My Week in TV: Schitt's Creek Season 5 Episode 6: "Rock On!" Review

Stevie in an Awkward Jam

When you go nine or ten months between TV seasons (as opposed to what used to be a summer break), you often lose the sensory memory of what you enjoyed about that show. For a show like “Schitt’s Creek” which had a very specific groove, it’s an even greater sense of amnesia.

Tuning into this show for the first time in a year, I felt similar to my first season experience with the show where I felt like the jokes weren’t pushed hard enough and David wasn’t that likable of a character (relying heavily on holier-than-thou expressions at his podunk surroundings). Because the characters (including curmudgeounly David) grew heavily on me on the next two seasons, it’s possible those feelings will return but it takes a certain transition.

Generally this show relies on character beats rather than outright jokes with the biggest humorous impact coming through a twist at episode’s end (“Silicon Valley” might be the very best example of this format done right).

Of the three plotlines tonight, we had one that was primarily emotional (David dealing with his regrets over letting his boyfriend Patrick go on a date), one that was primarily comical (Johnny accidentally seeing Stevie topless) and one that had a mix of the two (Jocelyn coming to terms with her lost youth on an outing with Jazzagals).

The Johnny-Stevie plot (precipitated because Stevie is making a  naughty video for her long-distance boyfriend) is an example of humor done right. The primary source of laughs is awkwardness and the pair (with the unhelpful assistance of a scene-stealing Roland) finding themselves in situations where they’re unable to avoid bringing this up despite their best efforts. The plot escalates and stays true to the characters. Johnny being a fish-out-of-water-- both with his own family and the town of Schitt’s Creek-- is pretty much the central premise of the show. It’s also a situation where no one’s really at fault so there’s a certain ambiguity that the script has fun with.

In the David-Patrick plot, Patrick gets hit on and David decides the best way to give Patrick space and strengthen his relationship in the long term is to allow Patrick to sew his wild oats with another guy just once so he can ultimately realize how great David is at the end. Cue to ten minutes later and David realizes what a mistake it's been to let that beef cake get away. Alexis unintentionally gets into David’s head and makes everything worse. Although this seems pretty funny on paper there's a lack of comedy unless you count Dan Levy making grimaced expressions and you didn't predict that Alexis would make things worse.

For the most part, however, it’s a plot that could fit on a show like “Parenthood” where the show's flow is dramatic but not in an orchestra swelling way. It’s not as relevant here to the thesis that the show often doesn’t push jokes as far as they can go, so I’ll give this subplot a seal of approval from a dramatic perspective and move on.

The Jazzagals-Jocelyn plot exemplifies where the show seems a little lacking from the perspective of someone who hasn’t watched it in a while. Jocelyn had plans to go to a Poison concert (at first I thought this was the rapper that had that song “Poison”, that’s why I’m not a rock critic) but when she hears they’re cancelled on her planned night out, she falls into a funk. The Jazzagals (other than Twyla, Moira, and Ronnie, they’re nameless extras with no lines) try to cheer up and tell her they’ll still take her to the casino. There’s awkwardness to the situation here that shows potential: Jocelyn is leaning heavily on a group of ladies with a mid-life crisis they’re not particularly prepared to deal with. The differences between what Jocelyn is expecting and the reality of her casino experience (perhaps how far removed from Poison their replacement band is, stylistically) could also be mad awkward. So is Moira interacting with anyone in literally any situation.

Instead all that happens is that Twyla kind of enjoys the fried chicken while Ronnie appears sick of it, Jocelyn pours out her disappointment verbally (but it’s not a total breakdown so it’s not particularly memorable), and Jocelyn cuts her hair like an 80s rocker. The biggest void here is that there’s not much of a payoff post-haircut-reveal. The Jazzagals board their chartered bus heading home with a collective awkwardness and amid the tension, Moira attempts to cut it by making a half-flattering comment. It’s nice for character reasons that Moira has learned not to put her foot in her mouth at EVERY opportunity, but where did this plot get us? Awkwardness isn’t an end to itself. It’s potential begging to be used kinetically.

Then again, maybe this is your thing. Maybe, the haircut was the punch line. As I get more familiar with this show, I’ll come to see where these plots land.