid affair is exposed. The two try to go on as a normal couple, but it’s just a disaster. Roger wants something real out of their romance, but rather quickly the episode shows that Klaus isn’t interested in any of this. It was all about the danger to him. It’s encouraging that the episode launches into this schism right away rather than masquerading for a few scenes. It helps the situation continue to evolve. Roger, in his usual melodramatic ways, goes over the deep end when Klaus deserts him. He tries to place the two of them in endless twisted taboos in order to rekindle their passion, but it just pushes Klaus further away. Roger inevitably goes too far with all of this, as Roger has a way of doing, with the results seeing both Klaus and Roger in prison.

Outside of all of this sexual energy, Steve begins panicking over the fact that the presidential fitness exam is being brought back and he’s pretty concerned over his chances of passing the thing. While the rest of his friends attempt to bulk up, Steve falls back on his weaslier instincts as he tries to figure out how to scheme his way out of this. By some gross miracle of nature, Steve learns that Hayley has pink eye (Hayley masquerading as a highschooler so she can see the nurse because she doesn’t have health care is beautiful, by the way), which then becomes his ticket out of having to do pull ups in front of his peers.

Steve’s pink eye pursuits take up just as much time as they should and never overstay their welcome. He doesn’t get too creative in his efforts to get close to Hayley’s eyes, but he does remain persistent. Hayley’s eyes are looking straight-up terrible too, like there’s something going on there. It might ultimately be for the best that Steve’s unable to infect himself. The last-minute plan that Steve resorts to in order to escape physical endurance might not be the smartest way out of things, but he at least deserves some points for the bravery. In a lot of ways, what Steve ends up doing is even more embarrassing than being unable to do pull ups.

Roger and Klaus spend a month in prison, but the material goes by in a flash. While the two of them seem to have varying experiences in the joint, Roger’s endless devotion sees him getting thrown into solitary confinement for the bulk of his stay. This punishment however leads to some wonderful self-discovery on Roger’s part. His infatuation with Klaus was really less about Klaus and more about being scared about being alone. But now after having been alone for a whole month, Roger knows that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Let’s be clear here, he most certainly had a psychological break when locked up in there, but the guy’s self esteem has never been better. Let’s chalk this one up as a win.

“Kloger” is thankfully a satisfying installment that doesn’t end up wasting the prime story that they decide to take on here. The episode hits all of the proper marks while managing to highlight how gross and sweet a Roger/Klaus relationship would be. Just who would have thought that Roger would be the jilted one? Strong characterization and quick dialogue throughout the episode also help things out and keep things moving at a good speed. It doesn’t feel like there are any wasted moments in this one. With the heights that “Kloger” happens to hit, I would not discourage the series from returning to this unusual romantic pairing again down the road. They leave everyone wanting more.

Also guys, watch out for flesh-eating text bubbles. A lot of brave lives have been lost to those things.

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