Brigette Re-Watches Seasons 6-10 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Recently, I've finished re-watching all ten seasons of Sunny, and I'm a little surprised at how I feel. I've always loved the show, but I always felt it was sort of hit or miss. Some episodes were hilarious, and others were just meh. Well, I was wrong. Almost all are great, okay? In ten years, there's maybe, like, four episodes that I don't really like, and many of those even have their moments. (Dennis's compliment to Mac in "The Gang Dines Out": "Your hair looks small.") I also have a newfound respect for the way stories are scaffolded, referencing previous story lines and picking up right where a reoccurring character left off. A lot of thought doesn't go into some episodes, but all episodes. This is clear to me now.

Seasons 6-10 specifically is when risk-taking, in my opinion, is most apparent. While the show used to be about pushing the boundaries of what a normal sitcom could look like, in the second half of the series, they're pushing the boundaries that they made for themselves, playing with how the show can feel new, but also feel the same. I've got thoughts on this-- especially relating to the Chardee of it all (OMG I have so much to say, it's like, ridiculous)-- but first, here are my selects for the best of seasons 6-10:

Season 6 winner: episode 3, "The Gang Buys a Boat"

This episode provides two very iconic moments: First, "the implication." Dennis gets funnier as he gets more sociopathic, and he really lets it fly with this scenario. Usually, the gang goes along with crazy stuff the others say, so Mac's disturbed response makes it all the more funny. The second iconic moment is Inflatable Guy dancing with Dee. Anyone who watches Sunny can't drive by one of those inflatables without remembering this scene and laughing. I do every time, and I know you do too. Other greatness includes the "Diddy Boat" concept, Charlie fishing out the creepy dolls from the water, and the Steve Windwood reference. (Dennis & Dee's love of Steve Windwood is one of my favorite running gags. Don't ask why.)

Season 6 runner up: episode 7, "Who Got Dee Pregnant?"

Season 7 winner: episode 7, "CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games"

Season 7 has a very special place in my heart because I love Fat Mac so dearly. There's also a lot of dancing, and a lot of Fat Mac dancing, so I just want to say that.

"Chardee MacDennis" takes the win for season 7. The subjective questions (what is the greatest band of all time? Chumbawamba) and bizarre rules makes it a classic (like when Frank eats cake ingredients to get released from a cage). The whole episode takes place in the bar, so it's one of those where they're all interacting in a small space, which usually produces gold (see season 5's "The Gang Hits the Road"). Not only is there great character stuff here, but the world of their inner circle gets fleshed out even more. Dennis is asshole. Why Charlie hate? You guys, someone actually wrote down all the rules, which is why I love the internet. We can all play it ourselves!

Season 7 runner up: episode 2, "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore" (That "Vacation" montage seriously rivals season 2's "You're the Best Around" for best Sunny montage ever.)

Season 8 Winner: episode 8, "Charlie Rules the World"

The Gang's reality rapidly changes as their whole lives get taken over by a computer game, and Dennis begins to question what reality even is. Frank argues it's a turtle's dream in space. This is one of those episodes where everything just holds itself together so nicely and is so funny. ("If Charlie ever rules the world, I'll blow myself.") The everyday life of the characters is completely altered, and you're not really sure how things will normalize themselves.  This is also one of the first episodes that I would classify as experimental, mostly thanks to Dennis's experience in the soundproof chamber where he actually does blow himself. Greatness from this episode includes Charlie & Dee's "marriage," Dennis's bad British accent, and Frank's avatar where he's a big-breasted lady. Sometimes things just sorta end.

Season 8 runner up: episode 4, "Charlie & Dee Find Love"

Season 9 Winner: I love season 9 so much, this is like asking who do you love more, your mom or your dad or your siblings? This season was not only the most experimental, but it had the best DVD menu sequence. The whole thing was just ART, okay?  So I'm cheating & saying it's a tie:

Episode 1: "The Gang Broke Dee"
Episode 3: "The Gang Desperately Tries to Win an Award"
Episode 7: "The Gang Gets Quarantined"

Obviously, the meta winks, observations on the television climate, and Charlie's songs in "Award" make it one of the most smart and entertaining episodes they've ever done. "Quarantined" brings back Boyz II Men harmonizing, and everything Glenn does is brilliant. Like, every single line of his, I'm crying.

I think "The Gang Broke Dee" has a slight edge though because of the journey. So much happens. Dee goes from despondent and practically dead to arrogant and "thriving." We learn that although Dennis makes fun of Dee constantly, if she left him, he would lose his mind. (Was that sweet? Creepy? Both?) I think the stand-up Dee does is genuinely hilarious. And the first time I watched this episode, I was like, "what is happening?" I honestly had no idea how it was going to end. Plus, there's great montages. And Kaitlin Olson is the funniest woman on the planet.

Okay, one thing does confuse me about the end though. I get that the guys thought they were "giving Dee perspective" while having fun themselves, but how were they sure she wouldn't just murder them all? And why did Dee continue to hang out with them after that? I can honestly say that I've never been offended by anything on Sunny, but the constant abuse of Dee does actually upset sometimes. But this is already freakishly long, so that's all I'll say about that for now.

Season 9 runner up: episode 6, "The Gang Saves the Day"
Second runner up: episode 5, "Mac Day"

Season 10 winner: episode 4, "Charlie Work"

Season 10 runner up: episode 6, "The Gang Misses the Boat"

I'm cheating again. "Charlie Work" was brilliant, creatively and as a character piece, and I think it was the best episode of season 10, but I'm gonna focus on the runner up, because I think that was the most important episode of the season. And hold on, cus I get really carried away.

I think it was around season three when I secretly began shipping Charlie & Dee. I really wanted Charlie and the Waitress together, but I couldn't help thinking, what if? Charlie & Dee just seem like a team. They're the kids while Mac and Dennis are the mom and dad. (Franks' the family dog, obviously.) They're the ones who are easiest to empathize with, the underdogs of the gang. And as a side note, Kaitlin and Charlie just have amazing chemistry as actors. They're hilarious together.

But none of these reasons are why the Charlie & Dee hook-up make me so jazzed. It's not the fact that it happened, but how it happened that's keeping the wheels spinning in my brain: I mean, why was it so SWEET???

Sunny is not a sweet show. Sunny is not a show where characters connect emotionally. I guess there's been stuff with Dennis and Mac's friendship, but it's always been funny. The sweetest (and strangest) moment so far was the surprisingly moving Up sequence in "The Gang Saves the Day," but that was all in Charlie's head. This moment was serious for a second, and it was real. Charlie and Dee were connecting. They didn't hook up because they were drunk or sad, like other television shows would do. This was a sober, conscious act, after enjoying hanging out together and apologizing--in their own way-- for being crappy friends to each other.

This should have felt weird in the world of Sunny, but the weirdest thing was that it didn't. It was more like, "Oh, well yeah, of course." One reviewer said he wanted Charlie & Dee to be a "demented Monica and Chandler." The guy on Afterbuzz said it was like "Jim and Pam." I wouldn't go that far, but I get what he means. So this wasn't just in my head for once-- others thought it worked and had warm fuzzies, which means RCG were going about this in a very specific way. BUT WHY?

I really want to know about the conversations in the writers' room during all of this. Charlie and the Waitress is arguably the "emotional center" of the show-- Charlie has wanted this for ten years, so we want it for him. But for a second, he wants something else, and it's something that might be better for him. Not to mention, this "something else" is Dee, so we've got a relationship dynamic shift amongst two of the five core. How could this permanently shift things in the entire group? Could it possibly change the whole flavor of the show-- in a bad way? Do you see how the Chardee kiss was the biggest risk they've ever taken? Not the stuff about abortion, or jihad, or disabilities, but that moment of connection between those two characters.

I don't know about you guys, but after ten years of rooting for Charlie and The Waitress, I'm conflicted. By the end of season 8's "Charlie and Dee Find Love," Charlie had made the Waitress dependent on him, but he still hadn't made her like him. He gets closer to the Waitress the more he brings her down. I always thought that was the only way he could ever get her-- the Waitress would completely devolve to even consider Charlie-- and I'd be perfectly happy watching that happen. But now, we have this moment where feelings are mutual. Dee liked Charlie, and he was making her feel good about herself--he was lifting her up. None of the characters have ever lifted Dee up before, have they? (Let's ignore the fact that Dee and Charlie actually would have bombed at open mic night). I'm not sure if the Waitress would ever say to Charlie, "You're calming me down" or "We make a pretty good team." So how is this supposed to change our perspective on the Waitress stuff??? What do RCG want us to feel?! I reject that they haven't given it that much thought. I reject it!

Some think the scene was just to show that Charlie and Dee could have a healthy relationship without the gang, and that's it, like it was supposed to be funny-tragic. But the way this show goes, never bringing up the incident again would be unnatural. Much like Rickety Cricket's priesthood turned to homelessness turned to half-burnt face, nothing is truly stagnant. The show does "reset" itself, but never completely. If it did, there wouldn't be a show. Mac slowly became gay (and in love with Dennis). Dennis gradually became more and more sociopathic. Frank definitely devolved into an animal. Things do change on this show. Past story lines and characters are constantly brought up. Nothing ever dies. And this new element to Charlie & Dee's relationship is just way too big and way too fun to stay buried.

Sunny has been renewed through season 12, and they've said before that they'll make it as long as people want to watch, so what if it goes for 20 years? Lots of peaks and valleys could be covered during that time, and with this twist, they cracked open their own box even more. I'm not saying that the Charlie & Dee moment was tear-jerking and now they're in love (clearly, the whole thing freaked them out). But there is potential now for more emotional stuff to happen, and I really, really want to see how they would do it, mostly because I can't predict how they would do it. Sunny is demented and cartoony-strange, and I have no idea how "love" between two of the main characters would look. I want to see something I haven't seen before, something only they could write. I also like that now I'm emotionally conflicted about a love triangle on this show, of all shows. I like being surprised like that.

So, keep this Chardee thing going, please. Keep experimenting and doing weird stuff, please. Keep pushing the walls of your own box, please. And can we have a dream sequence, please? I feel like this is a prayer. I'm aware that none of the writers are reading this blog. But if Sunny can stay strange and dark while continuing to surprise us, if it can allow us to feel a little more as humanity is drawn out of these psychotic characters, then Rob and Charlie and Glenn will win at television. It will be no easy feat, but I have faith! (?)

I'm ready for season 11!