Schmigadoon! – Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Welcome to Schmicago

Episode 1 of Schmigadoon! season 2 starts ten seconds after the first series ended. Josh and Melissa are finally ready to return to normality, as we receive a montage of the pair getting married, spending time together… and struggling to get pregnant.

The good mood subsides and the pair believe they should be happier. Unfortunately, they’re not. And as the mundanity of everyday life settles in, they continue to get bad news, which eventually leads to more rejection, all of which extrapolated by the elephant in the room – the pair are struggling to get pregnant. Instead, they decide to do something drastic. It’snot adoption (as some may have expected) but instead, the pair decide to head back to Schmigadoon.

It doesn’t seem to work, they wander through the woods aimlessly, but on the way back, they end up with a flat tire. However, they soon realize that there’s something else going on here. They find a sign for Schmicago, uncovered after a dramatic amount of smoke clears, followed by a big ensemble number featuring a whole bunch of familiar faces from the first season. However, they’re in a very different setting this time – and led by the fabulous Tituss Burgess, who’s our narrator.

The stars of the show here are Josh and Melissa, whose tale is the one we’re going to explore. According to the narrator, he pair cannot return to Schmigadoon so now, lost and disorientated, the pair head into Schmicago for a place to stay.

The par discuss the quality of musicals during this era as they wander through the streets, including how the style of the era has changed to sex, violence and lust. They head to the local hotel, where they’re asked whether they want a girl to join them. The slight delay from Josh is pretty hilarious, but the pair soon realize that their room is less than ideal, even without the extra distraction.

Betsy (who has a new hair colour and eccentric popularity, now known as Jenny) heads into the room and encourages them to stay and come to see her perform at the club that night. Well, the performance is certainly something, with a number poking fun at the shock of these musical numbers.

The owner of this establishment happens to be Mr Octavius Kratt, whom the pair meet that evening when he shows up at the table, ice-cold and sporting a scratchy voice. He knows the pair are new to town and after a pretty awkward chat, where Kratt tells Melissa that she has potential, he leaves to “powder his nose”.

After Jenny’s big performance about her different sexual partners, Josh heads off to use the toilet but unfortunately, he finds someone dead on the floor in the process He tries to help the deceased woman but unfortunately he’s spotted by another dancer, who screams and rushes off.

Josh and Melissa realize that they’re now wanted for murder off the back of this, framed for this death, as the pair are forced to run. Unfortunately, there’s no way out of Schmicago and Josh is arrested for Elsie Vale’s murder. The officers also find a gun in their car, so  Josh is taken away, leaving Melissa all alone.

The Episode Review

Schmigadoon is back and out of all of Apple’s original productions, this is the one that seems to have the most heart, vibrancy and creative meta writing. Moving through the different decades, we’re now in the era of Chicago and other musicals of its kind, and the show does an excellent job capturing the spirit and ideas of the time period.

The musical numbers all feel timely, with the “Welcome to Schmicago” number an absolute banger. It’ll be interesting to see what direction this one takes across the episodes ahead, especially as there’s potential for this one to really lean into more of the darker and edgy musicals of the time.

So far so good, Schmigadoon is shaping up to be a very enjoyable watch!