[6.0/10] Bit of a disappointment given the change of scenery and elevated expectations that come with it. Don’t get me wrong -- the Ireland material is actually the most solid part of this one. But the regular storylines for The Gang left a lot to be desired.
Case-in-point, Dee is apparently just a cartoon character now? She can get hit by cars and just pop back up a little bit later. And depressing a lump on her head makes the blood rush to under her eyes? And you can just cram her unconscious body into the trunk of a tiny car for kicks? What the hell is this? Her attempts to still act in the production she came over there for are fine, and I always appreciate an appearance from The Waitress, but still, the stuff surrounding it is pretty rough.
The same goes for all the gags with Frank having done business with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s a tough road to make any material involving that guy funny in the first place, but having Frank just announce he worked with Epstein and recall weird events from his island is the pits. It’s cheap shock comedy without IASIP’s usual cleverness, even if I did appreciate the running gag of “the ol’ shred and spread.”
The Dennis material lies somewhere in between. I’ll confess, I’m leery of the plot with him getting COVID, though I imagine it was a bit inevitable that the show would touch on the pandemic in some way (beyond the PPP loan opener). His attempt to detect red-heads “distinctive odor” is the usual block and tackle weirdness for the character, but as usual, Glenn Howerton performs it well, which elevates some of the material, even if shtick like him driving on the wrong side of the road and expecting the Irish to adjust to him feel a tad stock.
But man, I really enjoyed the Charlie/Mac storyline. Mac excoriating Charlie for not being as Irish as him, only to find out that he is, in fact, Dutch, is a great satire of Americans infatuation with their minimal heritage from across the pond. Likewise, I love the fact that for all his doltery, Charlie can read Gaelic and, despite not being loud and proud about it, is more Irish than the very vocal Mac. And I’m intrigued by the promise of Charlie having some kind of Irish cousin or half-sibling or something else along those lines. This season has played fast and loose with the continuity, so I’m curious how far they’ll go.
Overall, the more I think about this one, the more I’m disappointed in it as a missed opportunity. Putting The Gang in a new setting is rife with possibility, and the middle portion of this multiparter does little to take advantage of it. Hopefully the next episode will do better.
