Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Night Man Cometh"

And so after 13 episodes, we have come to the long-awaited The Night Man Cometh, a rock opera as epic as Tommy and as dorkily complex as The Wall. It truly is a show that will define a generation of theatergoers.

So perhaps I'm overstating it. All in all, this was a solidly funny episode that was saddled with some unrealistic expectations; between being the season finale, reviving one of the show's best jokes, and being unintentionally forced to save a weak season it seems as if the burden "Night Man" had to carry was somewhat excessive. That being said there was a lot to like, from the distinctively Sunny homonym joke about the Night Man's desire to enter "that boy's hole" to Charlie's directoral power-tripping.

However, it all felt a little thrown together. The musical itself felt rushed and somewhat unfulfilling, with most of the good jokes having been given away relatively far in advance. I also feel like it was missing one or two truly classic Sunny moments.

But why dwell on the negative when there's so much more here than in most of what we've gotten this season. All in all its been a long, tedious, and disappointing march from Charlie screaming "Wild Card!!!" to Mac's wondering who the musical was versus. In between, there hasn't been much to reward those of us who first came on impressed by the show's comic inventiveness, free-wheeling feel, and ability to shock. While "Night Man" succeeded as an individual episode, it didn't seem like the kind of course reversal the show needs. Ideally, the season would have ended with an episode strong enough to make it seem like the rest of the season has been some kind of aberration. Instead, it seems like these good ones may become more and more unusual.

B+