It’s Always Sunny season 13, episode 7 recap: The Gang Does a Clip Show

In this episode of the FX series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the gang reminisces of the past while their phones update. It’s gimmick time!

That’s right! It’s Always Sunny steps into the “clip show” game with a self-awareness that’s both predictable and comforting — much like clip shows themselves. Who doesn’t like reliving the glory days? Well, as it turns out, Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) isn’t so crazy about it. He sees reminiscing as a tired gimmick for people who’ve run out of ideas.

At the same time, some of Its Always Sunny‘s greatest moments are recalled, such as Frank (Danny DeVito) crawling naked out of a couch. Or how about Dee Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson) and her offensive characters like “Taiwan Tammy”? We also see a bunch of times where she’s been hurt, like when she fell headlong into the car, or when Frank set her on fire. As Frank says, physical comedy is timeless.

Charlie also provided some epic moments for It’s Always Sunny. Remember when he went psycho in a mall and bit Santa’s neck in front of children? We also see him vomit fake blood on his date in the back of a fancy limo. We’re reminded of Dennis and Mac’s (Rob McElhenney) infamous exchange about “the implication,” and see Dee as an ostrich. Charlie attempts to speak Chinese at one point, and we see numerous occasions where characters ask, “What’s happening?”.

More from FX

• Reservation Dogs: Creator Sterlin Harjo looks back on making the series
• Recap and review of Reservation Dogs season 3, episode 10: “Dig”
• Recap and review of Reservation Dogs season 3, episode 9: “Elora’s Dad”
• Highlights and review of Reservation Dogs season 3, episode 8: “Send It”
• What is the status of Welcome to Wrexham season 2?

Then there’s a great Seinfeld spoof of their famous “contest” episode. We see Charlie as Kramer,
Mac and Dennis as Jerry, Frank as George. However, rather than their contest involving who can abstain from a certain activity, theirs is about who can do it the most.  Ultimately, the clip show leaves out innumerable class It’s Always Sunny moments.  Of course, that’s one of the pitfalls of the premise, much like a band’s “Best of” album can leave out some of their best tunes.

As the gang proceeds, things start getting mixed up. Dennis informs them that how you remember something becomes reality. Some weird and startling revelations are made. Charlie apparently remembers things by peeking in on his past in the memory itself (sort of a dream within a dream). So, at one point Charlie sees two Charlies, and the waitress is remembered as having his baby. Somehow Frank has hair and extremely long legs.

There’s also a strange confusion about whether Dee had a cut after taking a spill on the bar’s floor. Ultimately, the episode ends with a nice nod to Inception and it’s famous spinning top gimmick. In other words, this wasn’t just a Golden Girls-style clip show — not that there’s anything wrong with that!

That’s it for this Its Always Sunny recap! What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!