The Gang Inflates
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
The first few minutes had me an excited for an opener with some momentum, but things slowed down pretty quickly. Some of the inflation jokes land — Dennis talking about the inflated economy and then struggling to pass Frank the paper because of the inflatable couch got me — but the well runs dry pretty quickly. Same with the revelations about Charlie’s apartment; it’s an amusing premise that just doesn’t know where to go. As if sensing the lack of momentum themselves, they throw in a running gag where Mac…eats a gigantic tub of Fancy Nuts. He’s allergic to nuts, you see, and so the nuts make him increasingly more swollen and wheezy through the episode. Not the most promising start to a season.
Frank Shoots Every Member of the Gang
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
Again, this episode just can’t seem to make good on its premise. Points for the Charlie plot that involves an inherited jar of teeth and the always welcome guest spots for Mac and Charlie’s moms, who as usual steal the scenes they’re in. The whole Frank shooting the Gang conceit feels really held back for a show that has dabbled both in very dark humour and in fairly grotesque violence. A let down for sure.
The Gang Gets Cursed
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
I thought this episode was a straight up sore spot for Sunny. I don’t think I remember laughing a single time in this episode, and that is pretty dire. The only way I could imagine you would be laughing at this episode is if the presence of Chase Utley in frame makes you giggle with delight. They don’t actually do anything funny with him though, and the ending that unifies the cause of everyone’s “curses” falls totally flat. One of my least favourite episodes…ever.
Frank vs Russia
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
Alright! This is what I’m talking about. Charlie helping Frank cheat at chess against a Russian grandmaster via pulsing anal beads. YES. Mac is obsessed with a guy who always bails on him, which turns out to be Dennis catfishing him out of their apartment to get time alone. These are Sunny plots! Speaking of Dennis, his SINNED system in this episode was a great callback that would still be funny for newer viewers. The closing revelation of the system is maybe even MORE troubling than the original’s. It won’t go down as an all-timer or anything, but this is the first episode of the season that feels like a success.
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Here’s to a great premiere!
