Little Sister
Season 1, Episode 11
Written by Michael Short
Directed by Paul Fox
Synopsis: Moira’s younger sister shows up unexpectedly, Stevie flirts with a handyman, David is asked to counsel a gay teen, and Twyla and Mutt reach the end of the road.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Episodes of Schitt’s Creek typically have two or three interwoven storylines. When, as here, four separate plots are crammed into a single 21-minute episode, that tends to suggest that the primary storyline simply isn’t strong enough to carry its share of the running time.
It's a common ploy with episodic TV, especially sitcoms, to stir up the familiar mix from time to time with the appearance of a hitherto unseen family member. This generates fresh plotlines and helps to expand a character’s backstory. Depending on how well the new character is received, they may go on to make recurring appearances in the show; or they may vanish whence they came, never to be seen again. It’s the latter outcome that would prove to be the case here. Indeed, the ‘long-lost relative’ trope is one that, at least as far as the Rose family are concerned, the writers of Schitt’s Creek would never explore again.
The introduction of Moira’s younger sister Dee Dee could have been an opportunity to cast a household name and treat fans to a classic bitchfest in the mould of the Krystle/Alexis rivalry in Dynasty. As it happens, the makers of Schitt’s Creek generally resisted ‘stunt’ casting, and the role here went to Jennifer Irwin, a dependable character actress but not particularly recognisable to an international audience.
As an aside, now seems as good a time as any to say that I simply don’t understand the whole credits/billing thing with American and Canadian TV. British TV shows will invariably include a full cast list at the end, telling you which actor played which character in that episode, often helpfully in order of appearance. On American shows, and it seems Canadian ones too, the leads and major guest stars are mentioned in the opening titles, but you usually have to guess which characters they’re playing as this is never mentioned. The end credits will then list the remaining cast – sometimes with character names but often without, as is the case with Schitt’s Creek. Which actors get credited and in what order seems to be a matter of contractual status rather than any attempt to provide information for the viewer. This episode is a particularly bizarre example as principal guest star Jennifer Irwin is relegated to the end credits while Benjamin Ayres (Grant) and Matthew Tissi (Connor) are included up front. And Chris Elliott is named in the opening titles even though Roland doesn’t feature in the episode at all. Bonkers.
At any rate, perhaps as a result of Jennifer Irwin’s unstarry performance, the verbal catfighting between Dee Dee and Moira remains rather restrained. It’s not entirely clear whether Dee Dee is visiting the Roses purely to gloat over their reduced circumstances (which she admits was partly her motivation), or whether there is also some element of family loyalty involved.
There's an odd continuity glitch in the scene between Dee Dee and Moira in the café. Shortly after Dee Dee sits down, a greetings card with a design on the front featuring red roses and the word ‘Sister’ appears on the table between them. The handing over of the card evidently got lost in the edit, but it would be interesting to know whether it was given as a sincere gesture or whether it contained some kind of backhanded compliment. In any event, Moira tells her sister to leave; Dee Dee says she won’t without doing what she came to do, and presents Moira with a cheque which she tears up without even glancing at it.
Johnny is horrified when he discovers that Moira has declined Dee Dee’s money, purely out of pride (which, she touchingly declares, is all she has left). From here on, this storyline fizzles rather than sparks. Johnny pressures Moira to eat humble pie and accept her sister’s offer of financial help, which – with great reluctance – she eventually does. Dee Dee writes a new cheque, which turns out to be for less than the Roses spent sweetening the deal by buying her dinner. And with that Dee Dee is gone, from their lives and from the show. ‘Your sister is a cheap-ass,’ is Johnny’s verdict on the whole affair.
Elsewhere, Stevie is making eyes at Grant, the motel’s handyman. The two have arranged to go on a date, which prompts a discussion between her and David regarding the need to set some boundaries on their ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement. Incidentally, this episode sees the first (and second) occurrence of David and Stevie sardonically exchanging ‘warmest regards’/‘best wishes’ (or variations thereof), which will become the pair’s catchphrase as the series continues. (Best Wishes, Warmest Regards would eventually be used as the title of both the behind-the-scenes documentary and souvenir book of the show.)
Meanwhile Mutt confides in Alexis that his relationship with Twyla seems to have run its course. Later, in the café, Twyla is preoccupied with putting her feelings for Mutt into a song she’s writing; Alexis advises her not to, suggesting she should consider talking to him before breaking into song. Some online commenters have suggested an ulterior motive here, with Alexis having at least one eye on the possibilities that might come her way if Mutt should suddenly become single; but there’s nothing in the direction of these scenes, or Annie Murphy’s performance, to lend plausibility to those theories. Right now she’s still very much into Ted, and – as she tells him – she’s simply looking out for her friend.
By the end of the episode, we learn that Mutt and Twyla have indeed broken up. She puts a brave face on it, telling David, ‘In all honesty, Mutt was just a placeholder.’ For us, as viewers, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for her, as we’ve never been given the opportunity to invest emotionally in their relationship.
In the episode’s best storyline, David is approached by Jocelyn to speak to one of her class, a gay teenager who is struggling to fit in. David is initially reluctant, not because he doesn’t want to help but because he doesn’t feel he’s the best person to do it. He’s persuaded, and turns up that afternoon in a science lab at the high school. The room is dominated by a large tabletop model of the solar system; there’s a truly hilarious moment where David walks over, reaches out a hand to examine one of the planets – and the entire model falls apart in spectacular, and noisy, fashion. (Much kudos to the props team who built and rigged this model for one brief, albeit brilliant, visual gag.) With planets still bouncing and rolling across the floor (and David left holding Neptune between finger and thumb), the kid he’s here to meet walks in. ‘You must be Connor,’ says David with considerably more nonchalance than I would have managed in his situation.
From here on the scene subverts our expectations beautifully. Connor, it transpires, is not some timid gay teen, terrified of acknowledging his sexuality or of the consequences of coming out. He’s a smart, self-aware young man with attitude – a ton of it. ‘Why would I talk to you?’ he asks, voice dripping with disdain as he sizes up David’s floral print top and cut-off trousers. ‘Look at you. Look at your pants.’ ‘I’m sensing a tinge of disrespect here,’ says David, with admirable understatement.
Connor lays it on the line. ‘I’m a 16-year-old gay kid living in a town that makes me wanna throw up. The issue isn’t me not fitting in; it’s me not wanting to fit in.’
In a later scene, their physical positions are reversed, David sitting while Connor paces around having now assumed the role of counsellor. David, perhaps unwisely, has opened up about the whole Stevie/Grant situation. Connor rebukes him with, ‘Instead of doing something about it, you’re here talking to me – a kid who practically has no respect for you?’ ‘You’re a little bitchy,’ says David, which Connor acknowledges with a shrug. He chastises David for the folly of entering into a ‘friends with benefits’ relationship: ‘Have you not seen the 42 films they’ve made about it? It never works.’
These two fairly brief scenes pack a punch, thanks to great writing and superb performances, particularly from Matthew Tissi as Connor. Here’s another example of a supporting character who appears in the series only once, but in contrast to Dee Dee – who the writers created and then seem to have been unsure what to do with – Connor is a well-defined, memorable character it would have been great to see more of.
Back in the café, Stevie (who has been abandoned by Grant in the middle of their date) is drowning her sorrows with David. He reveals that ‘word on teen street’ is that their FWB thing is a bad idea, and he would rather not risk losing her as a friend since she’s currently the only one he has. Stevie agrees gratefully, and they toast their reborn status as ‘just friends’.
A mostly mediocre episode, elevated from two- to three-star status by the beautifully written and performed scenes between David and Connor.
———
Moira-ism: ‘The telephone is also amazing. You just push the buttons and say hi, it’s me, your deadbeat sister.’
Fun fact: Dee Dee is a common diminutive of the Irish name Deirdre. Although never explicitly mentioned on screen, production notes indicate that Moira’s original surname was Meehan, a common family name in Ireland; and Moira itself is an Anglicisation of the Irish name Máire. There are many other clues in the show to suggest that Moira shares Catherine O’Hara’s Irish ancestry.
———
Previous episode: Honeymoon
Next episode: Surprise Party (review coming soon)