As Schitt's Creek continues its slow but steady growth, its third season ended up becoming one of my personal favorites in the series, as it fleshes out the cast, amps up the heart, and introduces one last character to make the show feel complete.
Season 3 focuses on three major storylines, all of which I really enjoy. Early on in the season, Stevie's aunt dies and she gains ownership of the hotel. After initially considering selling it, Johnny offers to help her make the motel more of a success. I love this storyline, it gives Stevie a ton of extra depth as we learn about more her insecurities, and it gives Johnny something to do after fighting Bob all last season. Meanwhile, David decides to launch a general store halfway through the season. On its own, it's some more great character development for him, but it also leads to the introduction of Patrick, who becomes his boyfriend at the end of the season. Patrick is an amazing character, but I'll discuss that more later on in the review. Finally, there's Alexis attending high school which does lead to some funny subplots, but it's easily the weakest one of the three. All three of these story threads converge really nicely in the season finale, making for an overall really well-plotted season.
Patrick is the last major addition to the series, but I think his debut is the thing that really makes the show feel complete. While he and David don't start dating until the finale, he's one of the few people who can really put up with David's BS from the very start. As the show moves on from Season 3, they end up having easily the sweetest and most supportive relationship in the series. As a whole, the romantic material is pretty much entirely lacking in drama. Even with the will-they-won't-they shenanigans between Alexis and Ted, the love triangles, cheating, and "friends with benefits" stuff is completely gone. Even Mutt has left the series pretty much for good. The quality is also far more consistently strong throughout. There was only one episode I'd call weak (General Store), but I ended up liking everything else. The final four episodes were an especially strong streak that was actually what finally won me on the series when I first watched it. However, there is still one aspect of Schitt's Creek that feels somewhat undeveloped, and that's the fact that it still saves all of its big heartwarming sequences for the season finale and only the season finale. As a result, while most of the episodes were great, none of them really left quite an impact on me like Grad Night did.
Season 3 is a far more consistently strong season, but it has its high points, especially towards the end:
New Car: Even with Moira's constant comedy and Alexis's great development, Stevie has always been my favorite character, and I think this episode solidified it. It sheds some light on Stevie's insecurities, has the big twist of her now owning the house, and made me genuinely feel bad for her. But it's not all sad, Moira and Johnny trying to act poorer than they are to get a new car is definitely one of the funniest scenes of the season, and even David awkwardly comforting Stevie is both sweet and funny.
Stop Saying Lice: Despite the name of the episode, the lice storyline was probably the least interesting one for me. I liked how "Stop Saying Lice" focused on David's friendship with Stevie, which I always found was really sweet. It lays the groundwork for him and Patrick to get together in the finale, and Stevie and Patrick's dynamic that's established in this episode ends up being a lot of fun. As for the humor, the punchline of "Moira's Rose's Garden 4856" was such a great way to end the episode.
Friends And Family: This was always one of my favorite episodes in the series, executing pretty much everything perfectly. The opening of the general store was both a satisfying victory for David and a funny storyline with his accidental "friends and family" discount. Alexis and Ted's will-they-won't-they hits one of its biggest moments as they accidentally kiss out of complete surprise. And the storyline about the giant painting is both hilarious and a heartwarming showcase of how much the main four has grown (pun intended).
Grad Night: Grad Night is an incredibly satisfying and heartwarming finale where literally anything that can go right goes right. It's not quite as shocking as Season 1's ending or as impactful as Season 2's, but between the amazing graduation sequence, David and Patrick's first kiss, and the twist of Alexis quitting her job, this was an excellent place to end the season.
Overall, Season 3 is another big improvement for the series, thanks to the strong storylines, great introduction of Patrick, and consistently strong writing.
4/5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment