As I sat in my room waiting for the season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to start, I found myself hoping, if not praying, that this season would not be like last season, which was horrible. Luckily, I don’t hold it against the show too much. The first episode this season, “Frank’s Pretty Woman,” actually wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I liked it quite a bit.
It wasn’t a classic episode like “The Gang Goes Jihad” or my personal favorite “Sweet Dee’s Dating a Retarded Person,” but it definitely wasn’t as bad as the pitiful and quite frankly embarrassing episodes like “Mac and Dennis Break Up” or “Mac Fights Gay Marriage.” This season is starting to get back to the show’s roots, back when it was fast-paced, witty, completely absurd and borderline offensive. (Okay, completely offensive.)
But these qualities are what drew fans to the show in the first place. It was completely different from every other comedy show on TV. It wasn’t some lame sitcom like Two and a Half Men with set-up punch lines and plots that we can see coming a mile away. It’s Always Sunny is different. It’s better. It appeals to our most barbaric and socially inappropriate instincts. There’s some part of our human nature that finds it absolutely hilarious when a guy who is possibly mentally challenged drinks a juice box and spits out his food because he’s laughing uncontrollably at cartoons. We know we shouldn’t laugh, but we can’t help it.
Old episodes of It’s Always Sunny used to employ absurd situations that tap-dance on the line of what is or isn’t offensive. The show did this over the years and churned out a lot of fantastic episodes. But then season six came along and changed everything. Season six episodes did not have the absurdity that past episodes were famous for. Instead they relied on awkwardness for cheap laughs. And while awkwardness can be funny at first, it gets boring and uncomfortable very quickly. I can probably count the number of genuine laughs I had during season six on two hands.
While most of the episodes weren’t excessively bad (some were), they just weren’t very funny. But I, along with the rest of the Sunny fan base, am willing to not talk about season six. Season seven is getting back to that absurdity once captivated us. There’s something so volatile and completely hysterical about Charlie projectile vomiting blood all over two people. I am completely disgusted, yet I can’t stop laughing. Later in the episode, Frank’s fiancée, who is (of course) a hooker, overdoses and dies. While any normal person would call an ambulance, what does our favorite gang do? They dump her in the hallway and leave.
This is what I’m talking about; this is what the show should be. We are disgusted by how horrible and selfish these people are and yet we love them for it. This season is greatly exceeding my expectations, and I am so happy that it is. I was worried about whether or not It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia could make a comeback, and it did. Let’s just hope it can keep it up for the rest of the season.
