#It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Finale Defines The Past, Present, And Future Of The Gang

When we last saw the gang, they had split up a bit due to growing annoyed with one another on their Irish vacation. Mac (Rob McElhenney) has gone to try and join a seminary and become a Catholic priest, while Charlie has finally met his biological father, Shelley Kelly (Colm Meaney) and wants to get to know him better. Dee has a hot date with a doctor, which means Frank (Danny DeVito) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) are left on their own in the dilapidated castle Dennis rented. 

Frank enlists Dennis’ help in trying to separate Charlie and Shelley, bringing them closer than they’ve ever been. Dennis even gives Frank a little kiss on his head, in one of the few genuine moments of affection ever shown between members of the gang. Dennis thanks Frank for making him the man he is … though considering how sinister they both are, it’s not really a good thing. It’s kind of sweet, in a twisted way, given that all three of the people Frank thought were his children turned out to be someone else’s. 

Mac thinks that he’s bonding with his new priesthood buddy when things take a dark turn. On “The Always Sunny Podcast,” McElhenney revealed that they had to change the plot of an early episode (“Charlie Got Molested”), which featured a pedophile priest. They changed the priest to a teacher, but now, 15 years later, they’ve finally come back around to the concept. Mac thinks that Brother Gus (Mark Prendergast) is another gay man, but instead discovers he’s actually a pedophile. Mac is shaken, his last shot at identity tainted. Meanwhile, Dee gets stuck in a bog while looking for peat moss to burn in the castle to cover up the smells from Dennis’ illness last episode. The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) happens by and only agrees to help her if Dee can say her name. Of course, Dee cannot, and only eventually guesses the name while throwing out random ones. The Waitress ends up getting stuck in the bog instead, and Dee leaves her to her fate.

Frank and Dennis come up with an elaborate plan to host a “banquet of humiliation” for Charlie and Shelley, but Frank messes it up by putting poop in Shelley’s soup. Charlie calls his bluff and forces Frank to eat one of the “special meatballs” himself. When he can’t, Charlie tells them that he’s staying in Ireland to make cheese with his dad, and they leave the castle. Dee, covered in mud, stops them, and Shelley believes that she is the banshee who appears before all Kelly men before they die. Things are looking grim for the gang, who have never been driven quite this far apart.