It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: The 13 Best Episodes
GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.
Now in its 13th season, FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has had its cast of characters do some incredibly despicable things over the years. From exploiting the gas crisis, to getting drunk on planes, to putting on a rock opera that's just a marriage proposal ploy, the show contains some hilarious and truly memorable episodes.
The show follows the owners--and employee--of Paddy's Pub in Philadelphia: Ronald "Mac" McDonald, Dee Reynolds, Dennis Reynolds, Frank Reynolds, and Charlie Kelly. Together, this group of friends is toxic and ruins the lives of everyone around them through malicious schemes and plots to try and make themselves seem like better people.
In honor of the show's 13th season, the folks at GameSpot came together to debate which episodes are the best. Obviously, this is no easy task because so many of these episodes are amazing.
After plenty of debate, looking at every scheme, every violent encounter, and every hilarious moment, we figured out the best 13 episodes from the series. Let us know what your favorite episodes are in the comment section below.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia currently airs Wednesdays at 10 PM on FXX.
13. The Gang Gives Frank An Intervention
Season 5, Episode 4
Frank has gone off the wagon with his drinking so Dee, Dennis, and Charlie want to give him an intervention. Meanwhile, Frank is trying to have sex with his sister-in-law, who Mac is pursuing as well. However, Frank settles for her daughter, Gail the Snail, who is simply the worst (and one of the show's best side characters, despite being underused). This episode is the point where Frank really goes off the deep end--Season 2 Frank is very different from what the character eventually becomes--and once he starts plumbing the depths of his depravity here, he'll never stop. This episode is a great example of the group dynamic, which involved getting as drunk as possible (this time with wine in soda cans) and berating each other.
12. The Gang Wrestles For The Troops
Season 5, Episode 7
This episode has the first appearances of both Da Maniac and Ben the Soldier. Mac, Charlie, and Dennis decide nothing is more American than wrestling and decide to put on a wrestling show for the troops. They book Da Maniac, played by the late Roddy Piper, a deranged wrestler with a heart of gold who ends up getting arrested before the show. Meanwhile, Dee meets her online boyfriend Ben but passes him off to Artemis when Ben shows up in a wheelchair after spraining his ankle. One of the best moments of the episode is when Charlie, Mac, and Dennis come to the wrestling ring as "The Birds of War," singing their entrance with drawn on abs. It's one of the few times the majority of the gang actually tries to accomplish something where they aren't benefiting from it in some way and gives the viewer some hope that these people aren't all that bad.
Also check out Season 9, Episode 4: "Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare"
11. Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre
Season 8, Episode 3
This is the only episode on this list where it really helps to have watched previous episodes revolving around the relationship of Dennis and his ex-wife Maureen Ponderosa. The Wedding Massacre all takes place in flashback form as Frank, Dennis, Charlie, and Mac are telling the story of what happened at the Maureen Ponderosa/Liam McPoyle wedding, which ended like a zombie movie. It's a combination of two major antagonists in the gang's lives that haven't crossed over before. It's tonally a bit different than a traditional Always Sunny episode, as it's darker and a tad creepy, but it works. This episode is a pivotal point in Maureen's storyline, right before she begins transitioning into a cat. Plus it's always fun to spend time with the whole McPoyle clan--not least the raving mad Pappy McPoyle, played for some reason by none other than Guillermo del Toro.
Also check out Season 6, Episodes 1 & 2: "Mac Fights Gay Marriage" and "Dennis Gets Divorced."
10. Paddy's Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens
Season 5, Episode 8
While the series had already been on the air for five years at the time, The original TV spot for the "Kitten Mittens" episode went viral, as a cat wearing socks tried to walk across a table as Charlie looked on. In the actual episode, everyone in the gang tries to develop products to market Paddy's Pub, which leads them to The Lawyer (played again by Brian Unger). This episode sets up a couple recurring gags, like Charlie believing he's a lawyer or "man of the law" and Frank trying to sell an egg dyed green as a stress ball and "jumping off point." The episode also has one of the best sight gags in the series, with Mac's "D**k towel," a crudely drawn penis on a shower towel. It's a stand-alone episode that's just moment after moment of really solid comedy writing.
9. The Gang Broke Dee
Season 9, Episode 1
For eight seasons, the gang has been brutal to Dee Reynolds, and at the start of Season 9, she cracks like the shell of an egg that she would lay (because she is a bird). Mac, Charlie, and Frank try to lift her spirits by encouraging her to try stand-up comedy again. She actually does well for herself. While this is happening, Dennis tries to hook her up with a "select," a mediocre man Dee can settle down with. The turn at the end episode is outstanding and unbelievably mean. It's so malicious toward Dee, and it ends up breaking Dennis, for very different reasons. While it's an extremely cold-hearted episode, it's amazing to see the depths these characters will go just to one-up each other.
8. Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare
Season 2, Episode 3
Right after Danny Devito joined the cast as Frank Reynolds, Always Sunny started finding its footing, as the series offered more of a variety in how the gang split up into different alliances and they began to get more depraved than ever. "Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare" is a great early example of this. As the title suggests, Dennis and Dee quit their jobs to milk the welfare system--which leads them to become crack addicts--while Charlie and Mac spend all of Frank's money in his secret bank account. This episode sets up a few reoccuring things in always Sunny, like Dennis and Dee's addiction problems and Frank's casual racism. It's actually a great starting point for the series, as it gives the audience a greater understanding of how far these characters are willing to go in order to please their own egos, even if it means turning to addiction so they don't have to work anymore.
7. A Very Sunny Christmas
Season 6, Episode 13
Originally a straight-to-video release and added a year later to Season 6, this 43-minute episode gives the audience plenty of insight into the gang's childhood and why they're all such damaged people. As kids, Frank would buy himself what Dennis and Dee wanted for Christmas and rub it in their faces. Mac learns his family would steal gifts from other families. Charlie learns his mother was a prostitute that had sex with men dressed like Santa Claus. Also, there's a claymation sequence that is bonkers, and one of the top Sunny gags ever, involving a stark naked, glistening Frank bursting from the bowels of a saggy leather couch in the middle of an office holiday party full of strangers. While this episode tends to be overlooked, it is crucial to understanding these characters, as nowhere else do we see a better blueprint for who these characters are and where they came from.
6. The Gang Solves The Gas Crisis
Season 4, Episode 2
The gang is always coming up with schemes, none of which are good on paper nor do they play out as planned. "The Gang Solves The Gas Crisis" sees Mac, Dennis, and Charlie selling barrels of gasoline to people door-to-door in order to profit from the high gas prices at the time. Meanwhile, Frank and Dee try to besmirch Bruce Mathis (Dee and Dennis's real father) after he plans on donating the late Barbara Reynolds' inheritance. This episode starts the trend of Charlie as the "wild card" of the group, as he dresses up like a Texas oil man, tries to seduce a banker, and throws a fireball at Mac's head. "The Gang Solves The Gas Crisis" sets the trend for how the group's schemes will turn out--poorly--but it delivers the idea that they can work together, despite being despicable people. Out of all of the schemes the gang has come up with throughout the series, this one tops the list.
Also check out Season 8, Episode 2: "The Gang Recycles Their Trash"
5. The Gang Beats Boggs
Season 10, Episode 1
Throughout its 13 seasons, Always Sunny had plenty of road trip episodes where the gang leaves the bar to go on adventures. The best of them all is "The Gang Beats Boggs." With Mac acting as commissioner, the gang goes on a cross-country flight in order to try and beat Wade Boggs' record of drinking 70 beers in one flight. Meanwhile, Frank wants to start "The Air Sex Society," by getting it on with someone on the flight. Where the episode shines is in the group dynamic. The gang is reved up for their plan, but as the episode goes on, one by one, they give up or find something they deem more interesting to focus on. This is a repeating trend throughout the series, and an element we've seen before, but no other episode does it as well as "The Gang Beats Boggs," as it contains this all within a tight location, weaving multiple storylines, and keeping the dialogue comedic.
Also check out Season 13, Episode 3: "The Gang Beats Boggs: Ladies Reboot"
4. Charlie Work
Season 10, Episode 4
Not only is "Charlie Work" a hilarious and chaotic mess (in the best way possible), but it is shot beautifully, with plenty of long, single-shot takes following Charlie throughout the bar. In the episode, Charlie learns that the health inspector is on her way to inspect Paddy's Pub, so Charlie kicks into high gear to make sure the bar is up to code. However, while this is happening, the rest of the gang has a convoluted scheme involving live chickens, airline miles, and steaks. Charlie has to make sure the health inspector isn't wise to the scheme, all while keeping her none-the-wiser. The episode shows that Charlie is actually incredibly competent as one of the owners, and one of the best gags of the episode is set up right under your nose the entire time. It gives the audience a whole new perspective on the character, and you'll come to respect him more.
3. "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System
Season 5, Episode 10
It's well-established now that Dennis Reynolds is a full-blown sociopath, but it was this 2009 episode that really defined how awful the character is. Dennis explains to the gang his technique for seducing women, which involves Demonstrating his value, Engaging her physically, Nurturing her dependence, Neglecting her emotionally, Inspiring hope, and Separating entirely. A good portion of this system relies on Dennis making threatening phone calls as a disgruntled neighbor. We also learn about the M.A.C. System, which is just Mac trying to swoop in after Dennis leaves these women. This episode is a big turn for the character. Instead of being a typical scumbag who uses women, we learn that he's a straight-up monster who plays a game to inflate his own self-worth. You'll never look at Dennis the same way again. Fun fact: The pharmacist Dennis dates in this episode is Glenn Howerton's wife in real life.
2. Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games
Season 7, Episode 7
Without anything fun to do, the gang introduces Frank to a convoluted board/drinking game they created, Chardee MacDennis. Based on board games they loved as children--combined with their love of alcohol--the gang's homebrew tabletop game is pure insanity and the whole goal of the game is to belittle the losers. It's one of the more bizarre episodes and shows that this group thrives on being awful to other people, even if it's to each other. The episode expands on the relationships between the characters and delivering a really fun plot, while never leaving the bar. More importantly, it's one of the most light-hearted episodes in the series, with the endgame of the gang not being anything too crazy.
Also check out Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo (Season 11, Episode 1)
1. "The Nightman Cometh"
Season 4, Episode 13
In the Season 4 finale, Charlie and the gang decide to put on a rock opera based on Charlie's song "Night Man" from Season 3. The opera's story revolves around a young boy who must stop the Night Man in order to win the heart of a princess of a coffee shop. He does this by turning into the Day Man. There's a huge turn at the end, as Charlie appears and asks the Waitress--who is in the audience--to marry him. While it's undeniably one of the funniest episodes, especially when Frank--who plays the Troll--can't get the lyrics right, it's incredibly dark when you realize that this could be the story of Charlie, as a young boy, escaping the clutches of his Uncle Jack. It's a prime example of taking a character who the audience tends to perceive as dumb and showing another side to him, as Charlie is--in many ways--a musical genius, even if the content of the music is disturbing.
Also check out "Sweet Dee's Dating a R****ded Person" (Season 3, Episode 9)