A seemingly normal task goes awry as the Gang crashes their car in the middle of nowhere while on their way to an animal rights charity event in Atlantic City. Sadly, it looks like Frank (Danny DeVito) won’t get a chance to make a mockery of the event in his all leather attire, and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Mac (Rob McElhenney) won’t be able to take advantage Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in their own fanatical ways. Then of course, there’s Charlie (Charlie Day). Throughout the trip he was bound and blindfolded in the trunk to keep from freaking as they leave his comfort zone of Philly. Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Charlie decide to go search for help while Dee, Frank and Mac are left to fend for themselves in the Pennsylvania wilderness.
With some extra time to talk, Dennis seeks reassurance from Charlie that he is the methodical person he believes himself to be. To this, Charlie confidently affirms: Aw yeh, like a serial killer. Using this this confirmation as a segue, Dennis convinces Charlie to say “yes” to life more with an inspirational story detailing a hickey from an extremely young but legal lady. In luck, they happen upon a truck driver on the way to Atlantic City and they decide to catch a ride with complete disregard for Dee, Mac, and Frank. Their actions are not without karma, however, as they are solicited for sex by the weak willed truck driver.
Trucker: I usually don’t find lot lizards out in the wild.
Dennis: I’m a little behind on my trucker terms, a lot lizard would be a…
Trucker: …A lizard…you know…truck stop whores.
Trucker: Back in the day, hell, I would’ve let you turn me into Swiss cheeseee…Make me into a mailbox. Open the slot and put whatever you want inside!
Despite his assurance that he’s gotten over his whore habit, they arrive in Atlantic City outside a motel as he pleas for their services. Taking their queue, they escape his clutches and arrive at the banquet only to realize Dennis’s belongings were left in the truck. Charlie, on his new “say yes” high, repeatedly bets all his money on roulette and wins over $15,000. If that wasn’t enough, they pretend to be Mac and Frank in order to win the applause of the banquet and gain favor of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.
In complete contrast to their adventures, Frank and Mac become more in tune with the wilderness. Frank “has a moment with” a mysterious, “soul seeing” rabbit while Mac and Dee debate the implications of eating a dead, disease infested crow in order to stay alive. In order to ease their conscience, Frank and Mac decide to host a funeral, complete with eulogy, for the dead crow now that they’ve found a new appreciation of nature. Being pregnant and irritable, Dee instead counts the moments until she can kill and eat their prophetic rabbit.
Dee: I want to bash you bunny. I want to give you one good bash and eat your sweet, delicious meat.
Frank: You can’t kill the rabbit Deandra, it’s got my soul.
Mac: It’s got his soul Dee.
Dee: Maybe I’ll suffocate you. I’ll suffocate your rabbit face and just suck all the life out of it…and twist your neck.
With no word from Dennis or Charlie, they are forced to sleep in the woods overnight. Frank, in an act of bad judgment, deems it a good idea to dig up the crow and eat it. As his insides attempt handle his mistake of eating a maggot infested crow, he loses his admiration of nature and releases the bunny back into the wild. The bunny manages to make it several yards down the road before it is swooped up by a hawk. To tie things up in an unhappier package, Mac receives pictures of Dennis and Chase Utley just as the sexually frustrated truck driver pulls up to offer them a ride.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with this episode. While I’ve always been aware how inept they Gang would be at surviving in the wilderness, it was hilarious to actually see it play out anyway. It was also interesting to see Dennis imparting his “wisdom” about life to Charlie and it working out as well as it did. While it’s fun to watch his plans fall apart, its success worked well to juxtapose the failure and suffering that the other three experience. Flying home on private jet with money won from gambling while your friends are solicited by a truck driver somehow compliment each other well.
Original Author: Andrew Ebanks