Pop's Schitt's Creek - Episode 5.02 "Love Letters"
A sleep-deprived Moira worries about a stack of old love letters addressed to Johnny from another woman. David and Stevie are held up at David's store.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. Premieres and finales may feature longer reviews. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Pop's Schitt's Creek.
"Love Letters" was written by David West Read and directed by Laurie Lynd
It's not all that surprising to learn that Moira was the woman who wrote those erotic letters to Johnny, which he has kept all of these years. It's the expected outcome that allows everything to blow up in her face in a truly embarrassing way. However, the execution of this story is absolutely delightful and creates a reality in which it is believable that Moira would make such a mistake. She is completely insane here because she's out-of-whack following her travels from Bosnia back to Schitt's Creek. She lands at 3 in the morning and disturbs everyone in the motel rooms. Johnny, David and Alexis can't deal with her at that time. Things only continue to go off the rails because she refuses to sleep. She creates this scandal and focuses all of her attention on it. It doesn't matter that it's crazy and insane. In her mind, it's still rational and she must discuss it with everyone no matter how inappropriate that would be. Johnny is completely confused about it all when Roland stops by to discuss it too. And yet, Johnny remains the rational mind who can ease his wife's fears while explaining why these letters were out in the first place. It once again proves just how strong the bond amongst this family still is. It was just awkward for a moment because Moira had a chance to leave the town and the family for a little while. Elsewhere, the show never loses its sense of humor even in the midst of what could be a really dramatic moment at David's store. He and Stevie are held up at gunpoint. Of course, there really isn't any weapon that they should be afraid of. Nor do they have any money to lose. This was the worst possible time for the criminal to strike. More importantly though, David and Stevie just immediately accept that their lives are in danger. They don't rationalize that the gun isn't real. It's just his finger in his pocket. The ski mask is enough for him to come off as frightening. But it's so ridiculous to watch as they give him two bags of products to carry away and he does so with both hands. In that moment, it becomes painfully obvious that this guy is just stealing from the store with no threat of violence. However, David and Stevie don't think to act until after the fact. It's only after Patrick makes a big deal about it that they feel the need to make it sound much more dangerous and life-threatening than it actually was. Of course, the truth can only reveal so much. This was a traumatizing experience for both of them. But Patrick still delights in pointing out just how foolish they were throughout the entire ordeal. They basically just gave some of the products away. There was no sense or rhythm to the products they handed over either. It was just whatever they could grab. That's what they immediately thought to do. It's just insane because there is no reason that they had to do so. They just lacked that common sense which is hilarious. And finally, Alexis desperately tries to prove to Ted that she kept things from the last time that they dated. That leads to the amusing reveal that she gave the locket to Twyla, who promptly replaced the picture inside. Alexis doesn't know that until it is too late. So, she is really embarrassed here. First by having to read some of Moira's private letters to Johnny. And then by having to trade off several pieces of jewelry to Twyla just in order to get back the locket to potentially impress Ted - which doesn't work at all but they remain solid as a couple.
