In “Frank’s Brother,” Frank and Gino end up warring over a singer named Shadynasty (Naturi Naughton) because they both fall in love with her. The thing is that Reggie is also in love with Shadynasty (pronounced shah-die-nusty, if you’re curious), but he keeps getting arrested as a result of all of the shenanigans happening in their club. Gino and Frank, meanwhile, are free men because they’re white and aren’t targeted by the police. They make a joke about “hey, it’s the ’60s” but, as the end of the episode shows, that kind of discrimination is still alive today. Reggie, for his part, is a strong and powerful man with a bad temper who ends up finding something to keep him going with the Black Power movement, even though he ends up separated from Shadynasty once more.
Reddick’s portrayal of the character is pitch-perfect, because the entire story is being told through Frank and Gino’s eyes. The gang on “It’s Always Sunny” tend to view the world through pop culture-tinted glasses, and their memories of the 1960s and ’70s being so stereotypical and movie-like is pretty on-brand for them. Reddick leans into it, giving a performance that’s both intense and absolutely hilarious. He manages to encompass numerous stereotypes and tropes in a single character, but plays it with such sincerity that the comedy of it actually works.
