August 20, 2025
Patrick McElhenney/FX
The Season 17 finale of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' doubles as a 'Golden Bachelor' crossover and a tribute to a recurring character.
Frank Reynolds is not the most natural choice for "The Golden Bachelor." To recap, the man loves guns, gambling and rum ham, and he once waterboarded his daughter.
But the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" crossover episode with the ABC dating show ended on an unexpectedly affecting note as Frank chased after a wisecracking, age-appropriate woman — and the FX series remembered a recurring guest star who died earlier this year.
Spoilers for "The Golden Bachelor Live," the Season 17 finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," below!
"Always Sunny" had built up to Frank's turn on "The Golden Bachelor" over the back half of Season 17. The Gang learned about his upcoming appearance on the reality show through a local news broadcast. Then, his kids and friends rehearsed their hometown visit in front of a focus group, only to discover Frank had recast them to avoid embarrassment.
They get a real shot at prime time in the season finale, which doubles as a finale for Frank's fake "Golden Bachelor" run. The show's actual host, Jesse Palmer, takes viewers through Frank's unlikely dating journey, admitting "we considered ending the franchise altogether." Frank's introduction to the show illustrates why. After instantly rejecting the first three women he meets, he insists the producers bring him "Cock Chewa," a parody of the "Hawk Tuah" girl (legal name Hailey Welch). Once she shows up, Frank claims he's made his choice, but the next contestant, Sam (Carol Kane), throws him a curveball. When he rudely rejects her, she insults him right back. Delighted, he says she can stay.
As Frank gets to know his top two ladies, he's surprised to discover he enjoys talking with Sam way more than sitting next to Cock Chewa (Audrey Corsa) as she livestreams gibberish. (He also doesn't appreciate the "chewa" in the bedroom.) Dennis and Dee are even impressed with Sam when she and Cock Chewa visit Paddy's Pub. But the Gang wants someone "we know we can control," so they somehow get Charlie's mom Bonnie (Lynne Marie Stewart) onto the show in time for Frank's final rose ceremony. They also set off an elephant toothpaste bomb with 20 gallons of Nair, but that's neither here nor there.
By this point, Frank and Sam are on the rocks. He proclaimed them "dunzo" via a card slipped under her door after she declined his invitation to the fantasy suite and got vulnerable about her feelings instead. But when Frank picks up his golden rose to propose, he realizes he can't give it to Bonnie or Cock Chewa. In a classic rom-com moment — played with actual sincerity — he runs through the rain to catch Sam before she boards a bus. He proposes and she accepts, setting the stage for an unholy "Always Sunny" wedding next season.
Sam, played by Carol Kane, unexpectedly steals Frank's attention away from a young TikTok star.
The episode does not end, however, on Sam and Frank in the rain. The ballad "Always on My Mind" swells as the show rolls old clips of Bonnie over the years, ending on the text, "For our sweet Lynne... We'll love you forever." Stewart died of cancer in February, making the season finale her last show appearance.
It's not the first time the cast has paid tribute to their co-star. When news of Stewart's death broke, Charlie Day wrote that his "brilliant and talented" TV mom deserved a "standing ovation," while Rob Mac, the artist formerly known as Rob McElhenney, proclaimed her "buzzing beacon of all that is good and right in the world."
"There's a hole in our Sunny family, but how lucky we were to have her," Kaitlin Olson wrote on Instagram. "May you have the softest landing, Lynne."
Like the hallmark Season 13 finale "Mac Finds His Pride," the show's latest closer proves the crass sitcom does have a heart. The Gang can be earnest when the story, or real life circumstances, call for it — though they'll make about 15 dick jokes and set off a chemical weapon before they get there.
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