#then macdennis is gonna happen. period
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the structure in mac and dennis break up
this is gonna be a short post tbh, I just rewatched the episode and I have a couple of thoughts.
if you need a refresher on what I think the structure is in general, I talk about it here.
I think Mac and Dennis Break Up shows us an example of Mac and Dennis (and Charlie and Frank) working properly in regards to the structure, let me explain why:
First... I don't think there's a need for me to describe the plot of the episode, we all know.
What I want to focus on, is that at one point Mac moves in with Frank and Charlie, and starts bringing his way of life to them.
At first, Frank is thrilled.
"I could use a little structure in my life here." he says.
This reminds me of dialogue from Carries a Corpse.
"Nobody admit this to Mac, but... I feel like he was carrying a ton of weight."
"That would be another one of his annoying identities... the man who could carry stuff."
He's been shown carrying Dennis, on top of generally being inclined to micromanage, take care of others so they're safe, and make decisions or at least demand to be consulted in them (like which movie to watch on movie night).
That's when Mac works best, so I assume that Mac generally brings structure (or is a man of action, as he describes it).
Later on, we see Mac take this too far, and Frank doesn't like it anymore. To me, this is because what this episode tells us is that Charlie and Frank don't work well with a set structure, the way that Mac provides. They're more free.
I think this reading is important because it shows me why The Gang Gets Romantic fundamentally fails in its objective (not as an episode god forbid, I mean in the narrative, especially for Mac and Dennis).
It applies the romcom structure to Charlie and Frank, while it doesn't to Mac and Dennis, when it should be the opposite. Throughout the episode we see that Mac and Dennis keep fitting the tropes to the romcom structure, but they refuse to follow it, and thus it crumbles. It can't work.
Here's another thing.
Dennis' back broke in the S15 finale.
That is funny, yes, but what does this mean when I say that Mac is the (his) structure, then?
Well... Carries a Corpse implies that Mac was carrying most of the weight of the corpse, and the corpse is meant to be the show... and most show meta is basically the same as Dennis meta (most meta lines seem to relate to him, whether the fact he left for north dakota and came back, or the fact he's a dad, being between life and death, breaking his back aka the structure, and so on), as I have discussed better in my other post.
Point being, Mac carries Dennis. That's what he's meant to do, and what he does best in their relationship.
This makes me think of another recent scene that I think is emblematic of their dynamic... but in an interesting way.
So, in 2020: a Year in Review, Mac and Dennis work together on a song.
They seem to be in harmony, but eventually start disagreeing and stop altogether to focus on something else. Why?
Because Dennis is working on the backup vocals, and Mac is working on the words. Which means their roles are reversed. Mac is supposed to be carrying the song, like the wind beneath his wings that he is, and Dennis, like the man of words that he is, should be responsible for the lyrics. They're doing each other's job, which means any harmony they reach is still bound to crack a bit the moment the song doesn't work for them.
Their seating position on their sofa reflects this.
Compare it to Mac and Dennis Break Up, which is supposed to be our ideal.
They're in each other's places, in 2020.
This isn't new, they've been sitting in each other's places ever since Break Up. Mac was sitting in Dennis' place in MFHP, Dennis was sitting in Mac's place in Gets Romantic.
So tl;dr... Mac and Dennis work well under structure, when Mac is the one to bring it and carry Dennis. They fit a proper couple structure after all. Charlie and Frank don't work as well under structure, since their relationship is more unique and doesn't quite abide by normal rules because of that.
This does bring me to one last consideration though...
They're back in their right spots, in season 16! Only problem is... couch is different. I would argue an inflatable couch doesn't offer the same amount of support (structure) that a normal one would...
Now that Dennis' structural essence broke, is he gonna feel what it's like when Mac is absent?
Perhaps this is why in Cursed we get Mac as the lucky one while the others as so unlucky they start to believe they're cursed (according to the synopsis...).
So the whole gang needs Mac?
Well...
In Goes To Hell pt2, when they build the human pyramid, it's both Mac and Dennis that end up at the bottom, as its structure.
So maybe... Dennis needs Mac as his structure, and the gang needs them to be in sync so they can both, together, support them (or shut the hell up about it, as both madbu and s15 would argue). Maybe this realization could be what brings the gang to work together in order to get them together. But that's getting into just speculation so imma end it here.
I like these thoughts though... Mac and Dennis being the foundation, the structure of the whole thing :)
#iasip#it's always sunny in philadelphia#s16 spoilers#always sunny#macdennis#macden#analysis#meta#this is as good as ''mac is the rat dennis is the cheese and together they're the trap of macdennis''#i do love building meta off of other meta that i pre-established... makes me feel like im citing my own research papers#if this only makes sense to me im so sorry my bad. it will happen again#this was born as a twitter thread while i rewatched madbu and things started making a bit too much sense so i had to write about it#i think if by the end of inflates they go back to their normal couch thats like golden sign that macden is going canon#cuz they maybe start experimenting different couches and none of them work for them. so they start blowing them all up#you know. like the stew!!! throwing it in the face instead of eating. using it wrong to get a thrill.#but by the end theyre like... no actually. our old one worked the best. for us. it worked. it supported us right#not flimsy like an inflatable couch is#so mark my words. if by the end of inflates we see macden sitting AT THEIR RIGHT SPOTS with THE RIGHT COUCH mirroring madbu...#then macdennis is gonna happen. period#dennis is gonna figure out that mac is his structure and theyre gonna go back. together. at the BOTTOM of the gang pyramid#getting pissed on together<3 like meerkats#dennis ''i aint goin down'' reynolds when hes destined to be part of the structural support and thus has to go down and stay down#dedicating this post to parker and joe they'll know what i mean#dennis reynolds#mac mcdonalds
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i have more to say actually. hi ivi love you <3 okay so. i think one of the reasons that later seasons arent hitting as well in terms of comedy (for me, at least), is that the antics are largely off screen. they allude of antics and dont SHOW us them as much as they used to. instead we are getting more episodes of them bonding as a group. and while i think this takes away from the comedy, it is definitely intentional and i think it is more proof of. how they are intentionally moving towards more meaningful story lines. i am thinking specifically of the charlies dad ireland episodes where mac gets to be gay, dennis is sick, and charlie gets one of thee most heart wrenching moments in the entire show. the antics are lessening and its SO meaningful. even the poop bit is somewhat meaningful (i hate saying that) because it's proof that frank is aging and i kind of hope they have an episode about it. not just frank-antics (frantics, if you will). GOD I WANT A MEANINGFUL DEE EPISODE SOOOOO BAD. the women and gays deserve a good dee episode soooooo badly. i want her to kill someone like. okay now i am writing fanfiction here. i want an episode to open on her covered in blood with a comically huge knife (blood on her face and mouth as a call back to the cannibal episode maybe?) and the gang thinks she murdered someone, but in the end its actually because she ate a girl out on her period and they had some kinky knifeplay sex. manifesting it. ummmmm. what else can i burden you with. thats it. for now. (threat)
hii Jess, love you too <3 and putting this under a cut bc it got too long
okay this is very interesting and I think you're probably right, tho i can't actually properly comment on it bc i haven't really analyzed the show as a whole to see the actual difference that you mention, bc they did also make emotional and bonding episodes in the past, but i agree that I do think the show is getting more serious and more about the feelings of the characters, bc I feel like even if they don't have an intention of ending right now, they know they are getting to an end and so it's time to start seeing the impact of the things they have lived. It's time to finally go somewhere (like it's insane that they did the Charlie's dad thing, that was an unresolved plot since s2!!!!! since the beginning!!! and they closed it!!!) they are literally bringing their recurring themes to the surface, and so macdennis.
and I so I do think we will see also the meaningful side of frank and dee, and it is gonna make me cry. (btw 'frantics' hello I love your brain skdjskd)
now I don't have much thoughts about frank (tho I would argue that we have started seeing his emotional side with the whole charlie thing) but I do about dee (my love 😍). Now objectively I think Dee's plot is going to be about acting, something will happen that will get her to realize she has to stop trying to be an actress, and that process will also be about her need of approval. I don't think she's going to get 'fixed' (there's nothing to fix, she's perfect) but it will be about dealing with all that. That's my bet, but i'm open to them surprising me, it would not be the first time. Now what do I want from Dee's plot?? lesbianism. kissing a girl will fix dee!!!! and also it will drive mac and dennis (for different reasons) INSANE, so the comical potential is right there!! like people always talk about 'how gay the show is' and only mention the guys (bc yeah they are gay) and dee gets ignored when she has a very clear queercoding that drives me insane!!! like she wants to kiss women so bad it makes her look stupid, bc she's also stupid and doesn't know she wants to kiss women!!!! I'm kicking and biting just by thinking this, rcg stop being so stupid!!!! 🔪🔪
and so in relation to all this, HELLO I LOVE YOUR IDEA!!!! first I'm so much more into the joke being that dee (or Charlie btw) is a killer than dennis, so this is already perfect. and second just your brain!!! the call back to the cannibalism, the idea of the whole thing happening bc they just don't talk to her and ask her but go behind her back to unravel everything, the knife!!! and obviously the lesbianism!! and also love that as a way of revealing the queer dee plot, like I love it being a big deal for dee bc it's important, but also it would be hilarious if she has just always known but never like commented it of made a big deal of it bc she knows the gang doesn't care kskdkdjdkd
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me immediately reacting to the press release for the season finale
press release post here, but I gotta yell about some shit and I feel like doing it in the tags will not contain my yellingness
also, obviously, spoilers below
OKAY, SO - I would not at all be surprised if the season finale ends with dennis actually leaving the gang and going to north dakota to try to be an actual father, nor would I think that’s the end of dennis’ involvement with the gang. I’d be shocked, #SHOCKEDT I tell you, if he didn’t end up coming back to philadelphia after a few episodes. it’s different, it shakes things up pretty dramatically, but it’s no crossing a rubicon, if only because sunny’s got two more seasons after this one, and given how big a role glenn plays in the show period, I’d be more than a little surprised if we said goodbye to dennis at the end of the season.
like, my expectation is - dennis makes some comment or comes to an understanding of what a shit father frank was to him, and decides he’s not gonna be that guy, so off he goes to north dakota at the end of the episode. s13 I would imagine sees him trying to be a parent and either not being great at it, or simply missing the gang too much to stick around. (which does make me sad for the kid, honestly. I’d hope they could work something out where dennis at least has a role in the kid’s life?)
now holy shit for the They Went There moment - mac suggests they pretend to be a couple??? look if that ain’t a confirmation that mac’s coming out of the fucking closet on wednesday, then what the fuck is. with that said, my immediate reaction is that it’s actually weirdly nice to see this, in that I find it super-validating as a pretty shameless macdennis fan. I don’t mean to imply that “omg RCG is listening!!!!11!!11″ - in my 10+ years of experience with fandom, shipping was always kind of given the sideeye whenever fans tried to seriously discuss how plausible in canon their chances were. which, I get - most ships don’t have a chance in hell of becoming canon, because queerbaiting or behind-the-scenes show politics or “the world is just not ready” or the showrunners aren’t feeling it; and usurping a show’s story just for the sake of a romantic pairing and appeasing a vocal slice of the fanbase is unfair and would probably be detrimental to the show - in my opinion, anyway. feel free to disagree!
but it’s welrdly kind of nice to feel like I’m not just seeing things, especially because I definitely don’t think RCG feels like they’re doing this bc they’re beholden to a tiny contingent of fans on tumblr. like, okay, cool, I’m not crazy for thinking mac has a big ol’ crush on dennis. take that reddit
and, to switch from doylist to watsonian perspectives, um holy shit mac???? going from being an ArmoredClosetGay to actively suggesting he and dennis pretend to be a couple (which........how does that get dennis out of his jam anyway) - that’s a big leap no matter how you slice it. and I don’t think it’s the same thing as making macdennis canon, either (although shit, kudos to y’all who guessed that was the finale - it was a lot closer than my guesses at least). the release did say it’s (1) a suggestion, so dennis could be like ‘wtf???? no’ and it could not pan out, and (2) playing pretend, which ends in relationships really only in the realm of fanfiction. (I mean shit I’m still gonna hope for it but in like a passive, ‘if it happens awesome but if not I’m not surprised’ kinda way? like damn RCG you’re really cutting into my business here aren’t you)
but I find it extremely interesting because of how much mac could really get into it, and I’m curious to see dennis’ reaction to mac happily playing the role of his boyfriend (if they end up going down that route). like that... kinda suggests uncovering mac’s feelings for dennis in a definitive way? and I really want to see what dennis thinks of that - if he’s made uncomfortable with it, if he’s uncomfortable with how comfortable he gets with it, if it doesn’t work, if it’s the suburbs ep 2: electric boogaloo. I’d also be interested to see if it stretches beyond the scope of this episode and into s13, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if it didn’t. (I’d def be disappointed if it capped off macdennis like once and for all, but I do watch the show for more than just that. besides, that’s what fanfiction is for.)
tl;dr holy shit
#it's always sunny in philadelphia#macdennis#iasip#iasip spoilers#iasip s12 spoilers#sunny spoilers#this is giving me flashbacks to supernatural#both the episode where ben was maybe dean's son#and the ending of s5#after which I bawled my fucking eyes out#but like - dean ended up going back to the hunting lifestyle in s6#there's a practical demand at work here#real life real talk
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