History Awesome / ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia

* Charlie not only breaking the Wade Boggs drinking record of seventy beers on one cross-country flight, but then managing to hit a home run while completely wasted. After being the ButtMonkey for ten straight seasons it's nice to see him beat the rest of the gang at something.

[[AC:12X12 - Dennis' Double Life]]

[[AC: 15x02 - The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7]]
* The return of Pepper Jack, a fan-favorite OneSceneWonder, over ''12 years'' after his initial appearance, is a sight to behold.

* Charlie not only breaking the Wade Boggs drinking record but he managing to hit a home run while completely wasted. After being the ButtMonkey for ten straight seasons, it's nice to see him beating the rest of the gang at something.

* The return of Pepper Jack, a fan-favorite OnceSceneWonder, over ''12 years'' after his initial appearance, is a sight to behold.

* the Lawyer ''losing'' the case to the Gang after Charlie successfully uses [[ChekhovsSkill bird law]] to prove that Bill Ponderosa and the Gang weren't responsible for Liam losing his eye.

* Charlie gets a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in "The Waitress Is Getting Married". After finding out that the guy she was engaged to, Brad, was only doing it as part of a [[RevengeOfTheNerd revenge plot]] to get back at all of the girls who dumped him in high school (he'd get engaged to the girls, then dump them right before the wedding), Charlie gives the guy a heartfelt gift--a box full of hornets.
** Granted, [[CrazyJealousGuy he was going to give him the box regardless]], so in that light it's a bit less noble. ''But'', at the same time, Brad made it clear to Charlie that Dee was next.
* In "The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby" Dennis creates an elaborate plot to get back at a smug environmentalist by sleeping with his girlfriend and having the guy willingly tie himself to a tree overnight during a storm. Then he informs the guy about the girlfriend-banging after letting a bulldozer destroy the tree he was trying to protect.
* In "The Gang Finds A Dead Guy" Mac gets back at Dennis for usurping his chance at sleeping with a grieving granddaughter of a dead bar patron and then taunting Mac about it by casually revealing that Dennis' grandfather was one of ThoseWackyNazis.
** You also have to take your hat off to the museum curator who gives Charlie and Mac a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech when they try to sell him the Nazi uniform, especially after it became clear how rare it would be on the show for a character like this to not suffer any negative consequences.
* In "The Gang Solves The North Korea Situation" when Mac first wears the duster, bringing it into the Gang forever.
* In "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis", Mac's MilesGloriosus tendencies are subverted for once when it turns out that, despite Dennis being convinced that there's no way Mac can do it, he actually can blow fireballs to attract customers and is quite skilled at it:
-->'''Dennis:''' ''Wow''. Okay, wow, I take back everything I just said. That was amazing!
* [[ButtMonkey Rickety Cricket]] gets one when he wrestles the Gang for the troops, as a stereotypical Middle Eastern Islamist terrorist character, while they're all dressed as bald eagles. And beats most of them, ''by blowing sand in their eyes'', which causes Mac to ''run away in fear'', before Frank comes in with a garbage pail and knocks him out.
** Frank doesn't just knock him out, but also slashes Cricket's throat. In a later episode, Cricket's voice sounds scratchier because of it.
* Dennis' big damn speech to the nurse in "Dee Gives Birth." Even he was impressed about it, and dismayed that he can't recapture the moment.
* ''Lethal Weapon 5''. Just... the whole thing.
* Near the end of "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City," when the cop car explodes with Agent Jack Bauer (A junkyard cat adopted and named by Dennis) still inside, Jack manages to jump out of the exploding car. This leads to Dennis to remark that the cat is indeed as immortal as his previous owner indicated.
** Dee beating up the masturbating bum in the ally.
* Charlie proves exactly how much of a wild card he is:
-->'''Mac:''' [suddenly realizes the brakes of the van aren't working] Why aren't the brakes working?\\
'''Charlie:''' Because I CUT THE BRAKES! WILD CARD, BITCHES! YEEEEEEHAAAAAW! [kicks back doors and dives out]
** In a later episode, Charlie does this again, but Dennis realizes Charlie would pull this, and has the brakes fixed.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The Day Man song is actually pretty damn catchy.
** Also Charlie's theme for Paddy's Pub from "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award".
* The gambit used in the flipcup competition in "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry". Why win at flipcup when you can trick the competitors into drinking poison?
* In "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom", Dennis threatens to have sex with the waitress unless Charlie stops making him do the grunt work (AKA "Charlie Work") at the bar. Charlie responds with a glorious BatmanGambit wherein he convinces Mac to... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bang Dennis' mom]], gets the Waitress to witness Dennis trying to cheat on her, and very nearly manipulates her into having sex with him instead. This plan would be impressive for anyone, but for ''Charlie'', it's downright amazing.

* The episode "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off" is filled with these for Dennis.
** Firstly, Mac challenges him to a dance off. Mac showcases an energetic dance routine, while Dennis continues to dance normally. The show then cuts to Mac wearing the punishment Keg.
** Then, Dennis is confronted by an angry man, whose fiancee Dennis has been dancing provocatively with. Dennis calms the man down, and offers to help with his dancing. While showing him how to dip, he lets go of the man, and drops him to the floor, then turns the man's fiancee against him by pointing out how angry the man is.
** Later in the episode, Dennis is annoyed that Charlie is dancing with the fiancee (a woman named Gloria) in a gambit to make the Waitress jealous. The resulting sequence is both hilarious and awesome.

** Charlie tries to get back at Dennis for eliminating the Waitress, and Dennis again ends up on top.

** Charlie finally taking down Dennis by using a dance-off with his song.
** Charlie consumes enough sedatives to take down a rhino yet still stays on his feet far longer than every person present thought was even possible
* Country Mac, when encountered by two angry men, does a successful ocular pat-down, takes the knife out of the guy's shoe, and calmly tells him to back off.
* Subverted. Mac blocks a hit from a black belt. However, he gets so wrapped up in his own ego that he doesn't notice said black belt trying to kick him and gets knocked out. And then, he keeps on bragging about the one point he got from that incident.
** Dennis does get one as a result of Mac's bragging: after an entire day of dealing with Mac's pious, self-congratulatory bullshit, Dennis has enough, calling Mac on getting only one point on the guy, and pointing out to the gang when they try to stop him that Mac will likely never shut up about this if he's not stopped.
* In "The Nightman Cometh" when Charlie tells off Dee for complaining about her song.

* In "The Gang Gets Analyzed", Charlie [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] Dennis after the latter slaps him.
* Mac's fight scene dream sequence in "The Gang Saves the Day." Sure, it was AllJustADream, but it was incredibly well choreographed and legitimately badass.
* In "Reynolds vs Reynolds: The Cereal Defense", Mac manages to convince Charlie, Frank and Dee that evolution isn't real.

* The entirety of "Charlie Work" is an absolute tour de force for Charlie. Against all odds Charlie has managed to get perfect scores from the health department every inspection, and this episode shows how. Charlie manically directs the gang to seemingly ridiculous tasks that turn out to perfectly hide any of the bar's glaring code violations and simultaneously manages to pull off the rest of the gang's stupid scam involving airline miles, [[ItMakesSenseInContext beef and about twenty chickens]], and after Dee spends the whole episode being unhelpful and not doing the one task that would have gotten them a perfect score, he rigs her bar stool to collapse under her, his sabotage of which had been a RunningGag throughout the episode.
** An additional moment: throughout the first half of the episode, the Gang ignores Charlie as he runs around in a panic, more interested in their own scheme than helping him. When Dennis remarks that Charlie doesn't even know what "the plan" is, Charlie ''instantly'' details the entirety of the ridiculous idea, breaking down each step and pointing out the flaws that will inevitably cause it to fail. He then delivers a [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness focused, intense speech]] which makes it clear that they're going to pass inspection, no matter what. This is the same Charlie who once risked the entire bar by misreading "prize" as "pride" and can't control himself around cheese--but he is ''not'' missing out on a perfect score. The change is staggering--and awesome.
* Meta example: Creator/DannyDeVito joining the show a season in, working with actors 30 years younger than him and managing to become a vital part of the cast. Have respect idiots, the man is a goddamn legend.
* Another meta example: In the first season, Dee was pretty much TheStraightMan than the rest of the Gang and often served as [[WomenAreWiser the voice of reason]] when they did ridiculous things. But Kaitlin Olson, who plays Dee, knew that this made her character far less funny than the rest of the group. Olson actively campaigned to make Dee just as horrible as Charlie, Mac, and Dennis; the writers listened and, in the second season onward, made her character equally (or perhaps more!) selfish, cruel, and prone to breaking the law. It's made her character a pathetic mess, but it's awesome that Olson was willing to play TheUnfavorite to make sure that Dee could be funny. And it works.
* Assuming Dennis really is a SerialKiller, the fact that he has gone this long without being caught definitely qualifies.
** Given the things the gang has done it's a miracle any of them haven't been arrested for their actions.
* "[=McPoyle=] vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century" has the Lawyer ''lose'' the case to the Gang after Charlie successfully uses [[ChekhovsSkill bird law]] to prove that Bill Ponderosa and the Gang weren't responsible for Liam losing his eye.
* In "Hero or Hate Crime?" Charlie saves Mac's life by kicking him out of the way of a falling piano. Also counts as a heartwarming moment, as it was clear that everyone was concerned for Mac.
** What did it take for Mac to finally come out and ''stay'' out? Winning $10,000 on the lottery scratch-off.
* Meta example: how did Creator/CharlieDay get the role of Newt in Film/PacificRim? Creator/GuillermoDelToro saw [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2MvHuflizQ his monologue]] from "Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats".
* "Dennis' Double Life": Charlie '''BANGS THE WAITRESS'''.
** Dennis has a moment of maturity and decides to leave for North Dakota to be his illegitimate child's father.
*** If you are among the viewers who [[BrokenBase don't like this turn of events]], a cathartic moment follows soon after with the remaining Gang firing Dennis' RPG, blowing up the Land Rover in the process.
* In "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore," Dennis and Dee end up doing angel dust with a bunch of violent thugs and get stuck with them during a wild crime spree, including robbing a laundromat, getting shot by said laundromat's owner, going to a back-alley doctor to fix the wound, and [[CrossesTheLineTwice killing the doctor]] to prevent him from talking. The two are pretty much terrified witnesses the entire time, until the leader of the thugs forces them, at gunpoint, to dig a grave on the beach for the surgeon. In the middle of digging, though, Dee grabs some sand and ''hurls it in the leader's face'', blinding him and allowing her and Dennis to escape. Considering that she was high out of her mind and facing certain death, that took major guts.
* "Being Frank" has Frank getting Dennis' car out of impound, and [[AccidentalHero he didn't even know that's what the plan was.]]

* In another meta-example, the show (despite being a sleeper hit and airing on a non-major cable network) was funny enough to attract the attention of writers from another television series, who asked if they could write an episode. The result--"Flowers for Charlie"--is hilarious, and remembered as one of the best in the show. But who were the writers that the irreverent program managed to wow into briefly joining the creative team? The show-runners behind a little series called ''Series/GameOfThrones.'' That's right--one of the biggest-budget, highest-ratings-getting shows in television history took the time to write an episode of ''It's Always Sunny.'' Say what you will about the humor, but ANY writers who can do that deserve major kudos.
* In "The Gang Escapes," Dee sets up an escape room game for her and the guys to play in Dennis and Mac's apartment. She reveals to the game-runner (but no one else) that she actually played the puzzle already and did the whole thing so she could look cool in front of them--but the guys, hating the idea of a woman being in charge, instead lock her in Dennis's bedroom...which, given his [[TheSociopath horrific idea of sex]], is a virtual prison. And that's when Dee--the ButtMonkey and [[TheUnfavorite unfavorite]] of the show--''finally'' gets her time to shine. She's able to [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike out-think Dennis because of their connection]]--something no one else has ever been able to do--and successfully free herself by ''climbing out the window of the bedroom and walking along the building's edge'' to the living room. Though she does end up in the hospital, the whole Gang praises her for being such a badass (Dennis in particular celebrates the fact that she's the [[FridgeHorror first woman to ever get out of his room]]). To top the moment off, Frank bought expensive steaks for the whole Gang when Dee arranged the escape room, with the understanding that whoever was the true leader of the group would get to take the first taste. The guys ''unanimously'' declare Dee the winner, and she proudly takes a huge bite as the episode ends. It took thirteen seasons, but she finally got a moment of respect. Amazing!
* Another Meta example is in Mac Finds His Pride. Rob [=McElhenney=] has no dancing experience at all and trained for this. This is made more awesome with the decision to include rain in the performance as everything became slippery.

* Dee calling Mac a bird in "The Gang Texts".
* After the premiere of "The Gang's Still in Ireland", Irish fans immediately began praising how good Charlie Day's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHt4_QAG640 Gaelic diction and pronunciation was]], with [[SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage many joking that he speaks it better than most natives]].
* In "The Gang Carries A Corpse Up A Mountain", after leaving Charlie to carry his father's body, the gang finds themselves in a bar commiserating about their terrible trip and talking about how they wish they'd never have to see each other again. When the discussion starts escalating, they get shushed by The Waitress.

* In "The Gang Carries A Corpse Up A Mountain", after leaving Charlie to carry his father's body, the gang finds themselves in a bar commiserating about their terrible trip and talking about how they'd be able to never see each other again. When the discussion starts escalating, they get shushed by The Waitress.

* Meta example: how did Creator/CharlieDay get the role of Newt in Film/PacificRim? Creator/GuillermoDelToro saw [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIWss-_5HGM his monologue]] from "Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats".

* In ''The Gang Finds A Dead Guy'' Mac gets back at Dennis for usurping his chance at sleeping with a grieving granddaughter of a dead bar patron and then taunting Mac about it by casually revealing that Dennis' grandfather was one of ThoseWackyNazis.

-->'''Dennis''': You know what? You leave me no choice. [walks over to he Waitress]\\

'''Dennis''': Why!?\\

-->'''Charlie''': He's trying to have sex with you, I hope you know that!

'''Dennis''': Are you still talking to me, I thought you were out?\\

* Charlie gets a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in "The Waitress Is Getting Married". [[spoiler:After finding out that the guy she was engaged to, Brad, was only doing it as part of a [[RevengeOfTheNerd revenge plot]] to get back at all of the girls who dumped him in high school (he'd get engaged to the girls, then dump them right before the wedding), Charlie gives the guy a heartfelt gift--a box full of hornets]].
** Granted, [[spoiler:[[CrazyJealousGuy he was going to give him the box regardless]], so in that light it's a bit less noble]]. ''But'', at the same time, [[spoiler:Brad made it clear to Charlie that Dee was next]].

* In ''The Gang Finds A Dead Guy'' Mac gets back at Dennis for usurping his chance at sleeping with a grieving granddaughter of a dead bar patron and then taunting Mac about it by casually revealing that [[spoiler:Dennis' grandfather was one of ThoseWackyNazis]].

* The gambit used in the flipcup competition in "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry". Why win at flipcup [[spoiler:when you can trick the competitors into drinking poison]]?

-->'''Dennis''': You know what? You leave me no choice. [walks over to he Waitress]
-->'''The Waitress''': Hey, asshole.
-->'''Dennis''': Yeah, whatever. Wanna dance?
-->'''The Waitress''': Yes!
-->'''Dennis''': Yeah, take a load off. Let these strong, sweet, sexual arms hold you...
-->'''The Waitress''': ...so strong...
-->'''Dennis''': ...I got you, so strong, so strong... All right? Night-night. [drops her on the floor] (to Charlie) You made me do that.
-->'''Charlie''': You piece of shit!
-->'''Dennis''': (nonchalantly) Yeah, maybe.
-->'''The Waitress''': You piece of shit! Dennis Reynolds, I trusted you!
-->'''Dennis''': Why!?

-->'''Gloria''': What!? I'm not gonna have sex with you! I'm engaged!
-->'''Dennis''': Yeah, but engaged is just a word.
-->'''Charlie''': It's a very serious word!
-->'''Dennis''': (ignoring Charlie) I was getting somewhere with you though, wasn't I?
-->'''Gloria''': No!
-->'''Dennis''': Really? All right... [throws her onto the floor]
-->'''Gloria''': You really are the biggest piece of shit on the planet!
-->'''Dennis''': Are you still talking to me, I thought you were out?

* Charlie not only breaking the Wade Boggs drinking record but he managing to hit a home run while completely wasted. After being the ButtMonkey for ten staight seasons, it's nice to see him beating the rest of the gang at something.

* The entirety of "Charlie Work" is an absolute tour de force for Charlie. Against all odds Charlie has managed to get perfect scores from the health department every inspection, and this episode shows how. Charlie manically directs the gang to seemingly ridiculous tasks that turn out to perfectly hide any of the bar's glaring code violations and simultaneously manages to pull off the rest of the gang's stupid scam involving airline miles, [[ItMakesSenseInContext beef and about twenty chickens]], and after Dee spends the whole episode being unhelpful and not doing the one task that would have gotten them a perfect score, [[spoiler: he rigs her barstool to collapse under her, his sabotage of which had been a RunningGag throughout the episode.]]

* "[=McPoyle=] vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century" has the Lawyer [[spoiler: ''lose'' the case to the Gang after Charlie successfully uses [[ChekhovsSkill bird law]] to prove that Bill Ponderosa and the Gang weren't responsible for Liam losing his eye]].

** What did it take for Mac to [[spoiler:finally come out and ''stay'' out]]? [[spoiler:Winning $10,000 on the lottery scratcher.]]

* "Dennis' Double Life": Charlie [[spoiler: '''BANGS THE WAITRESS''']].
** Dennis has a moment of maturity and [[spoiler:decides to leave for North Dakota to be his illegitimate child's father]].
*** If you are among the viewers who [[BrokenBase don't like this turn of events]], a cathartic moment follows soon after with [[spoiler:the remaining Gang firing Dennis' RPG, blowing up the Land Rover in the process]].

-->'''Frank''': (thinking) Think of something cool to say.
-->'''Frank''': (out loud) Anybody need a ride?
* In another meta-example, the show (despite being a sleeper hit and airing on a non-major cable network) was funny enough to attract the attention of writers from another television series, who asked if they could write an episode. The result--"Flowers for Charlie"--is hilarious, and remembered as one of the best in the show. But who were the writers that the irreverent program managed to wow into briefly joining the creative team? The showrunners behind a little series called ''Series/GameOfThrones.'' That's right--one of the biggest-budget, highest-ratings-getting shows in television history took the time to write an episode of ''It's Always Sunny.'' Say what you will about the humor, but ANY writers who can do that deserve major kudos.
* In "The Gang Escapes," Dee sets up an escape room game for her and the guys to play in Dennis and Mac's apartment. She reveals to the game-runner (but no one else) that she actually played the puzzle already and did the whole thing so she could look cool in front of them--but the guys, hating the idea of a woman being in charge, instead lock her in Dennis's bedroom...which, given his [[TheSociopath horrific idea of sex]], is a virtual prison. And that's when Dee--the ButtMonkey and [[TheUnfavorite unfavorite]] of the show--''finally'' gets her time to shine. She's able to [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike outthink Dennis because of their connection]]--something no one else has ever been able to do--and successfully free herself by ''climbing out the window of the bedroom and walking along the building's edge'' to the living room. Though she does end up in the hospital, the whole Gang praises her for being such a badass (Dennis in particular celebrates the fact that she's the [[FridgeHorror first woman to ever get out of his room]]). To top the moment off, Frank bought expensive steaks for the whole Gang when Dee arranged the escape room, with the understanding that whoever was the true leader of the group would get to take the first taste. The guys ''unanimously'' declare Dee the winner, and she proudly takes a huge bite as the episode ends. It took thirteen seasons, but she finally got a moment of respect. Amazing!

* Another Meta example is in Mac Finds His Pride. Rob McElhenney has no dancing experience at all and trained for this. This is made more awesome with the decision to include rain in the performance as everything became slippery.

* In "The Gang Escapes," Dee sets up an escape room game for her and the guys to play in Dennis and Mac's apartment. She reveals to the game-runner (but no one else) that she actually played the puzzle already and did the whole thing so she could look cool in front of them--but the guys, hating the idea of a woman being in charge, instead lock her in Dennis's bedroom...which, given his [[TheSociopath horrific idea of sex]], is a virtual prison. And that's when Dee--the ButtMonkey and [[TheUnfavorite unfavorite]] of the show--''finally'' gets her moment to shine. She's able to [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike outthink Dennis because of their connection]]--something no one else has ever been able to do--and successfully free herself by ''climbing out the window of the bedroom and walking along the building's edge'' to the living room. Though she does end up in the hospital, the whole Gang praises her for being such a badass (Dennis in particular celebrates the fact that she's the [[FridgeHorror first woman to ever get out of his room]].) To top the moment off, Frank bought expensive steaks for the whole Gang when Dee arranged the escape room, with the understanding that whoever was the true leader of the group would get to take the first taste. The guys ''unanimously'' declare Dee the winner, and she proudly takes a huge bite as the episode ends. It took thirteen seasons, but she finally got a moment of respect. Amazing!

** Granted, [[spoiler:[[IfICantHaveYou he was going to give him the box regardless]], so in that light it's a bit less noble]]. ''But'', at the same time, [[spoiler:Brad made it clear to Charlie that Dee was next]].

* Charlie gets a CrowningMomentOfAwesome in "The Waitress Is Getting Married". [[spoiler:After finding out that the guy she was engaged to, Brad, was only doing it as part of a [[RevengeOfTheNerd revenge plot]] to get back at all of the girls who dumped him in high school (he'd get engaged to the girls, then dump them right before the wedding), Charlie gives the guy a heartfelt gift--a box full of hornets]].

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The Day Man song is actually pretty damn catchy.

* "Dennis' Double Life": Charlie [[spoiler: BANGS THE WAITRESS]].

* Another meta example: In the first season, Dee was pretty much TheStraightMan than the rest of the Gang and often served as [[WomenAreWiser the voice of reason]] when they did ridiculous things. But Kaitlin Olson, who plays Dee, was GenreSavvy enough to know that this made her character far less funny than the rest of the group. Olson actively campaigned to make Dee just as horrible as Charlie, Mac, and Dennis; the writers listened and, in the second season onward, made her character equally (or perhaps more!) selfish, cruel, and prone to breaking the law. It's made her character a pathetic mess, but it's awesome that Olson was willing to play TheUnfavorite to make sure that Dee could be funny. And it works.

* The gambit used in the flipcup competition in "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry."

--> '''Charlie''': Don't screw ''you?'' Oh, I'm sorry, Dee, let me try and remember something. Let's see, was it, did Dee write a musical and come to Charlie with it? No! ''Charlie'' wrote a musical and came to ''Dee'' with it, ''and the gang!'' And the gang likes to screw it up and make it about themselves, and take it away from Charlie, and ruin his hopes and dreams! So let me tell you something, Dee, let me break down a scenario for you. I could ''cut'' the song, OK, because ''I'' wrote it. I could have ''Artemis'' do the song, OK, because ''you did not write it.'' Or I could ''strap on a wig and I could do the song myself!'' So you tell me, ''Little Miss All That'', what do you want to do? '''''Song or no song?'''''

--> '''Charlie''': Don't screw ''you?'' Oh, I'm sorry, Dee, let me try and remember something. Let's see, was it, did Dee write a musical and come to Charlie with it? No! ''Charlie'' wrote a musical and came to ''Dee'' with it, ''and the gang!'' And the gang likes to screw it up and make it about themselves, and take it away from Charlie, and ruin his hopes and dreams! So let me tell you something, Dee, let me break down a scenario for you. I could ''cut'' the song, OK, because ''I'' wrote it. I could have ''Artemis'' do the song, OK, because ''you did not write it.'' Or I could ''strap on a wig and I could do the song myself!'' So you tell me, ''Little Miss '''All That''''', what do you want to do? '''''Song or no song?'''''