It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is obviously not meant to be taken 100% seriously. Some of the crazy antics that the group gets into are more nefarious than any the viewers would ever experience. With some of their activities being beyond both illegal and dangerous, they get into some very crazy situations. The entire group is certifiably insane. Charlie enjoys dancing as “The Green Man” and Dennis is a sociopath. Dee cannot keep a car in good shape to save her life, and Mac is incredibly self-obsessed. Not to mention that no one is entirely certain how Frank makes his money. However, together they create one of the most hilarious group of friends to watch get in to trouble.
While this is all well and good when it comes to entertainment value, It’s Always Sunny‘s episodes are not without their inconsistencies. Through all of the crazy situations that the group goes through, there are times when things just do not add up or make any sense. Sometimes the group forgets to keep their facts straight, and other times the showrunners do not seem to remember their own character’s idiosyncrasies.
Sometimes things may fall off the track, but one thing is for sure – It’s Always Sunny has earned its place in television Hall of Fame. Due to some of the self-obsessed things that they do, the show has also made it in to the Hall of Shame at some points.
Here are 20 Things That Make No Sense About It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
20. Charlie’s Disappearing Sister
The Kelly family tree seems to have a few missing branches to it. While there are numerous mentions to Charlie’s potential relation to Dee, Denis, and Frank, and his mother Bonnie is featured several times, not much else is known about Charlie’s family life. While he is cryptic about many things, Charlie has never revealed much about his family. He may have even lied about it in the past.
During an episode in season one, Charlie mentions that he has a sister who was involved in an “unfortunate incident” while they were younger.
However, this sister has never been mentioned again. Did she ever exist? Or has Charlie just forgotten to mention her ever again? Both are possible, but it is a question that may never be fully answered.
19. Mac Gaining And Losing 60 Pounds
Fat Mac may have disappeared, but he will always live on in fans’ hearts. Mac’s sudden weight gain during season seven was surprising to fans. Episode after episode, fans watched as Mac slowly ballooned in size until he was sporting a sizeable gut. While he claimed that he was “cultivating mass,” The Gang saw that he was finally paying for his over-indulging in food.
However just as quickly as it arrived, Mac lost this weight in time for the season eight premiere. In fact, he was down to a weight that appeared less than his original size. All of this occurred without any real explanation. Rob McElhenney has said that this was on purpose to prove a point about appearances in Hollywood, but there’s no explanation given within the show.
17. Why Hasn’t Dee Left The Group?
Out of all the crazy things that The Gang does, the things they do to Sweet Dee are certainly the worst. She has been left behind in dangerous situations, sent to be hurt, and treated very poorly by the rest of the group. Despite all of this, Dee continues to associate herself with Charlie, Mac and Dennis. The real question is – why does she continue to put up with such a negative situation?
While much can be said about the psychology of Dee’s self-confidence, there is nothing that is making her stay with the group.
Yet, she has never considered leaving them behind. After all is said and done, fans would not be surprised if she left everyone behind. However, it does not look very likely.
16. What Happened To Poppins?
A family dog is a wonderful addition to a loving family. When a dog is treated with respect and love, it can be a formidable companion. However, when that dog disappears for months at a time and continues to return without anything wrong, that dog needs to be checked out.
Mac’s family dog, Poppins, may be one of the strangest animals on television.
Though he has not made many appearances on the show, many fans are always wondering where he is. Mac describes Poppins as constantly disappearing but then returning without anything wrong with him. He is also seen consuming things that are normally dangerous for canines.
15. No One Cares Mac Got Very Buff
When a good friend changes their body in a positive way, it is a good practice to congratulate them. Gaining muscle and definition is not an easy feat, so hard work should be congratulated. However, when “Fat Mac” becomes incredibly muscular, not a single person seems to care.
Mac’s weight gain and loss eventually transitioned in to him becoming the most muscular person in the group. While this certainly turned a lot of fans’ heads, it has never been addressed by the rest of The Gang. In fact, the group seems entirely indifferent to Mac’s sudden muscles. Mac has always emphasized how proud he is of his body, but this change surely would be noticed more since he changed from “Fat Mac”? Perhaps the group really are the most self-absorbed people on Earth.
14. When Did They Buy Paddy’s Pub?
Paddy’s Pub is the home base for many of The Gang’s crazy schemes and ideas. However, it is entirely unclear when they actually became bar owners in the first place.
Upon opening up a time capsule in “The Gang Gets a New Member”, it is revealed Mac and Dennis purchased the bar ten years before in 2000.
While this would be a great feat for the young men, it does not hold up to other things that they have said about their pasts. In the episode “The Gang Reignites the Rivalry”, it is revealed that Paddy’s has a rival in the bar Molly’s, which transpired from an incident over ten years ago. This places their rivalry before Mac and Dennis purchased the bar. When exactly did they start using the bar as a front for casinos and homeless shelters? It seems that even The Gang forgets sometimes.
13. Why Doesn’t Charlie Get His Tattoo Fixed?
Charlie’s disheveled appearance is one of his most signature looks. Usually clad in pyjama pants and a torn t-shirt, Charlie will not be winning any “best dressed” awards any time soon. Even if he did clean up his attire, other aspects of his appearance would continue to hinder him.
During season two, Charlie decides to give himself a tattoo with a paperclip, in an effort to seem tough. However, instead of finishing his “BAD NEWS” tattoo, he stops and ends up with ink that reads “BAD NEW”. After over ten years of having disheveled ink on his body, wouldn’t he take the time to finish off the tattoo? Charlie is certainly the least-intelligent member of the group, but surely even he understands that he can get this fixed rather easily.
12. Dee wrecks all the cars
One of Dee’s finest qualities is her driving ability. Considering that she has destroyed more vehicles than any other member of the group, that’s not saying much. Over the years, Dee has certainly owned her poor driving skills, and recognizes that she will likely continue to wreck vehicles. However, the most surprising thing of all is that she is the only one who wrecks vehicles on a regular basis.
Considering how much alcohol that The Gang consumes, the group’s overall car wreckage statistics should be higher.
However, it seems that Dee is the only one who is filling the junkyard. While characters like Charlie are shown in car accidents, Dee certainly still wins the award for Worst Driver.
How Do They Make Money At Paddy’s?
It is inconceivable to think that Mac and Dennis are formidable business owners. Considering their proclivity for hair-brained schemes, no one is pretending they have any business-savvy. However, they have owned Paddy’s Pub for a number of years, and despite not possessing a business-minded bone in their bodies, they remain afloat due to Frank’s questionable income.
If Frank’s mysterious income were to be taken out of the equation, how much money would The Gang be making? Zippiatook on the task of figuring out how much money they are making, and as assumed, it is very little. After removing all costs of running a bar, Mac and Dennis are making less than $32,000 a year off of the pub. How are they expected to live off of that?
No One Gets Sick From Rum Ham
Frank’s creation of combining a maple-glazed ham with 80% proof rum was designed to assist him with “eating his liquor.” While he certainly achieved his goal, it does not change how disgusting it is. While many of the characters enjoy his “boozy treat” often as a celebration, it is unfathomable to think that none of The Gang has gotten sick off of the meat before.
Rum Ham was first invented as a snack to eat during a hot day at the beach, which is a prime state to begin growing bacteria on food.
It is almost a certainty that anyone who consumed it would get ill. Furthermore, the sheer amount of alcohol in the ham is enough to make any experienced drinker sick.
The Exploding Police Car
Sometimes Charlie’s stupidity can even make basic scientific laws bend– or at least it seems that way in certain episodes. In “Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City”, The Gang gets control over a police car and takes on their own form of vigilante justice. Essentially, they look to rid their neighbourhood of things that they find annoying, even if it leads to harming others. In order to cover up their involvement, Charlie drops a Molotov Cocktail into the gasoline-soaked police car.
The car does not catch fire for several seconds, despite all the flammable substances.
If that amount of gasoline had been added to the vehicle, it would have caught fire instantly. While it may have been done for comedic effect, it does not make sense to any science-lovers.
Gary Didn’t Take Out Any Blondes
The Gang has run in to a variety of situations that most people would never find themselves in. One of the strangest has to be when they found themselves face-to-face with a serial criminal.
With an unidentified monster loose in Philadelphia, the one thing they know for sure is that blonde women are being targeted.
While this sounds like it puts Sweet Dee in danger, it appears that a mistake has been made. While the press made a big deal about placing blonde women in danger, the killer himself has a different story to tell. Upon getting a glimpse inside of where he keeps his victims, not a single blonde woman is present.
The Waitress And Dee Went To High School Together
One of the longest running jokes is the relationship between The Gang and The Waitress. Despite seeing each other incredibly often and her introducing herself, the entire Gang still only refers to her as The Waitress. While this can be chalked up to the fact that they are all entirely self-absorbed, things are later revealed that do not make sense.
While attending their high school reunion, it is revealed that Dee actually went to high school with The Waitress, and even had classes with her.
Dee won’t be accused of being the smartest person in the world, but it stands to reason that she would recognize someone she grew up with.
Especially once she introduces herself by name. However, Dee still claims that they have never met before.
Charlie Forgets How To Drive
The only thing that makes less sense than Dee’s memory about The Waitress is Charlie’s memory in general. He is without a doubt the most forgetful member of The Gang, and he often forgets basic skills that most adults have mastered– including his ability to drive a car.
Charlie is often shown not knowing how to drive a car, and frequently relies on others to take him places. However, he does successfully drive a movie critic home during an earlier season of the show, despite already claiming that he cannot drive. Following this, he gets in to a car accident with Dee’s car once he “forgets again.”
The real question is – would anyone really be trusting enough to get in a car with Charlie behind the wheel?
What Happened To Gail The Snail?
The minor characters from It’s Always Sunny are some of the greatest parts of the show. However, most fans wish that these characters appeared much more often than they do.
Many seasons go by without hearing from characters like Gail the Snail.
Dennis and Dee’s obnoxious cousin has only made two appearances on the show, but has certainly left an impression. However, there is one question when it comes to Gail – where has she gone?
Gail’s story is never fully resolved and, apart from living with Aunt Donna, very little is known about her whereabouts. With her being a close family relative of Dennis and Dee, it doesn’t make sense that they do not hear from her often.
Is Margaret McPoyle Deaf Or Not?
The McPoyle family is another one of the hilarious minor characters that get featured on the show. The incredibly odd family is known for their “extreme closeness” and abnormal behavior, and are often the butt of The Gang’s jokes. One of the strangest McPoyles is the only daughter of the family, Margaret.
Margaret is a deaf-mute who mimics the actions of anyone near her. However, there have been numerous times where her disability is put in to question. She is seen reacting, responding and listening to conversations around her, despite her allegedly not being able to hear.
Is it possible that the McPoyles are pulling one over on everyone? It wouldn’t be anything new.
When they graduated high school
It is hard to think of a time when some members of The Gang graduated (or even attended) high school. However it seems that each of them did graduate. Upon revisiting their time capsule in “The Gang Gets a New Member”, it reveals some memories of when they graduated high school “ten years ago.” While this does provide them with some nice memories, some other exploration of their high school days does not add up.
Dennis and Dee also attend their high school reunion, which is their fifteenth anniversary. However they had only opened the time capsule a year before that. While it is not above any member of the group to be forgetful, when it comes to numbers, these time periods do not add up.
Grocery Store Laws In Philadelphia
The Gang is certainly loose about their alcohol consumption, which is incredibly dangerous given that they own a bar. While regularly consuming alcohol and narcotics is a common pass-time, they are all incredibly excited when their local grocery store begins selling liquor. After all, more access to beer and rum (for the ham) is great for them.
However, it appears that they are missing one little detail – grocery stores are not allowed to sell liquor in Philadelphia. While many other states include this legislation, Philadelphia has never included it.
While The Gang may not have a problem with breaking the law, the rest of the state likely would.
It looks like they are just going to have to continue to drink their own liquor from Paddy’s.
18. How Were They Deemed Competent Enough To Own A Bar?
The process of getting a liquor license to sell alcohol to the public is rather laborious. It requires sign-off from fire and police departments, as well as government intervention. Generally, if a bar owner is in good-standing than it should not be too difficult to receive a license.
The Gang is certainly not in good-standing following all of their schemes.
Thirteen seasons have gone by watching The Gang do some of the most depraved things imaginable. It’s farfetched to think that they would actually be approved to own and operate a licensed bar. Given their track records of felonies and financial issues, Paddy’s Pub would not be able to open their doors to the public. Would they be able to work there as bartenders? Potentially. But they would likely not be allowed to call themselves owners.
11. The Show’s Never Won An Emmy
Despite being on its way to the longest-running live-action television show in American history, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has never received the recognition they deserve.
While the comedy domain of television award season is usually dominated by shows like Modern Family, it is still surprising that this show has not love from the awards circuits. Perhaps some of the obscene subject matter does not appeal to some press associations, but there is no arguing with longevity. Surely if a show has been running for thirteen seasons, it must be doing something correctly.
The showrunners even addressed this lack of attention through their episode “The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award”. This episode showed the group trying to win an award for Paddy’s, but it was also a way for the showrunners to vent frustration at the nonsense of being overlooked.
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What else doesn’t make sense about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Let us know in the comments!
