As much as I am a Schitt’s Creek fan, it was hard to find consistent laughter and be able to empathize with the Rose family early in the series - married couple Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and their adult children, David (Dan Levy), and Alexis (Annie Murphy) - because they were so self-obsessed. Then, came the perfect finale of Season 2, Episode 13, “Happiest Anniversary”. It’s an episode that places each Rose in a situation that provokes their insecurities, challenging them to pick themselves apart and see what they've been hiding underneath.
The anniversary in reference is Moira and Johnny’s. After turning down Mayor of Schitt's Creek, Roland (Chris Elliott), and his wife, Jocelyn (Jennifer Robertson), for a dinner invitation that night in nearby Elmsdale, Moira and Johnny make their own reservation there, then run into a couple from their “old" rich life. Roland and Jocelyn show up, and it’s a perfect storm, revealing how superficial and, frankly, mean Moira and Johnny’s crowd was and, by contrast, how honest and genuine Roland and Jocelyn are. There, at the restaurant dinner table, Roland and Jocelyn’s appreciation for the evening sketches a bridge to the warm, intimate atmosphere back in Schitt’s Creek. At a local’s (Tim Rozon as Mutt) barn party, strung with tea lights and stocked with snacks, beer, warm vodka in red plastic cups, and well water ice cubes, is where we find David and Alexis.
On David’s part, he’s being pursued by another man, Schitt’s Creek's Jake (Steve Lund), which fills him with a surprised, happy desire. His interaction with Jake - who calls David “handsome”, then later, kisses him on the mouth and invites him to stop by his woodshop sometime - is also played for comedic, faux-competition with his best friend, Stevie (Emily Hampshire), a local whom David instantly bonds with. Stevie tells David that Jake likes her and that she's also kissed him. It’s not a real competition, though, but a fun attraction, which they flirt with briefly by sleeping together. David is both in and out of his element here. He’s used to being desired, but we are realizing that David has never been truthfully pursued. Jake is sweet with him and honest. David has also never had a real friend, so his fun, flirty but also friendly connection with Jake is a refreshing change to anything he has experienced before.
Alexis, usually confident in her intimate scenarios, gets flummoxed when she meets her ex’s (Mutt’s) new girlfriend, Tennessee (Sarah Power), a physically striking and charming woman, not unlike Alexis. Murphy is a masterclass in acting in the few minutes the three of them interact. Sadness and insecurity twitch her face, battling her pride, and sweetness wins out. She might be jealous of Tennessee but admires her, and we realize that Alexis also has little experience with genuine people. Alexis then talks with her ex-boyfriend, Schitt's Creek local, Ted (Dustin Milligan), asking him how he got over her. Ultimately, Ted says, he just had to go through it. It’s a lightbulb moment for Alexis; I bet she hasn’t fully healed from an experience before, and Ted’s directness softens and interests her. Pride, which, really serves the ego a bandaid, is always worth sacrificing for interactions that force you to be real with yourself.
Then, Moira and Johnny sashay into the barn - after a heart-tingling scene at the restaurant, where Johnny finally stands up for Schitt's Creek, their friends, and themselves to their fake friends - and tell David and Alexis, to their initial aghastness at seeing their parents at the youngins' party, that tonight, we dance as a “family”. Moira can't get the words out - "Well, just say it!" Johnny chimes in - as she begins to say how much she and Johnny care. "We love you both very much," Moira says, and Alexis coos it back. The spotlight is on David, who hesitates over these words - he says it, then, he and Alexis sweetly spin each other around.
Next to the Roses, the Schitt’s Creekers are dancing and laughing. Jocelyn whisks away Mutt, their son, who is estranged from Roland, for a dance, as Roland twirls Tennessee. Stevie smiles to herself, bopping in place, and local waitress, Twlya (Sarah Levy), swings her arms, as James Morrison’s “Precious Love” swells. "This is precious love, and it's teaching me / Everything I need to know." It’s one of the most feel-good moments in contemporary television. The barn party exists as it is, with no pretensions. Seeing the Roses break away, finally, from their narcissism because they let in, finally, the beautiful conversational and vibrational offerings of their new friends and the town they live in is what makes this episode of Schitt's Creek so heartwarming.