It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 Episode 5 Review: The Gang Goes to a Dog Track

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 Episode 5 takes “rooting for the underdogs” literally.

Also, the pairings are absolute gold this episode.

Putting the Reynolds family together while Mac and Charlie go off on a random adventure together is always a crowd-pleaser.

It’s a little strange to have two episodes in a row about betting, especially when it’s halfway through the season and the show needs to keep things fresh.

To its credit, this episode doesn’t necessarily feel like hitting the same beat over and over again.

It has the spirit of It’s Always Sunny‘s signature humor, without being too overbearing, unlike the previous episode.

While the story is structurally solid and airtight, some running gags are definitely up to the audience’s discretion as to whether they’re funny or not.

I’m personally not a huge fan of animal-based humor, but I still appreciated the episode overall.

The Trash Twins Return in Full Force

The Reynolds family, as a whole, was the standout of the episode.

Although the storyline is a little strange, these characters have a chance to shine in a way they haven’t done so in this season so far.

Right off the bat, the “trash twins” (Dennis and Dee) already won best dressed in the episode with their ridiculous outfits.

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I’m obsessed with the color clash and flashiness of what they consider “elegant” outfits. It’s the perfect culmination of their pretentious personalities.

The degradation of the twins’ high and mighty morals is impressively executed. Their descent into wild betting and degrading themselves to try to win money is equally believable and hilarious.

Both Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson deliver fantastic performances. They are both strong actors individually, but as a combined force, they’re unstoppable.

Their chemistry as siblings who hate each other but also stick by each other’s side is just as strong as it was from the very first episode of the show.

There’s nothing more entertaining than watching two clueless people reaffirming each other’s absurd decisions.

The culmination of the arc ending in crass animal humor made me cringe more than it made me laugh, but I could see how it might be funny to some people.

Personally, I just found it to be a less exciting iteration of the stale joke from the monkey episode in Season 15.

I also enjoyed the reveal of Frank setting Dee and Dennis up to profit from his children’s misery. Even his own offspring aren’t safe from his businessman-oriented thinking.

All Kinds of Dogs

Mac and Charlie’s storyline, on the other hand, is a little less exciting and less tightly written.

Mac’s desire to live a “raw dog,” hardcore lifestyle is funny at first (though I don’t love that the TikTok mention means this app canonically exists in the universe).

It does get a little repetitive, especially because the novelty of Charlie’s interest in being “raw” fades rather quickly.

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The dog track worker is frankly the least interesting part of the episode. Although I enjoyed the slow unraveling of his story, there was still much to be desired in terms of making the character compelling.

Given the time they spent building out this side character, I couldn’t really empathize with his motivation.

This made his ending rely less on emotional impact and more on shock value, which is never a particularly effective way to conclude a character arc.

Plus, I thought It’s Always Sunny Season 17 Episode 2 already covered the arc of “The Gang follows a guest character down a rabbit hole” pretty effectively already.

I also thought they could’ve done more with the location.

Considering that it’s such a unique setting, the show could’ve taken Charlie and Mac’s storyline in a direction that creatively incorporates the dog race track instead of having them aimlessly wander around.

Still, I did get a few chuckles out of some of Charlie and Mac’s interactions, as their friendship is one of the strangest yet most enjoyable in the show.

The Real Winner of the Race

Overall, this episode featured a much darker sense of humor than the earlier ones in this season. Luckily, it never strays too far off from It’s Always Sunny’s trademark outlandish comedy.

This episode is best watched with an open mind. It incorporates some of the best elements that make the show so great while also pushing the boundaries of the kind of comedy it indulges in.

At the end of the day, none of the characters won, which is how you know you’re watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

What did you think about this episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and come back next week for another review!

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