A Dog's Purpose.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
In a chapter focused almost entirely on Matthew "Cricket" Mara (David Hornsby's forever spiraling priest-turned-homeless derelict), Always Sunny began to take us out of its 12th season with an out of the box-style episode akin to Buffy's "The Zeppo." Basically, a side story all about a secondary character (or in Cricket's case, an afterthought/punching bag) off on a peripheral adventure while the main characters continued to live their lead narratives.
In this case even, Cricket's story, we'd discover, was going on specifically during the episodes "PTSDee" and "The Gang Tends Bar." This is what that ol' PCP smoker was up to in between MC'ing the male stripper show at Paddy's to - well - smoking PCP on Valentine's Day in Paddy's.
It's was a funny concept too. Especially the elements here that blended Cricket's attempt at redemption and romance with a handful of Disney films like Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp, and so on. Even the opening scene (filled with some hilarious parkour athletics) aped Aladdin as "Street Rat" Cricket scampered away with stolen street bread.
Naturally, once we found out that Cricket's story existed in the backdrop of "PTSDee" we knew that his quest for a new life would fail. You know, given that he later on would go back to doing drugs. Hell, even if we didn't know this because of "The Gang Tends Bar," it'd still be a good guess - that Cricket would fall way short of regaining his old life back. What we didn't know though was how everything would get ruined for him.
At first glance, it would be the Gang's fault. Even when Cricket was trying, in earnest, to get the money they owed him, they were in full put-down mode. He'd never succeed in life if they had anything to say about it, that much was clear. But they weren't the cause. Then we looked to Belle. She only ever spoke to Cricket when no one else was around and it was suspicious enough too that she took an actual interest in someone so dubious and dirty. Was she a figment of his mind? Was she a crazy person herself?
It turned out though, in this silly shell game, that Cricket was to blame the entire time. He sabotaged his own chances from the get-go by never actually quitting PCP. Oh, Belle was off alright - she was a damn dog! But Cricket was the one who was imagining her as a human. Even though her dialogue, when examined closely, was pretty much the dialogue of a dog.
The Verdict
Cricket is good in small doses. Frank too, if you think about it. They're both designed to say the most outrageous and offensive things on the show with little reprieve. It's why last season's "Being Frank" wasn't exactly all it could be. Neither character is good as the central figure of a story. That being said, Cricket actually came off well here since this was a story about him attempting to change and become a better person. It was a fun diversion before next week's season finale.
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