It’s always sunny in Philadelphia The show is in its sixteenth season and counting, holding the record for longest live-action sitcom ever. During those fifteen-plus years, the FX series managed to give audiences a show that ostensibly looked like a traditional sitcom, but let its characters go wild with the wildest shenanigans imaginable. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia They thrive on aggression and excesses while getting away with it because no matter what horrible things the gang does, it always comes back to bite them.
The gang has done some pretty dangerous things over the decades, but one early episode of the show is the most important when sibling Dennis (glen howerton) and Dee (Caitlin Olson), come up with what they think is the smartest way ever to curry favor with the federal government.
A History of the Gang’s Most Dangerous Moments in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia It doesn’t start out mildly and then take risks with the storyline as time goes on. Oh no, the series has been bogged down from the start with every distasteful storyline they could come up with. Dennis, Dee, Mike and the others (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (charlie day) and Frank (danny devito) will not hesitate to put themselves or others in physical danger if it means they will gain something from it.
You name it and they make it. In one episode Frank sets Dee on fire – not once, but twice – and Charlie records it all, trying to get famous. When the friends found a baby in a dumpster in one episode, they decided to keep it and use it as a model. They once kidnapped a restaurant critic so they could give Paddy’s Pub a good review. Dee fakes a baby’s death in an attempt to evade an audit. They even broke into a home and held them captive while they demolished their house in an attempt to become home remodeling experts. Yet all of this pales in comparison to the brilliant idea that Dee and Dennis come up with to produce crack cocaine for welfare payments.
Dee and Dennis decide to live on welfare
The episode is the third entry in the series It’s always sunny in Philadelphia‘s second season. In this episode, Frank now runs Paddy’s Bar, and Dee and Dennis are tired of being bossed around, and they decide to quit. As they walk out, a perfect title card pops up on screen: “Dee and Dennis go on welfare.” They decide to be unemployed, at least for now, while they take time to live out their dreams. They will definitely work hard! Dennis is going to be a veterinarian and Dee is going to be a Broadway actor. Then Dee learns that she will get $400 a week in free handouts from the government for nothing. “That’s more money than we make in the bar,” Dennis said in shock. “Okay, new plan. We’re going to keep losing jobs.”
The next time we see the siblings, they’re standing on the porch listening Biz MarkeyWhile playing “Just Friends” on the speaker, drinking wine from a brown paper bag, enjoying the life of being unemployed. Some racial connotations are implied here, It’s always sunny in Philadelphia As we all know, it has been done and will be done many times in this episode. Mike saw them, and he became the voice of reason for all of them, telling them they couldn’t live like this because unemployment was over. Dennis wasn’t worried. When that happens, they’re left to live on welfare. “You can’t go on benefits!” Mike yelled. “It’s reserved for people in need, you know, like poor people in need.” (Look at you, Mike, acting like an adult.) Dee and Dennis sing along to the music, ignoring him completely.
Dee and Dennis go to the unemployment office, where we see stereotypes like fat people and black people sleeping in chairs. There Mike and Charlie make their own plans, thinking they can catch people hanging out there and make them work at the bar for free for tax breaks. Mike throws a tantrum at Dee and Dennis again, telling them they can’t get welfare because it’s reserved for people who need it, like drug addicts and the mentally handicapped. “Mike, we’ve settled it,” Dennis said. Then Dee pulled out a bicycle helmet and put it on backwards. The siblings confidently walked up to the counter, and Dennis brazenly said to the lady at the counter: “Hi, I’m a recovering drug addict, and this is my mentally handicapped sister under my care. Please give me some benefits.” May be What’s wrong?
Dee and Dennis’ Accidental Drug Addiction
Surprisingly, the lady at the benefits office wasn’t convinced. She told Dennis that they needed documentation from a doctor proving Dee’s disability and a blood test to prove Dennis’ drug addiction. After leaving the office, Dee was angry. Benefit was key to her break into Broadway. Dennis didn’t know what they were supposed to do. Dee does. “If they want to fight, we can too. Let’s go get some cocaine.”
Dennis then drives them to a rough neighborhood where they park and discuss Dee’s doctor’s appointment. When a tall black man walked up to Dennis’ window, they jumped from shock and stammered, “You scared us. Oh, it’s not because you’re black. We’re not racist.” The man by the window is a drug dealer. When he asked Dennis to put the window down, he only did a little. Dennis told him to “get one, please,” before going on to say that they had never smoked crack cocaine before and had no idea how much to buy. The dealer told them that for $200 he would buy them two and get one free, apparently cheating them of their money.
Dennis and Dee woke up in their apartment at 4:00 p.m. the next day. They drank too high, slept through the day, and missed Dee’s doctor’s appointment. The faces of the two were pale, their skin was pale, their eyes were sunken, and their bodies were trembling. Dennis curled up on the couch and Dee sat in a chair. “I think I might have peed in my pants,” she admitted. With the need for cocaine in their system, they decide to snort another before another date. They go back to the dealer and buy two more at a special price. This leads to them wandering a run-down alley with a filthy stray dog, Dee shaking and talking fast, and Dennis barely able to stay conscious. He said he would buy another load of cocaine when he got his welfare check. He may be in pain and look like he’s dying, but he’s addicted. Then Charlie and Mike pull up in a limousine wearing top hats and beautiful women on their arms (don’t ask). Dee and Dennis ask them for money, but their friends just laugh at them, roll up the windows, and drive off. It’s not hard to see the message depicted here.
The last time we saw Dee and Dennis, they were walking back down an alley to Paddy’s house, both emaciated and shuffling like zombies. They need to use all their energy to speak. Dee said they should go back to work. Dennis agrees: “Just temporarily, until we have enough money to buy more potent substances.” How they plan to get benefits and become a veterinarian and a Broadway star. Dee suggested that they also consider rehab. Her brother agreed. “Soon. Not now. In a few days,” Dee told him.
Seeing that Dee and Dennis didn’t die in the next episode, we know they succeeded. Still, they nearly kill themselves from cocaine addiction, all just to make some free money. It’s dangerous, but clever how such a bizarre story is told. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia Look at issues of race, classism, poverty, the welfare system, and drug addiction while making you laugh. This gang might be the dumbest people in the world, but they live on one of the smartest shows.
