It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, created by stars Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day back in 2005, has aired consistently for 16 years, with the show now about to air its 15th season in December 2021. With news of FX’s renewal of the series for four more seasons, it’s clear that the gang is not breaking up any time soon.
While Always Sunny is famous for its rejection of sitcom tropes, wild plotlines, and depiction of the five absolute worst people in the world, the series has its’ fair share of wholesome moments. The majority of the show revolves around internal bickering in the gang, but occasionally, a genuine familial bond shines through the cracks.
The Gang Laughs Together
In the season 8 episode “The Gang Dines Out” the gang gets into one of their biggest fights — without actually confronting one another. While Mac and Dennis are out for their routine monthly (private) dinner, Charlie and Frank appear at a faraway table, as Dee sits at another corner, alone.
As the gang inevitably resorts to attacking one another, they are stopped by the waiter of the restaurant who trips on his shoelaces that were tied together by Dee. The gang shares amusement over this and forgets their interpersonal issues. While the Always Sunny gang has done terrible things to Dee, it is genuinely heartwarming to see them laugh together and not berate her for once, despite her truly awful actions.
The Performs A Dance Routine
The Always Sunny gang are undeniably terrible people who consistently ruin the lives of those around them. In the show’s two-part season 7 finale, the gang gets their comeuppance when their attendance at their high-school reunion sees them being bullied by the “popular kids.”
Their attempt at restoring their reputation is a dance routine, one that is genuinely impressive as it sees the gang working well together, despite their constant differences. It is quickly revealed, however, that their well-received dance was a dream-like sequence, and they are actually dripping with sweat and dancing in an uncoordinated way.
The Gang Gives Charlie Birthday Gifts
The gang’s love for one another is barely displayed in the series. Moments of friendship are way less common than their incessant bickering and betrayal of each other, so when these moments happen they certainly stand out. In the season six episode, “Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats,” the gang rejects their own cynicism.
Dee, Dennis, Frank, and Mac give Charlie, arguably the most likable character in It’s Always Sunny, a series of presents based on nonsensical ideas in his “dream book.” The presents the gang makes are terrifying and include a “bird with teeth” and a “denim chicken,” but it’s fairly sweet seeing them go out of their way to cheer Charlie up on his birthday.
The Gang Goes Swimming
Episodes of Always Sunny tend to follow the gang as separate factions as they either are on opposite sides of a certain issue, or on the same side but have different methods of achieving their goals. In “The Gang Exploits The Mortgage Crisis,” the gang’s separate schemes collide in the final scene until they quickly forget about their intentions.
While Frank, Charlie, Mac, and Dennis get involved in the real estate business, Dee’s scheme revolves around trying to become a surrogate for a big payout. The entire gang ends up in the backyard of the couple that Dee is attempting to be the surrogate for. Despite their infighting, they soon give up their schemes and jump into the couple’s pool, displaying a rare moment of combined fun for them.
The Gang Beats The Heat
The characters of It’s Always Sunny often base their arguments on current events, and in an episode titled “Mac & Charlie: White Trash,” the gang faces a heat wave. While Dennis and Dee demand entrance to a private pool in one of Always Sunny‘s best B-plots, Mac and Charlie attempt to rejuvenate an abandoned, dilapidated public pool.
The split into two factions results from Dennis and Dee’s insistence that they are upper class and that Mac and Charlie are lower class. When their days go horribly wrong in typical Sunny fashion, they get together to break a fire hydrant and beat the heat together. It is a moment that reflects the group’s tendency to forget their conflict, without resolution, and inevitably end up back together.
The Gang Sings Christmas Carols
Always Sunny has only ever had one Christmas episode. “A Very Sunny Christmas” sees Mac and Charlie learning of their horrifying childhood Christmas traditions. The gang assists Mac in his attempt to rectify his family’s actions by gifting a toy to a man whose presents were stolen by Mac’s family as a child.
It’s one of the rare times that the gang tries to do what’s right as they sing carols in front of the man’s house. Despite their intentions, it is badly received as it is 4 a.m., which leads to the gang berating the woken-up neighborhood. It may not be typically wholesome, but for Always Sunny, it is heartwarming to see the gang berating people together.
The Gang Performs A Musical
In the show’s second highest-rated episode, according to IMDb, Dennis, Dee, Mac, and Frank star in a musical written and directed by Charlie, who insists that there is no ulterior motive behind it. The musical, titled, “The Nightman Cometh,” follows the adventures of a boy who defeats the “Nightman” and becomes the “Dayman.”
The gang makes the musical incredibly difficult for Charlie, either by refusing to do certain scenes or changing things on a whim. It is also said from the beginning of the episode that the gang only does it because they cannot stand to see anyone else in Charlie’s musical. It is typical self-centered behavior from the gang, but seeing them performing the iconic “Dayman/Nightman” song together for Charlie is a rare display of unity.
Mac Comes Out As Gay
The rumor around Mac’s sexuality is an example of a running gag in It’s Always Sunny, and it is a feature of the show’s first 11 and a half seasons that the gang assumes Mac is gay, based on his actions. It is perhaps one of the most surprising moments of the entire show when Mac finally comes out as gay.
In “Hero Or Hate Crime?” the gang goes to an arbitrator to determine a resolution to their latest argument. When Mac comes out as gay to seemingly just win the argument, the gang tells him afterward that he can “go back in the closet” as they expect him to do. Instead, he finally says outright, “I’m gay,” and it is genuinely heartwarming to see Mac happy, and the gang happy for him.
The Gang Holds Hands
This episode is a prime example of why the Always Sunny gang should have gone to jail as they committed numerous crimes on their boat trip. However, it also features perhaps the first time in the series that the gang displays their familial bond, and how much they care for one another.
They become trapped in a jail cell when the boat crashes and they face drowning as the water level rises. When it seems as though they are all about to die, the gang holds hands with one another. It is a sweet moment, one that is ruined, in typically hilarious, Sunny fashion, when a door opens for them to escape through, and they all attack one another to ensure their own survival.
Frank Watches Mac’s Dance
Always Sunny, for its lengthy run, has primarily been about a group of genuinely terrible people who ruin the lives of those who are unlucky enough to be involved with them. This unshakeable premise would suggest that it is hard for them to be relatable to viewers. However, in the season 13 finale, the show becomes both devastating and wholesome.
Mac’s dance follows a conflicted man, struggling to understand how his faith can coexist with his acceptance of his sexuality, while also attempting to express this inner struggle to his father. Despite his father’s rejection, Frank, Mac’s surrogate father figure, finally understands him. It is a moment that is both beautiful and tragic, and utterly unexpected to see in a series so focused on the punchline, as it ends on this moment of a true familial bond.
