While this season has been a marginal step up from previous ones in recent years, this episode still shines enough to stand out. The gang tends to fare quite well in bottle episodes ("The Gang Goes to Hell: Part Two," "The Gang Dines Out," "Times Up for the Gang," "CharDee MacDennis," etc.) and this one is just another testament to that fact.
The inclusion of fan favorite side characters in Gail the Snail, Artemis, The Waitress & the McPoyle brothers would make any super fan of the show excited. Yet, as excited as I was, I was worried they would show up for the sake of showing up and end up playing the role of cheap fan service than integral characters in the story. Luckily, my worries were subsided, as they genuinely make sense in context of their characters and add plenty of great moments to the episode's narrative and humor (does Gail the Snail even age??? She looks EXACTLY the same)
Same standout scenes include charlie's effortless first frame, frank's chili-filled bowling bowl, dennis' sore winner reaction in the arcade & the final scene (which genuinely subverted my expectations in spite of all the foreshadowing).
All-in-all, it's a seriously tightly written episode that truly hits the mark on the gang's attempt to return to their roots. Probably lands in my top 3 since Mac & Dennis Move to the Suburbs, which surprises even myself, but it really does feel like a classic episode from the show's golden age.
