I love the television show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," or, "Sunny," for short. The most recent season, the 17th, was fantastic. I would say none of the episodes were outright, "Bad," but some were amazing and others were merely okay. Let's rank them for fun and to share my opinion on this twisted masterpiece!
Episode Three: Mac and Dennis Become EMTs
Oh my God, I laughed so hard at this episode I got the hiccups--which only happens when I'm guffawing so much I struggle to catch my breath. There are two seemingly seperate plots in this episode that end up colliding in an insane manner and I was totally here for it. Mac and Dennis buy an ambulance and pretend to be EMTS while Charlie and Frank start a, "Ghost Kitchen," for Dee to deliver food from. It sounds straightforward, but the tension continuously ratchets up along with the madness to the point of a literal explosion. Just a genius 30 minutes, no notes, chef's yes--I mean, "Yes chef."
Episode Eight: The Golden Bachelor Live
First off, I have a newfound respect of Jesse Palmer being willing to even act like he could put up with the kind of mayhem Frank Reynolds and the rest of the gang cause. I don't know how the man kept from, "Breaking," but he did, somehow. Between Frank sending home almost any woman who looks too old, to a TikTok star who likes to yell, "Chew on that thang," and, "Sunny," something it very rarely does--ending with a sweet moment, this is a superb episode. I can count on one hand the number of times, "Sunny," zigged when we expected it to zag and gave us a sweet moment. A big one is in, "Mac Finds his Pride," and you could argue, "The Gang Misses the Boat," shows how, if the gang were separated that some of them could be happy and functional people. The earnest moment of love at the end of this episode, where Frank yells out for a woman he's realized he loves (Carol Kane as Sam/Samantah) is shockingly heartfelt, and it happens on, "Sunny," so go figure. If the EMT episode weren't so hilarious, this would have easily been my favorite episode of the season.
Episode Seven: The Gang Gets Ready for Prime Time
The last of the cream of the crop of this episode, this episode is a glorious hot mess. The gang wants to get ready to appear on, "The Golden Bachelor," for Frank's hometown visits, so they do a play of sorts with an audience watching them prepare for a nice dinner. It all goes horrifically awry between Charlie going too heavy on Nair, Dennis delivering the most ominous monologue I've heard since, "There Will be Blood," and is just hilarious.
Episode Five: The Gang Goes to a Dog Track
Time for a field trip! The gang goes out of town to visit a dog track Frank has a financial interest in, but which is shutting down soon. Dennis and Dee let their addictive personalities take control, Mac and Charlie meet an employee of the track who seems incredibly chill and down to Earth--but also a little weird, and Frank always has a long con in mind. A superb episode with an ending that would be shockingly dark on another show, but works perfectly for, "Sunny."
Episode Two: Frank is in a Coma
Much of this episode centers on Frank seeming to go into a coma and possibly be dying, with the gang processing a mix of grief and relief at such a thing. The guys go out and look for new business expansion ideas (through partying) while Dee alternates between rage and sadness. A bunch of, "Is it Cake?"-related jokes inspired by the Netflix show help bring the episode home in a sharp twist of an ending. This episode made it clear that, "Sunny," was back for a wild season after a slightly weak premiere (discussed below).
Episode Six: Overage Drinking:A National Concern
We get a clever trip down memory lane as guest cast members all the way from the first season return, who used to engage in underage drinking and now have children of their own trying to score alcohol at Paddy's Pub. The one problem with this episode is that a lot of it centers on a mystery of where Frank has gone and leads to the big reveal he's now on, "The Golden Bachelor." That makes this episode feel a lot like one big setup for the (as discussed, amazing) seventh and eigth episodes. Still a solid viewing, however.
Episode Four: Thought Leadership: A Corporate Conversation
This episode featured a nice mix of everyone arguing about who will take the fall for their latest mishap when a reporter seems to show up, but it lacked anything that really cracked me up or made me chuckle. The comments about how everyone had their hands in the shape of a claw, ready to scratch one another, were a bit funny, but otherwise, this was merely okay.
Episode One: The Gang F***s Up Abbot Elementary
The season premiere was not bad (I said none of these were bad), but the initial surprise/gleeful shock of seeing the Gang at Abbott Elementary for an extremely unlikely crossover had passed. While the, "Abbott Elementary," episode was pretty tightly constructed, the, "Sunny," side of things felt more like a bunch of disconnected vignettes or deleted scenes from the, "Real," episode. It dragged, slightly, in other words. The first episode of the season was, oddly enough, the weakest! Still, this was an amazing season and reminded me why this show is among my favorites.
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