Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "Gilligan's Island: A Conspiracy Theorist's Paradise"| Season 18, Episode 7

"It's not an 'oooh' show." "It is now."

There was always gong to come a time when the accumulated successes of the cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia would see them break away from the show that made them. To the credits of Rob Mac, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and Glenn Howerton, the gang behind The Gang hasn't truly let anything—not A.P. Bio, Blackberry, Mythic Quest, The Mick, High Potential, Hacks, Horrible Bosses, giant robots, or Welsh football teams—truly cause these immensely talented actors to jump ship entirely. (Howerton took a stab at it, but ultimately reconsidered, while TV legend Danny DeVito is, I suspect, going to eventually die gleefully "in harness," as old Shakespeareans say.)

We should be thankful for that. It's Always Sunny was the sort of weird, scrappy little calling card project that many ambitious actors would have used as a stepping stone long ago, and the fact that this cast and creative team can still not only punch a clock but return each season (longer hiatuses notwithstanding) to dedicatedly don these same filthy monsters' skins for our enjoyment is a gift.

And yet...

Season 18 has been a bit of a bummer. A brisk, mostly enjoyable bummer, if that's a thing, but a bummer nonetheless. There have been laughs—with this template to work from, this cast is going to bring some of that old Sunny black magic. But an episode like "Gilligan's Island: A Conspiracy Theorist's Paradise" is the sort of level the show's been at this season. Fitfully funny in an effortful way, it relies on our familiarity with and begrudging affection for The Gang for most of its effects. As a piece of sitcom art, it's remarkable in its slapdash sloppiness.