It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 4 recap: “Frank vs. Russia”

In “Frank vs. Russia” (FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 4), the gang finds themselves in a series of absurd and hilarious situations. The episode begins with the iconic song Burning Heart by Survivor playing in the background as Charlie desperately tries to wake up Frank.

Meanwhile, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) gives Frank a motivational pep talk, emphasizing that everything he needs is already inside him. Flashback to two days earlier: Dee “mistakenly” has her phone left with a guy, which leads to her planning a second encounter with him.

Mac seeks relationship advice from Frank regarding a love interest named “Johnny”, who Mac has never actually met or spoken to. In a surprising twist, probably less than halfway through the episode, it is revealed that Johnny, who has the ability to control Mac’s anal beads, is actually Dennis.

Though Mac refuses to believe him (it could either be Mac’s stupidity, his feelings of denial, or some exotic blend of both). Frank, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the discussion on Mac’s anal beads and finds the topic distasteful.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 4 recap  — The “SINNED” System

Charlie, with considerable determination, enters Frank into a chess tournament against a Russian grandmaster (Endre Hules). Uncle Jack makes another appearance, providing them with spy glasses.

He is revealed to have a side business running an ice cream truck, which ironically doesn’t even sell ice cream. He uses the truck to spy on the chess game, while Charlie coaches Frank.

At the chess tournament, Charlie becomes upset when someone tells him he can’t drink beer. Meanwhile, Dennis shares his foolproof system for attracting men with Mac and Dee, called the “SINNED” System (A play on the “DENNIS” system from previous It’s Always Sunny lore).

It involves suppressing instincts, inflating the ego, needing the man’s power, negating his power, engaging physically, and playing the role of a mother figure. Dee’s attempts to utilize the “Sinned” System leads to comical mishaps, where she ends up roofie-ing herself and acquiring a mystery phone.

Dennis eventually re-reveals that he is “Johnny” and had been activating Mac’s anal beads previously, but Mac mistakenly still believes it was actually Johnny. This misunderstanding leads to a fight between Mac and Dennis over the phone, causing the anal bead buzzer given to Frank to break.

In a twist of fate, the broken buzzer accidentally prompts Frank to make the winning move in the chess game, resulting in a victory against the Russian grandmaster. The episode ends with the gang celebrating Frank’s unexpected triumph.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 4 recap — The real-life connection.

“Frank vs. Russia” showcases the gang’s outrageous antics and the unpredictable outcomes of their bizarre schemes, delivering another entertaining installment of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. However, some watching the episode may just find it a bit too far-fetched, which is part of what makes the episode weird: It’s based on a real conspiracy theory about a chess player.

While it doesn’t pay to name names in this recap, here’s a Buzzfeed article that delves into the origins of the conspiracy theory against a certain prominent chess player, (who some seem hellbent on discrediting based on how quickly he rose to prominence). In other words, this is yet another instance of truth perhaps being stranger than fiction, though that doesn’t stop It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia from incorporating some of that strangeness into its own universe.

What did you think of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16 episode 4? Let us know in the comments below!

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