Mac Day

"Mac Day" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Synopsis
Everyone in the gang gets a day to do what they want while everyone else in the gang must participate willingly. This is Mac's Day...and it's got twice the "Mac".

Recap
11:55 PM on a Saturday

Mac decides his special day will be a (somewhat half-assed) version of the Biblical 7 days of God's creation, which he then "infuses" with the theme of "Bad Ass". He says "let there be Mac" and flips a light switch (day 1). Mac quotes from Genesis several lines containing the word "water" (day 2), which Mac interprets as a sign he should perform a bad-ass stunt over Philly's Schuylkill River. He is joined by Country Mac (Sean William Scott), of whom the gang are initially wary: "Holy shit, there's two of them." The gang also note that Mac had an erection during most of his speech about the evils of homosexuality.

Mac explains he will jump from a bridge into the river, but then reveals that he won't actually jump and will "draw in" the jump with "post-effects", so the gang must act amazed to make it look real. Country Mac reveals he is the real bad-ass by safely making the jump (without spilling his beer). Mac tries to leave Country Mac for dead, until he surfaces unharmed.

Mac then skips day of creation 3 because it's about trees and plants and therefore totally lame. Mac takes the gang to a planetarium to see God's creation of the heavens, where Country Mac again shows how much cooler he is by smoking a joint with them, (therefore also incorporating day 3) and explaining his much more enlightened view of God: "Sure, bad things do happen. But what about sunsets, french kisses, and the smell of rain? That's why I believe in God; not because of the things He takes away from us, but because of the things He gives to us." This greatly impresses the gang. Dennis reflects that while he thought he hated karate, Project Bad-Ass, and God, in reality he only hates Mac, who "makes all those cool things suck." Dennis worries that Mac is not only ruining his life, but also his after-life. The gang all agree.

Mac skips day 5 (fish and birds) and moves on to the 6th day, in which God created man. Mac therefore brings the gang to grease-up "beefcakes" (male bodybuilders). The gang is desperate to escape, but Country Mac declines to help, revealing he is gay and is "getting numbers left and right." The gang congratulates him on his healthy attitude regarding his sexuality. Mac quickly gets angry that the gang isn't greasing dudes fast enough. The gang notices that, predictably, Mac has another erection (presumably because of the nearly-nude male bodybuilders).

Next, Mac bring them to a karate tournament, not because he intends to compete, but as God rested on the 7th day, he will rest and judge the karate matches. The gang conspires to sign up Mac in order to expose his total lack of skills in karate and delusions there-of. Mac claims he doesn't have the right gear, despite being dressed in a Gi (which "is the gear"). Mac scores a single point due to blind luck, but is then pummeled to the ground. Country Mac takes exception and attacks Mac's opponent, nailing him in the face with a can of beer and sparking a massive brawl, Country Mac then removing his shirt to choke the man.

Mac later tries to claim he won the fight, and Dennis demands Mac admit he lost and sucks at karate. Mac's opponent returns to threaten the gang with his muscle, a large man in whose boot Country Mac "clocks" a knife by utilizing a much more effective version of Mac's "ocular pat-down". Country Mac grabs the knife and scares off their attackers. Mac, terrified, shits himself, ruining his gi. The gang, having had enough, ask Country Mac to replace Mac and be the new member of the gang, and Country Mac agrees immediately as he "goes with the flow".

As the gang reflect on how cool Country Mac is, he rides off on his motorcycle without a helmet. However, Country Mac then falls of his bike, hitting his head and sustaining mortal injury. At Country Mac's funeral service in the bar, the gang reflect that riding a motorcycle without a helmet isn't all that bad-ass, and Mac sermonizes judgementally against Country Mac's homosexuality. He tells the gang they will go to the countryside to scatter Country Mac's ashes, but time runs out on Mac Day, making it Frank Day. The episode ends as Frank dumps Country Mac's ashes into the toilet.

Starring

 * Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly
 * Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds
 * Rob McElhenney as Mac
 * Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds
 * Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds

Special Guest Star

 * Seann William Scott as Country Mac

Co-Starring

 * Ron Butler as Scientist
 * Mike Batayeh as Ref
 * Ryan Mirvis as Burly Man

Trivia

 * Mac Day is modeled after the days of creation. Mac skips days 3 (trees and plants) and 5 (fish and birds).
 * They could have had lunch at Gogino's for fish day, since they claim to have "Fresh Fish Daily."
 * Country Mac’s 'loud and proud' lifestyle is first visually communicated by his outfit. He is wearing a T-Shirt with a graphic of a Rooster (Commonly referred to as a Cock) on it, as well as an American Flag bandanna in his back left jean pocket. This is in reference to how in the gay community, there’s a handkerchief system that indicates sexual preferences.
 * The "ocular patdown" was first mentioned in "The Gang Hits the Road", and the concept was expanded upon in the episode "Pop-Pop: The Final Solution".  In both of those cases, City Mac's ocular patdowns were nowhere near as effective as Country Mac's ocular patdown here.
 * The theme of Mac being in denial about his homosexuality has been a running joke on the show for some time now.  In this episode, The Gang confirm that they all believe Mac is gay, even though Mac himself has yet to realize it. The previous episode that probably most directly deals with it is "The Gang Gets Analyzed", in which Mac is seen sucking on a pen that he believes "looks like a dick". Mac will actually briefly come out of the closet in the two part Season 11 finale "The Gang Goes to Hell", but later events will cause him to reverse that. As of Season 12's "Hero or Hate Crime?", however, Mac seems to be officially out of the closet.
 * In the episode, every member of The Gang has the sleeves of their shirts removed, which is a reference to Mac's obsession with sleeveless shirts. Interestingly, the sleeveless tees worn by Charlie and Mac are the same ones they wore in "The Gang Hits the Road", back when they still had sleeves.
 * We hear that Charlie Day (the event, not the actor) consists partially of hunting for ghouls for 10 hours. We also hear a bit about Dennis Day in the Season 9 bloopers, which involved tying slipknots until their hands were bloody, though it was unclear what all the rope was needed for. ("I was teaching you all valuable life skills. Those were shoddy knots by the way, almost ruined everything.") There is no mention of a Dee Day. However, in Season 14 an episode explores what Dee Day looks like, which includes making the guys listen to Dee's feelings, perform in some play, banning them from calling her bird and making Dennis wash off his make up and flirt with a woman.

Quotes
"All these years I've been feeling like I hate karate, and like I hate Project Badass, and like I hate God, but like I realized, you know what I really hate....is Mac."

- dennis "Suicide is badass!"

- frank

"Country Mac lived a reckless life. He wasn't the kind of guy that could score a point in a black belt karate contest. And it turns out he was totally queer. Which, as we all know, is a sin. And that, coupled with his radical religious beliefs, has most likely landed him in hell, where he will burn for all eternity."

- mac