Ass Kickers United: Mac and Charlie Join a Cult

"Ass Kickers United: Mac and Charlie Join a Cult" is the tenth episode of the tenth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Synopsis
"Asskickers" isn't just a hot new way to work out; it's a way of life...and maybe a cult.

Recap
10:00 AM on a Wednesday

Dee is frustrated that Frank is coming over to her apartment to use her bathtub as a Turkish bath, claiming that she's reached her wit's end with Dennis and Mac's residency. As she and Frank enter her apartment they find Charlie and Mac working out with two other men. They tell her they're seeking enlightenment via the way of the warrior in a group called "Ass Kickers United."

Later, after the cult has left, Dennis arrives and tells Dee that Ass Kickers United was a fake group he made up to get Mac to stop eating his Thin Mint cookies. Frank wants Dennis to get some new-age tail into the group so he can sleep with them, and Dee wants them to rebuild Dennis and Mac's apartment. Frank also wants someone to eat a literal shit sandwich. Dennis tells them they have to slow roll the cult.

The next day at Paddy's Pub the cult members wear yellow stickers on their foreheads, believing they will give them vitamin D. Dee and Frank tell Dennis to be more aggressive with his brainwashing but he refuses. Dee and Frank decide to make their own instructions for the cult and tell them to invite women, begin learning carpentry, and purchase Wolf Cola. The next day at the bar Mac complains about the women's inclusion and sulks off. Dennis finds him at home eating Thin Mints and realizes his sister and father have gone around his back.

Tiny and Jojo, actual construction workers, join Dee and Charlie at the burnt-down apartment but complain about doing construction during what they thought was a workout group. Charlie tells them they can leave, and that he personally will rebuild the apartment. Frank, meanwhile, mentors the very fit Cindy while Mrs. Mac and Bonnie Kelly complain about the exercises.

Back at Dee's apartment, Mac informs the rest of the cult that they were led astray by a test and he has reached Level Two enlightenment, as has Dennis. Dennis then stares down Dee and Frank, who decide to hit him back. They ask Rex to pose as The Master for a very drunk Charlie. Rex tells him to congregate the cult back at the burnt-down apartment so they can travel to another dimension.

The next day, the apartment has been rebuilt by Tiny's construction company by Charlie's request. Dee is proud that she was able to get the cult to believe they were going to travel to another dimension. Frank takes Tiny into a bedroom and has him eat a shit sandwich. Dennis arrives and tells them the Supreme Overlord Master has informed them it is time to kill themselves. Jojo happily volunteers and lights himself on fire in the bedroom. Tiny and Rex flee and the gang looks on in horror, deciding to shut the door and walk away.

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

Guest Starring

 * Dax Shepard as Jojo
 * Sandy Martin as Mrs. Mac
 * Lynne Marie Stewart as Bonnie
 * T.J. Hoban as The Master/Rex
 * Brittney Alger as Cindy
 * Cazzey Louis Cereghino as Tiny

Trivia

 * Fight Milk was first shown in the Season Eight episode "Frank's Back in Business".
 * The stress meter was put to similar use in the Season Nine episode "Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare". Similar to that episode, it's used to take a few shots at Scientology: Dee's talk of "regret stressors" sounds vaguely like the Scientology concept of the "engram", which is a mental image of some trauma from the past. Also, in this episode, everyone keeps asking where they should put their feet.
 * In Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare, Charlie is administered a similar test to measure his stress level, and asks where to keep his feet
 * Wolf Cola first appeared in the Season Seven episode "Sweet Dee Gets Audited."
 * The flying turtle is from the Season Eight episode "Charlie Rules the World."
 * Rex is wearing the same disguise that Dennis and Frank wore to the orgy (or, perhaps more accurately, half-nude buffet party) in the Season 4 episode Mac and Charlie Die (Part 1).
 * The episode uses part of the soundtrack of the movie The Master, composed by Jonny Greenwood. The movie is vaguely based on L. Ron Hubbard and the founding of the church of Scientology.
 * Ass Kickers United also seems to share some similarities with CrossFit, which has been accused of promoting a cult-like mentality among its members, and also with promoting some workout methods that some have said have a high risk of injury. (In fact, Tiny says that he thought Ass Kickers United was just going to be "some sort of fun workout club, like CrossFit.")
 * Frank says that he and Dennis are going to have a "Turkish bath thing." The character Glenn Howerton played in the first season of Fargo, Don Chumph, attempted a blackmail scheme to get money to open a Turkish bath.

Quotes
Charlie: He's gonna put all those brains in my head.

Mac: Throughout history, Ass Kickers have always known carpentry – Jesus Christ, Harrison Ford.