Tonight’s episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia marked the end of yet another brilliant season for the show. And in doing so, it once again proved that despite having been on air for eleven seasons, the gang has still learned nothing. When it comes down to it, they haven’t actually grown as people or become better throughout the years. They’re still the same selfish, dysfunctional people we met in the pilot. For any other show, this would be ludicrous. No one else would be able to get away with this little of an amount of character growth. But for It’s Always Sunny, it just works. So in tonight’s episode, when the gang faced imminent death, it was no surprise when they came out of it no better and no worse than when they went in.
Having been trapped in the ship’s jail for each committing different deadly sins (thanks to the great recap at the start of the episode for reminding us of this), the gang began to fear for their lives when the ship stopped moving. With the engine not making whatever noise it is that an engine is supposed to make, something I’m not sure we ever actually established despite some great sound effects from every member of the gang, everyone immediately panicked. No one more so than Charlie, who we were comically reminded had spent most of his life never having left Philadelphia. Now on a ship that could be sinking, he was adamant that the gang never should have made him leave the city. Watching Charlie slowly lose his mind in panic and fear was a true delight, only made possible by the fantastic Charlie Day.
With this near death experience in front of them, not only did Charlie begin panicking, but everyone also realized that they would have to face some hard truths about themselves. But of course, none of them could ever actually acknowledge their own dysfunctional behavior, instead taking it upon themselves to tattle on each other in what they believed to be their final moments. We learned that Mac is secretly a Tony Romo fan, Charlie messes with Frank’s glasses prescription, and worst of all that Dennis had been keeping letters that Mac’s dad was sending to him a secret. This final piece of information absolutely devastated Mac and for a second, it looked like we were going to see the gang as normal people. A son saddened by the fact that he never got to have a relationship with his father and a friend regretful because his decision truly hurt someone he cares about. These heartfelt moments can never last though, as it became clear that Dennis’ tearful apology was only made possible because of the onions he carries around to help make him cry.
After this failed attempt at being normal people with real emotions, the gang quickly found their situation becoming more dire with water levels rising to dangerous levels. Again, in what appeared to be their absolute final moments, we got glimpses of realness from them. But even Dennis’ seemingly heartfelt declaration that he loves Dee was met with a ‘whatever’ as they accepted their fates. Deciding to let themselves drown, they one by one sunk to the bottom, joining together and holding hands in their final moments. The second a light appeared above them, signifying a rescue, the illusion of these people genuinely being able to care about people other than themselves was once again shattered as they began kicking and hitting each other to reach the top first.
When it came down to it, all any of them cared about was their own fate. Despite the glimpses we saw of them caring about each other and possibly even growing as characters, the end of the episode once again proved that they’ve come nowhere. As they recounted the story to who we realized was actually an insurance adjuster instead of God, it became even more clear that they’d learned nothing from the experience. Even Mac immediately regressed back to no longer admitting he was gay, thinking that God saved them and since God does exist, then he couldn’t possibly make Mac gay. The gang may have come out of this bottle episode with nothing having changed, but that doesn’t take away from how brilliant the episode was. It was weird and strange and the gang was their normal insane selves, which is exactly what one would expect from a season finale of this show.
Favorite Moments:
-They cut their conflict resolution in half. Only four hours now!
-Everything about the imaginary dinner party. Great physical comedy all around from everyone.
-Dee and Dennis’ impressions. Dee’s Obama was spot on.
-Frank’s attempt at making an actual confession only to be told that they were supposed to be tattling.
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