Musicals are back, baby.
Over the past year or so, pop culture has seen a wild surge in the medium: Lin-Manuel Miranda conqueredĀ Broadway with Hamilton, Rachel Bloom turned The CW into a thing again with her award-winning seriesĀ Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Damien Chazelleās La La Land is currently a favorite to sweep both this weekendās Golden Globes and next monthās Academy Awards. So, itās not exactly a surprise that creatorĀ Rob McElhenney would revisit the musical for the season premiere of his 12thĀ season behind FXāsĀ insanely popular comedy juggernautĀ Itās Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
After all, itās not like the show hasnāt tapped that genre before (see: āThe Nightman Comethā), and considering McElhenney and co. wrestled with a variety of formats last season ā some to successĀ (āCharlie Workā), others to failure (āBeing Frankā) ā it was only natural theyād return to one that definitively worked. And yes,Ā last nightās episode, āThe Gang Turns Blackā, absolutely worked, finding the show drawing from the creative well that has made this such an enduring brand for over a decade and counting. It was funny, it was creative, it was irreverent, and, more importantly, it was risky.
Hereās the lowdown: Itās a dark and stormy night in the City of Love, and the Gang ā ahem,Ā Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), and Frank (Danny DeVito) ā are not-so-cozily watching an old VHS copy of The Wiz. As expected, theyāre not really digging the movie, mostly because they didnāt choose it. That honor belongs toĀ Deeās ānew roommateā, aka Wil Garretās Old Black Man, whoās peacefully asleep as the movie carries on and the lightning rages behind them. That lightning, however, proves magical ⦠like Big or something.
Basically, the Gang is electrocuted by the lightning, yada, yada, yada, and they all wake up black. To be fair, this isnāt very shocking (pun intended)Ā ā if you recall, this is the same show that somehow managed to pull off blackface without getting shutdown by outrage (see:Ā āThe Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6ā) ā but whatās interesting is how the episode twists the initial premise. Rather than resorting to their off-the-cuff brand of hijinks, the Gang is too busy trying to comprehend this crazy surreality, even spending a good chunk of time figuringĀ out what movie their predicament is most like.
Thanks to Dee, they settle on Quantum Leap ā in other words, they can see their original selves, but their reflections revealĀ their new black equivalentsĀ ā and the show goes so far as to include Scott Bakula himself. But the true parody of the episode lies in the musical format, and as Dennis hilariously observes early on, this world wants them to sing, allĀ to the tone and cadence of The Wiz. Seeing them break into song never gets old, especially as they try to sort through the lessons theyāre suppose to learn while theyāre seeing the world from a much, much different perspective.
Inspired after catching Miranda performĀ Hamilton, Day wrote the songs for this episode and helped usher the story along after the initial pitchĀ involving lightning and racial swapping fell on the Always Sunnyās team desk.Ā āIt was one of those ideas you say because you think itās actually too extreme,ā he told Entertainment Weekly. āLike, āWe canāt do this.ā And then the more we talked about it, we were like, what if we did do it?ā It was a process, however, namely because the writers had to cleverlyĀ āwalk that fine line of, letās do some social commentary without trying to be too preachy.ā
And really, thatās the true twist of this episode. Whereas it would be so easy to lean on stereotypes and collar-tugging humor (and admittedly, this episode does that, albeitĀ wisely), the show, instead, goes for the jugular. During its culminating finale ā a signature of the series undoubtedly learned from The Larry David Rulebook ā the Gang are reported for causing a disturbance at a white ownerās video store, where theyāre trying to get their busted VCR fixed to get back home. WhenĀ the cops pull up, Charlie attempts to diffuse the situation by pulling out a toy train from his pocket.
Of course, we know where this is going, but what we donāt know is how far: When they cut to the reacting copās POV, itās not Charlie we see, but an innocent black kidĀ (played by AJ Hudson), whoās gunnedĀ to the ground. Itās a very blink-and-youāll-miss-it shot, and it happens so fast that you actually might have, but itās the most important moment of the episode. In fact, for a show that has repeatedlyĀ mined darkness for comedy, itās easily the darkest moment of the series, a jarring gaspĀ thatās all too real despite being wedgedĀ within a premise that couldnāt beĀ further from reality.
In a very conscious decision, the action immediately shifts and sweeps over the Gang, who all start singing with urgency (while clicking their heels in desperation):Ā āWeāve learned our lesson, and we want to go home.ā Itās not exactly played for laughs, but itās not exactly against them, either. Thereās a lunacy to the proceedings that suggest weāre also supposed to learn something ā one rule that certainly goes against Davidās olā adage of No Hugging, No Learning ā but we donāt exactly know what. Itās the final scene that brings it all home ā the final twist, if you will.
Spoiler: It was all a dream, specifically the work of the Old Black Man, who wakes up disappointed to find out none of the asshole protagonists learned a single thing. But, not to sound pedantic, isnāt that the reality? How many times have we seen an incident like thisĀ actually happen on the news? And how many times do we lament, share posts, and move on with our lives? True to its cynical ethos, Always SunnyĀ never wags its finger, letting the story speak for itself, while also givingĀ Dennis the mic to say:Ā āThatās great, but we donāt give a shit because we donāt like hearing about other peopleās dreams.ā
Truth be told, thatās a song too manyĀ of usĀ know.
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Itās Always Sunny in Philadelphia airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST via FX. For more, revisit Randall Colburnās excellent editorial, The Downward Spiral of Dennis Reynolds, and learn how the Paddyās Pub sociopath won our hearts without any implications.