Warning: Contains SPOILERS for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3!
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16 has just brought back the Maureen Ponderosa storyline, reviving the theory that Dennis Reynolds may be a serial killer. Maureen Ponderosa was killed off in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 12, with the character’s fate rarely being mentioned in recent seasons of the hit FXX show. However, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3, “The Gang Gets Cursed” has reignited the debate over if Dennis Reynolds is a serial killer, putting the death of Maureen Ponderosa back at the forefront of the show.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is back, with season 16, episode 3, “The Gang Gets Cursed” continuing the outrageous sitcom into its sixteenth season on FXX. The episode sees the gang met with a series of bad luck, with each member coming to the conclusion that they have been cursed. The gang comes up with a variety of explanations for the curse, with some blaming the fact that Dennis Reynolds kept Maureen Ponderosa’s ashes, refusing to bury them in a pet cemetery as per her final wishes. Although this Maureen Ponderosa story is only a small part of season 16, episode 3, it reignites some big questions regarding Dennis.
Maureen Ponderosa’s Death & Dennis’ Murder Investigation In It’s Always Sunny Season 12 Explained
Maureen Ponderosa was one of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s weirdest but most complex characters, with her constantly changing throughout her time on the show. Maureen started out as one of Dennis’ annoying exes from high school, with him later deciding to marry her in season 6. However, Dennis and Maureen got a divorce in the very next episode. That was far from the end of her time on the show, with her later getting engaged to one of Always Sunny’s McPoyle brothers, undergoing surgeries in order to transform into a cat, and then being the subject of a massive murder investigation in season 12.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 12, episode 5, “Making Dennis Reynolds a Murderer” reveals that Maureen Ponderosa has died, with cat-lady Maureen being found dead in an alley. Dennis Reynolds is pinned as the prime suspect, with police believing that the divorce motivated Dennis to get rid of her. The divorce settlement not only made Dennis pay alimony, but he inherited $90,000 worth of debt from Maureen, with him also having to pay for Marueen’s cat surgeries. However, it is later revealed that Dennis is innocent, with detectives concluding that Maureen simply fell off a rooftop while prancing like a cat.
Dee Still Believes Dennis Killed Maureen: It’s Always Sunny Season 16 Adds More Evidence To Serial Killer Theory
Despite the police officially clearing his name, Dee Reynolds still believes that Dennis killed Maureen Ponderosa. Interestingly, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3 adds even more evidence to this serial killer theory, further backing up Dee’s argument. In the episode, Dennis reveals that he has kept the urn containing Maureen’s ashes, which is a pretty odd choice considering how much he despised her. However, keeping trophies from their victims is a staple of serial killers, and Maureen’s ashes could be Dennis’ trophy. After all, Dennis keeps trophies of all the women he sleeps with, meaning that this pattern of behavior is present in the character.
In the episode, Dee explains that she thinks the ashes are a trophy for Dennis, meaning that she has caught on to what the episode is implying. Dee is Dennis’ sister, and probably the person closest to Dennis. Because of this, if Dee truly thinks that Dennis is a serial killer, then it is probably true. Dennis being a serial killer is one of the oldest It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia theories, with the Maureen Ponderosa murder storyline being written as a reference to this. With this new piece of evidence being considered, the likelihood of Dennis being Maureen’s killer just got a whole lot higher.
Is The Black Cat In It’s Always Sunny Season 16 Really Maureen Ponderosa?
In It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 3, the gang comes across a lady that they believe put the curse on them. While there, they see a black cat named Maureen, pointing them towards Maureen Ponderosa being behind the curse. Although the gang thinks that the black cat is Maureen Ponderosa reincarnate, that probably isn’t the case, as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has shied away from the supernatural. However, it is possible that Maureen Ponderosa truly did come back as the black cat, putting the curse on the main characters of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
New episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia air Wednesdays on FXX.