With 15 seasons under its belt, It’s Always Sunny has created a lot of classic episodes and a few not-so-great ones.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a legendary sitcom that has fans practically falling over laughing even on rewatches. The creative team of Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, and Rob McElhenney perfectly understand their characters and just how to write them into situations that both comment on current events and don't go so far as to bore those tired of hearing of them. They manage to shake things up in innovative- and despicable- ways that are on-brand for "The Gang."
That doesn't mean that every episode earns mass acclaim from fans, however. Just as every series has its highest-rated episodes, it's also inevitable that some won't be as received as well. Thankfully, in Always Sunny's case, being the lowest-rated actually means anywhere from a mid-six to a mid-seven out of ten on IMDb, which is still incredibly impressive, and shows that even the 'worst' episodes can be enjoyable.
In "The Gang Cracks The Liberty Bell", the Gang decides they want to turn Paddy's into a licensed historical landmark. They decide that naturally, there's only one way to do this- pretend like the bar player a roll in the cracking of the Liberty Bell which happened hundreds of years prior.
The episode does contain some hilarious scenes, like Dennis and Mac getting tarred and feathered for acting like British Noblemen. The episode also plays on the Declaration of Independence by having Dennis draft a Declaration of Dependence in response.
Though this episode is titled "Dee Made A Smut Film", the episode really isn't about her whatsoever. After viewing a film that Dee has a role in that's clearly an adult movie – which she tries to vehemently deny – the Gang ends up arguing over what constitutes art.
This leads Dennis to try to create a film of his own based on the sexual memoirs from his life. Meanwhile, Mac, Charlie, and Frank go to an art gallery and hang up one of Charlie's 'paintings' with Frank posing as an art critic to try to see if anyone else will agree with them.
In the aptly named "A** Kickers United: Mac And Charlie Join A Cult", Mac and Charlie claim that they're seeking enlightenment through a group known fittingly as the A**kickers. However, Dennis reveals after they leave that it's a fake group that he made up so he could get Mac to stop eating his Thin Mints.
Dee and Frank decide to get in on the idea and make their own cult newsletters to instruct Mac and the others to do things like learn construction (to fix Dee's burnt-down apartment) and buy Wolf Cola. The entire premise is absolutely ridiculous, but it's a fun enough watch.
"Psycho Pete Returns" is one episode where viewers spend a majority of the time simply feeling sorry for the side character who's roped into the Gang's antics. They reunite with Psycho Pete, one of Mac and Charlie's old high school friends who ended up in jail, and they assume it's for doing something awful.
It's revealed at the end that Pete was never jailed for 'cannibalism and murder' like The Gang believed. Rather, he was institutionalized for an extreme case of Social Anxiety Disorder and just wants to get away from The Gang and live a peaceful life.
"The Gang Does A Clip Show" is just that… only not exactly. The Gang are recounting past events, but each one twists the truth in accordance with whichever person is having the flashback at that moment.
One of the weirdest things about the episode is the Gang learning that Charlie remembers his memories in a second-person point of view, where he's another Charlie looking at himself and whoever he's with at the time. Frank also grows incredibly long legs and claims that 'his legs have always been long', which is the funniest scene in the entire episode.
"A Cricket's Tale" is a pretty heartbreaking episode that makes fans feel sympathetic for Cricket, all things considered. After all, he had a respectable life as a priest and very much enjoyed his work until Dee pretended to love him and essentially forced him to leave his entire life behind.
This is the first and only time that it seems as if Cricket might be able to get his life together, as he's seen passing up on drugs, going to work at his family's business, and even finding a pretty girl he's interested in. In reality, Cricket never skipped getting high at all, and the 'girl' he's courting throughout the episode is actually the family dog… which he realizes after kissing her.
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Coming from the 13th Season, "The Gang Wins The Big Game" details the Gang's incredibly strange traditions that they believe help their favorite team, the Eagles, ultimately win. The gang gets the opportunity to see the Eagles play in the Super Bowl, and not only that, but they have box seats.
This episode isn't bad, but it doesn't hold up well when compared to many others. The main plot points are Dee having pinkeye- and later infecting the Patriots- and Frank passing a kidney stone.
"Charlie's Home Alone" is actually the prequel episode to the fourth lowest-rated, and both episodes take place in the same time period. Charlie is supposed to go with everyone else to the Super Bowl, but the rest of the Gang leaves without him after he takes too long trying to find his Green Man costume.
The episode details Charlie's intense and numerous superstitions that he fears have to be completed or else the Eagles are going to lose. It's a fun idea in concept, but the episode involves a lot of Charlie making gross decisions such as eating rats. He also accidentally steps in a bear trap that he lays out, and there's a ton of blood, so it's not a good episode for the squeamish either.
"Frank's Brother" details part of Frank and his brother Gino's past, as well as a love interest that the two of them shared. Frank has to flee to South America after shooting another man in the arm- fearing that he was going for a gun when in reality, he's trying to pull a pamphlet out of his pocket.
Most of the episode is spent with the two brothers fighting over who their past love truly loved more, until they stumble upon letters from her saying that she'd be at the airport. They go to meet her and end up leaving, saying that she didn't age well anyway, and it's an episode that really doesn't hold up.
"The Gang Beats Boggs: Ladies Reboot" details Dee enlisting her female 'friends' to come on a flight with her in an attempt to out-drink the boys from the last competition. Though this episode isn't bad, it suffers greatly from being a re-hashed idea that isn't executed very well.
Dee competes alongside Artemis, the Waitress and Mac's Mom, with Artemis ending up trying to sell fake wellness products to other women on-flight. It's noted to be an all-female flight, but despite this, Frank ends up on-board and other men can be seen in background shots, as well.
Hannah has always had a passion for writing, having done creative writing as a personal passion since 2012, and is thrilled to be a content writer for CBR. When she isn’t writing for work or for fun, she can usually be found playing games, cosplaying, singing or petting her cats. You can connect with her here: [email protected].
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The 10 Worst Episodes Of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Ranked According To IMDb – CBR – Comic Book Resources
