There are a lot of negative things that you can say about The Gang from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the core group of characters consisting of Frank, Dennis, Charlie, Mac, and Dee. They’re narcissistic, pretty stupid, alcoholics, and extremely inconsiderate of others. And, well, the overall group dynamic in Paddy’s Pub is also pretty misogynistic.
Yes, out of all of the members of The Gang, the one who gets the least respect is definitely Dee, the only woman in the group. She’s constantly the butt of the joke, the guys rarely listen to what she has to say, and three of Dee’s cars have either been stolen or destroyed as a direct result of The Gang’s nefarious activities.
Still, despite the fact that Dee is an obvious victim of her misogynistic environment, it’s hard to feel bad for her because, well, she’s a terrible person. She’s a liar, a cheat, a drunk, and a thief. And she’s screwed over more people throughout the series than you could count.
So, a lot of the time, when Dee gets verbally abused by her comrades, it feels deserved (even when it may not be). But, there are certain times throughout It’s Always Sunny when The Gang takes things too far, and sometimes, the audience may actually be compelled to feel pity for Sweet Dee.
So, in this article, we’re going to run through the history of It’s Always Sunny and call to memory a few times when we actually felt bad for Dee. After all, it can’t be easy being the only female in a group of drunk, misogynistic assholes.
1. The Gang Broke Dee
Perhaps the worst thing that The Gang has ever done to Dee on It’s Always Sunny was making her believe that she was a successful comedy star (of the caliber that would be interviewed on Conan), only to draw the curtains on the charade and devastate her.
If you’re not so familiar with It’s Always Sunny, Dee wants to be famous more than anything in the world— she’s extremely narcissistic. So, to make her believe that she achieved international fame only to rip it away from her was the perfect way to decimate her self-esteem.
Not only that, but Dee also had sex with several of the actors hired by The Gang, believing that she was “sleeping her way to the top” and advancing her career. The only silver lining here was that the ruse also made Dennis look like a complete fool. “The Gang Broke Dee” is an ingenious episode; however, it does make you feel a little sorry for Dee.
2. Mac and Charlie Destroy Dee’s Car
As previously mentioned, several of Dee’s cars have been wrecked or stolen as a result of some of The Gang’s hijinks. In the episode, “Mac & Charlie Die, Part 1”, Mac and Charlie attempt to fake their own deaths by stealing Dee’s car and driving it at full speed into a wall, hoping that people would assume they were inside when the car blew up.
When that doesn’t work, they decide to throw a grenade into the car. That plan also fails, and they try to shoot the gas tank with a gun. This plan also fails. So, while they never actually blew up Dee’s car, the front half of the car was completely totaled, and the sides were covered in bullet holes.
At the end of the “Mac & Charlie Die, Part 2” episode, Dennis reveals that he knew Charlie and Mac had been alive the entire time, meaning that their plan to fake their own deaths was unsuccessful. Thus, destroying Dee’s car was a completely needless act.
As we know, The Gang pays Dee almost nothing for working at Paddy’s Pub. It must have taken Dee a long time to save up for that car, only to have it completely wrecked for no reason whatsoever.
3. Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. While Sweet Dee is definitely a less-than-upstanding human being, no one deserves to be set on fire. But as the title of the episode “Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire” implies, Dee gets set on fire… twice.
Essentially, in this episode, The Gang is trying to get famous by capturing acts of heroism on film. So, Frank convinces Dee to walk into an old warehouse (which has been pumped full of flammable gas, unbeknownst to Dee) to save a box of kittens.
When Dee enters the building, they strike a match and light the building on fire. Dee then comes running out of the building, engulfed in flames, and throws the box of kittens.
In the second incident, Frank convinces Dee to go down into a well where another box of kittens has been placed, claiming that the video will be her ticket to fame. This time, Frank promises that there will be no fire involved. However, as soon as she climbs into the well, Frank sets it ablaze once again. And, once again, Dee emerges on fire and throws the kittens.
4. Dee Falls Into the Side of a Car
Now, this particular incident occurred in the “Who Pooped the Bed?” episode after Dee gets so fed up with The Gang and their fascination with poop that she decides to try and find some female companionship with Artemis and The Waitress.
Desperate to live a glamorous lifestyle like the girls in Sex and the City (the TV show that Dee has become obsessed with), she attempts to steal a pair of expensive shoes from a store. As Dee is rushing out of the store wearing the stolen high heels, she trips on the sidewalk and smashes her head into the side of a parked car, setting off the alarm.
Yes, Dee somewhat deserved this misfortune for stealing; however, she looks so pathetic during this scene that it’s hard not to feel a little bit bad for her. Dee spends most of her life talking about raunchy and disgusting topics with her male coworkers, and, for one day, she wanted to feel a bit ladylike.
But, lacking the funds and the manners to achieve such a lifestyle, she ends up plowing her head into the side of a car and getting caught for shoplifting.
5. Dee Gets Chili Powder in Her Eyes
In the episode “Sweet Dee Gets Audited,” The Gang pulls one of the darkest schemes they’ve ever conjured up. Dee has been declaring Barnabas Reynolds, a baby that doesn’t exist, as a dependent on her tax returns. So, in order to get Dee out of trouble with the IRS, The Gang decides to stage a funeral for the baby to convince the IRS agent that Barnabas died. Yeah, pretty dark.
Anyway, before the funeral, Dennis is a little concerned that Dee will be able to play the role of a grieving mother effectively (she is, after all, a terrible actress). His solution? He blows chili powder into Dee’s eyes with a straw to make it look like she’s been crying.
Obviously, this plan goes horribly wrong, and Dee’s eyes become severely inflamed and red as a tomato. Now, while deceiving the IRS by staging the death of a baby that never existed is a pretty awful thing to do, I still don’t think that Dee deserved two eyes full of chili powder. That sounds like some seriously excruciating pain.
Although I’ve watched it before, I never fully understood each character’s personality, but thanks to your sharing, it made me understand more about each person’s personality, especially Dee.