All of this leads to the push of Stan and Steve reading the Bible together, with Stan being a virgin on the matter. Stan’s continual ignorance towards the Bible is more so a conduit for a creative take on Bible history, complete with an impressive new animation style veneer to complete the image. It’s funny that it was only last week that I was talking about how “Nova Centauris-bugh’s” lack of embracing a stylistic departure in animation is what was holding it back. Well that is quickly made up for here as this School House Rock-mixed-with-Greek-classicism art style immediately gives the episode a distinct look. Once more this is an idea that would work better in the earlier run of the show, with it feeling like the series is trying to find its voice rather than the alternative, that it’s running out of ideas.

It’s a cool little detour for the episode to take, but one that feels more like an incomplete thought. There’s a real moment where it feels like the entire episode might be presented in this fashion, with this being the way of the show delivering some “American Dad’s Bible Stories” anthology. Thankfully that’s not the direction that the episode goes in, but it leaves this new visual flair so quickly, it nearly feels more awkward than constructive. I suppose that I’m still glad that it’s there in the end—the mark of a show that’s always trying to be creative—but I wish that the episode somehow found more to do with this.

After Steve plunges holes all over Stan’s Ark of belief, Roger tries to convince him that this is hardly a bad thing and that living a Godless life of no consequence is hardly as depressing as It sounds. Stealing welcome mats soon becomes a slippery slope to a world full of debauchery. With Stan’s void still an aching hole that’s struggling to be filled by anything—not even Suckboy Tony—Steve takes it upon himself to fix his father and get him believing again.

The final act of the episode sees Steve coming across an ocean liner that’s actually as large as Noah’s Ark would need to be. It acts as a clever way of showing Stan that if that aspect of the Bible can be true, then why can’t the rest of it? It’s then only a hop, skip, and a leap of logic before Stan is heading to Korea, convinced that he’s the “New Noah” and has some humanity to save.

Look, American Dad has gone to some pretty outlandish places before, but this just didn’t work for me from the jump. I mean, do you know a single person out there who’s favorite movie is Evan Almighty? It also doesn’t help that storylines like this are designed to make you think your protagonist is crazy before ultimately showing you how right they are, as ridiculous as that might be. With the larger plot machinations of “Daesong Heavy Industries” pretty much telegraphed with each new development, it doesn’t help the already struggling episode, as many wrenches as it may try and throw into things. This is an episode that is constantly trying—the fight sequence at the end set to old Sunday School music is a great, misguided example—but it’s too far off course to save things.