American Dad: Roger’s First Act of Vengeance Against Steve Was Wildly Petty

When it comes to characters who stand out on American Dad, few make the impression that Roger does. This alien likes to drink, loves to watch TV and hates being bored. Roger is quick to anger and often prone to holding grudges. If anybody should be aware of the alien’s vengeful tendencies, it should have been Steve.

Four years before meeting Roger, CIA Agent Stan Smith was at Area 51 when an alarm went off. An alien had gotten loose in the base and everyone was searching for him. Stan cornered Roger just before he was knocked out and grenades were tossed into the room. Instead of fleeing on his own, Roger rescued an unconscious Stan and made their escape together. Feeling indebted to the grey alien, Stan has harbored Roger at his house ever since.

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The problem with Roger is that he’ll turn on anyone at a moment’s notice, including his new family. This is best exemplified in Season 1, Episode 14, “Stannie Get Your Gun,” when Steve eats the last cookie that Roger wanted. When Roger complains to him, Steve simply responds with, “You snooze, you lose.” Considering Steve had been living in the same house as Roger for more than four years at this point, he should have known better than to set his alien friend off. It’s hard to say if it was eating the cookie or Steve’s glib response that caused Roger to snap — but he did.

Taking advantage of a household situation, Roger proceeds to convince Steve that he was adopted as a measure of revenge. It takes some work, but Roger finally gets Steve to actually believe he isn’t the birth child of Stan and Francine Smith. Roger’s trickery has some horrifying results when Steve full-on kisses his sister, Hayley, while thinking they are not blood relations.

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As uncomfortable as the incident with Hayley was, Roger continues to torture Steve by claiming he found his true birth parents, and that Stan and Francine had kidnapped him at a young age. Roger then takes him to the couple’s house. For a brief moment, they think their child has finally returned home. Naturally, Roger pulls the rug out from under the situation, sending the mother and father’s hopes crashing to the floor while he and Steve share a laugh.

Over the rest of American Dad, Roger continues to take revenge on many people, but “Stannie Get Your Gun” exemplifies Roger’s willingness to seek revenge for something as petty as someone eating his cookie. The episode also proves that Roger is not afraid of any collateral damage on the path to revenge, and will follow that path wherever it leads him.

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