Honeymoon
Season 1, Episode 10
Written by Daniel Levy
Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti
Synopsis: Johnny and Moira attend the Schitts’ Hawaiian Night, Ted hosts an awkward dinner party, and David and Stevie come to terms with the latest twist in their relationship.
Rating: ★★★★☆
It’s the morning after the night before. David and Stevie awake to find themselves in the ‘love room’ bed, staring at their own reflections in the mirrored ceiling and questioning their life choices. Any hope they might have had of their liaison remaining undiscovered is promptly blown out of the water when they are stumbled upon by Johnny, in search of fresh towels. It’s an entertaining prologue to an episode that will see several storylines take major steps forward.
I mentioned in my review of ‘Allez-Vous’ that a degree of friction appeared to be creeping into Alexis and Ted’s relationship, suggesting that some time must have passed since their meeting and initial infatuation in the previous episode. Now, two episodes further on, we find that (at least according to David) they’ve only been dating for two weeks. Go figure. Anyway, Alexis is delighted that Ted wants to meet her friends, as this means things must be getting serious. The pair are hosting a party at Ted’s place that evening, and David and Stevie are invited. David is mortified that not only has word of last night’s shenanigans been spreading, but also that he and Stevie are already being perceived as a couple. There’s a lovely, natural scene where David and Alexis exchange news while bickering casually; it’s a more believable (and certainly more palatable) depiction of two siblings rubbing each other up the wrong way than the open hostility we witnessed in episode 1.
Johnny and Moira have apparently decided that, with both of their offspring forming relationships with locals, the time has come for some straight talking. A lecture about the realities of the birds and the bees is underlined by Moira declaring that ‘a Podunk baby out of wedlock is not something your father and I can afford to negotiate at this moment’. (I had to look up ‘Podunk’ – it’s an informal term in US English for a small backwoods town.) Alexis and David respond by suggesting that their parents would do well to worry less about them and instead to start developing a social life of their own. Despite Johnny and Moira’s protestations to the contrary, this accusation clearly hits home.
Later, in the café, Johnny is speculating that recent events might be an indication that David’s ‘sexually adventurous phase’ is coming to an end. ‘It’s not a phase, John,’ Moira insists with a benevolent smile, as if the very idea that her only son might be heterosexual is completely unthinkable. Spotting Roland and Jocelyn, and seeing an opportunity to prove that the senior Roses do indeed have social connections in the town, she invites them to join her and Johnny at their table. The Schitts, it transpires, are having a big party that evening – their annual ‘Hawaiian Night’ complete with pig roast. Johnny and Moira are somewhat affronted not to have received invitations; Roland explains that, not to put too fine a point on it, they assumed that the couple would be too ‘hoity-toity’ to mingle with ‘regular people’. The Roses protest that they love regular people – after all, as Moira points out, they owed their former fortune to the customers of Rose Video – and Jocelyn says that in that case they can consider themselves invited. The scene is thus set for two very contrasting social evenings: Ted’s starchily formal dinner party, and the Schitts’ freewheeling Hawaiian-themed cook-out.
First of all, though, we’re treated to a scene that has passed into Schitt’s Creek lore, as David and Stevie choose a bottle of wine to take to Ted’s. Something has been on Stevie’s mind: namely, she has always assumed David is gay – so what exactly was their encounter the previous night all about? Rather than ask him directly about his sexual preferences, she couches the question in terms of the choice of red or white wine (red = men, white = women). David, it turns out, likes both. ‘And I’ve been known to sample the occasional rosé. And a couple of summers back, I tried a Merlot that used to be a Chardonnay, which got a bit complicated... I like the wine and not the label – does that make sense?’
Dan Levy has said that this scene was tricky to write; it needed to explain David’s pansexuality to the audience as much as to Stevie, without seeming in any way didactic or preachy. To say that it succeeds is a gross understatement. Look online and you’ll find countless instances of people saying that they have used David’s metaphor as a way to explain their own sexuality to their friends and families. In that regard, this deceptively simple exchange has changed lives. It’s one of the most important scenes in the first season of the show, and yet it’s written, performed and directed with a lightness of touch that is breathtaking.
Ted’s party is excruciating, as he and Alexis, David and Stevie, and Mutt and Twyla sit around the dinner table trying to make small talk. Ted enquires how Alexis and Mutt are getting on with their community service, and asks what they talk about all day. Alexis reveals that earlier Mutt was having a bad day, so they talked about that. Twyla’s guard is immediately up, as Mutt hadn’t given her any indication that he was having problems. This seems like an existing bone of contention; it may well be that Twyla is already jealous of the amount of time that Mutt and Alexis are spending together. Stevie, meanwhile, expresses annoyance that everyone seems to know about her and David spending the night together. The awkwardness rapidly escalates until she announces that she needs to leave, and suggests that David should walk her home, as ‘I don't think we’re finished talking.’ En route home, Stevie reveals that her show of irritation was just that: a show, designed to provide an excuse for her and David to leave. She’s actually amused by their experience the previous night, and would even be up for repeating the experience. Her flat is in the other direction, but they start walking towards the motel together...
Meanwhile, Johnny and Moira have arrived at the Schitt residence to find the Hawaiian evening in full swing. And, perhaps in defiance of our expectations, it looks like a great party. The pig is turning on the spit; there’s beer, music, coloured lights in the trees, and generally a great atmosphere. The Roses are greeted by Roland and Jocelyn who almost immediately offer to share a joint with them. ‘I’m sure your fancy dinner parties didn’t have illegal substances,’ Jocelyn teases. Moira rolls her eyes in Johnny’s direction. ‘Illegal substances?’ she scoffs. ‘Amateurs.’
Later, Moira and Jocelyn (both clearly stoned) are opening up to each other on the swing. Moira reveals that she grew up in a place just like Schitt’s Creek. ‘I couldn’t wait to get out. I was dying there.’ She wonders if Jocelyn ever dreamed of a life beyond this one small town. Jocelyn says it’s all what-ifs: ‘What if I had enlisted in the military? What if Roland hadn’t been such a smooth talker?’ Moira’s what-ifs are rather different: ‘What if I had not been crowned Miss Snow Cone at 16 and moved to the city with my driving instructor? What if I had not hand modelled at that microwave trade show? And what if I didn’t ask, “Who’s the eyebrows buying everyone’s drinks?”’ This exchange adds welcome detail to what we already know of both women’s backstories and is beautifully played by Jennifer Robertson and Catherine O’Hara.
Elsewhere at the party, Roland and Johnny are tucking into spit-roast pig and talking about their respective sons. Roland despairs of Mutt, living in a barn and with no interest in following in his dad’s footsteps by becoming mayor. Johnny reveals to Roland what we now already know: that David is pansexual. ‘I'm his father. I always wanted his life to be easy. You know, just pick one gender, and maybe everything would’ve been less... confusing.’ Roland considers this for a moment. ‘You know, Johnny,’ he says, ‘when it comes to matters of the heart... we can’t tell our kids who to love.’ ‘You’re right,’ Johnny concedes. ‘And I’m fine with that.’ Again, the writing and performances here are top-notch, offering sincere sentiment with the lightest of touches.
We end with David and Stevie encountering Johnny and Moira as they arrive back at the motel, garlanded with leis and oozing bonhomie. Johnny tells David that he’s happy to endorse any and all of his sexual choices; and as a parting shot, Moira calls out to Stevie, ‘Hey, track that cycle, missy!’
This episode is a joy. It gives us new insight into who David is; and for the first time since their arrival in Schitt’s Creek, Johnny and Moira have a chance to truly let their hair down. Even more importantly, we see them begin to accept that they might have more in common with the people of the town than they at first thought – and that, just maybe, genuine friendships are to be made here.
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Moira-ism: ‘Maureen does not like to be manhandled.’
Fun fact: When Roland first produces the joint, he and Jocelyn joke about ‘illegal substances’. In fact, in Ontario where the show was made (and is, in all likelihood, set), marijuana is perfectly legal.
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Previous episode: Carl’s Funeral
Next episode: Little Sister