The first two episodes of season two were good, but did not measure up to season one for me. Episode three is a showcase of talent. It’s a one-two-three punch. It goes from one vignette to the next. One brilliant line to the next.

The show starts with Moira and David discussing “the perils of owning cashmere” after David finds moths have found their way into “a triple locked titanium suitcase.” In that same moment we have yet more proof that Moira is not going to win the Mother of the Year Award when she insists to David that she had breakfast with Alexis yesterday (her daughter has been with her new boyfriend for a week and a half). David says, “That was me.” To which Moira replies that she and Alexis had a “lengthy conversation about hosiery and menopause.” David’s response was simply, “Again, that was me.”

We find Johnny in his “office” in Bob’s garage spending more time with Bob’s clients than Bob. But the scene where he proudly tells Bob that he sold the ‘93 Buick and how there are “certain instinct that you don’t lose…it’s like riding a bike” is priceless. Bob quips back in his typical deadpan, “it’s interesting that you use that phrase because Dick Sinson is going to be riding a bike until I can get his car back.”

Things continue to be tense and sarcastic between David and Stevie as David decides to build a cedar chest for his “knits”. I think I enjoy this dynamic between them even more than the friendship/lover relationship. But both work equally well. In the end, Mutt builds the cedar chest for David. This is the first real interaction between these two and they do not disappoint.

Moira, it seems, has not fallen from her high horse after the embarrassing false exit from Schitt’s Creek. She finds out there is a singing group in town called the Jazzagals and she decides to condescend and join the group. When told she will need to audition, she says, “in the actual world of entertainment I’m what’s known as offer only.” Jazzagals won’t budge. So she goes to “showcase” her talent, telling them they can call it an audition or “an evening with.” When she hears their lead singer she is taken aback and clearly nervous. Her “audition” is not good. The show ends with her singing softly in bed to Johnny, still not sure if she’s in the group.

Just looking at Catherine O’Hara makes me giggle.

In episode 2, Alexis has made her choice – it’s Mutt. But telling Ted it’s over proves harder than she thought, as she explains to Mutt, “I don’t know if it was the timbre of his voice or the fact that he smelled like baby power, but I just couldn’t physically do it.” She considers sending him the “sweetest little text message” to get the job done, but realizes it must be done in person. The second breakup scene is every bit as funny as the first, and this times it’s successful.

Johnny is in search of office space and there is a funny scene in the restaurant between him and Twyla (Sarah Levy) as he asks her about the possibility of using a booth as his office. He goes into a long-winded explanation of why he needs office space. Twyla, who is laden down with dishes, finally says, “I am going to put these dishes down. I just think I’ll think better once the blood rushes from my arms to my brain.”

Bob (John Hemphill) who runs the local garage overhears Johnny asking about office space and tells him he has a “sweet little spot” that he can use. Johnny isn’t impressed when Bob shows him the inside of his garage. But Bob is undeterred and tells him to clean it up and give it a think. He, like the rest of the cast, is perfect in his role. He is so deadpan and so oblivious. When Johnny, in an exasperated tone, tells him he doesn’t need to clean it up to think about it, Bob just continues, “well, as long as it gets cleaned up at some point.”

Moira and David decide to make dinner for the family. Well, Moira decides she’s doing it and recruits an unwilling David to help her. The relationship between Moira and David is more mother-daughter than mother-son. Last season the two of them tried to sell cosmetics. It’s definitely a meeting of the divas, if not a meeting of the minds. The scene between them making dinner is funny, and the instruction to “fold in the cheese” is clever. I’ve always thought it was an odd, vague description and for the likes of them, it’s near impossible.

There is another awkward scene between David and Stevie. Their relationship may take a turn, but no matter what state it’s in, the chemistry between them is undeniable.

The show is witty, dry and sarcastic – and the characters are brilliant. Every single one of them.

The long-awaited, much-anticipated (well, by me, at least), season 2 of Schitt’s Creek has begun.

Season 1 was met with mixed reviews, which still surprises me. How could anyone not get the brilliance that is Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy? That was the question I asked myself – and anyone I heard disparage the show.

The responses were simply, “it’s not funny”. I disagree. It is funny. O’Hara and Levy are in a league of their own. Canadian humour is also in a league of its own, and they are our King and Queen. Their comedic timing and facial expressions are unrivaled. But they alone do not make the show. The other cast members are equally talented.

The premise of the story is simple. A wealthy family is swindled by their crooked business manager and they lose everything – except Schitt’s Creek – a town Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) bought as a joke for his son, David (Dan Levy). It turns out that this town is all they have. And it’s their new home. They set up residence in the local motel. The name of the show gives a hint at the state of the motel. It’s bad.

Johnny is determined to get them out of Schitt’s Creek and back on their feet. He exudes confidence and calm in his beautiful suits and perfect hair. If anyone can do it, it’s Johnny Rose. And he comes close. He finds a buyer for the town. Unfortunately things go off the rails and season 1 ends with the sale falling through.

But before the deal fell through, the imminent sale and their upcoming freedom put things in motion. Moira Rose (O’Hara) got back up on her high horse and said her goodbyes to the locals – people she never expected to see again. This could be awkward.
David asked Stevie (Emily Hampshire) the front desk receptionist at the motel to move to New York with him. He meant as roommates; but she was hoping for something more and said no. This causes an emotional crisis of sorts for David. She is his one true friend, and now he’s lost her. At the end of season 1, we see David driving off into the dark of night.

Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) is the beautiful selfish and highly sexual daughter of Moira and Johnny. In Season 1 she was dating the local vet who is kind and sweet and a bit too dull for Alexis. But, he is a safe bet and if they weren’t getting out of town she would have married him. And that’s what she tells him when he proposes. Since they are getting out of town, she decides to have a fling with Mutt (Tim Rozon), the local hottie who lacks money and ambition.

Episode 1 of Season 2 is three days after the sale has fallen through and they are not leaving Schitt’s Creek. So does she go back to her vet? This is her dilemma in episode 1 of season 2. As she explains to Stevie, “There’s a lot going on in my life right now. Ted keeps harassing me for an answer about the whole marriage thing. And then there is the Mutt issue, which is complicated and sexy.” Her missing brother, David, doesn’t make the list. Murphy is brilliant in this role. The show would not be the same without her.

We once again find Moira in hysterics that reach a fever pitch to match those of her hysterics in season 1 when she thought her diamond earrings were stolen. This time it’s over a missing bag. It was funnier the first time, but she remains faithful to her character. This is the Moira we’ve come to expect and she does not disappoint. Drama is her middle name. Johnny is still the rock of the family and as such needs to keep things together. And he does. Nothing much fazes Johnny Rose.

David is missing in action for the first half of episode 1, and the family is desperate to get him back. Well, him and Moira’s precious bag. It seems he is the one who took her valuable bag. There are analogies made between the bag and a child when Moira, close to tears, pleads with Johnny to find her missing bag, “I love that bag and I’ve kept it safe all these years. And now it’s out there frightened and alone.”

When David does come back (with the bag), he and Stevie have an awkward conversation that ends in them agreeing to work on their friendship.

Did I laugh as much as I did in season 1? No. But I did still appreciate the acting and the chemistry among the cast, not to mention the brilliant one-liners. There are too many to mention, but one of my favorite lines has to be when Moira reassures Johnny that David is not without money, “If there’s one thing David knows, it’s the street value of a woman’s bag.”

This is a show worth watching.