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Posted in: FX, Review, TV | Tagged: always sunny, episode 3, FXX, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Review, season 16
Always Sunny Season 16 Ep. 3 Makes a Case for "Just In Case" Faith
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16E03 "The Gang Gets Cursed" makes a wildly smart & funny case for the "just in case" faith we all share.
Written by David Hornsby (yup, Rickety Cricket!) and directed by Richie Keen, this week's episode of FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16E03 "The Gang Gets Cursed" starts off a strong note just by having a great episode title. As The Gang readies for their lives to change (though reluctantly) via a major Bar Rescue renovation, some really ominous stuff begins to happen. Yup, leading The Gang to think that they might just be cursed. Well, except for Mac (McElhenney) – who's not only experiencing a serious run of good luck but might just end up turning his childhood dream of playing catch with Chase Utley into a reality. And how can we forget Cheers legend, Rhea Perlman? So how did things turn out? Did The Gang make it three-for-three for Season 16 – or were viewers left feeling cursed? From this point forward, we're throwing the switch on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and dropping an image spoiler buffer before launching into our real-time thoughts on the season's third episode… just in case…
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16E03 "The Gang Gets Cursed"
STONER THEORY: Not having a clue about what happens going into the episode, I have this theory that Paddy's is also a member of The Gang – a sentient thing like the TARDIS in that great Neil Gaiman-written Doctor Who episode, "The Doctor's Wife." Maybe that's why everyone who's going against Mac's Bar Rescue plan experiences bad luck – and Mac experiences good luck…?
Okay, so we've got Dee bestowing the "Cunt of the Year" trophy to Perlman's well-intended neighbor, Frank murdering a seagull, and Mac & Charlie getting cursed by Cricket (after a shady deal between Cricket & Mac gets interrupted) – and what's the deal with Dennis' vocabulary loss?
Hmmm… I can't quite figure out where this is going yet. We know curses & superstitions are coming into play, big-time – and Charlie's "just in case" speech was an honest reflection on how faith operates on any number of levels.
Holy shit… a black cat named "Maureen"?!?! Is Dennis some kind of linking device in all of this?
THE DEAL: So Cricket is getting Mac close to Utley (thus, the "piss beer" exchange from the trailer)
CRICKET TO MAC: "You gotta pick a lane!"
HOLY CRAP! Mac is having an epic meltdown – and why is he speaking with a fucked-up Elizabethan accent? LOL
Okay, I think it's about time that Lynne Marie Stewart's Bonnie Kelly gets a lot more respect because she's been on fire this season – and we're only three episodes into the season. In fact, along with Sandy Martin's Mrs. Mac and Andrew Friedman's Uncle Jack, tonight's episode is another reminder of just how deep of a bench the show has when it highlights its ensemble of supporting characters. Any number of them could front an episode themselves (as we saw from Hornsby's Cricket).
WOW! So Dennis refused Maureen's last wish to be buried in a pet cemetery – THAT'S A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF STEPHEN KING HORROR!
Okay… so how best to put this? There is no other sitcom out there that could tackle the heavy topic of faith vs. fact and how, even in the face of what we know is common sense, we will still lean on our superstitions for comfort. And that sometimes those very same superstitions can be our own worst enemy. Oh, you think your favorite show could? Could they do it using facial paralysis, the rotting corpse of a face-fucking monkey (callback!), the remains of a seagull, Chase Utley, and more? Nope, and that's why FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is still the best sitcom going.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16 Episode 3 "The Gang Gets Cursed"
8.5/10
Written by David Hornsby (yup, Rickety Cricket!) and directed by Richie Keen, this week's episode of FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16E03 "The Gang Gets Cursed" starts off a strong note just by having a great episode title. As The Gang readies for their lives to change (though reluctantly) via a major Bar Rescue renovation, some really ominous stuff begins to happen. Yup, leading The Gang to think that they might just be cursed. Well, except for Mac (McElhenney) - who's not only experiencing a serious run of good luck but might just end up turning his childhood dream of playing catch with Chase Utley into a reality. And how can we forget Cheers legend, Rhea Perlman? So how did things turn out? Did The Gang make it three-for-three for Season 16 - or were viewers left feeling cursed?
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