Why Can't Charlie From It's Always Sunny Read? The Abbott Elementary Crossover Offered One Theory

Although it's widely agreed that nobody in the main cast of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is a good person, it's also generally agreed that Charlie (Charlie Day) is the closest thing to a good person the group has. Charlie has a sweet, childlike nature to him; sure, I'll never forgive him for the way he treated Alexandra Daddario, but it'll always hurt to wonder about what his life could've been. If he'd grown up with a better friend group, and if his uncle Jack hadn't molested him, and if he maybe stopped sniffing glue so often, there's a world where Charlie becomes a happier, higher-functioning person. We know from "Charlie Work" (an amazing season 10 episode) that Charlie is capable of great feats of competence, but as long as he's hanging out at Paddy's Pub he'll never reach his full potential.

Nowhere does my heart weep for poor Charlie more than during the show's many, many jokes about how he doesn't know how to read. He's illiterate, and he's in denial about being illiterate, and all of his friends just sort of accept this part of him. There's no attempt by the "Always Sunny" gang to figure out the hows and whys of Charlie's illiteracy; they simply chalk it up to Charlie's lack of intelligence.

That's why I'm pleased with the latest "Abbott Elementary" episode, which is the first part of a two-part crossover between its show and "Always Sunny." (The second part will air as an "Always Sunny" episode later this year.) The teachers at Abbott quickly find out the gang are a bunch of criminals — even Janine turns against them the moment Dee decides to try to steal her man — but Charlie's the only one who escapes their scorn. Jacob deduces that Charlie can't read, and then he, Barbara, and Melissa decide to help him out.

The difference between the tone of "Always Sunny" and "Abbott Elementary" is made clear in the scene where the teachers figure out the extent of Charlie's illiteracy. They don't ridicule him as the gang would, nor do they react with annoyance or try to sweep the issue under the rug; instead, the moment they realize what's wrong they immediately set to work. There's barely even a discussion about it; they simply know that they can't let this man leave their school without at least trying to help him first.

Barbara even remarks that adult illiteracy is growing more common — something that definitely seems to be true, even if it might be hard to believe. The reasons for the trend are complicated, but part of it appears to be due to the embarrassment older kids and adults feel when admitting that reading's still an issue for them. In a social media-driven world with largely-mandatory schooling for kids under 16, one would assume illiteracy is a thing of the past, so there's a lot of shame involved for people still struggling.

Literate adults also tend to forget that learning to read is hard. Even when kids go to the best schools, it's still a years' long process of sounding words out and slowly growing their vocabulary. Tack on the very questionable methods some schools use to teach kids reading, and add on Charlie's wildly dysfunctional childhood, and it's no surprise at all that he'd struggle with this.

This is why the approach of the "Abbott" cast, to warmly encourage Charlie and even get the kids to root him on, is long overdue. Charlie's illiteracy isn't solved in this episode but he does finally admit he has a problem, and he improves a meaningful amount by the time his week in community service ends. Court-mandated community service is supposed to make you a better person, and Charlie's the only member of the gang where this seems to be the case.

Unfortunately, the gang's week of community service at "Abbott" comes to an end, which means Charlie leaves the school still not able to distinguish "guest" from "ghost" on the gym's scoreboard. Charlie needs at least another week of reading assistance from the "Abbott" teachers, probably even more, but he's been thrown back out into the world to figure out the rest on his own. Does Charlie have the drive to keep working at this, to keep improving his reading skills? Probably not, I'm sad to say; there's a good chance that when "Always Sunny" season 17 comes around he'll still be struggling to distinguish "private" from "pirate."

We could blame Charlie for this lack of improvement, but "Abbott Elementary" largely rests the blame on Charlie's lack of education and his unsupportive friend group. Charlie's a busy man, with rats to kill and sewers to scour through; learning to read was something he should've and could've handled back when he was a kid, if only his community had thrown him a helping hand. I certainly hope Charlie continues improving his reading skills, and that "Always Sunny" season 17 sees him putting in the work and genuinely improving himself (which would be a fun arc). Of course, the tragedy of "Always Sunny" is that Charlie, like the rest of the gang, is doomed forever to a life of squalor and mediocrity.

Still, "Abbott Elementary" has given us a glimpse of what Charlie's life could've been if he'd grown up in better circumstances, and that glimpse was sweet while it lasted. And sure, maybe Charlie won't be able to tell the difference between a "Coors" and "Closed" sign, but at least he knows enough to distinguish "live laugh love" from "bathroom pass," so that's something. In a show as bleak as "Always Sunny," it's good to take the little wins when you can get them.

New episodes of "Abbott Elementary" premiere Wednesdays at 8:30pm EST on ABC.