Schitt’s Creek Series Finale Recap: The Happiest of Endings
by Ian Carlos Crawford
Previously on Schitt’s Creek: I had an existential crisis at how perfect a partner Patrick is, how much I love this show, and how much I’m like David Rose — oh, and David and Patrick bought a house in Schitt’s Creek. Moira got the dream offer for the Sunrise Bay. I cried a lot. All the chess pieces were perfectly in place for their final, happy victory.
Before we dive into the actual episode, I have something to say: this show was one of the purest shows on TV. This show pushed us all to be nicer, to be more accepting — to accept everyone for who they are. To accept your soft goths with an eye for expensive Hot Topic style (David) or a very frazzled yet sweet suburban mom with a flair for animal print (Jocelyn). This show is like a god damned fairytale when you’re living in Trump’s America. But a really wonderful, really queer fairytale.
The work these folks put into this show is bananas. I mean, while we’ve all been stuck in quarantine tweeting our nervous breakdowns, the cast has been going live on Schitt’s Creek insta in freakin’ character to raise money to feed families. And if you haven’t seen Annie Murphy performing “A Little Bit Alexis” in her living room in full Alexis drag, well then you haven’t lived your best quarantine life yet.
A big thank you to everyone involved in Schitt’s Creek for creating a show that’s like Curb Your Enthusiasm but nicer, Parks & Recreation but queerer — I mean the title of the series finale was literally “Happy Endings” so you knew the show wasn’t pulling any punches there (although there was another reason the episode had that title but we’ll get there). And, not to lean too corny (a thing David and Alexis would for sure scoff at), but times are tough and they continue to get tougher and this show was like a beacon of light and positivity and I truly loved that journey for us.
“I’ve woken up in a Black Mirror episode!”
We open on the Rose fam waking David up in his bed and he immediately panics. He asks if Patrick is dead because of course he does. We soon find out the worst is that it’s storming so they can’t have their outdoor wedding. David had said indoor weddings were tacky but, as per the show, David is still learning to let go of his snobbery. He deals but he’s still not happy about it because a fish gotta swim, ya know?
Johnny being immediately emotional talking about the wedding was precious. As was Moira immediately discussing her officiating. I kept thinking they’d land on the motel for a wedding venue but they did town hall, which made sense just because there was more open space there.
The entire town rallies for this wedding — showing you that even when you can’t stand them, your family is still your family. The idea that these folks, who the Rose clan wasn’t always the nicest to, was immediately willing to help as much was they could was really sweet. And it wasn’t heavy handed either — Ronnie still couldn’t stand Patrick, Roland was still annoying — but they all helped. There’s a really wonderful message here about combining family with chosen family and as someone who loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the X-Men, I’m a sucker for this anything about chosen family.
Patrick tells David he is handling everything and that he’s gotten David a massage so he can stay home, calm down, and be quiet. David hates not being in control and big same! When your taste is as particular as that of David Rose (or, as another example, Ian Carlos Crawford), you tend to be in a state of constant panic and constant worry about being let down. The masseuse, who is absurdly hot (why is everyone in this town so hot?!), gives David a happy ending (points at screen). While watching I immediately thought, “Wow, good for Patrick! He knew what to do,” but well…it turns out Patrick didn’t hire the masseuse for a happy ending. Patrick immediately gets annoyed. I worried they were going to create a riff, as many beloved shows do, for the final episode. But Schitt’s Creek was going to Jim and Pam us — Patrick is only momentarily annoyed and we breeze right by it. The scene is mostly just a joke on the title of the episode. But Stevie’s reaction is perfect.
The first moment I cried was when Alexis walked into Moira’s room and Moira stares at her and says she’s never told Alexis how “absolutely bewitching” she is. It was a moment that early season Moira would’ve never had. It was a moment these two deserved. Alexis says she’s glad they went broke and had to come together and then kisses Moira and tells her she loves her. I cried steadily for the rest of the episode.
David enters and Alexis is dressed in a very beautiful, yet very white dress. David has a momentary freak out because she’s walking him down the aisle and, “Everyone’s going to think we’re getting married… to each other!” It’s hilarious but, again, a moment we don’t take too long on. I wanted exactly zero real conflict form this episode and they delivered. Alexis looks absolute slammin’ in her white dress and honestly I wasn’t mad about it. It wasn’t a full wedding so like, so what who cares?
When we finally get to the wedding, everything looks honestly beautiful. The white drapes and flowers — the town really pulled it together. I was so happy for my babies. And then when the Jazzagals all got up to sing it made the tears start flowing even harder. And our final beat between Alexis and David was perfect. Alexis is nervous pacing, worried she’s ruined David’s wedding by wearing white — and David tells her he is constantly impressed by her and they walked down the aisle as the Jazzagals sang “Simply the Best” and I cried just typing that sentence.
And for our final Moira Rose reveal, she comes out in full pope drag. Her outfit is perfect, absolutely perfect. Give Moira Rose an Oscar. We then get Moira giving her best Princess Bride homage — she keeps breaking and crying so her voice and tone are all over the place. Very few shows can make you laugh while also still crying and this show is one of them.
Patrick sings freakin’ Mariah Carey to David and in any other show I would’ve thought it was too corny — but instead I cried. David Rose tells Patrick he’s his happy ending — a reference to both the episode title, David’s massage handjob, and to the fact that this is the happy ending the show deserves.
They kiss and everyone lives happily ever after.
My one critique is this episode could’ve been an hour long. It all felt so quick, there was no time for any pause but truly we didn’t need any pause. These characters earned this ending. We get a quick epilogue scene of Moira and Johnny leaving and the goodbyes felt so real and so bittersweet — I’m positive the actors were crying real tears.
And as they leave town, we learn Roland did finally fix the Schitt’s Creek sign — it’s still the same awkward pose but now it has the Rose family’s faces over the originals. A perfect end to a perfect show.
Best Outfit: Moira’s Pope drag! Alexis in her wedding gown! Stevie in her suit!
Best Moment: The entire god damned episode and yes I’m still crying.
About the Author:
Ian Carlos Crawford grew up in southern New Jersey and, like most people from NJ, he graduated from Rutgers University. He then graduated from New School with an MFA in nonfiction writing. His writing has appeared on sites like Geeks Out, BuzzFeed, NewNowNext, and other random corners of the internet. He currently co-hosts a podcast about his favorite thing, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, called Slayerfest 98 and is shopping around his fiction manuscript. Follow him on Twitter @ianxcarlos!
