DISCLAIMER: This recap of Letterkenny episode “Kids With Problems” is laden with spoilers. If you haven’t watched the episode, well … get at’er!
If there’s one thing the Hicks know, it’s how to keep folks in line. “Kids With Problems” finds Wayne (Jared Keeso) staging an intervention at MoD3an’s with the town’s young ones. Because throwing feces on porches, stealing mailboxes, fighting and grabbing ass aren’t cool! But thankfully, Wayne is there to set them straight. Reilly (Dylan Playfair) and Jonesy (Andrew Herr) are coerced into joining a “beer hockey team” with Coach (Mark Forward). However, Coach gets a little too personal when on the booze. “Kids With Problems” is a fun outing with excellent jokes and creative wordplay, as is Letterkenny‘s standard operating procedure.
Time to quit dillydallying. Let’s jump right into “Kids With Problems.”
The plot!
Now, the episode boasts one of the show’s longest cold opens in its history. Wayne (Keeso), Katy (Michelle Mylett), Daryl (Nathan Dales) and Squirrelly Dan (K. Trevor Wilson) are playing cards in the kitchen. Daryl appears to be in a funk and the rest are ready to kick him to the curb when he uncovers the source of his discontent. Apparently, he saw a woman in town who’s famous for having 17 children. Seventeen! A gust of wind blew past her and her, um, downstairs made a noise. Naturally, the gang debate the nature of said noise, and whether that would be a more hollow sound akin to a cavernous cave or a whistling noise. You know, a normal conversation about a woman’s vagina after she’s pushed “17 melons through it.” Wayne looks uncomfortable with the discussion.
Next, we see the quartet plus Rosie (Clark Backo) at MoD3an’s. Both Daryl and Dan are in a dour mood because the young kids in town are stirring up trouble! Stolen mailboxes and paper bags containing feces are at play. Bonnie McMurray (Kamilla Kowal) reveals that her bum was grabbed. Everyone looks to Wayne to alleviate the situation.
Meanwhile, Reilly (Playfair) and Jonesy (Herr) are at hockey practice, but they don’t actually want to practice. Coach (Forward) is apparently on a hockey team now. He persuades the boys to join his league, which is all about guzzling beer and not doing drills. Our Jocks are on board.
Later, Wayne calls forth the town’s young offenders for an intervention at MoD3an’s. Gailer (Lisa Codrington) provides pop, chips and hot dogs. The Skids, Stewart (Tyler Johnston) and Roald (Evan Stern), are also present. Everyone from the adult side goes down the line and airs their grievances. The kids seem unphased.
Then, we see Reilly and Jonesy with Coach during a game. Everyone’s got a beer in hand. Coach, who’s more than a bit tipsy, regales the boys with a story involving his late wife Barb and their sexual escapades beneath a sunset. It’s hysterical, but that’s because Mark Forward is always painstakingly funny.
Next, Joint Boy and Tyson show the kids how to properly fight. As per their usual, the guys knock each other unconscious. Coach recounts another vividly detailed sexual tale with Barb, which also includes a phenomenon of nature. Katy and Rosie take the young ones to task by reminding them that it’s not okay to grab girls’ cabooses. They’re addressing the boys, but Bonnie McMurray reveals that a woman was the culprit. For the third time, Coach brings up yet another sexual Barb adventure, and it’s all the funnier because he’s even more sloshed than before.
By the end of the intervention, Wayne urges the kids to act like, well, kids. Keep being little sh*ts. The adults are about to do the same. So, I guess the intervention didn’t really work after all?
RELATED: Letterkenny Season Premiere Recap: (S09E01) American Buck and Doe
Joke highlights!
Letterkenny has top-notch cold opens and this episode is no exception. I love that the camera keeps panning back to Wayne, who continuously wears a disdained expression. Then, at one point, all four of them are producing the sounds they believe the mom’s downstairs would make should wind pass through it. It’s like a strange a capella band. Forward’s maniacal laughter in his first scene with Playfair and Herr is comedy gold. He’s a master at it, and it’s not the first time Coach has let out an evil guffaw. “I could go for a scrap” is a Wayne staple, so I like that he brings it up after Stewart and Roald mention young kids are fighting. “The dark web” is another regular line from the Skids and the reverence with which they say it always makes me chuckle.
There’s another callback with “If you’re gonna be anything, be efficient.” Wayne says this when Daryl is teaching the kids all about learning trades. Additionally, I love the repetitiveness with the lines of dialogue amid the intervention scenes. How, in the end, Wayne and co. realize that kids will be kids and they too also act like teenagers. Joint Boy and Tyson knocking each other out is a fun running gag as well.
That’s a Texas-sized 10-4, good buddy!
Overall, “Kids With Problems” is a funny Letterkenny installment. It’s a stark reminder that we were all little sh*ts when we were young. Admittedly, most of us still are. Mark Forward is my episodic MVP. Any Coach scenes are bound to be hilarious and said scenes in this episode did not disappoint. I’m curious to see how long Reilly and Jonesy last on their beer hockey team before they start to miss actual practice and drills. That, and being sober while playing. Side note: we need a Shoresy appearance ASAP. So far, I’m really digging this season.
Be sure to stick around as I recap Letterkenny, here on Geek Girl Authority.
Letterkenny Season Nine is now available to stream on Hulu.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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