With sixteen seasons under its beltand another one set to start airing this coming June,It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiahas built quite the legacy for itself.The series continues to take risks with each season, through new and wildly funny storylines, as well as the occasional gut punch. In the months leading up to Season 17, now is the perfect time to rewatch the show, either all the way through, or at random.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiahas a number of truly phenomenal episodes, both early in its run and in its more recent seasons. A rare feat for atelevision showis to have episodes that are absolutely incredible the whole way through, butIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiahas achieved this a number of times. These are 10 episodes ofIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiathat are perfect from start to finish.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a sitcom and black comedy created by Rob McElhenney. It stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Glenn Howerton, and Danny DeVito. The series follows a group of friends that own and frequent the Irish bar, Paddy’s Pub, and get into all sorts of troubling adventures.
10"Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day"
Season 16, Episode 8
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiahadan incredible sixteenth season, which bodes well for its upcoming seventeenth season. A really fantastic episode is the Season 16 finale, “Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day.” In the episode, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) learns that he has high blood pressure, so he decides to take a day off work. Instead,Dennis experiences a number of technology mishaps that lead him to become increasingly more frustratedthroughout the installment.
Finally, in a wildly funny scene to the tune of “Listen to Your Heart” byRoxette, Dennis tracks down the CEO of the car company, tears his heart out of his chest, turns it into a diamond, and eats it. Nearly the entire episodeturns out to bea dream sequence,and it is ultimately a very funny yet sad look into Dennis' subconscious, making for a stunning and surprising episode.
9"The Waitress Is Getting Married"
Season 5, Episode 5
“The Waitress Is Getting Married” is best known for the hilarious scene where Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dennis attempt to help Charlie (Charlie Day) make an online dating profile, but instead, Charlie takes a terrible picture and ends up revealing that his favorite food is milksteak and his favorite hobby is magnets. This episode as a whole is wildly funny and underrated, though, as Mac, Dennis, and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) react to the news that The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) is marrying her and Dee’s high school ex-boyfriend, Brad Fisher (Nick Wechsler).
…Charlie takes a terrible picture and ends up revealing that his favorite food is milksteak and his favorite hobby is magnets.
This episode shows Mac and Dennis trying to help Charlie before he finds out about the Waitress' wedding – not out of the goodness of their hearts, of course, but because they’re afraid that he will fall apart and kill them after hearing the news. Meanwhile,a jealous Dee triesto get between Brad and the Waitress. The episode also introduces the hilarious relationship between Frank (Danny DeVito) and Artemis (Artemis Pebdani).
8"Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games"
Season 7, Episode 7
There is no sitcom out there likeIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and"Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games"is the perfect example of this. The unconventional bottle episode is the show’s first introduction to Chardee MacDennis, the bizarre board game that Mac, Dennis, Charlie, and Dee created together a while back. Of course, it is more than just a combination of other games: Chardee MacDennis isa wild and occasionally disturbing test of the mind, body, and spirit.
The unconventional bottle episode is the show’s first introduction to Chardee MacDennis, the bizarre board game that Mac, Dennis, Charlie, and Dee created together a while back.
“Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games” is an excellent episode.Keeping the gang confined to Paddy’s fora bottle episode, and then turning it into a truly baffling and unexpected experience, is the perfect subversion of expectations. Every detail of the game is so specific and fitting, from the “no swearing” rule in Level 2, to the jail chance card, which can also be reversed by eating the ingredients of a cake.
7"Charlie Work"
Season 10, Episode 4
In many ways,“Charlie Work” feels like an episodethat was ten seasons in the making. After all the talk about what “Charlie work” entails, andthe occasional glimpses of Charlie killing rats and dealing with other unpleasant things around Paddy’s,It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiafinally gives a deeper look into what Charlie actually does to keep Paddy’s running. As it turns out, this is actually quite a lot.
…It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiafinally gives a deeper look into what Charlie actually does to keep Paddy’s running.
When Charlie learns that the health inspector is coming to Paddy’s for a surprise inspection, he sets about preparing for the visit like usual. Unfortunately, the rest of the Gang have chosen this day to plan an extremely disruptive airline miles scam that involves bringing live chickens into the bar and temporarily changing the name of Paddy’s to “Carmine’s.” The heightened stakes make for an excellent episode, andseeing Charlie have to keep all the others in line to work towards a goal makes for truly phenomenal television.
6"Charlie and Dee Find Love"
Season 8, Episode 4
Season 14’s “The Gang Gets Romantic” isIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s most overt rom-com parody, but “Charlie and Dee Find Love” plays with and subverts rom-com tropes in a hilarious and shocking way. The episode starts with Charlie and Dee getting rear-ended in a way thatturns into a meet-cute for both of them with two siblings, Trevor (Josh Casaubon) and Ruby (Alexandra Daddario).
…“Charlie and Dee Find Love” plays with and subverts rom-com tropes in a hilarious and shocking way.
It’s fun to watch Charlie and Dee get swept away by the wealthy Taft siblings, even as a jealous Dennis points out that they are very likely getting played. It turns out that he is right about Trevor, who later humiliates Dee and Mac.The episode’s wild twist is that Ruby is genuine, and Charlie is the one who has been using and playing her, just to make the Waitress jealous.Charlie’s twisted plan even sort of works, in his own weird way.
5"The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award"
Season 9, Episode 3
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiadoes meta humor very well, and “The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award” is the quintessential example of this. The episodespeaks to the lack of awards recognition forIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and how underrated the show has always been. The episode starts with the Gang complaining about how Paddy’s has never been nominated for the Annual Bar Association Award, before they decide to do something about it.
…The Gang try to be like the group at Sudz, but changing is a lot more difficult than they anticipated…
This is such a fun episode, as it uses Sudz,the Philadelphia-based barthat won the award,to represent a typical award-winning sitcom. Sudz has catchy pop music, bright colors, and a “will-they-won’t-they” romance between two of its bartenders. Meanwhile, the Gang try to be like the group at Sudz, but changing is a lot more difficult than they anticipated – especially for people who don’t really want to change. What really makes the episode is the addition of a new Charlie song, and the surprisingly sweet ending.
4"Mac’s Banging the Waitress"
Season 4, Episode 4
The only thing that would make “Mac’s Banging the Waitress” better would be the presence of Dee, who is sadly absent for this episode. Besides that, though, this episode isabsolutely perfect and severely underrated. Somehow, every little detail counts, and it all pays off wonderfully at the end of the installment. This episode marks the introduction of Project Badass, the series of daring tapes that Mac makes to impress Dennis and Charlie. He’s excited to show them off, until he sees Charlie smashing the tape.
Somehow, every little detail counts, and it all pays off wonderfully at the end of the installment.
Meanwhile, Charlie is determined to find and take down the anonymous man who is having a fling with the Waitress. As it turns out,Mac has been planning to hook up with the Waitress as revenge for Charlie destroying his tape. Things escalate in the funniest ways, as a jealous Dennis tries to claim his place as both Charlie and Mac’s best friend, Mac and the Waitress get recorded having a conversation with a hilarious double meaning, and the whole thing is ultimately revealed to be a misunderstanding.
3"Flowers for Charlie"
Season 9, Episode 8
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaprovesthat it can expertly parody classic literaturein “Flowers for Charlie,” based onFlowers for AlgernonbyDaniel Keyes. The episode starts with the Gang at a lab, whereCharlie gets chosen to participate in a science experimentwhere he takes pills that are supposed to make him smarter. As Charlie embraces his newfound intelligence, the rest of the Gang struggle with the change. Frank misses his best friend, and Mac, Dennis, and Dee resent having to do Charlie work now.
As Charlie embraces his newfound intelligence, the rest of the gang struggle with the change.
This episode both honors the original text while alsoSunny-fying it in the best way. In a moment of false clarity, Charlie briefly outgrows his friends, his job, and the Waitress –until the pills are revealed to be a placebo. Some other highlights include Dennis trying to catch a rat with brie cheese and romantic music, and Mac, Dennis, and Dee trying to free Dee’s hand from a rat hole by using gasoline.
2"The Gang Gets Analyzed"
Season 8, Episode 5
“The Gang Gets Analyzed” is a hilarious episode of television. It feels a lot like a bottle episode, but it isn’t quite, due to the additions of a new setting and a therapist (Kerri Kenney). The episode sets up in its cold open thatDee has been seeing a therapist for a while, and that her therapist suggested that she have a dinner to talk about some issues with the rest of the Gang. Of course, it backfired over an argument about who would wash the dishes, and they have all come to see the therapist – with the dishes.
…Some really compelling and insightful looks into each one of the Gang’s backstories.
This episode hassome of the best monologues of the entire series, as well as some really compelling and insightful looks into each one of the Gang’s backstories. It is also just absolutely hilarious. Mac mourns his old size; Dee accidentally reveals that she’s been lying to her therapist about a number of things; Charlie reveals that he fed everyone pigeon at the dinner; and Dennis tries to act like the real therapy expert. Best of all is Frank’shilarious yet tragicmonologue (perfectly delivered by DeVito) about his time spent in a school for children with psychiatric conditions.
1"Mac Finds His Pride"
Season 13, Episode 10
Thirteen seasons in,It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiatook a major riskwith “Mac Finds His Pride,“and it resulted in an absolute masterpiece. When Mac has doubts about participating in the Pride float that the Gang has planned for Paddy’s, Frank takes him on a journey to find pride in his identity as a gay man. Of course, Frank’s methods are questionable, and the vast majority of the episode focuses on the hilarious and unlikely duo of Frank and Mac. Finally,Frank decides that Mac will only be able to find his pride after coming out to his dad, Luther (Gregory Scott Cummins).
…Mac and his dance partner perform an absolutely stunning dance that shows the conflict that he feels between his religion and his sexuality…
This is where the episode takes an incredible turn. Not only has the silliness of the episode been building up to this, buta decade of jokes about Mac’s sexuality has been making way for this moment, and it is absolutely breathtaking. Mac reveals that he has been preparing a dance for months to come out with his father, so he goes to the prison where his father is being incarcerated, along with his dance partner (Kylie Shea) and Frank. In the last five minutes of the episode, Mac and his dance partner perform an absolutely stunning dance that shows the conflict that he feels between his religion and his sexuality, and then Luther walks out – but Mac keeps dancing anyway. “Mac Finds His Pride” is an absolutely perfect episode, from its silly beginning to its heartbreaking ending.
