Schitt’s Creek Season 6, Episode 2
“The Incident”
Posted by Gillian
So, we can all agree that Dan Levy has known David is an excitement-induced bedwetter since the beginning yes? David’s anxiety is canon, as is his tendency to experience severe stress, both of which – along with night terrors! – are among the most common causes of bedwetting in adults according to the article I just read on simplyhealth.io, which is apparently a web site. Plus, Dan has mentioned in multiple interviews that he’s had the final season planned out for at least a few years and that some of the overall story has been in his head since the beginning. Honestly, I’m impressed he held onto this card as long as he did, because man oh man, is it a high value one.
That cold open alone takes you on a full rollercoaster of emotions: Confusion, irritation, gradual realization and subsequent panic. We practically see David cycle through all five stages of grief in about 30 seconds: shock and denial, pain, bargaining (for a pre-marriage divorce, specifically), depression (“OK, does that window open?”) and ultimately acceptance (in the form of handing over the blanket and escaping to the shower). It’s SO MUCH in so few minutes. And it’s just the start.
As you’d expect, David’s nocturnal accident gifts us with an incredible spectrum of mortified David expression throughout the episode. I can’t share them all here without embedding the entirety of tumblr, so I’ll just share my favorite.
It also provides unsurprising but still enjoyable insight into Alexis’ (lack of) professionalism. Poor David’s oopsie serves up the climax to Moira’s social media takeover (it did get a bit hostile in the end): Her dear friend CherryBus in Singapore failed to teach her how to pause a livestream and so the entire Interflix follower list learns of David’s unfortunate incident not long after we do. Alexis’ barely contained enjoyment of David’s private shame being broadcast manifests in repeatedly “forgetting” to take the video down.
And finally, David’s relapse repose provides the framing for yet another display of how solid David and Patrick’s relationship is and how wonderful a partner Patrick is. Man, that guy is something else, no? I like to think I wouldn’t be an asshole about my beloved having a potentially excruciating moment like this, and I’m mostly confident I wouldn’t be. But even his IMMEDIATE reaction is measured. His realization about what happened is the closest he gets to shock, and it’s actually more like a mildly amused confirmation.
Aside from a few very tame jokes, he’s fully in supportive mode from the first moment. And, importantly, Patrick’s brand of support doesn’t include coddling or dramatics. He knows that would only make David retreat further into his shame. Instead, Patrick offers practical solutions and even-keeled dismissals of the idea that what happened is a big deal. He has David take a shower so he can wash the sheets and the bedspread (his insistent “Let me do this for you” could be his catchphrase in their relationship). Later, at work, he gently suggests to David that his plan to simply dehydrate himself might not be necessary.
And yes, ok, he tries to covertly slip a plastic sheet over his mattress (it’s expensive!) but it’s completely believable when he assures David it’s only so David himself will feel more comfortable sleeping there.
The point is, Patrick is helpful without being fawning. He doesn’t pretend nothing happened at all, or that there’s nothing to address, but he immediately steps up to affirm David has nothing to be ashamed of and to show David that he’s right there with him to handle the not-that-big-of-a-deal it is.
He’s also remarkably calm and affective when he finds out from Moira and Alexis that David’s affliction has become public knowledge, insisting that David can never find out and ensuring that Alexis (finally) takes the video down.
And, finally, because he knows his subtle, consistent supportive still isn’t likely enough to completely quell David’s lingering embarrassment, he insists on sharing some private and embarrassing things of his own. Maybe feeling how much he loves Patrick despite – and even because of – how (very beautiful) he looks in a very ill-fitting mouth guard and plug-in breathing apparatus is the final push David needed to assure him Patrick likewise honestly doesn’t care about David’s urinary quirks. I’d say divorce is officially off the table.
So let’s get to this week’s superlatives, shall we?
Love That Journey For Him: David
Past David would have jumped out that window. He would have figured out a way to divorce someone he hasn’t even married yet. He would have followed through on his insistence that he and Patrick must never see each other again.
He certainly wouldn’t have shown up to work that day. And he absolutely would not have risked sleeping over at Patrick’s the very next night, protective sheet or not. But he not only shows up, by the end of the day he seems to be just as happy and comfortable getting into bed with his fiance as ever.
Our favorite stress-case has grown the hell up, y’all. And a lot of that is thanks to his unfailingly supportive partner, but David deserves a lot of credit for getting himself here – physically and emotionally. He’s not just accepting Patrick’s acceptance of him, he’s accepting himself. He even makes a thread count joke about the plastic sheet!
Our David’s come a long way, bebe.
Moira’s Rose’s Garden’s Honorary Rose of the Week 4856: Ronnie
Two episodes into the season, we still haven’t gotten much time with most of the incredible ensemble cast members that bring Schitt’s Creek to life, but Ronnie doesn’t need much time to steal the show. Her demand that Moira can’t post the Jazzagals selfie without her written approval is solid Ronnie. But that’s not what earns her this week’s Honorary Rose. She claims this honor by being the one to inform David of the news Moira and Alexis and Patrick worked so hard to keep from him.
But it’s not just that Ronnie – of all people – is the one to spill the secret of his newfound notoriety. It’s how she does it: texting him a link to the video. Sage and I were talking after the episode about how perfect this is because you could probably count the total texts between Ronnie and David on one hand. (Sage also very correctly pointed out that, in any other show, David would have found out about Moira’s livestream snafu, but here, just the suggestion of his humiliation is hilarious enough.) At first I wondered why Ronnie would even have David’s number, and the eventual realization made it even funnier to me. Because the last text between them was probably a completely professional communication about the Rose Apothecary bathroom installation. And then, this. It’s probably why David was so excited to get the text from her – I bet everyone in Schitt’s Creek really just wants Ronnie to think they’re worthy of her sharing links with them. And honestly, same.
Let just hope Patrick somehow knows how to delete texts.
Introducing the “I’m Denise’s Cousin, Who the Fuck Are You?” Award for Oustanding Achievement in Guest Starring: Betty
Though she doesn’t quite rise to the level of Honorary Rose, for pulling no punches in putting both Johnny and Roland in their respective places, clocking Stevie as a Fed, and having been bingo buddies with Maureen, Betty absolutely deserves some formal recognition.
“Roland in the Bedroom” Funniest Bit: Moira’s Dalliance with Social Media
Older generations’ confusion over new technology is low-hanging fruit on the comedy tree. (See, for example, Johnny’s bumbling foray into social media and Moira’s supportive assurance that he’ll get lots of disciples in Season 3’s “Motel Review.”) But Moira’s distrust of her daughter/publicist’s ability to capture her voice and resulting jaunt into the Amusement Park for Clinic Narcissists – or Caldron of Self-Absorption – reaches multiple branches.
From her worry that a social media takeover sounds hostile to her sincere suggestion of how to inject a little fun into emojis (“Let’s put a beak on this little yellow cartoon!”) to her forging connections with multiple of her new #frans,™ Moira’s social media sojourn provides ample fodder for hilarious moments. In a lesser show, the mere fact of a grown man’s bed-wetting would be the sole source of comedy for the episode, and would almost certainly turn mean. But Schitt’s Creek is clever – and kind – enough to include a whole other joke-producing storyline. The overlap between the two is just a bonus.
Also, low-hanging fruit or not, Moira referring to a livestream as a “living stream” is straight up funny as hell.
And introducing another new superlative this week, the “David Plucking at the Plastic Sheet” Funniest Moment: David Plucking at a Plastic Sheet
I officially have a new all-time favorite moment of the series. Dan Levy’s gift for physical comedy is beyond well-established, but moments like this remind us that there’s straight-up genius running through his veins. There are a lot of choices he could have made to show David testing out the mystery fabric responsible for the crinkling noise on Patrick’s newly re-made bed, but I honestly don’t think he could have landed on a funnier one.
Aw, David! Sweetest Moment: Stevie Comes Clean to Mr. Rose
Stevie’s unease at actually owning and running the Rosebud (née Schitt’s Creek) Motel has been clear since the moment she inherited it from her great-aunt. And while Mr. Rose’s help and eventual partnership, especially his assurance that he’d never leave her to run things alone, seemed to make her more comfortable with all the improvements, she was never going to be as excited at the thought of running a motel – let alone a motel empire – as Johnny Rose. At least not without exploring other options first.
As we saw in Season 3’s “New Car,” Stevie’s biggest fear is that she’ll always allow life to happen to her, keeping her stuck in a town she happened to be born in, running a motel she happened to inherit, and eventually becoming her great-aunt Maureen, her ashes scattered over a sad, anonymous parking lot. But because the unknown can often be even more frightening than your biggest articulated fear, Stevie’s still mostly continued along the path laid out for her by happenstance.
It’s only through the Roses’ steady encouragement and insistence – and ultimately Johnny’s oblivious pushing – that she’s finally gotten to the point of not only realizing it might not be the right path for her, but that she’s actually ready to take a sharp turn. Or at least start trying to figure out where those turns lead.
And it’s not just Stevie’s decision to finally tell Mr. Rose how she feels that makes the moment meaningful. It’s that Mr. Rose, who’s enthusiasm for ventures never seems to be matched by anyone around him, and who clearly thought he had a partner in this particular venture, still doesn’t make the moment about him and his disappointment. True to form, he immediately supports her decision.
Moreover, in what I would argue is an equally supportive move, he states clearly how happy he’ll be if Stevie ultimately decides to come back to him and their motel. Because there’s no pressure behind his admission, just fondness. An assurance that she’ll always have him as her partner if she decides to come back. These two have had their share of sweet moments over the years, so it’s not as though this one is a surprise exactly, but it’s still lovely. Evidence of Stevie being part of the Rose family always is.
And she’s even learned some of Alexis’ tricks!
Blouse Barn Durability Award for Best Look of the Episode: David
Honestly, while I admire his courage…
The look David rocks following his seventh shower is something. This particular sweater isn’t my personal favorite, but I can’t deny that it can’t be denied. And the towel turban adds a certain je ne sais quoi, non? He’s also layered shorts (that have a biiit of a swim trunk look) over leggings and I can’t help but wonder if that’s his – unconscious or not – version of a protective sheet.
And listen, I’m not saying the show’s costumer designers put him in black and dark beige here as opposed to black and white as a nod to the white sheets he just soiled, but I am saying I really hope that’s exactly what they did.
Runner Up: Moira’s Sequined! Fringe! Skirt! (Also that COAT, my God.)
If this is what the downfall of society looks like, I’m all for it.
A Vocabulary Lesson from Schitt’s Creek’s Resident Sesquipedalian
Dragoon [druh–goon ], v. to force by oppressive measures; coerce. As in, “I was dragooned into taking over the Interflix social media channels today, and apparently I’m quite proficient at it.”
Frans [franz], n. plural. Fans who are also friends. Trademark: Moira Rose. As in:
Havarti [huh–vahr-tee ], n. (1) A semisoft Danish cheese made of cow’s milk. (2) A high brow alternative for the word ‘cheese” when attempting to encourage people to ready themselves for a picture. As in, “Say Havarti, girls!”
Nocturnal enuresis [nok-tur-nl en-yuh–ree-sis ], n. Bed-wetting. As in, “David’s nocturnal enuresis used to only happen when he went to bed all juiced up with excited anticipation about something. Christmas, birthdays, the Ides of March.”
A Lotta Bit Alexis
After last week’s bounty, the writers were a little withholding about Alexis’ past this week. We now know she’s dated multiple mid-level latte art influencers, but that’s about it for new information. They did gift us a few great tidbits about the rest of the Rose family, though:
- Moira shot a pilot with Ashley Tisdale called “You Go Girl” where they played suffragettes.
- David not only suffers from Excitement-Induced Oopsie Daisies, but also sleep apnea (pre-nose job), night sweats, and night terrors.
- Johnny worked at a button factory when he was only ten years old!
Estate Sale Auction Items
- “I will take a shower, but we must never see each other again.” Thank God Patrick didn’t get the place that had a bathroom curtain instead of a door!
- Poor Twyla:
- We sure hope wineandcatgal74 has stopped crying! Our best to you and your friends in the rehabilitation facility!
- “No need to watch that! Ok, Twyla, if you haven’t seen it already, then maybe just once, but that is it!” I mean, she’s just doing her job as Moira’s publicist, after all.
- Alexis’ elongated “Ohhhh” in response to Moira’s joke about needing to purchase antibiotics because they’d gone viral (after five (5) likes!) is so great. In fact, the only reason I didn’t emphasize Annie Murphy’s fabulous comedic performance this episode is because there was just so much other gold (sorry) here.
- “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t an open house?” “Maybe the coffin?”
- Alexis’ use of “Quick Q” delighted me, not just because she’s delightful, but because I also sometimes say the very same thing, so now I love myself more than I did before this episode.
- I love the return of Roland’s complete inability to lie convincingly when he’s nervous. “I don’t remember seeing you at Benny’s last bonspiel.” “That’s because Johnny here had another bonspiel to go to, and that bonspiel was way more important than Benny’s bonspiel.”
- I think it’s unlikely we’ll see Betty again, but how hilarious would it be if her legacy ends up being that her assumption about Stevie leads her to realizing her true calling is law enforcement?
- I only realized while writing this recap that we were deprived of getting to see Stevie’s reaction to David’s bedwetting. Part of me hopes that’s coming in a future episode, and part of me hopes she’ll just never find out. On screen, anyway.
What did you think of David’s “incident”? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: Pop/CBC
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