'Family Guy' Brings Brian Back from the Dead, Because Of Course They Did

"Family Guy" fans got a Christmas miracle today, welcoming a familiar face back into the show.

A couple of weeks ago, the show killed off Brian Griffin in a car accident, and it was clear from the way it was presented that it would be a permanent move. Immediately fans reacted, some even to the point of outrage over one of their favorite animated characters being killed off, because that's a valuable use of time and effort.

However, even though the show had replaced Brian in the opening credits with the family's new dog, some eagle-eyed fans noticed that there were hints that Brian would return.

The description for tonight's Christmas episode mentioned that Stewie would try to get "the one and only thing he wants for Christmas," which many assumed would be Brian.

Sure enough, tonight's episode featured Stewie intercepting a version of himself from the past that had traveled from the future, and using his time pad to return to the night of Brian's accident and save his life.

Seth MacFarlane, the show's creator (and voice of Brian) took to Twitter shortly after the East Coast airing of the show to address fans about Brian's return. "I mean, you didn't really think we'd kill off Brian, did you?" he wrote. "Jesus, we'd have to be f--king high."

However, MacFarlane also took a serious moment to remind fans of what's important. "And thus endeth our warm, fuzzy holiday lesson: Never take those you love for granted, for they can be gone in a flash," he tweeted.

"Oh and hey," he added, "thanks for caring so much about the canine Griffin. He is overcome with gratitude."

That doesn't help this guy, who ended up getting an in memorium tattoo that we really, really hope isn't real: