Recap / Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia S 13 E 10 Mac Finds His Pride

"I don't know where I fit in as a gay man, and it's starting to get to me."

— Mac

Frank tries to recruit Mac for the gang's float in the Philly Pride parade, but realizes that Mac needs to come out to his father in order to truly be at peace with his sexuality.

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This episode provides examples of the following tropes:

• Amusing Injuries: Frank busts his nose on Mac's apartment door at the beginning of the episode, and his face gets more swollen and disgusting looking as a result throughout.
• Bittersweet Ending: Mac is rejected by his father after finally summoning the courage to come out to him, but finds peace with himself and God, and receives a standing ovation from the rest of the inmates and Frank.
• Call-Back:
  • Frank uses a dirty sock to plug his wound.
  • The gay BDSM club inexplicably has a buffet, and Frank comments that they put on a better spread than straight orgies.
  • The image of Mac kneeling in the rain looking for a sign from God is reminiscent of the first time he came out.
• Comically Inept Healing: Rather than use a sterile cotton swab to dab at his nosebleed, Frank uses a dirty sock and strips of newspaper, and over the course of the episode fills his nostrils with buffalo wing hot sauce, mimosa, fiberglass insulation, lemon juice, and hot glue. By the time he sees himself in the float's rear-view mirror, his entire head has basically become an infected boil, and he can't think clearly or see well enough to drive.
• Coming-Out Story: Mac comes out to his father. It does not go well. Surprisingly, this is Played for Drama this time.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Luther claims that he cut a cellmate's tongue out with rusty pliers and fed it to maggots in retaliation for the cellmate ratting him out for having an extra pillow.
• Drag Queen: The second club that Frank takes Mac to features several drag performers.
• Drama Bomb: Downplayed as it only comes up towards the end of the episode, but Mac's coming out dance to his father is played for as much drama as possible.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: As Mac clumsily tries to come-out to his father, Luther thinks that he is trying to tell him that he got a girl pregnant.
• The Door Slams You: Happens to Frank when he barges into Mac's apartment at the start of the episode.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite his sexual deviant tendencies being something of a Running Gag between the dildo bike and the Dennis doll, Mac apparently draws the line at an outright fetish club.
• Facial Horror: After getting a nosebleed when Mac's door slams back in his face, Frank's nose begins gruesomely swelling over the course of the episode, to the point where everything from his brows to his cheekbones has puffed up like he's in anaphylactic shock. By the third act, it apparently burst off-screen, leaving an angry, dark red crescent across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes, and a bloodstain a foot long down his shirt.
• Fan Disservice: When Mac refuses to dance on the Pride float Frank initially replaces him with Cricket, clad in leather bondage gear and sporting some kind of rash all over his torso.
• Flanderization: Luther's indifference to his son is really ramped up here to previously unprecedented levels. Previous episodes have established that, although he can be cold to Mac at times, Luther does genuinely care about his son. Here, Luther admits that he "never really got" Mac and tells Mac that Mac's son will "finally" be someone to "carry on my name."
• The Friends Who Never Hang: Lampshaded by Frank, who complains that he drew the short straw in having to get Mac ready for the parade.
  Frank: Look, Mac, I never really got you. And to be honest, now that you're gay, I get you even less.
• Gilligan Cut: After getting frustrated at Mac's overcompensation, Frank yells that he doesn't need him, and he's going to find another gay, someone who's even hotter than Mac. Cue Cricket exposing his scarred, ringworm-covered torso.
• Hidden Depths: Mac proves to be a surprisingly good dancer, especially considering what we've seen of his abilities in previous episodes.
  • Frank's Jerk with a Heart of Gold tendencies shine through brighter here than at any previous point in the show as he's legitimately moved to tears by Mac's coming out performance, stating without any bombast "I get it" in regards to Mac's sexuality and starting to clap before the standing ovation. Additionally, Frank's perceptive "You gotta let that shit out" speech shows a degree of empathy and an understanding of human psychology he has never demonstrated before.
• Hot God: God is represented by an attractive woman during Mac's interpretive dance.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While his intentions are not exactly noble, Frank correctly points out that Mac's attempts at trying to impress his father by knocking a girl up is just him trying to find excuses not to confront Luther, forcing himself back into the closet whether he is consciously aware of it or not.
• Kick the Dog: Luther flat-out admits to purposefully naming his son "Ronald MacDonald" for his own amusement. He also silently gets up and walks out halfway through Mac's performance. It's been pointed out that he deliberately sat through part of the performance and waited until Mac was looking at him to maximize the pain inflicted by leaving.
• Let's Put on a Show!: Frank arranges for Mac to come out to his father "his way" by putting on a dance performance for the residents of Luther's cell block.
• Manly Tears: Mac breaks down crying when Luther walks out, though he still gathers himself and finishes the routine. Frank is also moved to tears by the end.
• Meaningful Echo: Both Frank and Luther repeatedly tell Mac throughout the episode that they don't really "get" him, and Frank further says that he doesn't "get" gay people in general. Then after seeing Mac's dance at the end of the episode:
  Frank: [with a Tearful Smile] Oh my God. I get it. I get it.
• Mistaken for Pregnant: An interesting variation. Luther incorrectly assumes Mac "finally" knocked someone up and is quite happy about it, as long as it's a boy.
• Mistaken for Prostitute:
  • Frank offers to pay one of the leather-clad men at the gay BDSM club to have sex with Mac, only for the guy to indignantly retort that they aren't prostitutes.
  • Frank gets angry at Mac when he sees a girl coming out of his room, accusing him of trying to get her pregnant. The dance Mac puts on reveals that she was actually his partner, likely rehearsing for the event.
• Mood Whiplash: The first half of the episode is fairly standard comedic Sunny fare, with Mac and Frank getting into wacky hijinks at various gay clubs, while the second half features one of the show's few attempts at sincere emotion with Mac's heartfelt performance for his father.
• Mr. Fanservice: Mac dancing shirtless in the rain for a solid three minutes really showcases his new physique.
• Not What It Looks Like: After Frank encounters an attractive woman leaving Mac's apartment with Mac sweating and half-dressed, he assumes that Mac is going back into the closet and trying to get her pregnant to please his father. Turns out the woman was actually Mac's dance partner, and they were most likely rehearsing.
• Not That There's Anything Wrong with That: Frank does this a few times while trying to explain that he doesn't really get the whole "gay" thing.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In all previous seasons, Mac's father is intimidating but unconditionally loves Mac. Mac coming out seems to be the one thing his father can't handle.
  • On the flip side, Frank's reaction to Mac's performance marks the first time he has shown deep empathy for anyone.
  • Mac throughout this entire episode is a far cry from the Jerkass, Miles Gloriosus, Fundamentalist, Straw Misogynist, Psychopathic Man Child, It's All About Me, Politically Incorrect Villain, Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist we all know.
• Out of Focus: Dennis is once again absent, while Dee and Charlie only have a few minutes of screentime.
• Out-of-Genre Experience: This episode starts off with typical "It's Always Sunny" Black Comedy then for the last few minutes it becomes an artsy, heartfelt drama with sympathetic characters and a heavy use of Silence Is Golden.
• Pet the Dog: Considering that he's easily the most homophobic member of the gang and probably has the worst relationship with Mac, Frank sincerely trying to help him "find his pride" is oddly sweet.
  • Notably, Frank spends the entire third act trying to do what's best for Mac, even to the point of both personal expense and abandoning the rest of the Gang's plans to focus on Mac's relationship with his father. He has no angle but altruism, a rarity for Frank.
  • Despite laughing at his name minutes earlier, the inmates give Mac a standing ovation after his performance.
• Politically Incorrect Villain:
  • Despite generally having good intentions, Frank still uses some offensive language to refer to gay people.
  • When he thinks that Mac has gotten a woman pregnant, Luther advises him to "flush" the baby if it's a girl and keep trying until he has a son. He also rejects Mac when he actually does manage to come out to him.
• Precision F-Strike:
  Frank: You're gay, and you're dancing with a hot chick who is God?
  Mac: Yes.
  Frank: The Catholics really fucked you up.
• Pride Parade: The central conceit of the episode involves Frank trying to recruit Mac for the gang's float in the Philadelphia Pride parade.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • Lampshaded by Frank, who comes to understand that his own crisis — keeping his nosebleed closed, which is visibly harming him and making him ill — is like Mac refusing to tell his father for fear it'll also be painful. After achieving his own catharsis (a hellish fountain of blood) off-screen, Frank emboldens Mac to reveal his truth:
    "It's the same for you. Ya got this thing inside you, and you're tryin' to plug it up... but you got to let that shit OUT. You got to let it FLOW. Otherwise, you're gonna be in agony for the rest of your life."
  • Mac's dance partner, who's supposed to represent God, pulling him up and comforting him after he's rejected by Luther? Yeah...
• Safe, Sane, and Consensual: Mac and Frank visit a gay BDSM club, but while Mac is very clear that it's not his thing, he also says it's fine for those who do enjoy it.
• Shout-Out: Mac's apartment is full of half-eaten peaches, referencing the infamous peach scene in Call Me by Your Name.
• Straight Gay: Aside from his father issues, a lot of Mac's angst stems from the fact that he doesn't really fit any of the usual gay stereotypes. It gets discussed when Frank, a guy with a very limited understanding of gay culture, takes him to two very stereotypical places (a BDSM dungeon and a drag bar) with the assumption he'll like them, but they just aren't his speed.
  Mac: Jeeeesus Christ, Frank.
  Frank: Isn't this what all gay guys are into?
  Mac: I-I don't think so, but either way I know I'm not into it. [...] I don't feel comfortable in here, Frank.
  Frank: I know! That's why ya gotta jump in head-first, go find some nice guy, smack ya around a li'l bit.
  Mac: I don't wanna get smacked around!
  Frank: That's part a' the culture, Mac!
  Mac: It's a very small subset of the culture, and it's totally fine for these guys, but it's just a little too much for me!
• Tears of Awe: Mac, who has been the butt of gay jokes for being an extremely obvious Armoured Closet Gay for the entire series, decides to accept who he is and come out to his father via dance. His father walks out mid-performance. Frank on the other hand, who has become a friend and something of a surrogate father to Mac (and Charlie) over the years, is shown being moved to tears by Mac's performance, applauding enthusiastically and saying that he finally gets it.
• Token Minority: This is the main reason Frank and the rest of the gang are so desperate for Mac to dance on their float for the Pride parade.
  Frank: You're gonna be our prize gay.
• Unfortunate Name: Mac is met with laughter from the prison population when he introduces himself by his full name of Ronald McDonald.
  Luther: I named him that!
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Mac is terrified of coming out to his father for this reason, and crushed by his rejection.
• Worst Aid: Frank tries to treat his broken nose at various points with a dirty sock, torn up newspaper, buffalo chicken wings and finally lemon juice and hot glue.

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