15x08 The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain

[7.8/10] There’s been an unexpected trend with the more recent seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. More often than not, this vile, cynical, unapologetically transgressive show will end with a note of unexpected sincerity. Maybe it will hit diminishing returns at some point, but it still works on me.

Which is to say that I was unexpectedly moved at Charlie breaking down in the rain, asking his dead father why the man was never there to carry him. Charlie Dey does great work, communicating the legitimate pain in the heart of this sweet little goblin of a man. You don’t really expect this sort of dramatic, personal moment in IASIP, but considering how well and how often the show has done it over the last few years, maybe we should.

What follows, though, is the right blend of optimism and cynicism to cut any treacle. It’s sweet when Frank tells Charlie he’s sorry he’s not his real father, but that he’s always going to be there for him. That sweetness is tempered by the recollection that Frank is himself a strange goblin of a man, and that Charlie seemed headed to a better place without him.

It’s oddly heartwarming when The Gang drives up a big honking truck, resolving not to leave their friend behind, in the moment when he needs them most. That heartwarming moment is tempered by the fact that, as IASIP regularly reminds us, these are terrible people who aren’t the best influence on Charlie or another.

There’s something wholesome about this group deciding that they only make sense in America, in Philly specifically, and want to head back to the place that feels like home. And that wholesomeness is counterbalanced by the fact that they very much live up to the Ugly American stereotypes, and then some, while in the Emerald Isle, and the United States must deal with the return of this particular blend of cruelty and stupidity.

In short, it’s kind of perfect. I haven’t enjoyed this season of IASIP very much. The humor’s been hit or miss, and while the change of scenery to Ireland is a treat as a monotony-breaker, the show hasn’t truly capitalized on it. And yet, if the whole thing was a setup for this closer, I think I can be happy with that. There’s something so true to form about The Gang going away to broaden their horizons, failing at every cultural endeavor they embark upon, and yet finding an odd solace in being their boisterous, uncouth, repugnant, undeniably American selves together. It would be touching if it weren’t so terrible.

The episode’s also well-built in service of that. There’s something parable-esque about The Gang trying to haul the corpse of Charlie’s dad up the mountain, while each one peels off for various reasons, before heading back. Dee getting sick of the “bros before hoes” shtick, Mac finding out he’s Irish and the rest of the group pranked him to make him less insufferable about his identities, Dennis fretting over his “vitruvian back,” and Frank trying to make nice with his surrogate son only to...accidentally give him a bottle full of piss to drink, is the right mix of the ludicrous and the on-brand for each member of The Gang.

There’s a good structure to this one, and bolstered by some beautiful, sweeping shots of the verdant Irish countryside, it gives the season finale a distinctive feel. As is often the case on IASIP, nobody has learned anything or grown from these experiences, but they are ever more themselves, for good or (ninety-nine percent of the time) for ill, and seeing the wider world only reinforces that they have no need for it, or anything it contains outside the hardscrabble confines of Philadelphia. The rest of the world, not just Ireland, should consider themselves lucky.