It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Review: Dee Sinks in a Bog/The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain (Season 15 Episodes 7 and 8)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 15 Episodes 7 and 8, “Dee Sinks in a Bog” and “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain,” ends the gang’s Irish journey on a high note, with an award-worthy performance from Charlie Day.
“Dee Sinks in a Bog” explores different character dynamics, from Colm Meaney’s Shelley bonding with Charlie (and spreading the Kelly clan’s inexplicable misogyny) to Frank deciding he needs one-on-one time with Dennis.
DENNIS: [I feel] outraged, violated, disgusted at the looseness of my sister’s neck, covered in stew, dragged from my castle to a dingy hospital where I’m about to be saddled with an enormous bill.
These new pairings make for brilliant comedic moments, notably Dennis and Frank’s awkward time together without their “buffer.” It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia never shies away from self-awareness, whether it’s the show commenting on Mac’s sudden removal of his tattoos or Dennis mentioning he’s never alone with Frank.
As usual, the performances are the crux of these episodes. Glenn Howerton shines as the psychopathic, cold, and calculated Dennis, playing a character only he could play. Significantly few actors fully inhabit a role like Howerton while remaining consistently funny for 16 years.
FRANK: Charlie, you hungry? You want a snack? I got egg, or you want some GORP?
Dennis morphing into It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s version of Gollum, wherein the castle speaks to him, feels like the logical next step as he circles the drain of depravity.
Kaitlin Olson continues to be the gold standard of slapstick comedy, and her scenes with Mary Elizabeth Ellis at the bog are hilarious.
Charlie Day’s painfully visceral performance in “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain” takes the cake.
You’d be hard-pressed to find tear-inducing moments on this show. “Mac Finds His Pride” might be the only episode fans can instantly name that produces genuinely emotional scenes. “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain” allows Day to flex his dramatic chops.
He knocks it out of the park, showcasing Charlie’s vulnerabilities and the insecurities that bloomed in place of his absentee father. Day impresses with his versatility, his ability to make you weep one moment and laugh hysterically the next.
CHARLIE: Nothing’s unraveled; we didn’t unravel anything! You’re still you! You’ve always been you!
The fact It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia still surprises us 15 seasons in, and the actors mine new depths in their characters is a testament to this show’s longevity and brilliance.
“Dee Sinks in a Bog” and “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain” continue to delve into identity, with Charlie and Mac navigating that path. Charlie learns he doesn’t need a biological father to “find” himself — he has his found Philly family and a surrogate father in Frank.
Mac’s struggle with identity is one of the fascinating aspects of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. His unrelenting use of labels to find his footing in that identity forces the gang to give him a pep talk. Well, more like a berating in the style of their usual “interventions.”
Whether Mac realizes he can be Irish, gay, and a badass without these labels affecting his life choices remains unknown. Regardless, the show will undoubtedly find unique ways to dig deeper into Mac’s identity and, hopefully, inject him with much-deserved confidence someday.
Despite the years of abuse, vitriol, and outright neglect they’ve hurled at each other, Season 15 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia brings the gang closer together. While it’s a truncated season with only eight episodes, it showcases some of their best work in a golden 16-year run.
Season 15 explores the current sociopolitical and pop culture landscape with panache, biting wit, and top-tier performances. It’s proof positive that this show doesn’t intend to slow down. Even a pandemic won’t drown the Paddy’s Pub gang in a bog.
After all these years, we can find comfort in these hilarious characters that dig their heels in the mud, refuse to adapt to an ever-changing world, and barrel down the rabbit hole of moral bankruptcy. We wouldn’t have it any other way. They may threaten to break up, but, let’s face it: life at Paddy’s Pub will always be the same.
Here’s to a rum-ham-filled future with more bird jokes, more Dennis outbursts, and more failed schemes (and a return of Cricket).
Stray Observations:
- The running gag of waking unconscious people with stew as if the aroma of a hearty soup is enough to stir someone out of an unresponsive state will never get old.
- Watching Frank consume that turd even with the knowledge DeVito probably ate a meatball is enough to make the most stoic person squirm.
- Someone write a half-hour comedy starring Kaitlin Olson and Mary Elizabeth Ellis, please and thank you.
- The nod to Psycho with Charlie, Shelley, and Dee at the end of “Dee Sinks in a Bog” is a masterstroke.
- Of course Frank thought resorting to hydroxychloroquine and other “treatments” would prevent him from getting COVID. He was on Epstein Island for the snorkeling!
- Nobody in the business makes screaming hilarious like Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day — nobody.
- “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain” shows that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia runs on the core five characters and their relationship. You could strip away the extraneous bits and place them in a room with nothing else for 30 minutes, and this series would still be hysterical.
- Episode 8 captures the “American Way” perfectly, and not just due to the Bruce Springsteen song. We sure love disrespecting different cultures while in other countries because ‘Merica.
What did you think of the season finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 15 is now streaming on Hulu.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.