WARNING: This review contains mild spoilers for the Schitt's Creek finale.
It should be illegal for feel-good things to come to an end amidst a global crisis. Read the room, Schitt's Creek team! We need you now more than ever. Turns out platitudes being annoying doesn't make them any less true — all good things really must come to an end. And what a genuinely good thing this series was.
It feels weird to be here, at the end. Schitt's Creek has been a balm during troubled times well before the spring of 2020. No one could have anticipated that a show about four rich jerks would end up being a master class on empathy and the human condition, or just how badly we'd need it through its six-season run.
We never could have guessed the number of times it'd make us hold our hearts, or straight-up ugly cry. None of us could have possibly expected to start to see parts of ourselves in the farfetched Rose family, or just how much their stories and their growth would start to hit home as the series progressed. It's a show of unbridled heart, and I suppose you'd like me to stop gushing about it just long enough to spit out a review of its series finale? Well, fine. But you can't make me stop waxing poetic over it!
You're simply the best
Bottom line: Room 7 needs a turndown, and I need to go be alone with my feelings.
The Good
The Bad
David Rose (Dan Levy) has had to make a lot of concessions over the years. After his life was ripped away, he found himself in a situation where he constantly had to accept less than what he was accustomed to. He complained the whole way (it's part of his charm), but one thing he wasn't prepared to make concessions for was his perfect wedding day.
OK, so he did actually make a few concessions for his perfect wedding day, but once the plan was made it was done! He knew what he wanted and damnit he was going to get it! Of course, this wouldn't be a Schitt's Creek episode if things panned out that way.
Not only did it pour the night before he and Patrick's (Noah Reid) wedding — meaning their outdoor venue was now a no-go — but their officiate was forced to cancel as well. Seems like something that Schitt's Creek's resident control freak will handle just fine one the day of his wedding! Thankfully, he's getting married to an actual saint, and Patrick was prepared well in advance for his fiancé's wedding day meltdown.
The last time we see this lovely town come together was just as magical as the first.
Things get a little happier than one might have expected for a wedding-day massage, but it does the trick! David's able to relax while Patrick, Stevie (Emily Hampshire) and Johnny (Eugene Levy) rally the town to ensure the boys have their big day. The last time we see this lovely town come together was just as magical as the first. Ronnie (Karen Robinson) knows the florist, Twyla (Sarah Levy) can open up Café Tropical for the reception, and Roland (Chris Elliott) offers up Town Hall for the ceremony.
The wedding goes off without any additional hitches – sans a wedding dress mishap – and the family says their last goodbyes the morning after. It's a true ending for the series in all the expected ways. It's got the appropriate number of laughs, and more than a few moments that'll make you cry. The Jazzigals singing "Simply the Best" as David walks down the aisle should not have reduced me to a sobbing puddle, but here we are.
With the finale also came the expected number of series callbacks. Ronnie still hates Patrick, which will never not be hilarious; Stevie and David's odd-couple relationship will forever be the perfect amount of heartwarming and funny; and the Schitt's are still offering up their living room as a venue for anyone that might need it. We even got one last "bebe" from Moira (Catherine O'Hara)!
Of the Rose family, no one has grown quite like Alexis (Annie Murphy). Gone is the spoiled brat with no idea how to make a choice that didn't solely benefit her. In her place is a smart, successful, savvy, brave young entrepreneur who is going to take New York by storm all by herself. (Yes, I did cry while typing this. What is this, an interrogation?) There will forever be a huge part of me that's furious about how her and Ted (Dustin Milligan) ended. But it's overshadowed by the pride I felt watching her make the most difficult decision of her life. Saying goodbye to the Rose family is hard, but I think I'll miss her most of all.
In her place is a smart, successful, savvy, brave young entrepreneur who is going to take New York by storm all by herself.
Through it all, I only have one complaint for Schitt's Creek's series finale. It just felt like it played it a little safe. Predictability wasn't the problem — everyone acted the way we expected because we've spent six seasons getting to know these characters. There's also the obvious argument of this being a sitcom, but the series has never really rested on that. For a show that has surprised us time and time again over the past six years, the finale was all very expected.
That very minor quibble aside, it was a beautiful end to a beautiful show. The whole of its last season felt like a kind of farewell tour. All the major players found their happy endings. There might be a simplicity to that, but it's a simplicity I welcome in a show whose primary focus has been putting its characters through hilariously unfortunate trial after trial. The Rose family has paid their dues. They're not quite where they were financially when we first met them, but they're the richest they've ever been.
Start Schitt's Creek from the beginning
Started from the bottom, now we're here.
Saying goodbye to the Rose family and the rest of Schitt's Creek doesn't have to be forever. Start the ride from the beginning and enjoy the laughs all over again.
