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Recap / It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S15 E01: 2020: A Year in Review

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The Gang reflect their costly acts in 2020 when they meet with a PPE debt collector.


Tropes:

  • Bait-and-Switch: The Gang keep using words like "Washington outsider" and "not understood by liberal media" when referring to the candidate they voted for. They're not talking about Donald Trump, they voted for Kanye West.
  • Been There, Shaped History: Every member of the Gang turns out to have played a major role in the 2020 US election and its aftermath.
    • Dennis and Mac's attempt to advertise a fictitious Donovan McNabb vs. Rocky Balboa debate/fight resulted in the 2020 election's vote counting delays.
    • Rudy Giuliani's hair dye running was caused by him using the dye Frank created due to hair salons shutting down.
    • Charlie and Dee made costumes for people that turned out to be the January 6th insurrectionists.
  • Boring, but Practical: Dee's business idea is actually very smart, make face masks on account of COVID, which Charlie finds dull.
  • Call-Back:
  • Cassandra Truth: Gary flat out refuses to believe there's any way a pack of idiots like the Gang could have played such a key role in the election turning out so badly, saying that they're not Forrest Gump. Cut to footage of Frank at Rudy Guiliani's press conference, Dee and Charlie at the Capitol riots and Mac and Dennis playing country music next to people rioting at a voting station.
  • Cutting Corners: Frank believes that his hair-dye business during the COVID-19 pandemic went under due to him cutting back on the motor oil he used to make his dye.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Mac and Dennis said that they used some of their PPE loans to get into the security business and try it out at the 2020 election. While their petty disputes did make them incompetent, they were forced to leave since the place holding the election had it's own security.
  • Homage: Frank's story is stylistically influenced by Martin Scorsese's films, in particular its soundtrack and its use of food.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When Mac and Dennis try their hand at being musicians to advertise in the 2020 election, it ended up causing a slow-down for the election because they set up ballot drop boxes for a debate they were having, mixing up and losing hundreds of presidential election votes. On top of that, their country music gimmick alienated even more people from the voting stations.
  • Police Are Useless: When Mac and Dennis try to be guards at the location of the 2020 election ballot, they harass a random woman, ask her ridiculous questions and have a petty dispute that distracts them from noticing the woman leaving. The real security staff then kicks them out, with the implication that this isn't the first time they've had to do it.
  • "Reason You Suck" Speech: Gary gives one to the Gang for trying to get away with loan fraud using a nonsensical story about the election.
  • Smart Ball: Charlie being the only person who knows how to wear a COVID mask properly.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: Gary realizes he's dealing with a bunch of morons when he discovers that all of their frivolous business investments was all to help Kayne West be President.
  • Take That!: Kanye West's attempted Presidential campaign is mocked by having The Gang be avid supporters of it.
  • Whole-Plot Reference: To Forrest Gump, which Gary lampshades.

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