"Sweet Dee's Dating a [Redacted] Person" is the ninth episode of the third season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Synopsis[]
Dee begins dating an amateur rapper who Dennis thinks is mentally r*tarded. Meanwhile, Frank, Charlie, and Mac start their own band but can't agree on what type of music they should play.
Recap[]
10:30PM on a Wednesday, Philadelphia, PA
The gang discusses Dee dating a local celebrity rapper with the stage name "Lil' Kevin." Dee initially takes pride in dating Kevin after showing him off, but the gang begins to point out attributes that suggests Kevin may be mentally disabled with Dennis swearing they attended the same elementary school and seeing Kevin "take the short bus." As Dee leaves defensive and unsure of Kevin's status, the rest of the gang discuss wanting to become famous through music like Kevin. Mac and Charlie want to start a band but refuses to let Dennis join due to Dennis's love and insistence on dressing up for glam rock. They allow Frank to join their band mostly to let him bankroll buying instruments.
At a music store, Mac chooses a guitar and discovers Charlie is a savant with the keyboard. Charlie has misgivings about possibly performing in front of an audience and getting booed, but Mac ignores Charlie and they continue to disagree about the direction of their band. Frank chooses to be their drummer.
Back at Dennis's place, Dee and Dennis flip through Dennis's elementary school yearbook to find evidence of Kevin's possible mental disability. They decide to head to Kevin's house together, with Dennis seeking to find further proof Kevin is mentally disabled while Dee wants to prove he is not. The two compete among themselves, counting points for things they find such as the fact that Kevin does not drive a car and lives with his mother. Dee eventually caves when left alone with Kevin watching television, as he laughs gleefully at cartoons and eats childish snacks, and she breaks up with him.
Mac, Charlie, and Frank practice with their new instruments at Charlie's apartment and realize they cannot play music together. Frustrated, they instead agree that a rock band needs to live the lifestyle of rock stars more than having musical talent. They book a hotel room to trash and destroy in order to live like rock stars, but Frank stops their carnage when he learns Mac used Frank's credit card to charge for the hotel, and they flee.
Charlie's "lyrics" on paper.
Later, the band meets back up at the bar dressed in mismatched outfits. Dressed in what they each think is their definition of rock, Frank is dressed in a suit like early rock 'n roll, Mac is dressed like punk rock, and Charlie describes himself as looking like Bob Dylan. They agree to practice this time with a song Charlie wrote, but Mac and Frank are put off when Charlie's lyrics begin to sound like a story of rape. They kick Charlie out of the band and ask Dennis to replace him, and Dennis only agrees when Mac allows him to dress how he wants. As they resume practice with Dennis in place, Dee arrives and announces she broke up with Kevin due to believing he is mentally disabled. Dennis corrects her and declares Kevin is not mentally disabled and he had been messing with her all along. Dee leaves angrily to find Kevin and reconcile with him, but Dennis reassures the gang Kevin is really still mentally disabled after Dee leaves. Mac and Frank soon kicks Dennis out of the band after hearing his attempts to sing.
Dennis finds Charlie at his apartment writing more of his song and huffing paint. Dennis helps Charlie come up with lyrics, and they decide to form a band of their own. That night, the gang debuts their respective bands with live performances at the bar. Dennis and Charlie (named "Electric Dream Machine") open first, but are booed off by the crowd mid-song. Mac and Frank (named "Chemical Toilet") are ushered off by Kevin before they can start playing, with the crowd cheering for Kevin to perform. Kevin performs an impromptu diss track dedicated to Dee, delivering scathing remarks about her looks and calling her out for gold-digging and believing he was mentally disabled. Dee and Dennis are stunned, and remarks Kevin is not mentally disabled.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly
- Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds
- Rob McElhenney as Mac
- Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds
- Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds
Guest Starring[]
- Kyle Davis as Lil' Kevin
Co-Starring[]
- Judith Drake as Lil' Kevin's Mom
- Nick Toren as Salesman
Trivia[]
- Dennis reveals early in the episode Lil' Kevin's full name is Kevin Gallagher.
- The assistant in the music store sells the guitar to Mac as having a "graphite reinforced, 35-inch scale neck." This is an impossibility given that even baritone guitars have only 27-inch scale necks.
- Charlie's illiteracy continues to be a theme when his written lyrics are indecipherable and described as "a page from a coloring book" twice.
- The episode "The Nightman Cometh" in season 4 has Charlie incorporate the "Dayman" song he wrote with Dennis in his play.
- Charlie is shown proficiently playing the keyboard live in his scenes. Actor Charlie Day grew up learning piano as both his parents were music teachers.
- It is revealed that Dennis and Dee went to a place called "Waldron" for elementary school. Rob McElhenney went to Waldron Mercy Academy, a private Catholic school in Philadelphia.
