It's Always Sunny the Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby

It's Always Sunny's "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby": Is Frank Charlie's Dad?

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" asks if Frank Reynolds really is Charlie's biological father.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" revolves around the Paddy's Pub gang finding a baby outside their bar, but it also deals with the show's greatest unanswered question - is Frank Charlie's father? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is one of TV's longest-running running sitcoms and follows the downtrodden losers of Paddy's Pub - Mac, Charlie, Frank, Dee and her twin brother Dennis. The show began as a cult favorite but over the years has grown into a comedy institution.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia differs from the majority of sitcoms like Modern Family by being unflinchingly dark, and often mines humor out of uncomfortable topics. The series tends to escape controversy (mostly) because it makes it clear the main characters are all scum, and there own horrible schemes or prejudices tend to backfire on them. The show has run for fifteen years and counting, though another series has yet to be confirmed.

The show was still settling into its comic voice when It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's season 3 opener "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" arrived. Like the title suggests, the first scene sees Dennis, Mac and Dee finding a baby abandoned in a dumpster behind the bar, leading the latter two to try and take care of the baby. Naturally, they soon tire of the hard work involved before changing tack and trying to turn "D.B." into a star. They even try to give the baby a fake tan when they learn Hispanic babies are popular hires for commercials, which thankfully doesn't happen.

"The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" also explores one of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's biggest unanswered questions, which involves the very good chance Frank is Charlie's father. Charlie starts the episode wanting Frank to take a blood test just to rule it out, but despite Frank stating it's impossible he refuses to take the test. The two later bond over a shared love of dumpster diving, but fall out again when Frank claims Charlie's mother Bonniedid get pregnant during their affair, but she had an abortion. Bonnie herself reveals Charlie "survived" the abortion, who then becomes convinced the baby belongs to Frank and the waitress.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" ends with Charlie confronting the waitress with D.B. - who reasonably states the baby can't be hers since she and Frank were only together three months ago. Another subplot finds Dennis going to elaborate lengths to destroy an environmental activist called Sage who makes fun of him for trying to help out, which includes tying him to a tree to prevent it being bulldozed during a protest, which Dennis uses as an opportuning to sleep with Sage's girlfriend. He then unties Sage, lets the tree get bulldozed and then brags about what he did.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's "The Gang Finds A Dumpster Baby" ends with Child Protective Services rescuing poor D.B. from Paddy's Pub, but give's no conclusive answer to the Frank/Charlie question. The series will probably never give a definitive answer since it's just funnier for the two to share their bizarre living arrangement without ever figuring it out. Despite never wanting to know the true answer, Frank still treats Charlie like a son and is noticeably distraught when Charlie appears to die in season 4's "Mac And Charlie Die," even going so far as to create a mannequin replacement - even though he does some unsavory things to it too. It's up to fans to decide if Frank is the father or not, but the evidence sure is compelling.

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About The Author

Padraig Cotter (3309 Articles Published)

It's pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that's out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he'd like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site. A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU - where Hawkeye is clearly the best character - to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle. He's super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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It's Always Sunny the Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby

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