In terms of season count, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the longest-running live-action sitcom in the history of American television, surpassing the previous record-holder, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, with its 14th and most recent season. Season 15 has already been ordered by FX, so it’s not stopping any time soon.
The series has managed to remain fresh by continually adapting its formula. Where most shows settle into a formula that works and beat it to death, It’s Always Sunny has used its changing formula to subvert fans’ expectations, and a large part of this has been the use of plot twists. So, here are It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s 10 Greatest Plot Twists, Ranked.
Dennis wrote a screenplay, but Frank’s greasy fingers crashed his phone (Mac and Charlie Write a Movie)
The season 5 episode “Mac and Charlie Write a Movie” is all about plot twists, inspired by the work of M. Night Shyamalan, so it’s apt that it ends with a few plot twists. When Dee gets a job as an extra on a Shyamalan movie, Mac and Charlie start working on a movie script with a twist ending to show the famous director.
Meanwhile, Dennis keeps tapping away on his phone, ignoring them. At the end of the episode, he turns out to have been writing his own screenplay on his phone that he’s ready to show the guys. However, Frank’s greasy sausage fingers crash his phone, and he loses his script forever.
Charlie’s mom doesn’t actually have cancer (Charlie’s Mom Has Cancer)
This entry title plays like one of the show’s cold openings, with the name of the episode coming off as an ironic punchline. In the season 8 episode “Charlie’s Mom Has Cancer,” Bonnie Kelly announces that she’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer and starts throwing fundraisers.
However, she turns out to have lied about having cancer in order to get people to donate to her church. It was the same twist as the season 1 episode “Charlie Has Cancer,” in which her son Charlie lied about the same thing, but it seemed unlikely that: a) the show would repeat its own twist, and b) sweet old Bonnie was as deplorable as Charlie. So, it was still a surprise.
The Gang isn’t actually talking to God (The Gang Goes to Hell)
The two-part season 11 finale “The Gang Goes to Hell” opens with the Gang standing in front of a white light with an entirely white background, pleading their innocence, seemingly to God. They were on a Christian cruise that Mac won tickets to and all ended up trapped in a room as the ship was going down in a terrible storm.
They begin to fear that they’re in limbo, awaiting judgment, and when the room fills up with water, they come to terms with their deaths. And then, it’s revealed that they were saved at the last second and they weren’t actually being judged by God; they were speaking to an insurance agent.
The intelligence pills were placebos (Flowers for Charlie)
Guest-written by Games of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Flowers for Charlie” retells the Daniel Keyes short story “Flowers for Algernon.” Charlie takes part in a scientific experiment to see if an idiot can be made intelligent through the use of a new drug. Throughout the episode, his intelligence is shown to rise as he learns new languages and reads books in their entirety and grows bored of the Waitress.
However, in the episode’s closing moments, it’s revealed that the pills were placebos. Charlie was speaking gibberish and comprehending nothing he was reading. Charlie doesn’t seem to mind; he just mocks the scientists because they “couldn’t make I more smarter” and leaves with the Gang.
The dog was actually painted by Hitler (Pop-Pop: The Final Solution)
In the season 8 premiere, “Pop-Pop: The Final Solution,” while Dennis and Dee grapple with the decision of whether or not to kill their grandfather, Mac and Charlie try to get their hands on his collection of Nazi art. There was a painting of a dog that used to hang in Charlie and Frank’s apartment that they believe could’ve been painted by Hitler and, therefore, could be worth a lot of money.
There’s some confusion with a painting of a dog that Charlie painted, which isn’t worth anything, and they end up burning the painting. In a parody of Citizen Kane, the final shot shows the fire burning through the canvas to reveal Hitler’s signature.
Frank was tricking Dee the whole time (Charlie’s Mom Has Cancer)
Charlie’s mom not really having cancer wasn’t the only plot twist in season 8’s “Charlie’s Mom Has Cancer.” In the B-plot, Dee made fun of Frank for his deteriorating mental state. Then, her psychic suggested that her mom might still be alive, and Frank went along with it. A series of clues led them to actually dig up her grave, looking for a bunch of stashed gold.
However, it turned out that she was dead, so Dennis and Dee just dug up their mother’s dusty, skeletal remains. And what’s worse is that Frank staged the whole thing to get back at Dee for saying his mind was slipping.
Charlie was tricking Ruby Taft (Charlie and Dee Find Love)
In season 8’s “Charlie and Dee Find Love,” Charlie and Dee meet a couple of new suitors, Ruby and Trevor Taft from the wealthy socialite Taft family, and quickly fall for them. Dennis begins to suspect that they’re tricking Charlie and Dee, seducing a couple of losers for a joke with their rich friends, a la Dangerous Liaisons or She’s All That.
While Trevor turns out to be doing exactly that to Dee, Ruby really does like Charlie and has enjoyed spending time with him. Unfortunately for Ruby, Charlie has actually been Dangerous Liaisons-ing her to make the Waitress jealous.
Dennis returns (The Gang Makes Paddy’s Great Again)
This was kind of a self-aware twist. After the bombshell ending of season 12, it seemed unclear how It’s Always Sunny would proceed in season 13. In the season 12 finale “Dennis’ Double Life,” Dennis left Philly to start a life in North Dakota with his one-night stand and the son they have together.
The show’s cast and producers acted coy whenever they were asked how Dennis would fit into the next season during the hiatus, so going into the season 13 premiere, “The Gang Makes Paddy’s Great Again,” it was unclear what would happen with Dennis. He was temporarily replaced by Mindy Kaling, who brought Paddy’s (or, in meta terms, the show) into the PC age, but at the end, he nonchalantly returned.
Andy isn’t really a board game executive (Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo)
The season 11 premiere episode “Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo” returned to the Gang’s homemade board game – a fan-favorite concept from the show’s storied history – for a kind of sequel. They broke out the game Chardee MacDennis, complete with a few new rules, to play with Andy (played by guest star Andy Buckley, best known as David Wallace from The Office), a board game executive that Frank got in touch with.
Frank pairs up with Andy and, as usual, starts losing the game. Then, he poisons everyone and it’s revealed that Andy isn’t a board game executive at all; he was hired by Frank to help him win.
The Gang faked Dee’s comedy success (The Gang Broke Dee)
In the season 9 premiere “The Gang Broke Dee,” Dee isn’t fighting back against the Gang’s insults anymore. She’s not showering, she’s eating cake out of the trash – she’s just given up. The Gang tries to help her out by getting her a spot at the comedy club, and this ends up leading her to massive success as a comic on Philly’s standup scene.
She promptly leaves the Gang behind and gets an agent, who books her a spot on Conan and flies her out to appear on the show. And then, she finds that the Gang faked all of her success using Frank’s influence, just to show her that she could actually sink lower. It was an expertly crafted rug-pull.
