Written by Matt Raab
18 seasons and 21 years in, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia still knows how to pack the fastball. Long-running sitcoms continuously attempting to adapt to trends and changing times are either too much or too late, but it seems like The Gang is more comfortable handling themselves in that regard more than ever. Not only that, but they’re still who they’ve always been; never changing and never learning their lesson, their refusal to change gives the season some incredibly refreshing comedic moments.
The first episode, “Frank Marries a Corpse,” offers an abrupt-yet-hilarious end to Season 17’s Golden Bachelor plot that saw Frank Reynolds (Danny Devito, Matilda) finding his new girlfriend, Sam (Carol Kane, Hester Street). She dies during the wedding from flesh-eating bacteria, and Dee Reynolds (Kaitlin Olsen, High Potential) haphazardly strings the rest of the wedding together to get her ticket to inheriting Sam’s rubber chicken fortune. The classic Sunny style of depravity taken to its limits ensues as a delirious and feverish Frank kisses Sam’s corpse as the crowd watches her head fall off. The Reynolds children’s pursuit of success knows no bounds, as usual.
Episode 2, “Dennis and Dee Don’t Get Rich,” answers the open question from the first: Will Dee get her money? It’s a flat-out no as she and Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton, Blackberry) attempt to finalize their way into Sam’s fortune, but they cannot do so without an official marriage license. Meanwhile, Frank and Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day, The Super Mario Bros. Movie) plan a funeral for Sam and Charlie’s mom, Bonnie (whose real-life actress, Lynne Marie Stewart, passed away before the airing of Season 17). Of course, the funeral is just as careless as Frank has always been; Dee and Dennis’ insane attempts to cut off Sam’s thumbs to certify the wedding are also highlights of the episode.
“The Gang Gets Tested,” a throwback to the college-themed shenanigans of Season 5’s “The Gang Reignites the Rivalry,” sees The Gang get tested for ADHD, with the Reynolds children testing positive and Mac (Rob Mac, Welcome to Wrexham) testing negative. The three return to college to decide which of them can be the better student, with Frank making a new friend on campus. Charlie, however, gets called back for further testing, revealing his everyday character as an incredible medical breakthrough. While none of the characters end up being able to study, this episode is a hilarious study of all five of their personalities, truly living in their own worlds as they try to best each other.
The title of the fourth episode, “2026: A Virtual Insanity,” seems scary when looking at other shows attempting to respond to the modern day. However, Sunny uses the venue of the streets of Philadelphia to react to changing times in their own neighborhood when The Gang breaks down on the way to a Jamiroquai concert. The recurring bit of Charlie inventing a remedy to the “fentanyl fold” and everyone saying it was a million-dollar idea, including recurring character Cricket (David Hornsby, Mythic Quest), is the best part of the episode. An entertaining way to use The Gang’s ignorance towards modern society, as well as their constant idolization of nostalgia.
“The Gang Goes to the Ren Faire” features a lot of callbacks, especially with the return of Pappy McPoyle (Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein) alongside the favorite McPoyle brothers: Ryan (Nate Mooney, Push) and Liam (Jimmi Simpson, Westworld). The usual eye-related chaos ensues as Frank enters a heated contest with them to buy the land the fair is on so that he can build a data center on it, an in-character adaptation of his depravity to current trends. Mac etches his gross mark at the very end of the episode to remind viewers that all five members of The Gang are seriously messed up.
The Gang engages in warfare once again in the sixth episode, “The War on Alcohol,” but changing times find them fighting against the declining trend of drinking in bars. A hilarious traditionalist stance against non-alcoholic beer fuels the flames of The Gang as they engage in their own drunken chaos while attempting to recruit workers to drink at their bar. They learn an unexpected lesson that drinking in the workplace just doesn’t work out.
Season 18’s newest episode, “Gilligan’s Island: A Conspiracy Theorist’s Paradise,” sees Mac and Charlie theorize as to why Gilligan’s Island never reached 100 episodes, all while they work on destroying documents to commit business fraud once again. Gilligan’s-esque flashbacks ensue throughout the episode as the two continue to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid (all while they boil the documents in actual Kool-Aid). Watching Mac and Charlie delve deeper into chaos as they continuously uncover deeper depths to the inane conspiracy makes for one of the best episodes of the season so far.
The pick for best episode of Season 18 so far has to go to “The Gang Get Tested.” It’s a humorous way to send The Gang back to college in reference to older generations looking down on ADHD, with callbacks to Dennis and Dee’s crack addiction as they try to focus and study. Frank and Charlie having their own plots alongside the main plot made the episode feel a bit unfocused going between three different plots, but it makes for a good touch as they hilariously get nothing done in the end.
Three more episodes have yet to be released for Sunny Season 18, but the first seven give warm optimism for the rest of the season. The depravity of The Gang is still as sharp as ever, making for some amusing bits, and equally as amusing in-group dynamics. This season isn’t without its cameos either, with fan-favorite Cricket appearing in two episodes. The next episode set to release is episode 8, “Mac and Dennis Break Their ACLs,” airing on September 28.
