I love the shipping stories framing device. I thought it was a great way to incorporate the kids with the adults' stories while allowing the team to experiment and be more random with the episode. Nothing made me laugh out loud but I really enjoyed it.
But my issues are two fold though. The first is the Lynette Jack storyline. I generally love Lynette's character and her contrasting personality to Jack but she was completely in the wrong here in the situation and was being really defensive and immature
That's not an issue in itself, if it was framed as her being immature and unsympathetic; as something she needed to grow from. But it felt like the episode wrote it as they both had reasons to be upset, when Jack was actually fully in the right for once and his reaction wasn't even bad. Just felt off on the character writing.
The second issue is I'm dissapointed in how they handled the male on male shipping. They really felt like they couldn't show same sex kissing? They show men and women kissing in the episode but always cut off when it's the guys.
Especially when you have Glenn Howerton, who has never seemed uncomfortable with doing gay stuff on camera.
He's had a number of homoerotic moments on it's always sunny, esp in the recent season where he straight up makes out with Charlie. I have to imagine it wasn't the creative team who were against it but they weren't allowed to as not to offend some viewers.
In general the 3rd and 4th season, when they moved to peacock, feels kind of neutered. The show is still good and clever in the latter half of seasons but this episode definitely made me realize the new execs didn't allow the show to get as risque' anymore and it's a shame (esp when homosexuality shouldn't even be risque' anymore).
