The Best Scene in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Is the Most Unexpected One

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is packed with countless hilarious moments, making it hard to pick which one exactly is the best scene in the show. Its continued consistency and quality over the last 18 years has not only kept the show relevant, but relevant for a good reason. The gang of insufferable and selfish human beings — Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Oslon) and Frank (Danny DeVito) — still hasn’t lost its touch yet. So, to try and pinpoint the best moment out of countless great scenes is one hell of a task.

In consideration of this, there is still one particular scene within the mix that manages to stand out against them all. The moment exists in the finale episode of Season 13 entitled “Mac Finds His Pride” where Mac performs a contemporary dance in front of an audience of prisoners that includes his father and Frank. The episode begins with Frank barging into Mac’s apartment, urging Mac to be his “prize gay” for his gay pride float to “rope in the gays.” Here starts the search for Mac’s pride, which takes them to an S&M club, a drag show, and then to see his father in prison. As Frank moves on to recruit Charlie, Dee, and Dennis instead, Mac is on his own undisclosed mission that we soon find out to be a dance routine that he will perform to his father, in an effort to come out to him.

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The Ambiguity of Mac’s Sexuality in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

Mac’s sexuality has largely been an ambiguous part of the show, and weaving in and out of episodes where it is the butt of a joke. Ultimately, the majority of the time, the gang is actually making fun of his own indecision over being gay. He is the only one who is uncomfortable with his sexuality, specifically alongside his religious identity. In “Mac Finds His Pride,” there is a strangely powerful and impactful undertone for the usually unserious sitcom, expressed in Mac’s thoughtfulness throughout the episode, and then in the 5-minute dance number.

The implication of Mac’s homosexuality has often been part of his characterization and serves as one of It’s Always Sunny‘s longest running gags. In Season 11, “Charlie Catches a Leprechaun,” Mac goes to search for the pot of gold in a gay bar. Charlie then says, “We both know there’s no pot of gold at that gay bar,” sparking certainly not the first, but one of many clear moments when both the audience and the gang know that he is gay before perhaps Mac does himself. In the following episode, “The Gang Goes To Hell,” Mac brings the gang on a Christian cruise where he discovers that the Christians he is spending time with are gay. Towards the end of the episode, Mac announces to the trapped gang that he is gay, granting no reaction from his friends as they already knew. This only confirmed that a conclusion to this part of Mac’s ongoing storyline would be on the horizon.

Mac’s Contemporary Dance Is the Best Scene in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

Mac’s dance scene is the crux of the storyline where Mac finally faces his feelings towards his homosexuality in a weirdly profound contemporary dance. Alongside ballerina Kylie Shea, Mac pulls off an impressively choreographed routine against a black backdrop as rain falls poignantly, set to the momentous “Varúð” by Sigur Rós.

If not for the panning back to the audience of prisoners, plus a poorly looking Frank, you could have genuinely forgotten that this was just another episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This scene perfectly encapsulates the nature of It’s Always Sunny, that whilst it is a hilarious and entertaining sitcom, it also has the ability to articulate strong messages and perform skillful and impressive productions, such as Mac’s dance or other musical numbers. The show reminds us constantly that they are not just funny, but thoughtful and complex, too. There is more to the ridiculous concepts and outrageous moments, which is the reason that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stands out against the rest of the similarly long-running live-action sitcoms.

In the intermission of Mac’s performance, his father walks out of the audience, and his son sobs solemnly before continuing on with the emotional dance routine. It is disappointing, but it can be inferred that Mac was not just coming out to his father but to himself. He almost held a refusal to believe in his homosexuality, and his continuation of the routine without his father in the room proves that this was for himself all along — it was a personal confrontation about the resistance he harbored toward his own sexuality. The episode also birthed the “Oh my god, I get it” GIF from Frank — the camera zooming in on Frank’s swollen face as he finally understands Mac. It is emotional, it is profound, and it is the most unexpected but important scenes in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Why Mac’s Dance Scene Works

What makes sitcoms actually good, are the unexpectedly emotional moments that remind us why we keep watching. Of course, the majority of the time, we want to watch a sitcom for the laughs, not the emotional rollercoaster that we might get from dramas or thrillers. However, it is the connection to characters and character development that separate a good sitcom from one that you only watch if it’s running on cable. In a good sitcom, we need moments sporadically that tug at the heartstrings and provide emotional epiphanies that give a sense of realism and pull us in for another season. Mac’s dance scene is the perfect and prime example of this — a heartfelt moment of self-acceptance that leaves Mac able to close this chapter of his life, one filled with an unsure sense of self and sexual autonomy.

If you haven’t yet gotten a chance to watch this episode, all seasons including Season 16 are now streaming on Hulu.