I like how the show hinted at Alexis’ aptitude early on so that her professional arc was a natural outcome. I recall pausing the show and rewinding when she mentioned negotiating in *_Arabic_* early on, which unambiguously told us she wasn’t just surviving on charisma or luck.
That last scene with Ted and Alexis made me cry like a baby. It's not gonna happen, but I wish there was an Alexis spin-off series where we follow her into the future.
I like when Alexis first meets Patrick, she starts her usual flirting with him but quickly drops it when she realizes Patrick likes David and even helps convince David to give him a shot.
What I love about that moment is how much is going on. We’re laughing at the hilarious number, but at the same time, the reveal that she’s totally devoid of talent completely recontexualizes Moira’s behavior in that episode. So while we’re laughing we’re also having the sudden realization that the whole time we thought Moira was sabotaging her own daughter out of petty jealousy, she was actually protecting her, has in fact BEEN protecting her from failure her whole life. It’s such amazing writing. And Moira’s growth ultimately is realizing that she hasn’t done Alexis any favors by protecting her, that Alexis fell on her ass and the world didn’t end, and that Alexis will have to try and fail on her own to truly develop as a person.
I love that the show is so rich and emotionally complex despite being basically a reverse _Beverly Hillbillies._ I still tear up when I hear "Simply the Best."
I remember starting this show and saying, "Oh, so it's just Arrested Development set in Canada." That's definitely my type of humor, so I was all in on the premise. When I got to the episode where Johnny and Moira defend Schitts Creek and their new friends to their old rich friends and then we have that dance scene at Mutt's party, I realized I was actually watching the anti-Arrested Development. And to my surprise, I was still all in.
@sharksandsheep I actually think Johnny was on board then but Moira was dissing the town all way to the end! She only really fully embraced it at David's wedding, I feel. I loved that scene though. Go Johnny!
I recently watched some interviews where Dan Levy (the showrunner/actor for David) talks about how they essentially created a character bible for the show before they even started scripting it. You can definitely tell throughout the sesasons that the characters' actions and decisions are based on a consistent foundation. Can you imagine if more shows had that kind of respect for the stories they were writing?
thats really cool and yeah i can think of more than a few shows that couldve benefitted from that sometimes the characters are straight-up conflicting, but even more often than that, the characters will just be one-dimensional because the writers only know one thing about them (take meredith from the office or even luke from modern family)
I know some people might think the finishing high school plotline was weird, but as someone who took 2 years longer to finish and graduated at an age older than my classmates it was an incredibly validating storyline. It made what I did feel like a point of pride. I really respect the writers for finding humour in the situation without turning her returning to school into the punchline.
The saddest arc for me personally is Stevie's in the final season. She's slowly realizing that everyone around has self-actualized except for her. And even by the series finale she still has not reached that goal and she knows that she hasn't and feels stuck. Her song in Cabaret is a gut punch.
the cabaret song was so lovely to watch how it was perfectly mirroring how she felt about her place in her own life at the moment. really captivating scene
@@CliveNDerek Yeah, I'm sure she'd be fine, but she's clearly still in the beginning stages of her self-discovery meanwhile all of here friends and colleagues are way ahead of her.
I think I don't see Alexis's arc as sad - her relationship status ends on a sad note, but she's found such a sense of confidence in herself and inner peace and a sense of direction that she didn't have before. It's hard to see that as sad, even if her relationship didn't work out. Like Ted, she too will find someone again.
I honestly loved Alexis' Arc and thought it was inspiring. For the first time in her life she wasn't just going in the direction others pushed her. She was choosing herself and believing she would be okay no matter what. She could have followed Ted to the Galapagos, her parents to California, or stayed with David in Schittz Creek but she decided to be her own leader. In all her stories she always finds herself in bad situations but it never seems like they were her idea. Going to NY to pursue her career was the first time she didn't just go with the flow. It's also one of a few shows that doesn't have a happy ending for a woman include a partnership. Alexis was going to find her own happiness on her own terms.
Same, I thought Stevie had the saddest arc. She explored, got burned and is in the same place as we left her. I wanted her to feel some kind of satisfaction.
As an older woman, I think Alexis’s decision to NOT prioritize a man over herself is a joyful arc. Unfortunately I believe many women in older age look back with regret at moments we would have been better off to center our needs over men’s wants. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
I think the hardest thing is if you've finally found someone who you feel a really deep connection to, and you have to let them go... will you ever find that again? Yes of course plenty of fish in the sea and all that, but that doesn't make it any easier in the moment.
@@claudiadarling9441 well, yes very. in Alexis’s case she was unfortunately in love with someone who would want to be off traveling for the rest of his life, and if this isn’t also her dream it means a lifetime of frustration and sadness for both of you anyway. Just incompatable desires.
Yeah as much as I loved Ted as a character I think that Alexis's journey was so important for her. She was often putting her own needs and goals aside for her relationships and while Ted was a great guy who clearly loved her I think that that storyline was vital for the character.
One of my favorite moments from the show takes place in the fourth season's "Baby Sprinkle" episode, in which an old friend has offered Alexis an opportunity to get out Schitt's Creek and return to some semblance of her former life, but by the end, Alexis realizes that too much has changed and that she'd prefer to remain where she is and try to make it on her own.
One thing I found interesting was Mutt appeared in the early seasons as a love interest, but I don't think we ever got closure on Mutt's rocky relationship with his kooky parents. I assumed the actor had other commitments and didn't want to return, because I'd have liked to see that play out.
YUP he needed to go be Doc Holliday on Wynnona Earp and it was the greatest decision he could have ever made! And I loved Mutt but I adooooore him as Doc, he was made for this role in a show that ended up being an all time favorite of mine ☺️ If you like supernatural sci-fi westerns, you gotta give it a watch 😜
I thought exactly the same. I also thought it was strange how his relation with Roland and Joycelyn never played out. Apart from the episode where the Rose’s think Mutt is having an affair with Joycelyn ie his mother I never think of them as a family. Even when he makes an appearance in season 4 to meet his ‘new baby brother’ - they didn’t film together then…..very strange.
Re: the beard thing, it is a bit jarring when someone who's had facial hair for a long time decides to remove it suddenly, but obviously, it's their face, their choice. When I was a kid, my dad, who'd always had a mustache, shaved it off one day. My 10 year old pea brain couldn't reconcile what I was seeing for a several days. Alexis was a character I wanted to hate, but was so charmed by and this video feels like a love letter to her character. Looking forward to more Schitt's Creek commentary, it's truly wholesome and somewhat melancholy in a good way.
Yeah I like what T1J says in the video about that, how it wasn't so much the beard as what it represented, i.e. their lack of communication. Alexis's surprise at the sudden appearance change meant her words focused on the beard and less on the actual underlying issue, but when Mutt points out, rightly, that it IS his face, Alexis does express that she wishes he would have told her so that she could be mentally prepared for it. Ultimately he's going to do what he wants with his hair, yes, but Alexis was giving him plenty of opportunities to open up and share a bit of his thoughts because she wanted to know what's on his mind, and he never gave her anything. If he had mentioned "I'm thinking of shaving my beard" then that would have been the bit of sharing that Alexis wanted, even if she might not have been on board with the change. What's interesting, I think, is that this trait for Mutt is shown earlier on, while he and Twyla were dating. At Ted's dinner party, it's clear that Mutt doesn't share much with Twyla, as she's surprised when Alexis mentions that Mutt told her about having bad dreams. It seems like when Mutt has doubts or concerns about his relationship, he finds it easier to open up to someone outside of the relationship rather than with his partner (like Mutt telling David about his need for space before he tells Alexis).
My dad shaved his beard once when we were children, and my sister was TERRIFIED when he came into her room that morning, thinking he was a stranger. My husband has always had a beard since we started dating, and I would hope he would mention if he was considering shaving it off. But ultimately I wouldn't care one way or the other. I think the shaved face scene was more to illustrate that Alexis was hot for dirty mountain man, not Mutt as a person. But Also the communication thing t1j so eloquently described.
On the beard thing, I agree it was more emblematic of a wider problem than actually a valid problem in and of itself BUT if my husband shaved his beard off and then *woke me up* by kissing me from behind without telling me that was his plan, I would absolutely wake up panicking about who the hell it was in bed with me. My husbands beard is a sensory identifier in that situation and its absence is a cause for immediate alarm, particularly in such a vulnerable situation.
Completely valid point. Honestly, even if a long term partner decides to shave their beard off and doesn’t just give you a heads up first, it’s pretty shocking, especially if you’ve never kissed them without a beard before. Kinda feels like cheating, but that can be fun in a weird way. LOL
Yea… 100% agreed. Also she is a repeat trauma survivor. As a fellow trauma survivor a move like that would absolutely trigger the shit out of my ptsd. It wouldn’t even be a rational response in that moment. I would just be hopped up on adrenaline and freaking out. So is she over reacting? No and also yes, but that’s the bitch of ptsd. And she is clearly with a partner who is oblivious to her needs, so her reaction is also ultimately helpful because it is the catalyst needed to actually get out of that situation.
A friend of mine's husband had really long hair, like down his back long, and one night he woke up in the middle of the night and went into the bathroom and shaved it all off and went back to bed. Apparently getting back into bed woke up my friend and she started screaming because she had no idea who this bald stranger was😂
It was so nice to revisit Alexis' arc and the all beats that made her story work so well in the video. I cried - again - watching just the clip of her and Ted's break-up. I think Alexis was a sleeper favorite for a lot of us. I love how warm-hearted and accepting her character is, even of the beginning. One thing that made Schitt's Creek such a joy to watch for me is that they were a good, likeable family from the very beginning, and their journey of the series wasn't bad, obnoxious people learning to be good, but rather already good people learning to reconnect with parts of themselves they had lost.
It always made me sad how it was clear the rest of the family wasn't as close to Alexis 😢 in the final episode she says I love you to everyone in many scenes, and I can't remember anyone saying I love you back. Not to mention that as entertaining as her escapades stories are, they do highlight that from a young age she wasn't home and it didn't bring much concern on the parent's part. That episode where she goes have lunch with Moira and Moira has to write questions on her hands 😢 it's really no wonder Alexis is so independent and adaptable
I feel like everyone forgets that she had her brother - David says several times that he was always the one to be sick with worry and always coming to save her from the dangerous situations
@@lanasinapayen3354 yep, and I don't remember if he said I love you to Alexis in the final episode but he did tell her how proud he was of her and that made me tear up. At the time of writing the comment I had indeed forgotten about David showing up for her, so I guess it's more the parents who are disconnected from her, especially Moira
Not only was the writing for the character phenomenal, Annie Murphy’s performance for Alexis is still amazing to watch and sticks with me till this day. She deserved all the praise and awards for it.
Her little physical quirks really made the character extra memorable. The t-rex hands and the facial expressions and little vocalizations are not what I'm used to seeing in fictional characters
One thing that I hoped for Alexis, which they did hinted at in the series finale, is that maintained a friendship with Twyla. Although with years of good advise, at the very end she hoped that Twyla would visit her in New York, so I hoped they did.
I love that Alexis turns the rich girl bully trope on its head. So many girly characters are also the antagonist of the show but Alexis isn’t. She genuinely has a good heart which is why I think fans grow to love her.
I LOVE that she had a good heart from the beginning. Yeah she was a brat and clueless to financial struggle etc. But she meant well. She still grew a ton. She didn’t have to outgrow meanness.
I think Mutt might be underrated. That moment when Alexis realizes that she can just be with somebody without having to constantly talk seems like an important spiritual moment of growth for her.
It is also important to remember the actor playing Mutt got a regular part on another show, so whatever plans the writers may have had for Mutt and Alexis, had to be shelved... thus the jarring conclusion to their romance.
@@tmlawson751 Would've been fun to see if Mutt could evolve too, but Tim is just so fantastic as Doc Holiday on Wynonna Earp that I can't imagine anyone else in that role
on the beard, it feels like at least a heads-up isn't a bad idea. Especially the context in which she sees him first post-beard, they're in bed, kissing, and she's suddenly struck by a different face than she's used to. I can totally understand the reaction. Even if Mutt did nothing wrong by shaving his beard, feels like this way of surprising her wasn't the smartest move.
I think if Mutt had made her feel more secure and talked WITH her more, she wouldn't have responded that way. I think that the beard being gone was a shock because it made her feel like / realize that she didn't really KNOW him - at least not enough to not feel like he was a totally different person without it.
IRL I think it's overly controlling to expect a significant other of only a few weeks to consult you about hair cuts. If it were a female character being told by a new boyfriend that she should have "decided as a couple" befor getting a pixie cut, it would read as a red flag. I think highcontrast Hughes has a good point that in this story, she's realizing that there's a mismatch in the desire and ability to communicate generally and its not really about the beard at all.
Alexis and Ted had maybe the only good breakup I've ever seen on a sit come, maybe even any tv show? It wasn't played for laughs. They didn't break up for stupid reasons. They still loved each other, it's just that they had different life goals that were going to take them apart, and they both chose to pursue their own dreams, however sad and hurtful it might be to break up as a couple. No insults, no blaming, no harsh words, just two adults being emotionally intelligent and vulnerable with each other. it was such a fantastic scene.
One highlight from their first breakup I likee was Ted's totally emotionally mature response of "thank you. I wouldn't want to be married to someone who didn't want to be married to me."
Break up for stupid reasons. I’m rewatching New Girl and it’s crazy how they break up for no reason. One minor conflict and the relationship is just over.
I loved the story of Teddy and Alexis, it's something that so many of us have experineced but never see dipicted, loving someone but circumstances making it impossible to be together.
The break up scene is sad, but i do love that they decided to do a "right person wrong time" kinda spin. It felt natural for both characters. They both helped each other become the best versions of themselves, even if they weren't meant to be together forever. Break ups don't always have to be because you fall out of love. Sometimes your path just diverges. Thats just a real life situation, you know? I wish more sitcoms did that.
If you pay attention to Alexis throughout the show, she thrives in uncertainty in ways the rest of her family don't. While she has the least certain future ahead of her, and some bad luck in the love department there is a very real chance if we ever get a reunion special in the future that her character will ultimately be the best off and happiest of all.
Alexis was always my favorite and it made me sad that her future, at the end, was hazy, while everyone else's was solid. After watching this video though, it makes me appreciate how her story ended. TEAM ALEXIS!!!
In regards to Alexis's reaction to Mutt shaving his beard, I have observed in most healthy relationships couples do generally let their partners know about impending changes to their appearance. Not in a sit down and have a conversation about if it's going to happen, but more like a head up 'I'm thinking about doing X or getting/having X done'. Especially if it's a long standing feature of their appearance (long VS short hair, beards, etc) Also like you pointed out, when something kind of silly causes an argument, it's not really about the something silly, but rather something tangentially reminiscent of the something silly. In this case it was about her feeling alienated in her relationship due to lack of communication on his part, his change in appearance without notice just reminded her of that. So was it an overreaction, yes and no.
I discovered Schitt's Creek in lockdown, and it really helped me get through a lot. I love how any potential sitcom "drama" was avoided by people talking to each other like adults. It was really refreshing. Agree that Moira was the funniest character. The Moira's Rose's Garden 4856 fills my brain everytime I have to fill in any online form
That’s such a refreshing take in a show! I HATE the trope of the story being driven by conflict produced by failures to communicate. It’s infuriating and lazy. Another show I think is good about this is Brooklyn 99. Literally every time I start to get even a hint of frustration because of a character’s failure to communicate, the next scene is that character communicating. It also does wonderful things for character development. Because then bad communication can be a character trait of a specific character, rather than a universal personality.
i think the beard was really just a proxy for alexis' fears about their lack of communication in general. he doesn't respect her opinions, he just does stuff.
Her arc is my favourite. She learns about what’s important to her, gets closer to her family and becomes emotionally healthy. That coupled with her pre-existing resilience and her new found professional confidence means she’s more than capable of writing her own happy ending. If we could look in on her now, Alexis would be living her best life.
I love Alexis so much, I relate to her a lot. Underestimated by her family, running after the wrong boys when the right one was under her nose all along, fantastic fashion sense ;) etc. She was my favourite character from the first episode and I always wanted thr best for her. I actually found it wonderful she didn't tie herself to Ted and had the courage to move on from him. And who knows, maybe in the future they will reconnect again. What a great analysis!
On the beard thing: I think the greater issue is he woke her up with kissing & she didn't recognize the face kissing her, which would be pretty disorienting/scary. So then he kinda launched into this convo shaming her for NOT saying the exact perfect thing. We know Alexis has a history of being kidnapped so her trauma response around this is even more heightened
I think having a "happy ending" to Alexis's arc would have ruined it a little bit. They establish pretty early on that Alexis is one of those "the journey is more important than the destination" people. Someone whose life is never really settled, that's highly adaptable and thrives on change (and a bit of chaos). Pretty much from the first episode Alexis starts adapting to her surroundings while everyone else is resisting. She'll be fine no matter what life throws at her.
Alexis is not wrong that they need to communicate more, but it is unreasonable to ask your partner to ask for their permission just to shave. But I do want to point out that the subtext of that scene is that it isn't really about the beard so much as the lack of communication itself, and the beard is just the catalyst for the argument. EDIT: You went on to basically say this yourself, my bad lol
Yeah, like Alexis is shocked by the lack of beard so her first arguments about needing to talk about that don't actually get to the heart of the issue for her, but that feels very true to life. Who hasn't gotten into an argument where one or both people are fixated on a seemingly innocuous detail rather than articulating what is actually the issue at hand? Alexis is shocked by the change because Mutt didn't express any of his thoughts to her, so she doesn't know where he's at.
Yeah I thought the point of that scene was to show that Alexis only really liked the idea of him she had in her head…like the fact that she could be so thrown off by something like that shows that there wasn’t reallly anything there
Really enjoyed the video, I agree that Alexis is such a great character, definitely one of my favorites! I have to disagree that her's is the saddest arc, however (that tragic break-up scene not withstanding). I find her arc to be triumphant, the way her ending is in direct contrast to her beginning shows just how much she has grown and changed as a person. In the first episode, Alexis believes her boyfriend Stavros will be coming to rescue her from the town, and is devastated when he does not. The first time she dates Ted, she sees in him an opportunity to get out of town (even if only for a weekend vet conference). Despite all the places she's been and adventures she's had, she cannot conceive the idea of leaving Schitt's Creek without the help of a man, or even of being in SC without a boyfriend, immediately attaching herself to the first guy who asks her out. That's wh, despite how sad her break up with Ted is at the end, it's actually a triumph for her character. Here she has a very solid opportunity to leave the town, by joining Ted in the Galapagos. However if she chose that, she'd be exactly where she was at the beginning: depending on a man to get her out of Schitt's Creek, with the presumption that she will continue to be dependent on him once she leaves. The fact that she doesn't choose that, and ultimately decides to leave on her own shows how much she values herself and her abilities. Yes, she's going into an uncertain future on her own, which might seem sad, but it's absolutely the perfect ending for her.
I always felt like they all kind of got what they needed at the end. Alexis got to be taken seriously, David got human relationships, and the parents got family connection.
Ahhh! I love Schitt's Creek and Alexis is probably my fave! Even though I've seen it before I really love your breakdown of Alexa's arc! There was so much I didn't pick up on, and you make it so clear how much she's grown. I also really appreciate noticing how much the show writers could've leaned into comedy, but instead kept everything so realistic and grounded, even through the very end. Such a good video (as always!)
I didn’t watch this series until a year after it ended. Fell in love with it right away. It’s the type of show where I’ll rewatch a few episodes whenever I need a pick me up.
I’m SO happy to hear an analysis on Schitt’s Creek. It’s such a lovely and underrated show, and I’m glad all the characters got their happy ending. I think there’s something really special about Alexis getting a future all to herself, where she now has the skills to build meaningful relationships. I also loved seeing her grow closer with her mom in the later seasons (as well as the others, but with the crows movie they really connect). As a Jewish person it was also really nice to get a modern sitcom with Jewish leads! It felt like a more progressive version of some of the more “classic” Jewish sitcoms people point to.
I always wanted there to be a Schitts Creek movie where we get to see Alexis in NY, kicking ass at her career, and then Ted ends up in NY too (maybe because of some discovery he made in the Galapagos) and they get to give it a third try.
when I first watch this series, I didn't expected it to be so well- written and complex with every characters development and yet funny. Love this series so much
On my last rewatch of the show, I picked up on a lot of ADHD tics and traits in Alexis. Either Annie Murphy has ADHD herself, or she’s just a fantastic actress who managed to add a whole new level to her character that was never addressed in the show.
I’m so happy that you noted how famous female socialites are complex people. They’ve been belittled so much (especially in the 2000s), and there is so much misogyny involved in the discussions surrounding them.
I think part of this scene is just that what Alexis liked about Mutt was that she was attracted to his beard, and being physically attracted to Mutt was all she had. So when he changed his appearance, it made him less attractive to her, which is fine if someone cares about you otherwise, but isn’t fine when they don’t
Love your take on the family dynamics. I admit, it took three tries for me to get into the show. I had trouble getting through the first episode. I thought it was going to be the exact opposite of what it turned out to be. Crazy dialog and scenarios, but also warmth and intelligence. Not to mention heart. Never expected to have an emotional ugly cry at a comedy sitcom. SC had a few of those moments. Incredible show, amazing cast, intelligent writing.
You said it! I usually am put off by this character archetype but Alexis is *easily* my favorite character in a show absolutely brimming with characters I truly love. And Annie Murphey was exactly the right actor to play Alexis, she takes a character that could easily be portrayed as one-dimensional and gave a really nuanced performance every single episode.
God, I miss this show. Alexis was a true treasure. So many laughs, tears, and heartwarming moments from a character that could easily be written off as one-dimensional. Great video!
I think Alexis Rose is possibly my favourite fictional character of all time. And honestly, I think she had the best ending of all of them. Her journey was so incredible and I love how they sprinkle in how actually smart and capable Alexis is throughout the 6 seasons as she and you go on this voyage of self-discovery. Her respecting her own dreams and abilities, and making the tough choice to go it alone and take advantage of the opportunities that The Crows 3 opened up for her is, for me, a perfect ending for her. I feel like it would have cheapened her Journey and gone against the character development of both Alexis and Ted to have them end up together in the end. It really encapsulated how far she came to show that, in comparison to the Pilot, she isn't defining her life by who she is dating or waiting for him to rescue her. In the end, she rescued herself. Its so nice to see a video essay like this on Alexis. She is a great character with so much depth and development. I am so happy that Annie got that Emmy win in the last series, it was so well deserved.
I for the beard thing I don't think she has her say in the situation. His beard his choice. But I understand how she reacted when he woke her up. I got confused and had to double check his door number the first time I saw my partner without a beard. I was convinced I was in someone else's apartment
She may not have a day, especially given the fairly casual nature of their relationship, but she at least deserved a heads up before he started rubbing his bare cheek all over her back.
Excellent video. I think Alexis *did* overreact (your partner can get tattoos/a haircut/shave without a debate or negotiation), BUT, I do think it's emblematic that it just...didn't occur to him to discuss his choices with her. I think that's how relationships get maintained, just the sharing of the little decisions that make up your day-to-day. But I'm BEYOND thrilled you included the silent break-up. That almost hit me harder than the final Ted break-up. Not because I think her and Mutt were good together, but because she was so desperate for him to share and talk to her, but in the end, she realizes neither of them need to talk to understand what they know...that they can't stay together. She lets him go.
The core of all of them is that they are strongly attached to family. That never changes they just learn to expand the definition and be better family to one another. I love this show.
12:30 Yeah that's a weird one. I'm a bit faceblind, so I get her immediate reaction more than some people might. It's one thing if your partner decides to update their look a bit; it's different if you abruptly don't recognize them when you wake up. I think where I land is that it's more a notice-and-comment kind of situation, not so much a we-decide-together thing, at least in a situation where you're going from a Mutt-style full beard to completely clean-shaven. It's not just that he decided to trim it a bit shorter, she's literally never seen his chin. But also yeah, she doesn't get veto power over his use of a razor.
I've watched Schitt's Creek over a dozen times, but this is the first analysis video about it that I've watched (& my first time on your channel!). Love your analysis & Alexis getting the credit she deserves. The Alexis/Ted relationship is the most thoughtfully composed relationship I've seen in a television series and this video reminded me how much I learned about myself from watching them grow together & individually. I'll be back for more videos!
i always wanted a spin off of this show where twyla and alexis take off to NY together and just completely take over the town, maybe even finally learn alexis's middle name.
Alexis' character arc in the show is easily my favorite. Its one of real growth and change while admiring you can win all the small struggles, but lose the one that really forms you as a person. Idk. I just think its very well done. (the whole show ofc is also just like really good)
I love her arc. while other get much more of a happy ending she does the MOST growth and is poised to be the awesomest human. I fell in love with Annie murphy through her portrayal and her arc here.
Of course you shouldn't need to ask your partner before shaving your beard, I think the point of that scene was that they had nothing more substantial tying them together so she was overfocused on the superficial aspects of the relationship. If he was talking to her about more important things in his life then she wouldn't care about the beard
alexis has always been my favourite character, even when i first started the show, a lot of people would call her annoying or self obsessed but i really loved seeing her confident and so self assured of herself. alexis is honestly really inspiring to me, as someone who is more like david and stevie(neurotic,anxious,cynical, etc). I really loved seeing her grow over time and she remains my favourite character to this day. i totally wish i could re watch this show with a clean slate
More analysis of this very smart, gorgeous show please? How about the way Johnny and Moira's relationship works? Johnny/Roland dream team? David's damaged dating history or how he and Stevie grow each other? Patrick coming out so gently? There is so much here! I just found this channel but I'm excited to watch more videos.
I understand why they didn't want to continue the series, but a sequel of some kind or spin-off would be so good. I really want to know what happened to Stevie and Alexis.
There's a telling moment early on where Ted explains that he bought his entire apartment interior as-is from a catalogue. When he and Alexis first get together, it's as if he picked her out of a catalogue too. He has a narrative in his head that doesn't reflect her or their actual relationship. He steamrolls over her, trying to change her and proposing WAY too early - before either of them has said I love you. It's only after Ted does some self-reflection then becomes friends with Alexis and actually listens to and gets to know the real her, that he finally understands what a brilliant and kind person she is. Then when they rekindle their romantic realtionship, they're standing on a much better foundation. And within the relationship they can now help each other to continue to grow. Alexis says it herself in the final breakup scene: they make each other better people.
Haha the whole facial hair/no facial hair is such an interesting topic to me because it's mirrored with women's hairstyles (long/short etc). I've been happily married for a while now and I can say this with some level of confidence: Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy. You do not need to ask permission to do anything with your own body - this extends to hair styles or clothes. However, much like the right to free speech, this does not make you immune to the consequences of those choices and everybody else has the right to their own feelings and thoughts. In the case of appearances in relationships, if you make a significant change in appearance without talking with your partner how they feel about it, they may not be into it. In some instances this may not matter - like if you're doing yardwork or cleaning then looking attractive really is not a priority so no discussion is needed. But if romance is your goal, then at some point discussing what you each find attractive is probably a good idea.
She gets to have the best relationship....with herself!! She hasn't really known who she really is until now and it's so important to learn to love yourself accept yourself know yourself before you can really give that to someone else
I hear people compare beard changes to hairstyle changes a lot, but I think that’s a bit of a false equivalence. Beards sorta exist in their own category - somewhere between a haircut and plastic surgery. They’re more temporary than surgery, but they can dramatically and majorly change someone’s appearance, to that point that entire features look COMPLETELY different with or without facial hair. Just like with haircuts and plastic surgery, no one should ever feel like they need to ask their partners permission to make changes to their own body. But also, sudden changes may be shocking and upsetting, just like you might be shocked if your partner with waist length hair suddenly shaved it off entirely, or if they suddenly got a noticeable nose job. So I think the best practice is to communicate with your partner well before making a major change to your appearance. They shouldn’t have the final say in a choice youre making about your body, but I do believe your partner’s opinion should matter to you, and you should seek it out.
I love the end of Alexis's story. It does feel a little different from the rest of the family but I really think that's the best place for her to be. As independant as she's shown to be throughout the show she never really did things on her own before, all her crazy escapades all over the world were with boyfriends or friends or so on. Her story beign about learning to stand on her own ending without a man with her making a decision about her own life is fantastic.
I think that it was very mature and smart of the show to let Alexis be by herself by the end, simply because all throughout her past, she was always WITH someone. Whether it was her best friend, the men she dated, or David, she usually experienced life through that lens. This is esp seen through her name dropping. And we can see that it became such a big part of her personality and affected her a lot when these fell through. Now that she broke up with the love of her life, it was great to see she was still okay and whole as a person after.
Yes, Alexis' character arc is sad, but what happened to Stevie? She never really got on a path to her own happiness. Her big moment was singing during a small town Cabaret production, and then she just kind of spiraled off into a few directions without finding anything that gives her purpose, which is what I think she was looking for.
I would argue that she does. When we first meet Stevie she's resigned to having no future, and then we see that part of that is because she's scared that she's not actually capable of doing well if she decides to go for something. The play was so out of her normal wheelhouse that doing well there meant that she felt confident that she could run a business with Mr. Rose.
Alexis's journey was great to follow. Understanding who you are and what you really want and need is a difficult voyage for anyone but in the end she understands that standing on her own two feet is her what she needs to do. On another note I have to say her words to David about the "twins" is so perfect on so many levels!
I have to say, the way you put together the video is wonderful and you have excellent presence and tone of voice. That being said, fantastic content....and now I have "A Little Bit Alexis" in my head...
You had the same journey with the show that I did. Alexis started off as the least interesting character to me, but by the end she'd won me over and she ended the show as my favourite. I think part of that is the fact that it felt like Alexis herself, as a person, was as surprised by her own complexity as we were watching the show. She discovers her own complexity and emotional maturity WITH the audience.
OMG, you have to love the show. I’ve watched it from beginning to end since it hit Netflix. I would rewatch all episodes before a new season, and then kept rewatching until the next season was released. After it ended, I’ve rewatched the whole series multiple times. I love that I still notice new things each time I watch. Alexis really was a great character. I love all of them. I think each character serves their purpose well.
I like how the show hinted at Alexis’ aptitude early on so that her professional arc was a natural outcome. I recall pausing the show and rewinding when she mentioned negotiating in *_Arabic_* early on, which unambiguously told us she wasn’t just surviving on charisma or luck.
She doesn't slide through life, she walks through life in really nice shoes.
That last scene with Ted and Alexis made me cry like a baby. It's not gonna happen, but I wish there was an Alexis spin-off series where we follow her into the future.
The follow up behind the scenes documentary where they show how genuinely sad the breakup made the cast, 😭
Woah this is actually a brilliant idea! Call it A Little Bit Alexis- she’s already got a theme song, after all
@@toomanygoblins5914 And will now be critically-acclaimed and _not_ reviewed.! :D
If Frazier can do it.....
Nah they’re saving Ted and Alexis’s reunion for the Schitt’s Creek movie when Ted finishes his time in the Galapagos
"yesss/yumm/ewww david" has literally become a part of my daily vocabulary
I like when Alexis first meets Patrick, she starts her usual flirting with him but quickly drops it when she realizes Patrick likes David and even helps convince David to give him a shot.
Yes omg she knew before David did !!
"A Little Bit Alexis" has to be one of my favorite moments of the show.😂 Schitt's Creek is just hilarious in general.
Yeah I wanted to find a spot to add it to the video but it's not a super big part of her story lol definitely a highlight tho
"I'm a little bit single, even when I'm not 😉."
I put it on my playlist as a joke...it's still on my playlist. And I don't skip it. It's so insane and makes me laugh.
What I love about that moment is how much is going on. We’re laughing at the hilarious number, but at the same time, the reveal that she’s totally devoid of talent completely recontexualizes Moira’s behavior in that episode.
So while we’re laughing we’re also having the sudden realization that the whole time we thought Moira was sabotaging her own daughter out of petty jealousy, she was actually protecting her, has in fact BEEN protecting her from failure her whole life. It’s such amazing writing.
And Moira’s growth ultimately is realizing that she hasn’t done Alexis any favors by protecting her, that Alexis fell on her ass and the world didn’t end, and that Alexis will have to try and fail on her own to truly develop as a person.
I love that the show is so rich and emotionally complex despite being basically a reverse _Beverly Hillbillies._ I still tear up when I hear "Simply the Best."
I remember starting this show and saying, "Oh, so it's just Arrested Development set in Canada." That's definitely my type of humor, so I was all in on the premise. When I got to the episode where Johnny and Moira defend Schitts Creek and their new friends to their old rich friends and then we have that dance scene at Mutt's party, I realized I was actually watching the anti-Arrested Development. And to my surprise, I was still all in.
@sharksandsheep I actually think Johnny was on board then but Moira was dissing the town all way to the end! She only really fully embraced it at David's wedding, I feel. I loved that scene though. Go Johnny!
I agree with your comment, but I would like to point out that the opposite of The Beverley Hillbillies is Green Acres
I watched that scene over and over - I just loved that he did that for him. Really moving.
Damn, not you posting this comment just before Tina passed
I recently watched some interviews where Dan Levy (the showrunner/actor for David) talks about how they essentially created a character bible for the show before they even started scripting it. You can definitely tell throughout the sesasons that the characters' actions and decisions are based on a consistent foundation. Can you imagine if more shows had that kind of respect for the stories they were writing?
Show bibles are pretty common, but some are better at following it than others.
thats really cool and yeah i can think of more than a few shows that couldve benefitted from that
sometimes the characters are straight-up conflicting, but even more often than that, the characters will just be one-dimensional because the writers only know one thing about them (take meredith from the office or even luke from modern family)
I know some people might think the finishing high school plotline was weird, but as someone who took 2 years longer to finish and graduated at an age older than my classmates it was an incredibly validating storyline. It made what I did feel like a point of pride. I really respect the writers for finding humour in the situation without turning her returning to school into the punchline.
The saddest arc for me personally is Stevie's in the final season. She's slowly realizing that everyone around has self-actualized except for her. And even by the series finale she still has not reached that goal and she knows that she hasn't and feels stuck. Her song in Cabaret is a gut punch.
Agree, she didn't find her calling.
Same. Honestly Stevie's arc hit too close to home.
the cabaret song was so lovely to watch how it was perfectly mirroring how she felt about her place in her own life at the moment. really captivating scene
I disagree. By the end of the series, I was sure that each character would be just fine, including Stevie.
@@CliveNDerek Yeah, I'm sure she'd be fine, but she's clearly still in the beginning stages of her self-discovery meanwhile all of here friends and colleagues are way ahead of her.
I think I don't see Alexis's arc as sad - her relationship status ends on a sad note, but she's found such a sense of confidence in herself and inner peace and a sense of direction that she didn't have before. It's hard to see that as sad, even if her relationship didn't work out. Like Ted, she too will find someone again.
She found relationship with herself and an independent future, that's definitely a major win.
I honestly loved Alexis' Arc and thought it was inspiring. For the first time in her life she wasn't just going in the direction others pushed her. She was choosing herself and believing she would be okay no matter what. She could have followed Ted to the Galapagos, her parents to California, or stayed with David in Schittz Creek but she decided to be her own leader. In all her stories she always finds herself in bad situations but it never seems like they were her idea. Going to NY to pursue her career was the first time she didn't just go with the flow. It's also one of a few shows that doesn't have a happy ending for a woman include a partnership. Alexis was going to find her own happiness on her own terms.
Same, I thought Stevie had the saddest arc. She explored, got burned and is in the same place as we left her. I wanted her to feel some kind of satisfaction.
@@katelyn3490 Totally late to responding, but that's exactly how I felt about Tahani in the good place, re: not needing a soulmate to thrive.
"I just think it cool to see fictional examples of people being emotionally intelligent." yesss! Good examples for learning ourselves.
As an older woman, I think Alexis’s decision to NOT prioritize a man over herself is a joyful arc. Unfortunately I believe many women in older age look back with regret at moments we would have been better off to center our needs over men’s wants. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
Feeling this, appreciate the comment.
I think the hardest thing is if you've finally found someone who you feel a really deep connection to, and you have to let them go... will you ever find that again? Yes of course plenty of fish in the sea and all that, but that doesn't make it any easier in the moment.
@@claudiadarling9441 well, yes very. in Alexis’s case she was unfortunately in love with someone who would want to be off traveling for the rest of his life, and if this isn’t also her dream it means a lifetime of frustration and sadness for both of you anyway. Just incompatable desires.
Alexis and Ted had so little in common. It never would have worked.
Yeah as much as I loved Ted as a character I think that Alexis's journey was so important for her. She was often putting her own needs and goals aside for her relationships and while Ted was a great guy who clearly loved her I think that that storyline was vital for the character.
not me sobbing at that clip of Alexis and Ted again... you're so right about this. She had such an interesting arc-empowering but sad in a way.
I ~think~ I heard somewhere it was actually the series wrap shot for both of them, so a lot of the tears and emotion would be more genuine
One of my favorite moments from the show takes place in the fourth season's "Baby Sprinkle" episode, in which an old friend has offered Alexis an opportunity to get out Schitt's Creek and return to some semblance of her former life, but by the end, Alexis realizes that too much has changed and that she'd prefer to remain where she is and try to make it on her own.
Yes! I love that episode and was hoping he'd touch on it.
One thing I found interesting was Mutt appeared in the early seasons as a love interest, but I don't think we ever got closure on Mutt's rocky relationship with his kooky parents. I assumed the actor had other commitments and didn't want to return, because I'd have liked to see that play out.
Yeah. I sometimes wonder if they wanted to extend the love triangle out longer, but due to Mutt not being around they just went full steam with Ted.
His character on Wynonna Earp is way more interesting. I understand him prioritizing that series role over this one.
YUP he needed to go be Doc Holliday on Wynnona Earp and it was the greatest decision he could have ever made! And I loved Mutt but I adooooore him as Doc, he was made for this role in a show that ended up being an all time favorite of mine ☺️ If you like supernatural sci-fi westerns, you gotta give it a watch 😜
I thought exactly the same. I also thought it was strange how his relation with Roland and Joycelyn never played out. Apart from the episode where the Rose’s think Mutt is having an affair with Joycelyn ie his mother I never think of them as a family. Even when he makes an appearance in season 4 to meet his ‘new baby brother’ - they didn’t film together then…..very strange.
Re: the beard thing, it is a bit jarring when someone who's had facial hair for a long time decides to remove it suddenly, but obviously, it's their face, their choice. When I was a kid, my dad, who'd always had a mustache, shaved it off one day. My 10 year old pea brain couldn't reconcile what I was seeing for a several days.
Alexis was a character I wanted to hate, but was so charmed by and this video feels like a love letter to her character. Looking forward to more Schitt's Creek commentary, it's truly wholesome and somewhat melancholy in a good way.
Yeah I like what T1J says in the video about that, how it wasn't so much the beard as what it represented, i.e. their lack of communication. Alexis's surprise at the sudden appearance change meant her words focused on the beard and less on the actual underlying issue, but when Mutt points out, rightly, that it IS his face, Alexis does express that she wishes he would have told her so that she could be mentally prepared for it. Ultimately he's going to do what he wants with his hair, yes, but Alexis was giving him plenty of opportunities to open up and share a bit of his thoughts because she wanted to know what's on his mind, and he never gave her anything. If he had mentioned "I'm thinking of shaving my beard" then that would have been the bit of sharing that Alexis wanted, even if she might not have been on board with the change.
What's interesting, I think, is that this trait for Mutt is shown earlier on, while he and Twyla were dating. At Ted's dinner party, it's clear that Mutt doesn't share much with Twyla, as she's surprised when Alexis mentions that Mutt told her about having bad dreams. It seems like when Mutt has doubts or concerns about his relationship, he finds it easier to open up to someone outside of the relationship rather than with his partner (like Mutt telling David about his need for space before he tells Alexis).
My dad shaved his beard once when we were children, and my sister was TERRIFIED when he came into her room that morning, thinking he was a stranger.
My husband has always had a beard since we started dating, and I would hope he would mention if he was considering shaving it off. But ultimately I wouldn't care one way or the other. I think the shaved face scene was more to illustrate that Alexis was hot for dirty mountain man, not Mutt as a person. But Also the communication thing t1j so eloquently described.
Same with my dad and his beard.
Why did you want to hate Alexis in particular in a show full of terrible ppl tho?
@@idontevenhaveapla7224 internalized misogyny probably
On the beard thing, I agree it was more emblematic of a wider problem than actually a valid problem in and of itself BUT if my husband shaved his beard off and then *woke me up* by kissing me from behind without telling me that was his plan, I would absolutely wake up panicking about who the hell it was in bed with me. My husbands beard is a sensory identifier in that situation and its absence is a cause for immediate alarm, particularly in such a vulnerable situation.
Completely valid point. Honestly, even if a long term partner decides to shave their beard off and doesn’t just give you a heads up first, it’s pretty shocking, especially if you’ve never kissed them without a beard before. Kinda feels like cheating, but that can be fun in a weird way. LOL
Yea… 100% agreed. Also she is a repeat trauma survivor. As a fellow trauma survivor a move like that would absolutely trigger the shit out of my ptsd. It wouldn’t even be a rational response in that moment. I would just be hopped up on adrenaline and freaking out. So is she over reacting? No and also yes, but that’s the bitch of ptsd. And she is clearly with a partner who is oblivious to her needs, so her reaction is also ultimately helpful because it is the catalyst needed to actually get out of that situation.
Oh 100%
A friend of mine's husband had really long hair, like down his back long, and one night he woke up in the middle of the night and went into the bathroom and shaved it all off and went back to bed. Apparently getting back into bed woke up my friend and she started screaming because she had no idea who this bald stranger was😂
Which is understandable but I disagree with the whole it had to be an equal decision thing.
It was so nice to revisit Alexis' arc and the all beats that made her story work so well in the video. I cried - again - watching just the clip of her and Ted's break-up.
I think Alexis was a sleeper favorite for a lot of us. I love how warm-hearted and accepting her character is, even of the beginning. One thing that made Schitt's Creek such a joy to watch for me is that they were a good, likeable family from the very beginning, and their journey of the series wasn't bad, obnoxious people learning to be good, but rather already good people learning to reconnect with parts of themselves they had lost.
It always made me sad how it was clear the rest of the family wasn't as close to Alexis 😢 in the final episode she says I love you to everyone in many scenes, and I can't remember anyone saying I love you back. Not to mention that as entertaining as her escapades stories are, they do highlight that from a young age she wasn't home and it didn't bring much concern on the parent's part. That episode where she goes have lunch with Moira and Moira has to write questions on her hands 😢 it's really no wonder Alexis is so independent and adaptable
My heart broke reading your comment
I feel like everyone forgets that she had her brother - David says several times that he was always the one to be sick with worry and always coming to save her from the dangerous situations
@@lanasinapayen3354 yep, and I don't remember if he said I love you to Alexis in the final episode but he did tell her how proud he was of her and that made me tear up. At the time of writing the comment I had indeed forgotten about David showing up for her, so I guess it's more the parents who are disconnected from her, especially Moira
Her father told her I love you when he hugged her before he left.
Not only was the writing for the character phenomenal, Annie Murphy’s performance for Alexis is still amazing to watch and sticks with me till this day. She deserved all the praise and awards for it.
Her little physical quirks really made the character extra memorable. The t-rex hands and the facial expressions and little vocalizations are not what I'm used to seeing in fictional characters
One thing that I hoped for Alexis, which they did hinted at in the series finale, is that maintained a friendship with Twyla. Although with years of good advise, at the very end she hoped that Twyla would visit her in New York, so I hoped they did.
I love that Alexis turns the rich girl bully trope on its head. So many girly characters are also the antagonist of the show but Alexis isn’t. She genuinely has a good heart which is why I think fans grow to love her.
I LOVE that she had a good heart from the beginning. Yeah she was a brat and clueless to financial struggle etc. But she meant well. She still grew a ton. She didn’t have to outgrow meanness.
Exactly, I also like that she keeps her girly charm, but you can still take her seriously. That’s part of the amazing acting though.
I think Mutt might be underrated. That moment when Alexis realizes that she can just be with somebody without having to constantly talk seems like an important spiritual moment of growth for her.
It is also important to remember the actor playing Mutt got a regular part on another show, so whatever plans the writers may have had for Mutt and Alexis, had to be shelved... thus the jarring conclusion to their romance.
@@tmlawson751 Would've been fun to see if Mutt could evolve too, but Tim is just so fantastic as Doc Holiday on Wynonna Earp that I can't imagine anyone else in that role
on the beard, it feels like at least a heads-up isn't a bad idea. Especially the context in which she sees him first post-beard, they're in bed, kissing, and she's suddenly struck by a different face than she's used to. I can totally understand the reaction. Even if Mutt did nothing wrong by shaving his beard, feels like this way of surprising her wasn't the smartest move.
I think if Mutt had made her feel more secure and talked WITH her more, she wouldn't have responded that way. I think that the beard being gone was a shock because it made her feel like / realize that she didn't really KNOW him - at least not enough to not feel like he was a totally different person without it.
IRL I think it's overly controlling to expect a significant other of only a few weeks to consult you about hair cuts. If it were a female character being told by a new boyfriend that she should have "decided as a couple" befor getting a pixie cut, it would read as a red flag.
I think highcontrast Hughes has a good point that in this story, she's realizing that there's a mismatch in the desire and ability to communicate generally and its not really about the beard at all.
Alexis and Ted had maybe the only good breakup I've ever seen on a sit come, maybe even any tv show? It wasn't played for laughs. They didn't break up for stupid reasons. They still loved each other, it's just that they had different life goals that were going to take them apart, and they both chose to pursue their own dreams, however sad and hurtful it might be to break up as a couple. No insults, no blaming, no harsh words, just two adults being emotionally intelligent and vulnerable with each other. it was such a fantastic scene.
One highlight from their first breakup I likee was Ted's totally emotionally mature response of "thank you. I wouldn't want to be married to someone who didn't want to be married to me."
Break up for stupid reasons. I’m rewatching New Girl and it’s crazy how they break up for no reason. One minor conflict and the relationship is just over.
I loved the story of Teddy and Alexis, it's something that so many of us have experineced but never see dipicted, loving someone but circumstances making it impossible to be together.
The break up scene is sad, but i do love that they decided to do a "right person wrong time" kinda spin. It felt natural for both characters. They both helped each other become the best versions of themselves, even if they weren't meant to be together forever. Break ups don't always have to be because you fall out of love. Sometimes your path just diverges. Thats just a real life situation, you know? I wish more sitcoms did that.
If you pay attention to Alexis throughout the show, she thrives in uncertainty in ways the rest of her family don't. While she has the least certain future ahead of her, and some bad luck in the love department there is a very real chance if we ever get a reunion special in the future that her character will ultimately be the best off and happiest of all.
i agree! alexis was never going to take a traditional route in life!
Alexis was always my favorite and it made me sad that her future, at the end, was hazy, while everyone else's was solid. After watching this video though, it makes me appreciate how her story ended. TEAM ALEXIS!!!
I like the sweet nod to Abe's Oddesy with the "Follow Me' in the beginning
In regards to Alexis's reaction to Mutt shaving his beard, I have observed in most healthy relationships couples do generally let their partners know about impending changes to their appearance. Not in a sit down and have a conversation about if it's going to happen, but more like a head up 'I'm thinking about doing X or getting/having X done'. Especially if it's a long standing feature of their appearance (long VS short hair, beards, etc) Also like you pointed out, when something kind of silly causes an argument, it's not really about the something silly, but rather something tangentially reminiscent of the something silly. In this case it was about her feeling alienated in her relationship due to lack of communication on his part, his change in appearance without notice just reminded her of that. So was it an overreaction, yes and no.
I think you shouldn't HAVE to talk to your partner ahead of time before shaving your beard, but you should WANT to.
Spot on.
I discovered Schitt's Creek in lockdown, and it really helped me get through a lot. I love how any potential sitcom "drama" was avoided by people talking to each other like adults. It was really refreshing.
Agree that Moira was the funniest character.
The Moira's Rose's Garden 4856 fills my brain everytime I have to fill in any online form
That’s such a refreshing take in a show! I HATE the trope of the story being driven by conflict produced by failures to communicate. It’s infuriating and lazy.
Another show I think is good about this is Brooklyn 99. Literally every time I start to get even a hint of frustration because of a character’s failure to communicate, the next scene is that character communicating.
It also does wonderful things for character development. Because then bad communication can be a character trait of a specific character, rather than a universal personality.
i think the beard was really just a proxy for alexis' fears about their lack of communication in general. he doesn't respect her opinions, he just does stuff.
Her arc is my favourite. She learns about what’s important to her, gets closer to her family and becomes emotionally healthy. That coupled with her pre-existing resilience and her new found professional confidence means she’s more than capable of writing her own happy ending. If we could look in on her now, Alexis would be living her best life.
I love Alexis so much, I relate to her a lot. Underestimated by her family, running after the wrong boys when the right one was under her nose all along, fantastic fashion sense ;) etc. She was my favourite character from the first episode and I always wanted thr best for her. I actually found it wonderful she didn't tie herself to Ted and had the courage to move on from him. And who knows, maybe in the future they will reconnect again. What a great analysis!
I do also wanna mention, that while the parents didn't realise or worry about her,David had to and that kind of fed into his nurorisism.
It's midnight. I'm painting my nails, watching this video, and crying all over again about Alexis and Ted. Thanks for the wonderful analysis
GIRL
What color, I'm painting mine aqua!!!
@@missybarbour6885 omg yes
@@mirabethy Oooh, flowers! Mine weren't as fancy, but I hope yours turned out well too!
On the beard thing: I think the greater issue is he woke her up with kissing & she didn't recognize the face kissing her, which would be pretty disorienting/scary. So then he kinda launched into this convo shaming her for NOT saying the exact perfect thing. We know Alexis has a history of being kidnapped so her trauma response around this is even more heightened
This is such a good point! I'm sure it would have bee terrifying waking up that way.
"I wish I could check on her." SAME
I think having a "happy ending" to Alexis's arc would have ruined it a little bit. They establish pretty early on that Alexis is one of those "the journey is more important than the destination" people. Someone whose life is never really settled, that's highly adaptable and thrives on change (and a bit of chaos). Pretty much from the first episode Alexis starts adapting to her surroundings while everyone else is resisting. She'll be fine no matter what life throws at her.
I'd love an analysis of Troy Barnes's arc from jock to himbo to leader
Alexis is not wrong that they need to communicate more, but it is unreasonable to ask your partner to ask for their permission just to shave. But I do want to point out that the subtext of that scene is that it isn't really about the beard so much as the lack of communication itself, and the beard is just the catalyst for the argument. EDIT: You went on to basically say this yourself, my bad lol
Yeah, like Alexis is shocked by the lack of beard so her first arguments about needing to talk about that don't actually get to the heart of the issue for her, but that feels very true to life. Who hasn't gotten into an argument where one or both people are fixated on a seemingly innocuous detail rather than articulating what is actually the issue at hand? Alexis is shocked by the change because Mutt didn't express any of his thoughts to her, so she doesn't know where he's at.
Yeah I thought the point of that scene was to show that Alexis only really liked the idea of him she had in her head…like the fact that she could be so thrown off by something like that shows that there wasn’t reallly anything there
Really enjoyed the video, I agree that Alexis is such a great character, definitely one of my favorites! I have to disagree that her's is the saddest arc, however (that tragic break-up scene not withstanding). I find her arc to be triumphant, the way her ending is in direct contrast to her beginning shows just how much she has grown and changed as a person.
In the first episode, Alexis believes her boyfriend Stavros will be coming to rescue her from the town, and is devastated when he does not. The first time she dates Ted, she sees in him an opportunity to get out of town (even if only for a weekend vet conference). Despite all the places she's been and adventures she's had, she cannot conceive the idea of leaving Schitt's Creek without the help of a man, or even of being in SC without a boyfriend, immediately attaching herself to the first guy who asks her out.
That's wh, despite how sad her break up with Ted is at the end, it's actually a triumph for her character. Here she has a very solid opportunity to leave the town, by joining Ted in the Galapagos. However if she chose that, she'd be exactly where she was at the beginning: depending on a man to get her out of Schitt's Creek, with the presumption that she will continue to be dependent on him once she leaves. The fact that she doesn't choose that, and ultimately decides to leave on her own shows how much she values herself and her abilities. Yes, she's going into an uncertain future on her own, which might seem sad, but it's absolutely the perfect ending for her.
I always felt like they all kind of got what they needed at the end. Alexis got to be taken seriously, David got human relationships, and the parents got family connection.
Ahhh! I love Schitt's Creek and Alexis is probably my fave! Even though I've seen it before I really love your breakdown of Alexa's arc! There was so much I didn't pick up on, and you make it so clear how much she's grown. I also really appreciate noticing how much the show writers could've leaned into comedy, but instead kept everything so realistic and grounded, even through the very end. Such a good video (as always!)
I didn’t watch this series until a year after it ended. Fell in love with it right away. It’s the type of show where I’ll rewatch a few episodes whenever I need a pick me up.
I’m SO happy to hear an analysis on Schitt’s Creek. It’s such a lovely and underrated show, and I’m glad all the characters got their happy ending. I think there’s something really special about Alexis getting a future all to herself, where she now has the skills to build meaningful relationships. I also loved seeing her grow closer with her mom in the later seasons (as well as the others, but with the crows movie they really connect). As a Jewish person it was also really nice to get a modern sitcom with Jewish leads! It felt like a more progressive version of some of the more “classic” Jewish sitcoms people point to.
I love Ted and Alexis. They were so good together. I know they had to breakup to complete her arc but it still breaks my heart.😢
Wow, I never picked up on that "some other girl"/"some other woman" parallel before. I love the connotations there!
Fighting tears watching these scenes again 😭 i still cant get over knowing Moira rose is sally from nightmare before Xmas
Omg I didn't know that and now I feel like I'll never forget it, she really is such a versatile actress
And Kevin's mom from Home Alone 😂
Dude. Catherine O'Hara was an original and integral part of the Second City TV lineup out of Toronto. She's a comedy legend.
I always wanted there to be a Schitts Creek movie where we get to see Alexis in NY, kicking ass at her career, and then Ted ends up in NY too (maybe because of some discovery he made in the Galapagos) and they get to give it a third try.
The patriarch of the Rose family are Johnny's EYEBROWS
when I first watch this series, I didn't expected it to be so well- written and complex with every characters development and yet funny. Love this series so much
Alexis is fantastic because Annie Murphy brings so much heart to the character. And also a little bit Alexis is comedy gold
annie murphy is so good at playing alexis its wild. the entire cast is perfect imo
i’d love to give alexis a long tight hug
Alexis back story is a batshit series of crazy events.
On my last rewatch of the show, I picked up on a lot of ADHD tics and traits in Alexis. Either Annie Murphy has ADHD herself, or she’s just a fantastic actress who managed to add a whole new level to her character that was never addressed in the show.
I’m so happy that you noted how famous female socialites are complex people. They’ve been belittled so much (especially in the 2000s), and there is so much misogyny involved in the discussions surrounding them.
I cried so hard at the Alexis/Ted scene. It was so heart breaking and adult. The entire series is so beautiful.
This was almost literal reenactment of my breakup years ago, so I shed a lonely tear too :)
Fun Fact:
Patrick wasn't even INTRODUCED until Season 3 Episode 8.
I think part of this scene is just that what Alexis liked about Mutt was that she was attracted to his beard, and being physically attracted to Mutt was all she had. So when he changed his appearance, it made him less attractive to her, which is fine if someone cares about you otherwise, but isn’t fine when they don’t
Love your take on the family dynamics. I admit, it took three tries for me to get into the show. I had trouble getting through the first episode. I thought it was going to be the exact opposite of what it turned out to be. Crazy dialog and scenarios, but also warmth and intelligence. Not to mention heart.
Never expected to have an emotional ugly cry at a comedy sitcom. SC had a few of those moments.
Incredible show, amazing cast, intelligent writing.
You said it! I usually am put off by this character archetype but Alexis is *easily* my favorite character in a show absolutely brimming with characters I truly love. And Annie Murphey was exactly the right actor to play Alexis, she takes a character that could easily be portrayed as one-dimensional and gave a really nuanced performance every single episode.
Wow that conversation between alexis and ted was amazing
God, I miss this show. Alexis was a true treasure. So many laughs, tears, and heartwarming moments from a character that could easily be written off as one-dimensional. Great video!
I think Alexis Rose is possibly my favourite fictional character of all time.
And honestly, I think she had the best ending of all of them. Her journey was so incredible and I love how they sprinkle in how actually smart and capable Alexis is throughout the 6 seasons as she and you go on this voyage of self-discovery. Her respecting her own dreams and abilities, and making the tough choice to go it alone and take advantage of the opportunities that The Crows 3 opened up for her is, for me, a perfect ending for her. I feel like it would have cheapened her Journey and gone against the character development of both Alexis and Ted to have them end up together in the end. It really encapsulated how far she came to show that, in comparison to the Pilot, she isn't defining her life by who she is dating or waiting for him to rescue her. In the end, she rescued herself.
Its so nice to see a video essay like this on Alexis. She is a great character with so much depth and development. I am so happy that Annie got that Emmy win in the last series, it was so well deserved.
I for the beard thing I don't think she has her say in the situation. His beard his choice. But I understand how she reacted when he woke her up. I got confused and had to double check his door number the first time I saw my partner without a beard. I was convinced I was in someone else's apartment
She may not have a day, especially given the fairly casual nature of their relationship, but she at least deserved a heads up before he started rubbing his bare cheek all over her back.
Excellent video. I think Alexis *did* overreact (your partner can get tattoos/a haircut/shave without a debate or negotiation), BUT, I do think it's emblematic that it just...didn't occur to him to discuss his choices with her. I think that's how relationships get maintained, just the sharing of the little decisions that make up your day-to-day. But I'm BEYOND thrilled you included the silent break-up. That almost hit me harder than the final Ted break-up. Not because I think her and Mutt were good together, but because she was so desperate for him to share and talk to her, but in the end, she realizes neither of them need to talk to understand what they know...that they can't stay together. She lets him go.
So refreshing to see some well deserved love to Alexis’ character! She truly did become so endearing and it was incredible to watch her growth.
👍 would be quite pleased with more Schitts Creek content
The core of all of them is that they are strongly attached to family. That never changes they just learn to expand the definition and be better family to one another. I love this show.
12:30 Yeah that's a weird one. I'm a bit faceblind, so I get her immediate reaction more than some people might. It's one thing if your partner decides to update their look a bit; it's different if you abruptly don't recognize them when you wake up. I think where I land is that it's more a notice-and-comment kind of situation, not so much a we-decide-together thing, at least in a situation where you're going from a Mutt-style full beard to completely clean-shaven. It's not just that he decided to trim it a bit shorter, she's literally never seen his chin. But also yeah, she doesn't get veto power over his use of a razor.
I've watched Schitt's Creek over a dozen times, but this is the first analysis video about it that I've watched (& my first time on your channel!). Love your analysis & Alexis getting the credit she deserves. The Alexis/Ted relationship is the most thoughtfully composed relationship I've seen in a television series and this video reminded me how much I learned about myself from watching them grow together & individually. I'll be back for more videos!
I guessed that this video would make me cry, and I was correct. Alexis' arc is just beautiful and moving and feels so, so real.
i always wanted a spin off of this show where twyla and alexis take off to NY together and just completely take over the town, maybe even finally learn alexis's middle name.
Alexis' character arc in the show is easily my favorite. Its one of real growth and change while admiring you can win all the small struggles, but lose the one that really forms you as a person. Idk. I just think its very well done. (the whole show ofc is also just like really good)
I love her arc. while other get much more of a happy ending she does the MOST growth and is poised to be the awesomest human. I fell in love with Annie murphy through her portrayal and her arc here.
Of course you shouldn't need to ask your partner before shaving your beard, I think the point of that scene was that they had nothing more substantial tying them together so she was overfocused on the superficial aspects of the relationship. If he was talking to her about more important things in his life then she wouldn't care about the beard
alexis has always been my favourite character, even when i first started the show, a lot of people would call her annoying or self obsessed but i really loved seeing her confident and so self assured of herself. alexis is honestly really inspiring to me, as someone who is more like david and stevie(neurotic,anxious,cynical, etc). I really loved seeing her grow over time and she remains my favourite character to this day. i totally wish i could re watch this show with a clean slate
More analysis of this very smart, gorgeous show please? How about the way Johnny and Moira's relationship works? Johnny/Roland dream team? David's damaged dating history or how he and Stevie grow each other? Patrick coming out so gently?
There is so much here!
I just found this channel but I'm excited to watch more videos.
I started with David being my favorite character and ended with David still my favorite character. David Rose supremacy!
I understand why they didn't want to continue the series, but a sequel of some kind or spin-off would be so good. I really want to know what happened to Stevie and Alexis.
There's a telling moment early on where Ted explains that he bought his entire apartment interior as-is from a catalogue. When he and Alexis first get together, it's as if he picked her out of a catalogue too. He has a narrative in his head that doesn't reflect her or their actual relationship. He steamrolls over her, trying to change her and proposing WAY too early - before either of them has said I love you. It's only after Ted does some self-reflection then becomes friends with Alexis and actually listens to and gets to know the real her, that he finally understands what a brilliant and kind person she is. Then when they rekindle their romantic realtionship, they're standing on a much better foundation. And within the relationship they can now help each other to continue to grow. Alexis says it herself in the final breakup scene: they make each other better people.
Adore this series. Thanks for the excellent breakdown.
Haha the whole facial hair/no facial hair is such an interesting topic to me because it's mirrored with women's hairstyles (long/short etc). I've been happily married for a while now and I can say this with some level of confidence:
Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy. You do not need to ask permission to do anything with your own body - this extends to hair styles or clothes. However, much like the right to free speech, this does not make you immune to the consequences of those choices and everybody else has the right to their own feelings and thoughts. In the case of appearances in relationships, if you make a significant change in appearance without talking with your partner how they feel about it, they may not be into it. In some instances this may not matter - like if you're doing yardwork or cleaning then looking attractive really is not a priority so no discussion is needed. But if romance is your goal, then at some point discussing what you each find attractive is probably a good idea.
She gets to have the best relationship....with herself!!
She hasn't really known who she really is until now and it's so important to learn to love yourself accept yourself know yourself before you can really give that to someone else
You’re very very insightful. I enjoyed this video a lot and will now check out your other offerings. Thank you sir!
I hear people compare beard changes to hairstyle changes a lot, but I think that’s a bit of a false equivalence. Beards sorta exist in their own category - somewhere between a haircut and plastic surgery. They’re more temporary than surgery, but they can dramatically and majorly change someone’s appearance, to that point that entire features look COMPLETELY different with or without facial hair.
Just like with haircuts and plastic surgery, no one should ever feel like they need to ask their partners permission to make changes to their own body. But also, sudden changes may be shocking and upsetting, just like you might be shocked if your partner with waist length hair suddenly shaved it off entirely, or if they suddenly got a noticeable nose job. So I think the best practice is to communicate with your partner well before making a major change to your appearance.
They shouldn’t have the final say in a choice youre making about your body, but I do believe your partner’s opinion should matter to you, and you should seek it out.
I love the end of Alexis's story. It does feel a little different from the rest of the family but I really think that's the best place for her to be. As independant as she's shown to be throughout the show she never really did things on her own before, all her crazy escapades all over the world were with boyfriends or friends or so on. Her story beign about learning to stand on her own ending without a man with her making a decision about her own life is fantastic.
I think that it was very mature and smart of the show to let Alexis be by herself by the end, simply because all throughout her past, she was always WITH someone. Whether it was her best friend, the men she dated, or David, she usually experienced life through that lens. This is esp seen through her name dropping.
And we can see that it became such a big part of her personality and affected her a lot when these fell through. Now that she broke up with the love of her life, it was great to see she was still okay and whole as a person after.
Yes, Alexis' character arc is sad, but what happened to Stevie? She never really got on a path to her own happiness. Her big moment was singing during a small town Cabaret production, and then she just kind of spiraled off into a few directions without finding anything that gives her purpose, which is what I think she was looking for.
I would argue that she does. When we first meet Stevie she's resigned to having no future, and then we see that part of that is because she's scared that she's not actually capable of doing well if she decides to go for something. The play was so out of her normal wheelhouse that doing well there meant that she felt confident that she could run a business with Mr. Rose.
Alexis's journey was great to follow. Understanding who you are and what you really want and need is a difficult voyage for anyone but in the end she understands that standing on her own two feet is her what she needs to do. On another note I have to say her words to David about the "twins" is so perfect on so many levels!
This reminds me how much I will always love this show!! Thank you for the deep dive into Alexis. Made me appreciate her even more!
this channel is now my sparks notes for shows I don't have time to watch but people keep talking about
I have to say, the way you put together the video is wonderful and you have excellent presence and tone of voice. That being said, fantastic content....and now I have "A Little Bit Alexis" in my head...
You had the same journey with the show that I did. Alexis started off as the least interesting character to me, but by the end she'd won me over and she ended the show as my favourite. I think part of that is the fact that it felt like Alexis herself, as a person, was as surprised by her own complexity as we were watching the show. She discovers her own complexity and emotional maturity WITH the audience.
OMG, you have to love the show. I’ve watched it from beginning to end since it hit Netflix. I would rewatch all episodes before a new season, and then kept rewatching until the next season was released. After it ended, I’ve rewatched the whole series multiple times.
I love that I still notice new things each time I watch.
Alexis really was a great character. I love all of them. I think each character serves their purpose well.
I love everything about this show- they really put a lot of thought into each character