Headscratchers / Schitt's Creek

• It's not exactly clear what the Roses get for owning the town, besides two run-down motel rooms. Does it generate any income? The residents certainly don't seem impressed by the Roses as owners.
  • Isn't that the point? That's why no one will ever buy the town and the Roses are still poor despite probably collecting rents of some kind.
  • The closest I can figure is that they own all of the land within the city limits that is not already owned or being used by the residents. This would explain why the Roses don't seem to get any income through rent, but anyone who wanted to invest in new developments in Schitt's Creek would need to buy from the Roses, explaining Johnny's efforts in season 1 to entice a new investor to "buy the town" from them. The main drawback on this explanation is that saying the Roses "own the town" would be a very generous description of their stake.
  • Nevertheless, the improvements Moira has made like the flowers and the cleanup, the high-end nature of Rose Apothecary and even the improvements at The Rosebud Motel are adding value to the town, and that's going to make it easier to possibly sell in Season 6.
  • Interestingly, the show ends without ever coming back to the issue after it got quietly dropped at some point around season 3. Only David remains in Schitt's Creek, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the family "owns" it. The whole arc just got aborted.
    • It seems like less of an Aborted Arc and more an example of their character development. Their main reason for wanting to sell the town was to regain their former wealth and status. As time went on, they all began to pursue more emotionally fulfilling careers and came to realize how awful their old lives really were (right around season 3), so selling the town stopped being a priority. By the end of season six, it's implied they decided to keep the town out of sentimentality and love for its townspeople.
    • But even with their character development, one would expect that they would still want to do something with their stake in the town, if only to donate it back to the city government or something. It's a plot point when Alexis convinces Twila to do something with her lottery fortune rather than just let it sit there uselessly. The fact that the Roses completely ignore the issue isn't explained just by their character development.

• Has Johnny ever tried to recoup some of the money that was stolen by their business manager? You'd think he'd at least keep tabs on any attempts to find the man who left him destitute.
  • That court case might take years. It'd be nice if they referenced it at all.
    • They will probably get some money back, enough to allow them to move out of the hotel and even to leave Schitt's Creek if they wish, but they'll decide that they've built a new life there and choose to stay in a nice, middle-class home.
    • Considering that both David and Alexis are in committed loving relationships with David even engaged and Johnny seemingly very happy with helping manage the Rosebud this is the most likely conclusion. Moira even lampshades in season 5 that she seems to be the only one remaining who is focused on leaving the town.
    • My guess is that they will recoup some of the money, and they will be faced with the choice of leaving. David has a business and will soon have a loving husband and will probably stay. Alexis will want to stay where Ted's practice is and will also not want to be away from her family. Johnny is just happy running businesses and being near his family, with his two children happy for the first time in their lives. Season 5 set up Moira as the one who still wants out desperately. That's going to be a major Season 6 story.
  • The show ends without ever implying that the Roses might be able to get any money back. They all have jobs at the end, so we're just supposed to assume that all the money they'll ever have is what they make for themselves going forward.
  • Leonard Cohen's business manager stole most of his money and sold his song rights, causing his comeback tour. The manager was eventually ordered to pay back $9.5 million, but didn't pay a dime, choosing to go to jail for 18 months instead. Cohen got nothing.
• What was Patrick doing working as Ray's assistant? He seems highly qualified and competent therefore over-qualified for that job. Sure, he starts Rose Apothecary with David very quickly, but it still is curious what brought him to the town in the first place.
  • I got the impression that he left his hometown very hastily after his latest breakup with Rachel, and just took the first job he could find in his field.
  • Also, Patrick appears to prefer rural life, which may account for why he didn't head to a city. But jobs in business management are going to be rarer out in the country, so he had to settle on working for Ray. That would also minimize his entanglement with Schitt's Creek should he choose to move on again. Meeting David may have been the deciding factor in really putting down roots.

• Is it ever said why Mutt and Roland don't speak? They have very clashing personalities, admittedly, but still, Jocelyn having to meet her own son in secret seems a little extreme.
  • A large part of it is that Roland wants Mutt to follow in his footsteps and become the mayor of the town, something Mutt has no interest in.

• What was the deal with the "assistant" character in the escape room in season 6? It seems to be setting her up as a Chekhov's Gunman, with the cast occasionally addressing her while she remains silent. You'd think that she would pay off in some way by speaking or doing something at a critical moment, but the family solves the puzzle without her doing anything. Once the family escapes, she takes off her cloak and congratulates the family, but the issue is already resolved and her line is just an afterthought. Then she just wanders into the background. What was the purpose of having her in the episode? Was it just to give Johnny someone to plead to for his phone? Was the actress related to someone?
  • it might not be the same for all escape rooms but in this tropers experience the participants are usually given the option of asking for clues if they become stuck usually with a limit on how many they can be given and their progress is usually monitored somehow for safety/security reasons. Presumably the assistant is there to both keep an eye on things, make sure they don’t cheat or get injured somehow, and offer an appropriate clue when asked. But Johnny and moira clearly weren’t participating and were asking her not for a clue but to be told how to get out which is why she wouldn’t respond to them. Meanwhile the ones who were actually participating, David Patrick and stevie, never asked for any clues and seemed to be making some kinda progress by themselves.

• Why didn't Moira's acting career continue when her husband went bankrupt? Being fleeced by your accountant doesn't prevent you from auditioning.
  • Parts are few and far between for women Moira's age, and it is likely her TV movies were made while she was on Sunrise Bay or at least when producers remembered her from that time. She does relish the opportunity to do the wine commercial or audition for the second crows movie. Still, one does wonder why she wasn't seen trying to get more parts in early seasons.
  • It seemed to this trooper like sunrise bay had been the height of her popularity and being let go after trying to negotiate a better contract was a blow to her confidence and her career after had waned. In the wine commercial episode Moira talks/acts as though she hasn’t had an acting job in a very long time and seems out practice. Given how much she enjoys acting and performing it must have been quite miserable for her to have her career fizzle out before she wanted it to.

• Lots of questions about Stevie and the motel. In the first few seasons, she was the only employee, but she seemed to have a full social life and was often away from the motel during the day and at night. I know that business was slow but there were often other guests there besides the Roses. How could she just leave the motel unattended when guests were there? Was there a night manager we just never saw?

• Also, when she inherited the motel from her aunt, she told David that she’d known it was “in the family,” but didn’t know her aunt owned it. So who was she reporting to at work? Who signed her paychecks? And who was managing the financials (because based on how helpless she was with the paperwork after her aunt died, it definitely wasn’t Stevie)?
  • Remember that Stevie hated her family, hated her job, hated her life, and hated herself. Probably her aunt set it up as automated as possible and gave Stevie the keys and Stevie just never looked into it.