"The Gang Gets Held Hostage" is the fourth episode of the third season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and parodies the reality TV show Survivor and the movie Die Hard.
Synopsis[]
Paddy's Pub is held hostage by the McPoyles, who are still pretty pissed off with gang for ruining their brothers chance of football. Meanwhile, Frank crawls through the vents to find his will, which Charlie hid.
Recap[]
1:30PM on a Wednesday
Frank is heading into the vents to get his will, which Charlie hid, with Mac helping him. The rest of the Gang shows up, bickering over Charlie supposedly being their brother, when three armed strangers show up in the front door. It's revealed that they're the McPoyles, ready to take them hostage. They make demands over the phone, Liam says he may kill one of them. They start worrying about Stockholm's Syndrome, and immediately form alliances against each other, before immediately breaking those alliances. Mac talks to Frank, telling him the situation and claims it's too late to save anyone but himself. Frank will only help him after he finds the will. After the McPoyles realize they won't get their demands, the make the Gang dig a hole into the next building, where they will then fly by helicopter. They allow two too rest at a time in the bathroom.
Frank is having trouble deciphering Charlie's clues due to his illiteracy, when the heat turns on with him still in the vents. Mac and Charlie are in the bathroom with Margaret, but since she's deaf-mute, they can talk about whatever they want. Mac gets Charlie to help with the map he made. Liam offers milk to Dennis and Dee, which they turn down. To prove they're serious, Liam tells Ryan to stab somebody, and he stabs his own brother. They leave to take care of it, and Dennis plans to manipulate Margaret to help them escape. Meanwhile, Frank calls into the radio and tells Mac to make sure if anybody dies, it's Charlie first. He and Mac plan to kill Frank and share the money. The McPoyles force everybody to wear their clothes to confuse the police.
Once everybody's gathered, they hold a contest: Whichever team can destroy the most stuff in the bar wins, Dee and Charlie versus Mac and Dennis. Dee tries to defect to the McPoyles, but it immediately fails. During the contest, Dennis leaves Mac to seduce Margaret. Mac and Dennis win, and when they check the office (Charlie had convinced Dee he'd destroy it to save them both), it's shown Charlie left through the vent. Frank enters Charlie's "bad room," where Mac claims Charlie goes to break bottles when he's angry. Charlie shows up behind Frank with the will, destroying it (which is actually what Frank wanted) and threatens to kill him. He stops immediately when Frank pulls out his gun. He leads them out.
Dennis succeeds in seducing Margaret, although it was completely fruitless and mostly disgusting. Charlie and Frank are stuck in the vents, with everybody else on the roof. The McPoyles are ready to show up, when Charlie and Frank made it there too. After a series of crazed laughter, Frank takes his gun he has taped on his back and shoots at them, missing every time. This causes Ryan to fall off the roof, Liam grabbing onto his arm. The brothers have a heart to heart before Liam can't hold on any longer, he lets go his hold of Ryan's arm. Ryan is completely unharmed because it's not that far of a drop. They run off, revealing the whole thing was a fake and that the guns were rubber the whole time, having humiliated and screwed with the Gang enough.
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[]
- Jimmi Simpson as Liam McPoyle
- Nate Mooney as Ryan McPoyle
- Thesy Surface as Margaret McPoyle
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode to take place entirely in Paddy's Pub. The Season 3 episode "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off", the Season 7 episode "Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games", the Season 10 episode "Charlie Work", Season 12's "The Gang Tends Bar" and Season 13's "The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem" do the same.
- Instead of the standard Sunny soundtrack dramatic-action music plays. This would also be seen later, in "The Gang Gets Trapped" and "Thunder Gun Express."
- The McPoyles take their revenge against the Gang from the events of "The Gang Gets Invincible" episode.
- Kaitlin Olson's pinky toe was broken at the time of this episode's shootings, limiting her movement throughout.
- Sylvester Stallone and Dan Aykroyd are both mentioned in this episode (as possible owners of Planet Hollywood reversible leather jackets).
- The episode parodies several moments in Die Hard.
- Frank crawling through the vents in his vest with a lighter.
- The climax where Frank has a gun taped to his back and laughs with the McPoyles.
- The part where Ryan McPoyle falls off the building.
- Frank's line when he pulls the gun on the McPoyles ("Yippie ki-ay, Mr. Falcon'") is a reference to the infamous censorship of Bruce Willis's line "Yippie ki-ay, motherfucker" in the TV version of Die Hard 2.
- This episode contains the first (and so far only) appearance of Paddy's attic and specifically Charlie's "Bad Room" - a place in the attic where he "goes to be alone and break bottles."
- The McPoyles barricade the door from the inside, but Paddy's pub front door opens out not in, so barricading from the inside wouldn't do any good.
- Dee doesn't notice the shotgun is rubber when she loads it getting ready to shoot the gang. Presumably, Liam licked Dee's face in order for her not to notice.
Quotes[]
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— | “Whoa! Okay. Okay, don't shoot, okay? Just take whatever you want...” |
| “Yeah, take the cash register.” | — | 
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— | “Take the girl!” |
| “What do you mean "Take the girl"?” | — | 
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— | “Don't argue with them. Just go!” |
| “He's right, sis. You better just go with them...” | — |
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— | “But they're not trying to take me anywhere...” |
| “Don't try to be a hero, Dee. Just do what they say!” | — |
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— | “They're not saying anything!..” |
| “Well, what's the sense?! If you keep arguing with them, then we're all gonna die!!!” | — |
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— | “Margaret, you like sweat, don't you? It is "Margaret", isn't it? Of course it is. You know, your eyebrow drives me crazy. It's so thick, it's so dark, and so very... connected. You're a stone cold fox, Margaret. You're a stone cold fox, and I want you. I gotta have you, I need you. I want you inside me. But you know that, don't you, Margaret?” |
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— | “When we get out of this, I'm gonna shove my fist right into your ass, hard and fast...
Not in a sexual way! In a "I am pissed off at you" way.” |
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— | “I'm trying to put myself in their position, you know? It's called 'compassion,' dickheads. Maybe if you guys had a little bit of it, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, and then we wouldn't be standing here trying to figure out which one of you we had to kill, but that's where we are so hand me that shotgun. 'Cause I like to do this mess myself. GET ON YOUR KNEES, BITCHEEES!” |
