Four Times on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ When the Gang Was Almost Nice to Sweet Dee
Dee may be a gangly, uncoordinated bitch, but, at Paddy’s Pub, she’s their gangly, uncoordinated bitch.
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Of all the unfortunate characters on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, only one of them holds the title as “Most Abused”: Rickety Cricket. But, after Cricket, there are less disfigured characters whose suffering still deserves to be acknowledged, and Deandre “Sweet Dee” Reynolds has taken more than her share of mistreatment. Hell, even the episode names on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia show how bad she gets it from the rest of her main castmates. Titles like “Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire” set the tone for her treatment at the hands of Frank, Dennis, Charlie and Mac.
However, when they’re not busy berating, beating, poisoning, waterboarding or burning the resident bird, the Paddy’s Pub gang has, occasionally, gone out of their way to look out for one of their own. Here are those rare instances where the other main characters of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia were almost kind to the worst and first Reynolds twin…
The Time Frank Tried to Teach Her to Fight
Back when Frank still thought he was Dee’s dad, he decided to perform the rare fatherly duty in taking it upon himself to arm Dee with some boxing techniques after the rest of the boys abandon her to be mugged in the opening of “Hundred Dollar Baby.” Of course, both of their egos got in the way when one of Frank’s old enemies and his daughter crossed their paths in the boxing gym, and Dee ended up on the dark path of steroid abuse until she ultimately landed herself in the slammer. But Frank’s intentions at the top of the episode were pure, even if Dee’s own motivations were “enhanced.”
The Only Time They Told Her That Her Impressions Were Good
To be fair to Mac and Charlie, Dee’s character of the religious stuttering army carney who loves Jesus and watched her friend explode in “The Gang Gets Quarantined” was maybe the first time she actually nailed an impression without the use of blackface. Part of me thinks that Kaitlin Olson lobbied to get this bit in the episode to prove to the rest of the word that, unlike Dee, she actually can do impressions and voices, and she absolutely nailed the absurd tragedy of such a traumatized a capella singer and potential Boyz II Men opener.
The Time They All Let Her Take the First Bite of the Steak
In “The Gang Escapes,” all Dee really wanted was a chance to prove herself as a capable and contributive member of the group in the eyes of the guys who had spent the last 13 seasons taking her for granted. It’s almost heartbreaking imagining Dee getting all excited after finishing her first escape room and scheming to recreate the triumphant moment in front of her only “friends.” But, instead of allowing Dee to be the problem solver and leader she wanted them to see her as, the boys locked her in Dennis’ inescapable room, leading her to climb out the window and fall to the pavement, breaking her arm and landing her in the hospital.
But when it came time to eat the celebratory steaks, Frank, Dennis, Mac and Charlie let the bird who sacrificed her wing to end the game with a “win” take the first peck.
The Time They All Banded Together to Take Care of Her Baby
Seriously, besides Charlie’s surprise party, how many other times in the history of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has the entire gang set out to selflessly improve the life of one of their own? In “Dee Gives Birth,” the boys round up all of Dee’s known sexual partners in order to track down the father of her soon-to-be-born baby, not realizing that she had finally pulled off her surrogacy scheme. They even take Dee to the hospital themselves and Dennis brings down the Hammer of Thor to try and get Dee her stories. Basically, for one episode only, the gang collectively became the partner and co-parent that they thought Dee was desperately missing.
But don’t expect this one to ever be a repeat performance — like Dee said, giving birth sucks a bag of dicks.
