Someone explain the metaphor to me like I’m a child

I like so many macden hate posts and I think that’s a quintessential part of being a macdennis shipper

this season is already lending itself to truly bonkers levels of macden conspiracy. i feel so alive

something we have discussed is how dennis was the only one who could understand mac and that's great but can we also discuss how it must feel for mac that no one can understand him

this seems to be accentuated by how off he keeps being about things (offering of war/dennis being shot being "awesome"/being unable to read subtext both with dennis ["figure of speech"] and donald) and how much he's looking for a sense of meaning that he used to find in his identity until s15 made him realize how pointless it was (in a way that reminds me of his crisis in goes to hell 2...), but legacy, history, money and prizes are worth nothing if your heart is not in it.

and in a way I think dennis is coming to the same conclusion which is why he's the only one who can understand mac.

dennis "you're just being honest about how you feel" reynolds, so concerned with authenticity and upset by the perceived lies when it's just his own denial making it that way. that's building the biggest lie of all.

if we're looking for the Point, then the point is to have fun and embrace feelings. Big Mo already showed this.

it's interesting to me how it seems that mac and dennis are working off of each other in the way sunny works as a whole. because if mac is the structure and the text, and dennis is the subtext and the jokes (it's how he's trying to communicate in inflates but it's also the whole reason he comes with mac in madbu), they kinda NEED to be working together for the show to work... they need to find their harmonies, they can't just one or the other lead, they gotta have each other's back.

and also like, a small coda. this season deals so much with nostalgia vs how the past really was, there's so many flashbacks.

becoming aware of denial and reality can feel really upsetting but ultimately it's a positive development.

if "the hair is a lie" chopping off the head isn't the answer, that was the old way of doing things (in times of war... murder, betrayal, beheadings... "we figured out what works a long time ago"), but now we're looking for peace. basically, death isn't the answer. building your legacy doesn't have to be like pulling teeth. "this doesn't have to be a scam"

it's a good thing if we start seeing things for what they actually are, because it means less denial.

okay so charlie day is macdennis's number one enemy i fear

I've been watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for the last few weeks for the first time and I just finished and obviously thought okay I'll pop over to tumblr to see what's cooking in the fandom and at first I saw that the most popular posts were mostly MacDennis and I thought sure that makes sense that people would ship them it's not canon at all though and after like fifteen minutes here I'm like oh yeah no that makes total sense and I clearly missed a lot here and I definitely need to rewatch the show with this in mind cause I'm converted to this new truth

Heyo! I'd be interested to hear your theories on the macdennis writer's room situation!

IMO it's not as simple as 'Rob is pro and Glenn is anti' (and we always ignore Charlie in these conversations even though he's quite into it in the dvd commentary and pod), so your suggestion that the subtlety (lol it's really not subtle, but yeah r/iasip ig) in the writing of their relationship might be glenn's idea is quite intriguing to me, and I wonder how this all relates to the opposing views on whether Dennis is a serial killer amongst rcg. So much of the writing of Dennis comes from Charlie and also Rob, but it's definitely influenced by them observing Glenn (like the cereal story) and by Glenn's performance. And ofc we know Glenn pushes back if Dennis is written as too heartless because he maintains that he does have feelings and is quite sensitive in a way. Not sure where I'm going with this... I don't have a full theory fleshed out in my head yet, so I'd really like to hear your thoughts!

(not trying to stir anything with this ask btw: in fact, iirc there were some posts about this subject a few months ago and I didn't engage then because it pissed me off when the conversation turned into a "who supports the quuer fans more" kind of competition, as if macden is something so basic between rob and glenn, when we really have no evidence about what happens fr bts, beyond some fun speculation. just enjoy theorizing in drought times.)

Hey, thanks for the ask! To address your final point first, I don't want to talk publicly about what may or may not be the motivations of Glenn and Rob as "queer allies" or how they think this may affect their careers or whatnot. These kinds of discussions I don't believe are ever effective publicly when you don't know the truth. I'm not speculating on their motivations as people but as writers who care about the story they're telling and, more importantly, their characters.

When my message was "anti" and "pro" it was really just from the discussion that someone had to be pushing back against what I believe is Rob pushing forward (This was a black and white, who wants Macden now and who is saying no, wait. I truly do and always have believed Macden will happen. The nuanced discussion came after, in messages I'd rather not share since they are not just my personal thoughts but a conversation with another user.) I

t's not necessarily that Glenn is anti-Macdennis (and I think you understand that) and I want to clarify first off that I definitely don't think it's as simple as that, so here we go:

For Glenn pushing the subtlety, I think we agree completely that it likely links to how Glenn wants the audience to perceive his character (and how I love perceiving him): Dennis talks a big game that to the untrained eye makes him seem like this cold-blooded psychopath, but it's all a complete front you can easily see through. He gets a thrill out of these terrible things but would never act on them. It's interesting to hear of the live show "Dennis is a serial killer" talk brought up right along side all of this, because it's a perfect example of how Rob and Glenn clearly have opposing views on Dennis' character, and how that definitely plays into why they don't agree on canonising Macdennis. (As I understand, Dennis gets a thrill out of the idea of murder or harming people, but he could never act on it. Reddit (and to some lesser degree, Rob), don't get this, and think he probably does act on it and it's just not shown in canon (despite the mountains of evidence that Dennis is much too weak and feeble to ever do anything).

If you think about their current dynamic (actually, ignore 15, we'll get there), they've completely flipped from early seasons, and I don't think that's accidental or a fault of bad writing, I think it 1. is a result of Mac labelling himself as gay, finally, in S12 and 2. is a result of Glenn continuing to fight for Dennis' character staying consistent.

From point 1: Dennis was always the more effeminate, more coded to like men one, more touchy with Mac, a little obviously in love with him, until Mac outwardly expressed those feelings back. As early as M&DBU you can see how terrified Dennis is of being seen as gay, and in a relationship with Mac. For Dennis, as gay as it got, it was okay until it was labelled. Now that Mac is labelling himself as gay, now there's a hard stop for Dennis. Being with Mac is something Dennis could act on, and then be labelled as. (gay, bi, likes men, fucking Mac, boyfriend *shutters*) This is something that would happen if he didn't keep full, hard control against it.

To point 2: I think this was a bit of a divide in the writers room that Glenn couldn't control. S12 he bowed out, clearly he was feeling lost in Dennis and the writers room. When he left for S13 and 14, and you can see how Rob's want for Mac to be out, canon, very gay, in love with Dennis, comes through full-speed in these seasons, because Glenn wasn't writing (mostly). Rob wanting this directly conflicts with Glenn's writing for Dennis. Dennis is opposing Mac in every way, he has this exterior he has to put on, anti-Mac, anti-whatever they were, he's completely thrown off by Mac, hates their old dynamic.

Rob wants canon Macden, but he perceives Dennis differently than Glenn does, and likes this opposing path of the two of them, and that's obviously creating an issue. Clearly I don't know Rob's intentions, and maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but I don't think I'd be far off to say that he'd enjoy putting Macdennis through some desperation-hell (ala, Dennis gives in and gets with Mac because he's horny, uses him, DENNIS systems him, the result is Mac has always been the long-con for Dennis, which I admit, I wouldn't hate hate).

I think Glenn is against it, because there's always been something there for Dennis and there's a reason he came back, there's a reason he's always stayed around, always supported Mac. He is in love with Mac. It's not a system or a game, but a fucking fight for his life to oppose his true feelings and hide his identity, not be labelled. Dennis is stuck, and there's nothing pushing him to do anything about it. He'll get off with his systems and his kinks and he's okay.

Now we move to S15 and look, they aren't...all that opposing...during Lockdown, they...got along. And then, here goes Dennis, yelling and screaming about Mac obsessing over his own labels and identity so he can ignore his internal struggle. It's clear, he needs something to push him.

How do they go about it? Dennis jealousy arc seems like the perfect fucking beautiful compromise. Rob gets something raw, a little insane from Dennis, and Glenn gets to show that Dennis really is in fucking love with Mac.

TL;DR: Rob wants Macden now in some kind of dirty, get on with it, Dennis is using Mac kind of way. Glenn doesn't want it canon until they reach the conclusion of this arc that shows Dennis really does have big feelings (good and bad), and those feelings really kinda have a lot to do with Mac.

--

AGAIN THESE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS AND I OFTEN WATCH THIS SHOW WHILE HIGH OR CROSS FADED SO IF YOU DISAGREE THATS TOTALLY 100% OKAY I DO NOT CARE IF YOU READ ALL THIS AND THINK IM STUPID OR WAY TOO INSANE ABOUT THIS ALL THATS TOTALLY VALID FOR YOU TO SAY! IF THERES NO JEALOUSY ARC IN s16 I AM A CLOWNNNNN!!!

First thoughts from just one watch under shitty circumstances with bad internet and worse sound:

RAMBLING FRANK vs RUSSIA THOUGHTS

I was very worried about this episode with how sacred the S5 DENNIS System episode is to us all. Didn't want a Thunder Gun 4 situation on our hands and thankfully they avoided it so hard! I think having the plot with Charlie, Frank, the mums, Uncle Jack and chess really helped out to make it feel more than a direct sequel.

SINNED -> DENNIS -> SINNED -> DENNIS — I'm so impressed with this. How did I, a wholeass Sunny fan, miss this for so long?! Three cheers to whoever came up with that inversion, really! Definitely something that happened in the writer's room and made everyone lose their shit for sure. I wonder who it was, could be Meg or another writer too, given how collaborative they all are!

And can I just say, Dennis the Restaurant Manager... oh how I love you so much! The Waitress is Getting Married is a personal favourite of mine and I wasn't expecting a bit of a redux of that whole situation.

I was so worried about all the "Mac getting a boyfriend and it being Ryan Reynolds" theories and I absolutely wanted none of that. Everyone had speculated it to death and it wouldn't have been fun anymore (not to mention I do not care for RR in my Sunny, I'm sure he's fine, but I don't need his and Rob's PR relationship filtering through into my dickandball show no I don't "find them cute" and I won't elaborate here anymore).

I know we'd guessed that Johnny could've been Dennis catfishing Mac, but it definitely felt like we were doing an Insane Fan Speculation more than anything — and for it to turn out to be correct! And in the best way, because we never could've seen the vibrating anal beads coming!! That's the best kind of "called it but it's still unpredictable".

It really broke my mind, this episode did. And don't even get me started on the Macdennis and queer Dennis of it all! As a longtime believer in Bisexual Dennis, I won so hard! All of us Queer Dennis Truthers won so fucking hard!

[Unpopular Take incoming] This is the first Sunny episode credited to Meg for writing that has felt so wholly "Classic Sunny" and super fuckin hilarious to me. I always appreciated her understanding of the characters and she's always a very solid writer, but this is the first time where I felt myself thinking ok, you she write RCG/Hornsby/Marder-Rosell/Chernins-level of an insane chaotic Sunny episode with multiple belly laughs and not just slightly Community-fied versions of the gang.

The closest her writing has felt like true Sunny to me before this was Dee Day, so I'm glad to see her grow and improve too, and I wonder if the podcast rewatch has helped in that regard! Must also help to have a classic S5 structure to play off in The D.E.N.N.I.S. System! (And ofc writing is collaborative, so well done to RCG and all the writers who pitched ideas and rewrites that ended up shaping this episode!)

I knew Heath Cullens directing meant a good chance of some interesting camerawork (and I've gotta say that even The Gang Inflates had some more dynamic shots than we've been getting in some of the later years and it's got to be the Cullens directing), but I wasn't expecting a whole visual callback to Being Frank! Loved it.

And the editing! The DENNIS System has always been great for cutaway gags and fun little inserts, so I loved seeing that carried out here with the cuts to Mac and Dee fucking up their dates and then finally pulling out the Magic Tissue of Mummy Issues (oh the potential for meta especially with the twins!). The pacing was so good!

Sunny pacing needs to feel like Mac crashing Dee's car into a wall while we are all Charlie watching it in real time and screaming when it's over.

Random strings of words because I'm too excited to be coherent:

Glenn's acting. His faces. His eyes. His range in this episode. Glacting. Juilliard. All the hits. All the big ones.

Mac and Dennis have canonically had sex in two different ways now, and yes, I'm including their sex tape/porn viewing sessions where they both masturbate together

Did Dennis pull out Mac's anal beads when he was asleep?

Vibrating fucking anal beads what the ACTUAL FUCK!

How many people did the gang drug again?

Danny DeVito with a vibrating asshole comedy acting 12/10 he's an international treasure for a reason

Dee stealing people's phones she's so stupid and bad at men. Never change Dee.

Uncle Jack though, pls change plz, I'm an IASIP loving degenerate so I laughed in horror at his creepiness ofc as I have since 1x7 but fucking hell man, can he be in his jail era already! Poor Charlie!

Hey, Charlie's got new America's just as we were promised on the pod

Oh I should make a post about everything we saw in this episode and that episode of the pod where they gave us all those hints, especially Meg talking about struggling with this cold open — added to the never-ending list of drafts and posts that will hopefully one day make it onto the blog yeah I'm lying to myself now

Parental issues everywhere this season, especially with the mums. Reynolds kids, I can't wait to lovingly put you under my microscope. Once I've rewatched this episode with good sound.

Also just in general, the SINNED system just says SO much about our babygirl's psychology, does it not? Why did so much of it sound like self-insert speeches, like he's been doing this to Mac or smt? Don't even talk to me about The Gang Chokes!

What does r/iasip have to say about— no, I'm in my happy place, I'm not even gonna go there.

Mrs Mac and Mrs Kelly watching TV together like that, they really are lesbian life partners.

Dennis blue shirt with top-stick between those buttons, my beloved. I am looking, respectfully.

And can we talk about the "opening the ketchup bottle" scene? We have to take about that scene! Dennis... he's ruining me... need to gnaw on him and suck on his fingers wait I'm browning out...

Sidenote: I love whenever the show references news stories which were super fucking big at a very specific time in a very specific niche, especially with my whole family being so chess-obsessed. The cheating scandals and anal bead… never thought I'd see a Sunny crossover but can't say I'm not loving the shit out of it!

I really don’t post anything tinhatty or delusional headcanons for the different ships, whenever I talk about any of the dynamics in the show i always make sure it’s entirely based in canon with evidence so I find it very funny when big (mostly macdennis) accounts have me blocked bc they can’t handle that their favourite little romance is actually abuse lol & if it’s about deedennis, again, I will only talk about it in direct accuracy to the canonical writing of the show. Like when someone called my young gods edit “incesty” I didn’t move any clips around, I captured the general vibe and deeper details of their individual characters & their relationship only using actual clips from the show lol so if you thought that was incesty idk what to tell u.

Wait, you've been a Sunny fan for 8 years?! You've got to tell us how it's been in that time!!! What's the vibe been like here in that time and how has it changed? What were the big fan theories? Was r/iasip always such a hellhole dumpsterfire? What are the big things from the fandom back in the day that we don't know about but should?

Ooooh lets see what I remember-

Charlie reigned supreme- like really and truly so many blogs and so, so much content was Charlie Charlie Charlie, everyday, all the time and I mean he still is insanely popular but definitely back in the day Charlie in the show and of the cast was easily the most popular, like it felt like 7/10 posts were about him. Glenn was next in line but I do distinctly remember Kaitlin and Rob didn't have as much content about them, at a certain point I kinda was the Kaitlin Olson tag, that's not me being up myself I just used to be in her tag constantly and it'd be a lot of posts in a row of just me- the girls of the series def didnt always get the love they should and I'm not really sure that's changed much ☠ But yeah this was also around the time that everyone was also going gaga about Pacific Rim so that def made Charlie even more popular too.

Macdennis has always, always been a popular pairing but their popularity 100% has skyrocketed the past few years, and I mean SKYROCKETED. Like they're on par with some wildly popular mlm ships nowadays and it's lowkey so funny to see em in the ring with like. destiel 😂 now when I go in the tag it seems half the posts feature mac and dennis, which is notable to me bc Mac especially was kinda... Unloved is not the right way to phrase it bc fans have always loved him but Rob/Mac def didn't get /as/ much love back in the day. Like people often spoke of him as the weakest character but after season 13 I think he's gained more appreciation.

Fans have def gotten much bigger on theories and stuff these days, I'm sure they had em back then too but it wasn't as prevalent and none particularly stand out, it was usually just the "X characters are secretly sleeping together" type beat. I also remember a popular theory that everyone was going to die in the inevitable series finale but then the show never got cancelled and I dont know what that was about?

Reddit has always been messy and there def was a pretty big us vs them type vibe between sunny fans back then- though it was less reddit vs tumblr and more "straight dude bros" vs everyone else like I remember so many posts being like "Ugh straight dude bros don't get the show" I probably made some of those posts 😂 Lots of "Mac isn't actually gay" too which is very, very funny in hindsight- No one ever thought they'd canonize his sexuality.

Ummm... Probably the most notable thing to me tho is seeing how popular the cast has become, like 8 years ago Danny was the only "Big name" Like the media absolutely spoke of the show as these no name people and Danny Devito. I mean that was not totally the case for Charlie, he was becoming more and more popular and gaining traction in the mainstream with pacific rim and the likes but with Glenn, Kaitlin and Rob they were definitely not super well known outside Big always sunny fans so seeing them go from that to Rob being besties with Ryan Reynolds and stuff has honestly been super interesting and funny. Like I remember posting rob and kaitlins wedding pictures and getting so many people going WAIT THEYRE MARRIED?? it was hilarious to see the transition.

Yeah those are probably the biggest changes I can think of- it's gotten more popular which explains most of it, shipping has def become a much bigger thing as well, ships were pretty chill back then, there wasn't too much fic or art so thats different now :)

OH BUT ART! There's always been wonderful fan artists but nowadays wowee!! some amazing art for the series, like much more abundant! That's the gist of it :)

1, 6 and 10 for the ask game!!

1. you good?

Haven't been this horny for a fictional character in ages!

6. golden heart diamond meaning explained

First of all, I believe that CEO is supposed to resemble Mac, so when Dennis touches his heart, he's thinking about the Mac in his head and considering his ideal and belief.

The old ideal and identity Mac held on to so closely is exactly what shove Dennis deep into closet, and had been and is still making both of them miserable. When he takes it out, he's reflecting on the fact that this is the thing by the person that makes him the way he is.

However, as they have been friends for over 30 years, Mac's belief has becomes part of Dennis' own, so when he's taking that heart out, he's subconciously analysing his own heart, or at least the part of it that's deeply affected by his best friend. When the heart morphes into a diamond, it's refering both to Mac coming out and becomes more confident, and to how Dennis sees that he can let go of the shell he built in response to past Mac's stance on queerness.

From my understanding, the golden light shined by the diamond has something to do with the golden god. My tentative thoughts is that the diamond is what he sees as something that can fill his god hole, and it probably means to embrace himself and whoever he is under the masks he wears, and that's why he swallows it.

(I'm not sure if the heart is being squeezed into a diamond, but it could be! They're talking about pressure in this episode anyways.)

(and I think embracing his true self is pretty much just embracing macdennis)

10. give us a new dennis hc

Pet names. Basically it reduces to a few points:

Dennis wants to be called "my little wild flower" (yeah also Dennis gender)

Dennis loves to be called pet names that's related to him or the situation (I'm thinking "psycho boy" in fight club)

Also I'm saving "little wild flower" exclusively for Dennis from now on.

post DTAMHD ask game!

just watched the episode. thoughts I have so many thoughts here is a list of them in no order

undefined queer dennis canon!!!! my favourite type of queer rep honestly because me too dennis, me too

also I looooove how unsanitised mac's sexuality is. like yesss frank representing people who are fine with some aspects of queerness but rejects the bits they dont understand

funny that dee got the 'engage physically bit' and mac didnt. mac has had anal beads in his arse before he will kiss a man. honestly good for him

dennis is pretending to hate mac again??? this man is incapable of emotional intimacy without like 50 constructed rituals

both of them are now equally delusional with mac not getting that he was in love with dennis the whole time and dennis putting anal beads in his arse because he 'wanted soft shell crab'. sure. sure.

I hope they both implode

mac's date was so funny especially the lebron comment. dee was great as usual but a bit under-utilised maybe

dee still giving side character vibes this season which is annoying but whatever this episode was too insane for me to care too much

and we also got more lore on her attitude towards banging men. which is very. very. fucked.

I am kissing glenn for all his little expressions this ep. so mischievous

aehbfjk;sladw;ndf;owalk/mfk;wnoja'pfwdk;ld/nf

canonical macdennis penetration?!

all the roofie stuff was uncomfortable but also not really ooc. they are genuinely so tragic. none of them can see what is so violating about that.

the scene with dennis controlling frank was maybe made to imply that dennis was only controlling mac for the power trip but that doesnt make any fucking sense considering the texting, making him fall in love and HIS EXPRESSIONS. so idk why they did that. I guess to just show that dennis can still be arch? just for some cut away humour? idk im going to have to think about that. like the inclusion of frank feels purposeful

also making dennis put anal beads in his fathers arsehole was insane and disgusting and very sunny

the uncle jack stuff just wasnt funny. it is only funny when his creepiness is implied and absurd - like the hands. just straight up child abuse isnt funny. unless it wasnt meant to be funny?? I feel like his character needs to go somewhere this season otherwise his constant presence feels a bit unnecessary. honestly im hoping he dies.

charlie weakly saying 'disgusting' is just sad.

the patrick guy seemed really nice MAC WHAT ARE YOU DOING

I now understand why that reviewer called him a hopeless romantic

im still reeling

there was just so much in this episode

oh and the end sequence was really funny with frank slobbering everywhere

yeah overall this is definitely going to become a legendary episode

it airing directly after the macdennis break up podcast is really funny

the parasocial relationship ive fallen into with these 3 middle aged men combined with my autism super powers of pattern recognition has given me profound (and maybe delusional, who knows) insight into their minds and realistically here’s where i think they all land on macdennis.

i think charlie is the most on board with it but in a casual wouldnt-that-be-pretty-funny way and i think his biggest gripe with it would be them eventually running out of ways to make it fit the comedy of the show once the initial chaos of it dies down. rob is probably the most into taking on the sheer newness of exploring a relationship dynamic like that but he’s also very analytical and his gripe would be whether or not it would stray too far from the premise of the show and he’d possibly be worried about it turning into a “gay show” because of the ratio. and now for my most controversial take yet i think glenn is the least on board with macdennis especially when it comes to making dennis canonically queer. i get the vibes that he would think making dennis bisexual or whatever would send the wrong message because having a character as despicable and as “sexually deviant” as dennis be ACTUALLY gay would come across as them vilifying queer people. which rob would then push back against saying there’s bad people out there who just Happen to be gay there’s nothing wrong with putting that on television. (i’m starting to suspect glenn not being there is the reason they were able to push the envelope so much with them in s13-14.) I think they’ve had serious in depth conversations about their relationship and their plan has been to just keep postponing it until they figure out if they want to proceed with it later or just let it fizzle out into nothing. it’s definitely not at the forefront of their minds when they make the show but it’s back there somewhere for sure. the biggest hurdle i think they’re getting to especially this far into the show is deciding how heavily they want to lean into the commentary/satire aspect and how much they want to lean into the characters and their personal motivations— because a lot of the time the two blend together really well but with something like macdennis, as funny as it may be, it would require them to either lose the satire, have the relationship be unintentionally read as satire in a way that comes across as homophobic, or they’d have to find some way to incorporate satire into that storyline in way that’s successful AND true to their sense of humor AND would deflect from them being gay (like making fun of traditional couple tropes? idk). i think at some point they’re gonna hit “fuck it” and finally pull the trigger but that’s gonna be when the show has nothing left to lose. as for s16 im predicting there’s gonna be some significant macden moments but i don’t think it’s actually going canon yet.

again these are just my thoughts if you think im totally off i’d love to know

Dennis lives in a world where he doesn't want to open the crate because what the point of being disappointed time and time again. The crate never changes there is no reason For the crate to change. The crate is what is always has been and what it will always be. Empty. But dennis doesnt know that the crate may be the same on the outside but the inside is shifting and changing. The contents were ordered not thrown away. Wanted not discarded. Acknowledged and not repressed. Dennis always saw the crate for what it was but the crate had nothing to offer too lost in itself to have anything inside to share. There was a time when dennis wanted what was inside but too many times has he been fooled and to protect himself it's safer to not look.

The Gang Texts. I don’t know why exactly but that episode makes me feel like my head is going to explode. I can’t stand miscommunication and I also don’t like when Dennis is written like he isn’t equally dependent on Mac. The ending is good but everything leading up to that makes my head hurt. Interested to hear your thoughts!! Especially if you disagree because I’d love to hear a more positive take on this ep.

~ glenn-howerton-ships-macdennis

That a very interesting take! Good news I do disagree with it lol. But as I said when I was rating fanfic tropes, I love miscommunication and think it’s extremely human so I’m sure that makes me like it more.

I love the Gang Texts! It’s fascinating to me that you interpret Dennis as being not very dependent on Mac in the ep when I see it the complete opposite way lol. The whole reason Dennis gets mad at Mac in the episode is because he’s convinced Mac purposefully sabotaged his chances to see the lion feeding (which he only missed because he left to go look for Mac because he wanted to be able to watch the feeding with him. Boyfriend behavior) because Dennis always thinks people are pushing his buttons on purpose. As Mac points out in his (amazing super shippy and hilarious) text messages to Dennis, Dennis is EXTREMELY dependent on Mac even after all these years (I still can’t get over that he has Mac regularly rub his pecs after a work out like. Talk about scenarios that make me feral to think about lol) and that’s the whole reason he gets so upset because he does rely on and trust Mac a lot so the idea of Mac doing something purposefully cruel to him (which lets be real Mac HAS done before) makes him legitimately sad which makes him angry. That’s why all it takes to calm him down is looking in Mac’s eyes because before when Mac was talking and texting it felt like manipulation to Dennis but seeing the love in his eyes makes Dennis realize Mac didn’t hurt him on purpose and idk I think it’s really beautiful! Big win for macdennis!

And I get why Dennis just refusing to read Mac’s text could be seen as annoying and going in circles, but to me it feels very in character like it feels like the exact kind of fight those two WOULD have, y’know? And the scene where they meet in the bathroom and Mac tries to make it up to Dennis with the petting zoo just makes Dennis think Mac is fucking with him, which again only hurts him more because he is so reliant on Mac and does trust him to make him happy most of the time. Also the sexual tension during the pissing scene is absolutely insane Mac looks down at Dennis’ dick and Dennis just bites his lip like if that guy hadn’t walked in they totally would have fucked (hence the “you guys grindin?” joke). The Gang Texts is just macdennis all the time just pure macden goodness. Even though they’re fighting most of the ep it’s such a couple fight and I love it.

Also Frank in this ep? Hilarious. I love him trying to fuck with the gorilla and ending up the one fucked with. I love that Charlie can understand Frank’s texts even though he can’t read because of their weird little bond. I love that Charlie is way better at texting than Mac in general because and not in spite of the fact that he’s illiterate. I love that Mac is here writing fucking letters when everyone else is texting as short as possible (relatable). I like that Dennis calls Dee out for being homophobic but plays along when Frank does the same thing like ughhhh moments that remind me Frank is Dennis’ dad. There’s a lot of little moments in their texting I feel like you only notice on rewatch. I honestly liked the episode a lot more after I’d seen it a few times because of that lol.

It’s just a such good episode to me I love so many things about it. I hope I can give you a new perspective on it!