#like u see. he isnt against technology when it gets him and his friends closer

[sunscall]

i find dennis' toxic love for the gang sooo interesting. the lengths he goes through to ensure that their group dynamic never changes. the amount of planning he puts in implies that this is one of his fears– how they might one day change and abandon him.

an example of this would be in "frank retires" where he had formed the franquito plan seven years before he needed to use it, which felt devious (towards frank) to charlie, dee and mac, but dennis had justified it by saying he just didn't want them to change. the ending had dennis acting like he didn't mean a word he said, but i doubt it, because just a few episodes before (the gang misses the boat) he concluded that he just wanted things to stay normal in the gang after a minor freakout about how they're all gradually getting more and more insane staying in the bar together.

dennis resisting change is a consistent theme for his character. he does not want the gang to live in virtual realities, charlie to get smart, mac and dee to leave, mac's mom to stay with them, mac to connect with his dad, dee to actually be successful, mac to be so forward in his advances, frank to retire, etc etc. because he already likes the gang so much the way it is.

that is, unless he personally seeks the change. he could get married in a day, because he wanted to. he could kick mac out. he could leave the gang and start a family. he could change his car to a more modern one. but each time he tries to change and leave, he comes back to the gang... and his range rover.

and this is why he seems to hate them too, because most of his hatred comes from his resentment from loving them too much and being unable to leave. and the love he has for them is toxic, because he wants to drag them down together with him. the s13 narrative wants us to know that he's the main reason the gang stays the same for 16 seasons.

it's what makes dennis takes a mental health day so notable to me though. the commentary on systems throughout the episode, and how dennis is sick of it. dennis' rejection of technology when it takes away real life interactions, parallels the episode "charlie rules the world" in s6 which was the major turning point for dennis developing a god complex (where british dennis tells him that 'you create your own reality'). i believe dtamhd will also be a turning point for dennis, perhaps where he starts letting things go without putting as much control (systems) because he wants to live in a reality where he doesn't need to do these things anymore.