This article was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn’t exist.
In 2003, successful heavy metal group Metallica released the album St. Anger. The album’s title track played with the concept of a patron saint of, well, anger who “never gets respect.”
The intentionally abrasive and critically derided project was followed up with a 2004 documentary about its tumultuous recording process. Much of the film depicts the band’s group therapy and studio sessions, which consist mostly of spoiled assholes bickering among themselves. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered the following year. And with it, came its own St. Anger.
Sixteen seasons into its run, It’s Always Sunny has cemented itself as an indelible piece of popular culture. But while the core characters seem so recognizable to us in the current day, there has been a slow evolution to the folks at Paddy’s Pub. Today we’re going to focus on Dennis Reynolds.
In the show’s most recent episode, “Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day,” we focus on the character’s familiar raging god complex as it relates to the “modern luxuries” that fill our world. Throughout the episode, we see Dennis lash out against the inherent stresses associated with contemporary luxuries like automated cars and transaction and interaction being app-based.
It became apparent in this episode that Dennis had become an ideal character for Swiftian satire. He’s a terrible person, so you can torture him without losing the audience. But also there is catharsis in his lashing out against the absurdities of the modern world. He has our support, but not our sympathy. He is somehow both above and below it all.
I wanted to know how the character rose and sank to such a position. So let’s chart the origins of Dennis Reynolds, our St. Anger.
Dennis was a fairly measured character in the early seasons. Yes, he was a narcissist, but he was far from a maniac. The first signs of what Dennis would become that to shine through in season five episode “The Gang Ignites the Rivalry.”
Looking to be welcomed as a returning champion, Dennis is instead mocked and tased by the new members of his college fraternity. His continued shrieks of “Idiots! Idiots!” and “I’m a legend” throughout the episode are a strong indication for where the character is headed.
Season seven’s “The Anti-Social Network” sees Dennis once again obsess over a perceived sleight, this time in the form of a bar patron shushing his conversation. According to Dennis, the social media-obsessed clientele of the swanky bar get jealous when they hear buddies having a real conversation in person. That brings on the shushing.
After a fruitless search for the shusher, he unknowingly walks into Paddy’s Pub. The episode ends with Dennis instructing Charlie to lock the door so that Dennis can “get satisfaction” from his shushing assailant.
Dennis’ elevation into a rage deity is further highlighted in season seven’s two-part conclusion surrounding the gang’s high school reunion. Dennis assures a group of former classmates “I’m just a man” after they fail to come pay him tribute at his table. Dennis clearly sees himself as more than human, a character trait we’ll come back to.
The deification of Dennis Reynolds begins to crystallize in season 10’s “The Gang Misses the Boat.” This episode finds our core cast members challenging what their characters have become in the long-running series.
Dennis submerges his Range Rover — a key aspect of his identity — in the river after baselessly claiming that it doubles as an amphibious exploring vehicle. He rails against the abundance of costumes in the bar and the escalating weirdness among the cast.
“I’ve got to get away from you people. I fly off the handle every five seconds now,” he says.
Dennis announces his effort to once again become a cool guy who doesn’t succumb to rage constantly. He fails immediately after a couple of failed attempts at selling his sunken Range Rover. This leads to Dennis’ more iconic monologues.
“I have contained my rage for as long as possible, but I shall unleash my fury upon you like the crashing of a thousand waves. Begone, vile man. Begone from me. A starter car? This car is a finisher car. A transporter of gods. The golden god. I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds.”
We see Dennis lose his Range Rover once again in season 13’s “The Gang Gets New Wheels.” Here he gets as close to normalcy as you can imagine, but he betrays any chance at a regular life when he once again acquires an identical Range Rover.
Despite this season 13 deconstruction of Dennis’ character, the true culmination of Dennis’ rage saint comes in the season 11 episode “Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs.” The episode is a slow boil. It’s very much a precursor to the recent “Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day,” as we see our St. Anger wage war against the many “conveniences” that occupy modern life and serve only as hindrances.
And for that reason, Dennis Reynolds is the realization of the St. Anger ‘round our necks. He never gets respect. And he’s madly in anger with you.
