It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 recap: “The Gang Gets Cursed”

In season 16, episode 3 of the FX series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the story begins with a bizarre turn of events. The infamous gang from Paddy’s Pub finds themselves entangled in a series of peculiar and unfortunate incidents.

From curses to bizarre encounters, their lives take a chaotic and unpredictable turn. Let’s delve into the misadventures that unfold as Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee, and Frank navigate this strange and cursed chapter of their lives.

This episode of It’s Always Sunny begins when Mac excitedly announces that the popular reality show Bar Rescue will be making an appearance at Paddy’s Pub. While Mac is thrilled about the opportunity, Charlie worries that the show might portray him in an unfavorable light, fearing he will be made to look foolish or stupid.

Meanwhile, Dennis finds himself struggling to recall a simple word, which leads to frustration. To make matters worse, Dee’s face suddenly becomes deformed, adding to the growing sense of unease within the group.

What the heck is going on?

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 recap — Dennis’ word trouble, Dee’s deformed face, Frank’s bloody egg, and Cricket’s curse

Adding to the strange occurrences, Frank discovers a bloodied egg, leaving everyone perplexed. Soon after, Dee mentions how her neighbor, played by Rhea Perlman (and, apparently, the character’s named “Bertha Fussy”), may have put a curse on her.

Bertha offers Dee some brownies while asking her to turn down her video game volume. Dee presents Bertha with a trophy, playfully awarding her the title of “C*** of the Year.”

Understandably, Bertha regards Dee as a bad person and ominously (though, again, understandably) hints that bad things will be coming her way (in the popular sense of karma). So what does it mean?

Frank’s behavior takes a dark turn when he brutally kills a seagull with a bat. As tensions escalate, Cricket (David Hornsby), a recurring pathetic character, places a literal curse on Mac after he dismisses Cricket’s business proposition.

Ignoring the warning signs, Mac dismisses the curse as superstition, but little does he know what lies ahead. Feeling the weight of the hypothetical curse, Charlie suggests that people traditionally make birthday wishes, just in case superstitions hold some truth.

Meanwhile, Dennis becomes convinced that Dee is suffering from Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes facial paralysis.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 recap — Bertha’s cat, Chase Utley, and the monkey paw Big Mac fiasco

As the gang continues to face strange occurrences, a black cat escapes from Bertha’s apartment. The cat, named Maureen, adds another layer of intrigue to the unfolding events — especially when Dennis’s deceased ex-wife, Maureen Ponderosa (Catherine Reitman), was a woman who increasingly identified as a cat before her untimely death.

Meanwhile, Mac and Cricket find themselves in a van, where Mac proudly displays a monkey paw he found, believing it to bring good luck. Next, Mac’s surprise scheduled meetup with Chase Utley, a former professional baseball player, takes an unexpected turn when his nerves trigger an old-timey film accent.

Mac is embarrassed because Chase believed the fan letter was from a kid, so he spontaneously invents a miniature version of himself, claiming it to be “Little Mac” while he is the “Big Mac”, (another It’s Always Sunny play on Mac being related to the McDonald’s fast-food franchise).

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 recap — Uncle Jack’s birthday, Maureen’s ashes, Cricket’s gift, and the Monkey’s mysterious past

During Uncle Jack’s (Andrew Friedman) birthday celebration, the gang discusses the curse of the seagull. Charlie’s mother, Bonnie Kelly (Lynne Marie Stewart) suggests beheading the seagull and wearing its skull as a means to break the curse.

A bit later, as if further commenting on death ceremonies, Dennis reveals that he has Maureen’s ashes, leading Dee and Frank to assume it is a trophy commemorating his kill. However, the truth behind Maureen’s ashes is yet to be uncovered.

Later, because Mac mentioned wanting to find a kid to pose as his own for the Chase Utley letter, Cricket brings him an adult man nicknamed “Kid” (C.J. Hoff), adding to the ever-growing cast of unusual characters. Mac also stumbles upon a dead monkey, which turns out to be the same monkey that had previously replaced Dee.

As the gang becomes entangled in a web of mysteries, Mac presents Chase with the monkey paw, believing it to bring good luck. The situation becomes even more chaotic when Chase takes the monkey paw, believing that it truly is a good luck charm.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 recap — Conclusion

What started as an ordinary day for the gang at Paddy’s Pub, quickly spiraled into a whirlwind of bizarre and unfortunate events. From curses and deformed faces to bloody eggs and mysterious trophies, their lives took a turn for the surreal.

As the curse unraveled, it became evident that there was more than meets the eye. With the arrival of Bar Rescue and the absence of the gang, their fate hangs in the balance.

Will they break free from the curse’s grip, or will misfortune continue to haunt them? Only time will tell in this extraordinary chapter of the Gang’s misadventures…well, actually, it turns out that the monkey’s corpse fumes had been making members of the gang sick in different ways.

So, basically, it was not anything supernatural. The moral of the story: If there is a dead monkey in your bar, it’s a good idea to locate it and throw it out, then clean the area free from any vectors and other unhealthy side effects.

Gross!

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You can watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu.