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Recap / Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia S 07 E 04 Sweet Dee Gets Audited

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"You guys all better eat a dick, 'cause Sweet Dee beat the system."
Dee

Dee's plan to scam the tax system by claiming the baby she was a surrogate for as a dependent backfires when an IRS agent informs her that she's being audited. Meanwhile, the guys attempt to work out a more democratic system for running the bar after Frank cuts their pay without their consent.


This episode provides examples of the following tropes:

  • Apple of Discord: Dennis deliberately gets Mac and Charlie to argue over whether they should get a crucifix for the bar in order to distract them so that they don't notice him and Frank conducting secret dealings in the back office.
  • Black Comedy: Even by this show's standards, holding a fake funeral for a dead baby so that Dee can avoid the IRS is going a little far. This is duly lampshaded.
    Frank: This is dark.
    Dennis: Darkest thing we've ever done.
  • Blatant Lies:
    Dee: I'm not scamming the government, if that's what you're saying.
    Susan: Your license plate says "scammin'".
    Dee: Uuuuuh... No.
    Susan: What do you mean, "no"?
    Dee: ...Yes.
    (Susan gives her an utterly unimpressed look)
  • Bloody Hilarious: A rotting dog corpse falling out of the "baby" casket and splattering on the floor after Mac and Charlie upend it as revenge for Frank and Dennis cutting them out of their dealings.
  • Catchphrase: Mac and Charlie repeatedly chant "reason will prevail!" and later "pickles will prevail!" throughout the episode, much to Dennis's irritation.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Charlie mentions at the beginning of the episode that he's been filling the urinals with rocks, and later states that these are what Frank put in the casket. However, it's then revealed that he actually used the dead dog that was discussed earlier in the episode instead, wanting to give it something of a proper burial.
    Mac: That's really heavy, what did Frank put in there?
    Charlie: The urinal rocks.
    Mac: Huh. Knew they'd come in handy.
  • Comedic Work, Serious Scene: The episode rolls along in Black Comedy, but then right in the middle, Dennis admits he has a giant gaping hole inside of him, and Frank gently reassures he understands instead of the usual assuming his stepson is just a deranged freak.
  • Continuity Nod: Dee claims the baby she was a surrogate for as a dependent in an attempt to get tax breaks.
  • Creepy Catholicism: Played for laughs; Mac not only wants to get a giant crucifix for the bar, he also insists that it should be drenched in blood.
  • Crocodile Tears: Dee's inability to cry on command becomes a plot point when Dennis has to spray chili powder in her eyes so she can convincingly play a grieving mother. Dee still can't manage to produce tears even with the chili powder, however.
  • Due to the Dead: Mac and Charlie want to hold a funeral for a dead dog that's been rotting in the alleyway for over a week.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Despite going through with it, Frank and Dennis both make note of the fact that they've hit a new low by faking a baby funeral.
  • Eye Scream: To get Dee to cry convincingly during the fake funeral, Dennis blows chili powder into her eyes, causing severe irritation and bleeding.
  • Gilligan Cut: One of the show's most direct.
    Dee: You guys all better eat a dick, 'cause Sweet Dee beat the system.
    Sweet Dee Gets Audited
  • Hot-Blooded: Mac lampshades this after he's shown to be more or less incapable of forming arguments based on reason rather than emotion.
    Mac: Goddammit! I don't know how to express myself unless through anger and personal attack!
  • Implausible Deniability: The IRS auditor points out Dee's "$cammin" Vanity License Plate in response to her insistence that she's not defrauding the government.
  • I Knew It!: Dennis's reaction when Frank admits that he's been cooking the bar's books for years.
  • Intimidating Revenue Service: Dee is absolutely terrified at the prospect of being audited, though in her case it's justified as she actually is committing tax fraud.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Frank keeps derailing the gang's attempts to discuss why their pay has been cut by getting them to argue about trivial stuff instead. Dennis is the only one who picks up on this at first, and he immediately wants in on the action.
  • Not So Above It All: Frank keeps steering the conversation to other subjects so as to avoid discussing how he handles the bar's finances...only to display some strong opinions on the topic of how they slice the limes.
  • Only in It for the Money: Dennis admits that he doesn't want any real power, since it comes with real responsibility — he just wants money, and the illusion of power.
  • Order Versus Chaos: The gang spends the entire episode trying out a more democratic approach to resolving their disputes, only to fall back on their old methods after it fails to yield positive results.
    Dennis: All in favor of going back to the old system of organized chaos, where emotion trumps reason every single time and we just yell at each other to get the shit that we want, raise your hands.
  • Overly-Nervous Flop Sweat: Dee when she's being interviewed by the IRS lady
  • Pet the Dog: Frank seems genuinely concerned when Dennis is talking about how empty he feels inside.
  • Product Placement: Played for laughs, as Frank and Dennis keep shoehorning awkward references to "Wolf Cola", one of Frank's shell corporations, into the supposed baby funeral.
    Dennis: Wolf Cola, everyone. The right cola... for closure.
  • Puppet King: Frank agrees to make Dennis his "puppet" after the latter points out that he's better than Frank at managing Mac and Charlie.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Understandably, the IRS agent decides she's "out of here" when Mac and Charlie dump the dead dog out of the casket.
  • The Scrooge: Frank refuses to use any of his considerable wealth to address the bar's serious maintenance issues, despite having already cut the gang's pay.
  • Serious Business: Mac and Charlie treat such trivial matters as the thickness of the limes used in the bar as though they were life-or-death decisions.
    Charlie: What the hell?! Thin limes?! People will choke! PEOPLE WILL DIE!
    Mac: Charlie, take emotion out of it.
    Frank: Charlie's got a point. One of the cornerstones of Paddy's Pub are thick limes!
    Mac: I AM GONNA PUT MY THUMB THROUGH YOUR EYE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!!
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial:
    Dee: Audited? Why, what are you talking about? I'm not scamming the government, if that's what you're saying.
    Susan: Your license plate says "scammin'".
  • Shouting Free-for-All: The Gang decides unanimously to go back to resolving their issues by screaming at each other, and the episode ends with all five of them yelling at each over the dead dog, fake funeral, various bar issues, and Dee's issues.
  • Tears of Blood: Dee's eyes start bleeding after Dennis blows chili powder in them to try to make her cry convincingly at the funeral.
  • Take a Third Option: Mac and Charlie take their dispute over the thickness of the limes to Dee, who suggests that they do away with the limes altogether and use pickles instead. The three of them then join forces and become the Pickle Party.
  • Take That!: "If you're not as educated or as informed, what you do is you start your own party and you yell the loudest."
  • Tin Man: Dennis considers himself to be the only "rational and emotionless" member of the group, and gives Frank a whole speech about how empty he feels most of the time.
    Dennis: I got this, uh... this giant, gaping hole inside me. And I'm - I'm always trying to fill it with something. I like to call it my God-hole. And I think a lot of people in this world, they fill it with religion. But I don't believe in God.
  • Vanity License Plate: The license plate on Dee's new scooter reads "$CAMMIN'", which lands her in an awkward spot when the IRS lady notices it.

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