Schitt’s Creek is consistently overflowing with jokes. When I take notes during a viewing, I’m basically writing down every single line of dialogue, because coming from our four Roses, every line can make you laugh. In the midst of all the hilarity, though, we shouldn’t forget that Schitt’s Creek is also incredibly adept at showcasing character development. While Moira is over at the motel justifying her purchase of a $3,700 off-the-rack designer gown for her movie premiere — which will take place “ideally sometime this year” — by telling Johnny that it is meant to be a reminder that the future of the Rose family is outside of Schitt’s Creek, her kids are out and about illustrating how much living in this town has changed them for the better.
Sometimes one forgets that the driving force of the series in the earlier seasons was the Rose family’s collective desire to get the hell out of there and back to their old lives. Since then, David and Alexis have both fallen in love, Johnny has poured himself into making something out of the motel, and even Moira, the only Rose left who seems to actively hate Schitt’s Creek, has rooted herself in the community — she’s a town councilwoman and a Jazzagal, after all. Honestly, Moira’s even bringing up the idea of the Roses getting back to their old lives was jarring. They are such a part of the town, and the town is such a part of them, I had forgotten that leaving was even an option. Many (MANY) years down the line when the show wraps up, it’s a question that will have to be answered: Would the Roses ever leave Schitt’s Creek? Should they?
I mean, look at David. He still presents himself as being as delightfully selfish as he was when he first arrived, but the list of people he’d gladly put ahead of his own needs is continually growing. His heart is big! He’s a good friend! Is he not the best person to bring along with you when trying to rendezvous with your dirty motel tryst in another town? Even after he discovers that Stevie tricked him into joining her on her road trip to Elm Valley with promises of seeing the cherry blossoms — a premeditated abduction, according to David — he’s still very much there for his friend when Amir is a no-show. “If anyone knows how to crawl out from under an embarrassing romantic failure, it’s me,” he tells her before recommending polar bear shots and hotel bar karaoke (would the old David ever?) to remedy her disappointment. And then, when Amir does finally show — he got into a car accident with a student driver and they accidentally switched phones — he’s okay with Stevie going off to have a romantic evening while he sticks around and owns the hotel karaoke situation. Stevie seems happy (two episodes with Stevie smiling? I am unsettled), so David is happy (for Stevie and also because the karaoke crowd really got behind him in a big way). It also doesn’t hurt that after Amir learns who David is — he is definitely not Dana, the guy who runs the hotel karaoke — and how good he is to Stevie, he pays for David’s hotel room.
Alexis, too, gets a storyline that reminds us that she’s not the same girl who arrived in Schitt’s Creek. Alexis meets Shannon, a vet school friend of Ted’s who is helping out at the clinic. She also learns that they hooked up post-Alexis, pre-Heather. Ted claims that he broke things off with her because he thought they’d be better off as friends, but after talking to Shannon, Alexis learns it was actually she who ended things.
It’s not a big deal to Alexis — but Ted can’t let it go. He likes having Alexis call him “Dr. Casanova J. Heartbreaker.” (I mean, I prefer “Smoochmonster,” but what do I know.) He likes being thought of as the “bad boy.” Alexis did break up with him for being too nice compared to the brooding Mutt, so this makes sense. He tries to prove himself worthy of a new reputation by showing Alexis texts from a “breakup” with a girl from the falafel restaurant, but it backfires: He attempted to end things with a patented Nice Ted Dad Joke (“I ‘falafel’ saying this over text … ”) and ended up walking the woman’s dog after. Ted is a nice guy, he can’t shake it. And as Alexis makes very clear: that is not an actual problem. Ted doesn’t need to change because Alexis has grown up. She’s done with toxic bad boys. She done with heartbreakers. She wants Ted. It’s all very sweet and also a nice reminder of how far Alexis has come.
The biggest change losing their money and living in this small town has brought upon the Roses is one that’s been explored on the show before, but I never get tired of seeing it: Before they lost everything, the Roses barely functioned as a family unit. Now, they seem to enjoy being in each other’s lives — they actually care about one another.
We’re reminded of this emotional growth when Moira models her new evening gown for the the family before sending it back to Harrods. Sure, both she and Alexis thought she got it at a steal for $3,700, and yes, she even learned what a promo code was in order to procure it, but even with her new dehumidifier humming loudly (can we get Catherine O’Hara asking, “When did our room become so moist?” on a loop?), Moira heard her husband’s panic over their finances. He needs to buy a new water heater for the motel — Moira’s extensive bathing routine has not been helping in that department — among other things, and he can’t do that with the family spending the way they have been. So Moira puts on the dress long enough for her family to take both mental and physical pictures before giving it up. Aw, you guys, when she walks into the room, you can see in their faces that Johnny, Alexis, and David are all sincerely taken aback by how beautiful she looks. After seeing how gorgeous his wife is and how happy the dress makes her, panic-stricken Johnny wants her to keep it. I’ll never get too many Johnny-loves-Moira moments — never! But Moira does the sensible thing and insists on returning it — at least until there’s a firm date for this event. Like all the best Schitt’s Creek moments, the scene is funny and moving and feels like a nice, cozy group hug. I know Moira still dreams of a future much bigger than the one Schitt’s Creek can give her, but look at all the Roses have accomplished by staying there! Stay forever, you guys!
The Wig Wall
• I would like “Mommy had to shop off the rack” on a T-shirt, please and thank you.
• She may have dropped almost four grand on a dress for a premiere that may never happen, but Moira Rose knows all about the need to tighten the family’s financial belt: “I told Alexis now is not the time to expand that home office, not with the price of ink today.”
• I love that the issues of M’Lady magazine left around the motel keep getting older and older.
• “Your type is very inconsistent.”
• From his unabashed love for karaoke, to forging a friendship with fellow karaoke diva Tammy, to that gagging face he makes when Stevie and Amir talk about spending the night together that is all too real, Drunk David is a real treat.
• Additional details on the 5K for Feral Cats needed.
• “Is it just me or is there a faint scent of honeysuckle in the air?”
