"The Storm of the Century" hits It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

     With media hype about every hurricane growing more and more ridiculous, it isn't surprising that FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia chooses such a topic to tackle in "The Storm of the Century." While note on the coast, Philadelphia is close enough to suffer from some serious wind and rain should such a storm make land fall. In last night's episode, the city was in a panic, preparing for the worst. The gang ventures out to get supplies, intending to party in the bar, and if needed, head to the bunker in the basement to ride out the disaster. Of course, along the way, they create much of the problem themselves.

     It's Dee's (Kaitlin Olson) idea to use the bunker, which they built for Y2K, and everyone knows how that turns out. She is surprised to see it is no longer in good shape, and sends the guys out to restock it. Except for Frank (Danny DeVito), who is too slow to get away from the crazy lady. While Dee frets and freaks out, the guys take things relatively calmly, likely heading to the store as much to get away from Dee, as to actually accomplish their missions.

     But the characters are nothing, if not adaptable. Upon arriving at the market, only Charlie (Charlie Day) keeps to the original purpose, gathering funny clothing and a hatchet. Which infringes on Dennis's (Glenn Howerton) goal to get women to come back and party (and have sex) with them. Dennis doesn't need to be any creepier than he already is around women, and Charlie's insistent mentioning of a bunker, as well as general look, makes them seem more scary. At least Dennis is honest about his motivations, angrily sending two girls away when they reveal they have boyfriends. They probably only talk to Dennis as long as they do because he owns a bar, and hey, you don't pass up free booze! And those are just dumb, young bimbos. Dennis's dream weather girl is far out of his league.

     Mac (Rob McElhenney) continues his mission this season to get as fat as possible. Going into the store searching mainly for food, he has no problem leaving his friends to make sure the edibles make it back to the bunker. It's a sad development for the character, whose portrayer decided that packing on weight for real this season would be funny. Olson, McElhenney's real-life wife, must be an incredibly patient woman. But it's not entirely out of character for Mac to do this, either. The characters in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia care only about themselves, and in Mac's case, food for himself. Tubbo needs to get back in shape, and he will, when he realizes that he is danger because of his declining health.

     As "The Storm of the Century" approaches, even finding supplies and hunkering down proves impossible for this motley crew. Frank shoots Rickety Cricket (David Hornsby, How to Be a Gentleman) in the hand when they find him lurking in the basement. Charlie, Frank, and Dee start a riot in the store after an injured Cricket drives their car through the front windows. And, it doesn't even matter, because "The Storm of the Century" proves to be a light drizzle. Which will in no way make the gang feel guilty for what they've done. They have no guilt and no shame. That's just who they are. And their comfort in their own skin is why, even as detestable as these characters are, we keep tuning in week after week. That, and they are positively hilarious.

     It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

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