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Recap / Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia S 03 E 11 Dennis Looks Like A Sex Offender

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"I'm not a sexual child molester! I'm Dennis Reynolds, I'm handsome and chiseled!"
Dennis

When several inmates are released from a nearby prison due to overcrowding, Dennis is mistaken for child molester Wendell "Short Eyes" Albright, who happens to look exactly like a fatter version of him. Mac attempts to bond with his convict father, who was also released, while Charlie becomes jealous when Frank moves out of the apartment and begins using Charlie's mother as a "bang maid."


This episode provides examples of the following tropes:

  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: Bonnie Kelly has such low self-esteem that she actually prefers men who treat her terribly, to such an extent that even Frank feels a little ashamed at how badly he has to treat her in order to keep her interested. She also develops an immediate attraction to Luther once she finds out he's a criminal.
  • The Atoner: It's revealed at the end of the episode that Luther has been attempting to make amends with all the people he wronged before going to prison. Until The Gang gets him busted for violating parole, which does make him want to kill them.
  • Continuity Nod: Several references are made to the time Luther tried to get Mac and Charlie to smuggle heroin into prison for him.
  • Creepy Blue Eyes: Charlie comments on Luther's.
    Charlie: He happens to have beautiful sparkling blue eyes that just pop right out of his head.
    Luther: I don't blink.
  • Criminal Doppelgänger: A sex offender who looks exactly like a fatter version of Dennis is released from prison.
  • Deadly Euphemism: Subverted; Mac and Charlie think that Luther is doing this when he says he's "taking care" of the people on his list, but it turns out he really is just trying to make things up to them.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Frank moving out of Charlie's apartment is played like a break-up, and Charlie seems suspiciously jealous of Frank's new relationship with his mother.
    Charlie: My mom gets so belligerent and mean when she's drunk, dude. She's gonna drive Frank right back into my arms.
    Mac: Into your arms?
  • Enemies List: Luther has a list of people that he makes Mac drive him around to visit; Mac and Charlie become convinced that he's killing them and freak out when they discover their own names are on the list, but he's actually just trying to apologize for his past wrongs.
  • False Rape Accusation: Dennis and Dee bribe a kid to threaten Wendell with this if he doesn't leave the area.
    Dennis: Timmy, will you recite for our husky friend here, the little "courtroom speech" we prepared?
    Timmy: I have a friend. His name is Wendell! He showed me funny movies with fully naked people in them! He gave me a juice box that made me sleepy.
    Dee: Hmm?
    Wendell: Alright, I get it.
    Timmy: He's silly! He's a tickle monster!
    Wendell: Listen, kid, I said "I get it"! Okay?
    Timmy: He makes me taste things I don't want to! He puts things in my hiney!
    Dennis: Oooooh!
    Wendell: Goddammit, will you make the kid stop, please?! Come on!
    Dee: Yeah, I think that ought to do it.
  • Hassle-Free Hotwire: Mac twice manages to hotwire Dennis's car with relative ease once he figures out which wires are involved.
  • I Am a Humanitarian: Dee is convinced that Luther is a cannibal and wants to eat her. Everybody else thinks this sounds cool.
  • I Banged Your Mom: Frank starts up a sexual relationship with Charlie's mother.
    Charlie: You're not gonna find a bang maid, 'cause there's no such thing.
    Frank: I already did. Your mom.
  • It Amused Me: Dee purposely set up Dennis to be Mistaken for Pedophile and attacked by angry fathers in the park for her own enjoyment and to get him to focus on her problems with Mac’s dad.
  • Kids Play Matchmaker: Mac organizes a dinner party in the hopes that it will prompt his parents to get back together and has a total meltdown when Charlie sabotages it by setting Luther up with Bonnie.
    Mac: This is about people meeting back up after many years and sparks flying and families getting back together and raising little boys so that they can be happy again! Okay?! Happy boys! This is about happy boys!!
  • Makeover Fail: Mac's attempt at making Mrs. Mac look "pretty" for Luther is just putting a bow (from a present) on her head.
  • Mistaken for Pedophile: People keep attacking Dennis in the street due to his physical resemblance to Wendell. Dee tries to "help" him with this by getting him to wear a fake mustache and convincing him to take his shirt off in a public park and give the kids playing there some fitness tips in order to improve his image, before she tells a group of fathers that he's a recently-released sex offender they're trying to re-integrate back into the community. Needless to say, the dads aren't too happy.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Both Dennis and Charlie find the idea that Luther might eat people incredibly cool. Until they think they're next.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Luther manages to appear from nowhere in the space of about five seconds while Mac's back is turned.
  • Oh, Crap!: Dennis's reaction when he's about to be beaten up by a mob of angry fathers.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: The fake mustache that Dennis wears, which does nothing to obscure his resemblance to Wendell and in fact only makes him look more like a pedophile.
  • Pet the Dog: It's revealed at the end of the episode that Luther had been planning to surprise Mac and Charlie with a trip to Cooperstown to see the baseball hall of fame.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: Luther does not take kindly to being touched and refuses to let Mac hug him.
  • Sequel Hook: The episode ends with Luther promising to kill Mac as soon as he gets out of prison. This would be followed up on in season four.
  • Shirtless Scene: Dennis gets one when Dee convinces him to take his shirt off in public in order to prove that he has a much better body than Wendell.
  • Skewed Priorities: Dennis is much more concerned with the fact that the guy everybody says he looks like is fat than the fact that he's a convicted child molester.
  • The Stool Pigeon: Mac rats his own father out and gets him re-arrested for violating the terms of his parole after becoming convinced that Luther wants to kill him.

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