> the characters on Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia are just boring jerks.
Ah! Triggered! /s
I agree that the "jerks" trope is at play here. But I don't think the characters are boring or without their observations on the world. The characters have plenty of observations about arising cultural moments, political issues, etc. Many episodes are essentially "The Gang Takes Opposing Views on X". Then we get to see these characters take each side to weird extremes while learning very little from the experience.
Like the "show about nothing" It's Always Sunny is in its prime during meta commentary episodes like "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award".
I suppose trope has a negative connotation but I view them as tools in a writer's toolbox, not as an indicator of lazy writing.
Having said that, tropes are usually a little more specific or identifiable than just the concept of "mean characters", so it probably wasn't the best use of the word.
Why exactly are you upset by this? It's a word that describes commonly used narratives. It's incredibly common to tweak or reuse commonly known narratives and there's nothing inherently negative about that.
Ah! Triggered! /s
I agree that the "jerks" trope is at play here. But I don't think the characters are boring or without their observations on the world. The characters have plenty of observations about arising cultural moments, political issues, etc. Many episodes are essentially "The Gang Takes Opposing Views on X". Then we get to see these characters take each side to weird extremes while learning very little from the experience.
Like the "show about nothing" It's Always Sunny is in its prime during meta commentary episodes like "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award".