There is a not-insignificant amount of evidence that Dennis Reynolds, co-owner of Paddy’s Pub on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is a serial killer. He keeps “tools,” i.e. duct tape, zip ties, and gloves, in the truck of his car; he thinks a woman’s head in a freezer is a “preservation of love, forever and ever”; and he once told his own sister, “I swear you would be of more use to me if I skinned you and turned your skin into a lampshade or fashioned you into a piece of high-end luggage. Add you to my collection.”
But will It’s Always Sunny ever answer definitively whether Dennis is a serial killer? Probably not. In an interview with Rolling Stone‘s Alan Sepinwall, creator and star Rob McElhenney said that “we’re about as close to it as we all feel comfortable.” The Gang has done a lot of awful things through 13 seasons, but to have one of the main characters be a confirmed murderer (of humans, not rats), that might be a step too far.
“I don’t think you can have episode one or season one of a TV series where you can introduce a character like that for laughs. The audience just isn’t in a place where they feel comfortable enough,” McElhenney said. “It’s like somebody walks into a party, and you’ve never met them, and they walk up to you and tell you a joke. You’re going to get an uncomfortable laugh, but it’s going to feel like a bizarre situation. Whereas someone you’ve known for 10 years tells you the same joke, there’s just more context and you’re more ready to receive it. That’s kind of where we are with these characters.”
McElhenney is concerned about “selling” the characters out, and if that means we’ll never see the literal skeletons in Dennis’ closet, that’s fine by me.
Because, yeah, obviously they’re in there.
(Via Rolling Stone)
