Mac Mcdonald - Blog Posts
mac with or without a beard?
the sheriff of paddy's
the height difference between charlie and the rest of the gang is something that is very personal to me
It's like a jacket, only it's longer, thicker, and far more badass.
he's always sucking on the pens in our apartment, i'm always having to hide them.
"stride, stride, stride, stride, execute!"
love him in his gay little hats
Thinking about how Charlie had thought of Mac as his best friend ever since Dennis banged the Waitress in season one, if not his entire life, only for Mac to say it's bullshit. The entire time Charlie had thought of Mac as his best friend, Mac has thought of Dennis as his. Surely, this wasn't always the case. Mac had been friends with Charlie far longer than he has been friends with Dennis. For most of their lives, Mac must have thought of Charlie as his best friend. When was it along the way that Mac's idea of who his best friend was shifted? When did he decide Charlie no longer fit the bill? What if I started throwing up and screaming and punching the floor?
dream macdennis reveal would be mac wearing a "kiss me i'm irish" shirt and then dennis does
"It's a shame 'cause you've been looking so great lately. So sexy!"
I have so much to say about this scene oh my god.
Starting with the fact Mac is just casually watching shirtless men workout on TV. But this scene is SUCH good proof that Dennis 100% knows what he's doing, aka nurturing Mac's dependence on him, aka literally using the SINNED system on Mac right before our eyes.
The use of the word "sexy" here is so interesting to me, because Dennis could've used so many other words to describe how he views Mac's physical form. He could've said Mac's been looking so strong, or ripped, or tough, or manly, but instead he lands on the word sexy. And he says it so deliberately!! He knows it's the best word to describe Mac. It's the most effective word he could use to convince Mac to go back to the cult, because if Mac is in the cult getting fit and not eating Thin Mints, then Dennis will think he's sexy. We can tell Dennis' verbiage works too because of the way Mac cocks his head. He's almost surprised at the descriptive use of the word "sexy." He straightens his posture. "Oh, Dennis thought I was sexy?"
Mac is visibly upset at the notion that Dennis is disappointed in him. This is such an obvious use of Dennis praising and then withholding praise from Mac. Dennis is fully aware that in giving the dog a bone, Mac will do whatever it takes to earn the more significant prize. Dennis allows Mac a fragment of his praise because he knows in doing so Mac will believe it's possible to earn more. Mac knows what it feels like to earn Dennis' affections and now he wants nothing more than to have that back. If Mac can please Dennis just enough, he might be praised by Dennis again.
The absurdity comes in later seasons when Mac follows Dennis at his heels like a lost puppy, desperate for Dennis' love and affection, and Dennis acts as if he didn't purposefully and meticulously train this man to act this way. Dennis Reynolds truly is a bastard man.
"If that's what love does to your eyes,
Then I would be blind,
You're like the morning sun,
And, oh, it hurts so bad,
You keep me warm even though I might be dead inside,
I can't get any closer,
Oh, how hard I tried. "
If I Say I Love You by Summer Salt and The Dinosaur's Skin
it's me, i'm people
[screencaps and dialogue taken from the original Sunny pilot. Crazy that the nature of Mac and Dennis' relationship was already coming into question before the show even existed.]
In all honestly, my ideal ending for iasip is a simple one. The gang would play Chardee Macdennis one last time, bringing back a beloved concept with lots of references to the show brought up in the trivia portion. It'd be fun and light. It'd give us one last glimpse into these characters' dynamics, playing a game they invented in their 20s now in their 50s. Still a gang, still together, in the bar of Paddy's on a slow day, passing the time with a game they invented out of boredom.
Maybe they'd invite some old friends to form new teams. Maybe we'd see Cricket, the Lawyer, the Waitress, the Waiter, the McPoyles, Artemis, Ponderosa, and Gail the Snail all join in on the fun. Surprisingly, everyone shows, probably because they have nothing better to do. Maybe Frank and Pondy would form a team. The Waitress, Artemis, and Gail would group up, bringing the Fridge-It Bitches back. Maybe we would finally learn the Waitress' name. We'd get to see each member of the gang at their best, deranged, manipulative, and evil as always. Charlie would probably fail a task because the Waitress made him nervous. Cricket would join forces with the McPoyles because they're the only ones not disgusted by Cricket. Their group would be really good at the pain and endurance portion. The Lawyer and the Waiter would form a team, bonding over the years of strife the gang had caused them. They would grow very frustrated at not understanding the rules of the game. They're the only group that is normal enough to find the whole thing preposterous, but for some reason they see it through.
The episode would wrap with Mac and Charlie finally beating Dennis and Dee after losing to them for 30 years. We'd close on the pair stomping on Dennis and Dee's dolls, victorious at last. Dennis and Dee would be sore losers, complaining that Mac and Charlie must have cheated. Frank would be celebrating with Mac and Charlie, telling them he was proud of them. Mac and Charlie would realize that perhaps Frank really had become a father figure to them. They would allow Frank to smash Dennis and Dee's dolls with them and Frank would be over the moon. We would pan out, through the front door of Paddy's, still able to hear the gang rejoicing and bickering, only now from a distance. The last thing we would see is Paddy's sign, old and decrepit as ever, never to change, as the gang's arguing begins to fade out, transitioning into the final end credit theme.
this shit was gayer than if they actually had sex
charlie copying mac
i'll never get over dennis' hand placement here
"you're right, dude, we don't need dads. we're gonna be fine."
<Just Like You : STRFKR>
Thinking about the way Mac misremembers Dennis leaving. In his own mind, he wishes he left with Dennis, but in reality he didn't. He let Dennis walk away and out of his life. He didn't chase after Dennis, but he wishes he did.
A theory for why Dennis acts different towards Mac after returning from North Dakota is that Dennis is resentful towards Mac for this very reason. Mac let him walk away. He had always thought Mac would be there by his side, to catch him when he faltered, but Mac had failed him. Dennis was waiting for someone to chase him, and it should have been Mac, but Mac didn't. Mac didn't even bat an eye. Mac let Dennis slip away, and this is something he will never forget.
When Dennis was away, he never checked in with Mac. We know he gave Mac a fake number, so Mac couldn't contact him, but Dennis has Mac's number memorized. He could've called Mac, but he never did. Maybe he was avoiding Mac. Maybe he didn't want to show that he cared for Mac when, in his mind, Mac didn't care about him.
I wonder if Mac is aware of this. I wonder if this is why Mac wishes he had chased after Dennis. I wonder if Mac remembers that night this way because it's what he so badly wishes had happened. He wishes he had followed Dennis, but he didn't.
Maybe he thinks Dennis would love him if he had.
i think about mac and charlie's chardee macdennis team photo too often