The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7

"The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7" is the second episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 156th overall episode of the series and was written by story editors Keyonna Taylor and Katie McElhenney and directed by Pete Chatmon. It originally aired on FXX on December 1, 2021, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "2020: A Year In Review".

In the episode, upon discovering that their self-made Lethal Weapon sequels have been pulled from the local library, the Gang decides to address their political incorrectness by making the sequel Lethal Weapon 7. The episode is a continuation of the 2010 episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth" and the 2013 episode "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6", both of which involve the Gang recreating their own version of Lethal Weapon. The episode was described as a meta-commentary on previous episodes being removed from streaming due to their use of blackface.^[1]

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.237 million household viewers and gained a 0.11 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the series' meta-commentary on the previous episodes and the performances of the cast.

Plot

The Gang's Lethal Weapon 5 and Lethal Weapon 6 films are removed from the local library, being deemed "insensitive" for their use of blackface. Frank is outraged at the decision but the rest of the Gang state it's time to move on from these and there's only one thing they can do to do the right thing: make Lethal Weapon 7.

The Gang intends to make a film that can be enjoyable, given modern ethical standards. For the first take,

In November 2021, it was reported that the second episode of the fifteenth season would be titled "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7", and was to be directed by Pete Chatmon and written by story editors Keyonna Taylor and Katie McElhenney.^[2]

Writing

Rob McElhenney said that the episode served as a way to explore the Gang's use of blackface and acknowledge its wrong use, explaining "I find that my barometer is off for what's appropriate sometimes in situations because, like, we've spent 15 years making a show about the worst people on the planet, and because it's satire, we lean so heavily into this idea. And then we are always, like, right on the razor’s edge, but that’s the only way that satire works. And then I go and do something else, and I may be pitching something, and then I realize, like, oh, it's wholly inappropriate for the show what I'm doing because these are supposed to be real human beings, whereas, on Sunny, they are cartoon characters, and we can, kind of, get away with a whole lot more."^[3]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7" was seen by an estimated 0.237 million household viewers and gained a 0.11 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.11 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[4] This was a 17% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.285 million viewers with a 0.14 in the 18-49 demographics.^[4]

Critical reviews

"The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7" received positive reviews from critics. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B−" grade and wrote, "It's a fitting way for the episode to land what had been a shaky enterprise in on-the-nose comic storytelling, but these first two episodes both hint that the Gang could use some new scenery. On to Ireland, I guess."^[5]

Ross Bonaime of Collider wrote, "Mac accurately describes the last few years by saying The Gang has done 'a lot of learning, a lot of growing, and a lot of being scared.' It's a perfect encapsulation of what the world has gone through, and while we may be tired of reliving the recent past in entertainment, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's fifteenth season comments on modern idiocy without the fatigue we've come to expect. If anything, it's almost comforting to know that all of the insanity in our world has been thanks to the five owners of Paddy's Pub."^[6]

Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence wrote, "The show also directly acknowledges how the world has changed in the season's second episode, 'The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7', which comments on the fact that the show's previous episodes featuring Lethal Weapon parodies are no longer streaming due to the very blatant use of blackface. Said comment is made most importantly by actually involving Black actors and Taylor, a Black writer, in the episode, while continuing to evolve the show's take on how to approach both its politically incorrect past while still poking fun at the unacceptable — and managing to be funny as hell in the process."^[7] Ray Flook of Bleeding Cool wrote, "Just like it seemed only right that The Gang's response to being shown the error of their ways with 'White Saviors' was to... you guessed it. Make 'Lethal Weapon 8'. Because The Gang is never more at its best than when it gives the audience a chance to learn while they stay obliviously trapped in their Paddy's bubble and we wouldn't have it any other way."^[8]

References

External links

• "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7" at
  IMDb