Schitt's Creek: The Incident (6x02)

Just as adorable as ever, of course!

Cons:

I tend to be really uncomfortable and grossed out by bathroom-related humor, so when I realized that the premise of this episode was going to be that David wet the bed, I was... less than thrilled. And even though there wasn't a lot of lingering on it, and David and Patrick were cute as always, I will admit that I'd rather just... not? Have a story like this? I'm not prudish, it's just the one thing that I always think is uncomfortable to address, even - or maybe especially - in a comedic setting.

Pros:

But that said - Patrick is such a sweet and understanding man. I love how David is just blatantly like: "I'd totally leave you if our positions were reversed" even though we both know that's a lie! And Patrick knows how to be comforting and understanding, but also can't help but make fun of David just a little bit: "this is an expensive mattress!" They really do get each other on a deeper level. And the end, where Patrick puts on his mouth guard and nose breathing thing, just to put David at ease... aren't they just the sweetest.

Meanwhile, Moira takes to social media to promote her movie, and accidentally live-streams a conversation about David's little accident. One of the things I love most about this show is its comedic restraint. You would think that the reveal that David's embarrassment was broadcast to the internet would have far-reaching consequences, and we'd have all sorts of overblown reactions, and people pointing and laughing at David in the streets... but no. It's relatively subdued, but in a good way. Most of the comedy comes from Alexis thinking the whole thing is funny, and being reluctant to delete the video, and Patrick being adamant that David can never ever ever find out. And... he doesn't. The episode ends with Patrick taking David's phone out of his hands so they can go to sleep, crinkly plastic mattress protector and all. I love it.

The other plot of the day follows Johnny, Stevie, and Roland as they go check out another motel, which Johnny wants them to buy. Stevie is resistant to the idea, and things go awry when they find themselves at a funeral for the motel owner, Roland having misheard "viewing" for "showing." Again, this is another moment where you'd think the shenanigans would write themselves, but instead, things work out okay. Johnny fumbles about for a lie about knowing the deceased through a curling league, but then the widow believes that they are FBI agents, because of her departed husband's shady gambling. And when the truth comes out, it's fine - this woman is willing to talk about selling the motel to Stevie and Johnny.

In many ways, I feel like Schitt's Creek is the anti-Big Bang Theory. Stick with me for a minute. In that show, I often found myself frustrated by the lack of imagination. A joke would be set up, a scenario introduced, and then virtually nothing was done with it, all for the service of seeing the same characters sitting around the same apartment. It felt lifeless in its obvious ploys to not spend any extra money on complex shoots or new sets. In Schitt's Creek, there is also often a plot set up that doesn't go to the full wacky extent it could go to, but in this case, it feels like an intentional story-telling choice.

We could have had this widowed woman cause a big scene, yell at Johnny and the others. Or we could have seen the lies get more and more elaborate. Maybe they could have pretended to be FBI agents to keep the deceit going. But instead, when Johnny gets caught in a lie and things start to get more confusing, he does what a human being would do, and comes clean. And turns out, that was the right thing to do, and we can move on to more interesting character beats and plot developments, without sacrificing the comedy that comes with Roland being an idiot, and Johnny tripping over his explanations.

The character moment here is for Stevie. Faced with the possibility of buying another motel and expanding the business, she tells Johnny that she's really not sure she wants to commit to the business as a whole. She might want to see what else is out there for her. This is something that has been building since last season, and once again, it seems like the natural progression for her character. As Johnny and David tie themselves more and more firmly to the town, Stevie might be ready to move on to something else.

And that's the episode! Binging this show only to catch up for its final season has been such a treat. I'm so glad I'm here for the end!

8/10