It’s Always Sunny – Season 5 Episodes Ranked

I’m really enjoying my re-watch of Sunny, and Season 5 keeps the hype train going. Somehow, against all odds, it’s possibly the best season yet – if it’s marginally better than Season 4, does that make it the best of the best?

I’d need more time to decide that, but what I can say is that the episodes here are very solid, and most of them are actually excellent. How would I rank them all?

You can check out some of my related lists below:

12 – The World Series Defense

Rating: C+

The “least good” episode of Season 5, but I still had a fun time with it. My only complaints are that sometimes the comedy felt either too broad, like the screaming at the end, or too gross-out, like the retching scene.

There are a couple of really great scenes in it though – Charlie busting out his green man and pushing Dennis in front of a car were both hilarious, and Mac’s letter to Chase Utley has become iconic.

11 – Mac and Charlie White a Movie

Rating: C+

A mediocre (relative to other Sunny installments) episode, saved by one glorious scene.

Dennis describing his movie idea is hilarious, and Glenn Howerton’s delivery is impeccable: “Here’s the twist … we show it. We show all of it” and “Crime, penetration, crime, penetration” are both comedy gold.

10 – The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention

Rating: B-

Danny DeVito can get really freaky if he wants to, and nowhere is Frank Reynolds more unhinged than in “The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention”.

A lot of the humour stems from everyone acting ridiculously, and it works for the most part. It isn’t the most memorable episode, though, and there weren’t really any stand-out jokes.

9 – The Gang Reignites the Rivalry

Rating: B-

Not the most ground-breaking finale to a season, but “The Gang Reignites the Rivarly” has enough going for it for me to enjoy it.

The twist ending where the gang poisons Dee and the frat boys was great writing, but I particularly enjoyed Glenn Howerton’s frenzied performance as Dennis throughout the whole thing (he’s my favourite character for reasons exactly like this).

8 – The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis

Rating: B

“The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis” was a really fun opener to the season, and I really liked how the Lawyer returned – one of my favourite recurring characters.

Charlie’s Bird Law is hilarious, the whole Honey & Mustard duo is great, and the ending with Dee and the swimming pool was a solid way to bring the whole thing together.

7 – The Great Recession

Rating: B

One of the best cold open pre-title gags in Sunny history, I still burst out laughing whenever I see Frank hanging from the noose while nobody cares.

I really like how it comes together at the end, especially the scene where Mac and Dennis realise their new Paddy’s Dollars economy doesn’t make sense, but otherwise it’s a pretty tame episode.

6 – Paddy’s Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens

Rating: B+

All of the inventions in this episode are so funny, and the Lawyer makes a triumphant return in one of his best appearances ever.

I love how every single party involved tries to send a hooker with their invention to the lawyer, and the final promotional video at the end is fantastic.

5 – The Gang Hits the Road

Rating: B+

I remembered “The Gang Hits the Road” as being easily within the top 3 episodes of the season, but it wasn’t quite as hilarious as I remembered.

That’s not to say it wasn’t funny though – the interactions between characters are on point, and their detour to a street market is one of the funniest segments of any Sunny episode this season.

4 – Mac and Dennis Break Up

Rating: B+

For an episode where quite literally nothing of note happens, it’s amazing that it ended up being so funny.

“Mac and Dennis Break Up” was the biggest surprise of my re-watch, as I forgot just how many zingers and great dialogue exchanges there were – Dennis’s complete meltdown at something as simple as an unpeeled apple was easily one of the best lines in the show.

3 – The Gang Wrestles for the Troops

Rating: A-

The first half of the episode is pretty good (probably around a B or B+), but then the final act turns the hilarity up to eleven.

That wrestling match is one of my favourite Sunny sequences ever, from Cricket’s sudden chair to Dee’s face to the Gang’s ridiculous bird song, and I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the whole thing.

2 – The Waitress Is Getting Married

Rating: A

Sometimes Sunny is at its best in the low-concept episodes like these, where they focus on interpersonal relationships and feuds rather than bonkers situations, and nowhere is it done better than in “The Waitress Is Getting Married”.

Charlie Day gives a masterclass in absurdity, and both the dating profile scene and the date itself are two of the funniest Sunny moments of all time. It’s stunning just how many hilarious jokes the writers managed to cram into a 20 minute sitcom episode, and yet the story still flows naturally and with all the trademark twists and turns you’ve come to expect.

1 – The D.E.N.N.I.S. System

Rating: A+

“The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” is comfortably in the top 5 episodes of the show for me, and it cemented Dennis as my favourite character in the entire series.

It’s the perfect insight into the charismatic psychopath’s mind, and it’s so unbelievably hilarious when everyone tries to mimic it and fails (that final carnival scene is flawless – “Oops! I dropped my Monster Condom, that I used for my Magnum Dong!” might be my favourite Frank line ever).

Bonus points as well for including the wives of all three main actors – it becomes even more hilarious when you realise that the woman Dennis is pining over is actually Glenn Howerton’s real life wife!

Season Rating: A-

I was genuinely surprised at how good this season was – I’d never considered it to be a contender for “best season”, but it’s so unbelievably consistent that I think it has to be in that conversation.

Let’s check out the stats for the season:

• 3A (25%)
• 7B (58%)
• 2C (17%)

Very solid indeed … And let’s see the stats for the series so far:

• 13A
• 26B
• 14C
• 2D
• (55 eps)

Sunny is doing an excellent job of keeping the momentum going so far – let’s hope they maintain this high standard in Season 6. Until then, you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: