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.