Schmigadoon Season 1, Episode 4 recap: Suddenly

Schmigadoon! Season 1, Episode 4, “Suddenly,” begins exactly three years and nine months before Melissa and Josh wound up in Schmigadoon. They’d attended a performance of their friend Dave’s play and left early after realizing he was about to get naked on stage. It was the first night that they exchanged “I love yous.”

In the present, Josh visits with the local schoolmarm, Emma Tate (Ariana DeBose). Emma already knows Josh’s reputation as a heartbreaker given the fact he tried to cross the bridge with just about every woman in town, on top of breaking Betsy’s heart.

Emma also knows that Josh and Melissa have been banned from the local inns by Mildred Layton. Luckily for Josh, Emma is far more progressive than the average Schmigadoon resident and agrees to let him rent the room above the schoolhouse in exchange for being the handyman.

But Josh isn’t much of a handyman and gives up immediately on his first task, encouraging Emma to sing to him and adorn him with a dunce hat (“With All Your Heart”).

Things get out of hand fast at the school when Betsy’s father bursts in wielding a shotgun at Josh. Luckily for him, Emma isn’t having any of it and easily dismantles the shotgun. She tells Betsy’s father that he won’t be threatening anyone to marry his daughter and encourages Betsy to live her life independently. Josh is stunned since Emma is easily the most forward-thinking resident he’s met in town. His admiration for her cues a song, but Josh doesn’t want to sing. Emma takes it as a rebuff and walks out.

Taking advice from Melissa, Josh gifts Emma’s younger brother Carson a kazoo and gives him some guidance on handling being a town outcast. His kindness impresses Emma, and she sings a duet alongside Dr. Lopez about her sudden love for Josh (“Suddenly”).

Schmigadoon! Season 1, Episode 4 recap: Melissa changes the way Doctor Lopez thinks

While Josh is busy trying to charm Emma, Melissa brings her own progressive ideals to Doctor Jorge Lopez, who is stuck in the old ways. He refuses to assist an unwed pregnant woman and doesn’t think his elderly parents should still have sex.

Melissa later finds the pregnant woman, Nancy, living with her boyfriend, Freddy, in a shack. They don’t even know how a baby comes out! Melissa takes it upon herself to give them a lesson in sex education via song, of course (“Va-Gi-Na”). The whole scene is a direct take on The Sound of Music.

Later, Josh and Melissa reconnect while helping Nancy give birth. Could there be hope for them to reunite? For now, maybe not, but Melissa does give Josh some advice on how to win Emma’s heart. She mentions the scene in Music Man where the romantic lead gifts a trumpet to the leading lady’s younger brother.

When Dr. Lopez finds out that Melissa went against his wishes, he admonishes her for it, but Melissa stands her ground. She rebukes him for his backward thinking and admits she’s been helping his parents have great sex, too. Then we cut to Doc Lopez Sr.’s funeral. He’s had a heart attack. Melissa blames herself for his death, but Dr. Lopez doesn’t. He admits that his way of thinking was wrong and that Melissa had been right about everything. At least his father died doing something that made him happy!

He sings “Suddenly” simultaneously, Emma does across town, as both characters fall in love with Josh and Melissa. Could this be the true love they’ve been searching for to escape Schmigadoon finally?

As a side plot in this episode, Mayor Alysious finally comes out to the town in the middle of the funeral (“Somewhere Love Is Waiting for You (Coming Out Reprise)”).

New episodes of Schmigadoon! air Fridays on Apple TV+.