It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Mac Finds His Pride - Review

The season finale is upon us, everyone. Is it just me or did this season go by very fast? Well, I guess 10 episode seasons will do that. But it was a very quality season for the most part. Lots of many enjoyable moments, some slow, and not enough Glenn Howerton, although more than I was expecting. How did they cap off this season? Not with a physical bang like last season's rocket launcher, but an emotional one, leading to some major character development for one member of our core gang.

It's Gay Pride Parade time for Philly, and Mac is in a huge funk. But Frank is all excited about the parade and he wants to make Mac the center of it all. But Mac isn't in a prideful mood and Frank doesn't know how to help him out of it. But together, they will somehow find his pride.

Frank takes him to a gay club to get him immersed in the gay scene. It's an S&M club and Mac is not comfortable. This is taking it too far a step further from his Dennis doll and Ass Pounder 4000. Frank, who banged his nose on Mac's door earlier and left it bleeding profusely, gets kicked out for putting his bloody nose napkins in the chicken plate. It was too much for Mac anyway, so Frank decides to try something a little less hardcore. He takes him to a drag queen show, but Mac isn't comfortable here either. Mac and Frank get into a conversation where it's revealed Mac hasn't told his dad yet that he's gay. But he can't because he himself is still struggling to define who he is and make sense of what he feels. The best way he can describe it is dancing with a hot, naked woman with the light of God shining on him. Frank doesn't get it.

Frank takes Mac to the prison so Mac can come out to his dad. Mac goes on about his hot naked woman God vision, and his dad just stops at hot naked woman, basically. He assumes that Mac is telling him that he knocked someone up, which really excites him. But only if it's a grandson. Granddaughters are to be flushed down the toilet in the Mcdonald household.

At the bar, Frank is still having trouble stopping the bleeding. Charlie shows up to pick up Mac, but Mac isn't there to go anywhere. But he should be because the float they made for the parade is amazing. Where did they get the money for that, or who did they steal it from? Charlie puts the pressure on Frank to get Mac on board for this cool float, so he goes to Mac and Dennis' apartment only to find a girl seemingly doing the walk of shame right out of there. Frank's worried Mac's trying to go back in the closet by knocking up a girl, but Mac's just not in a place to come out to his dad just yet, or at least to come out with it just like that. He needs to do it in his own way, in a way that better helps him and his father understand Mac's feelings.

Since he couldn't get Mac to be their token gay, Frank gets Cricket to play the part. They don't want to use him, but they don't have a choice. And now Frank has to drive the float, but he can't because his eyes and face are all kinds of messed up. This makes Frank have an epiphany about Mac. He goes back to Mac and compares his neverending bleeding to Mac trying too hard to plug up his gayness, and that he needs to let it all flow out. But not by going on the float, but by coming out to his father Mac-style.

At the prison, they've set up a staging area for Mac to do a show where he dances with a beautiful, nearly naked woman in the rain. It's the vision Mac described earlier. It's a really great, smooth, beautiful performance. Mac's openness about his sexuality, letting the world see this place inside his heart that he's never shown anyone before is touching. But not for his father. He leaves during the performance, but the woman convinces an upset Mac to keep dancing with her. The rest of the prison inmates, and Frank, are impressed and give them a standing ovation. Frank finally gets it.

I loved this episode for celebrating Mac's sexuality and giving us a deeper understanding about him and helping Mac understand himself more, and helping Frank understand him. It was great to see Frank step up to be the fatherly figure Mac doesn't get from his own father, even as flawed and as terrible a father Frank himself is to Dennis and Dee. My only criticism is I wish we had seen more of the gang. It would have been funny to see how the gang actually handle Gay Pride, especially with Cricket at the helm.

How did everyone else feel about the season finale? Thoughts on the season as a whole? What was your favorite episode?