What Would Alexis Rose Do?
An unlikely source of inspiration
I’ve been re-watching “Schitt’s Creek” lately, and I’ve found myself admiring the character Alexis Rose. Yesterday I got to the Season 4 episode “Singles Week,” where Jocelyn Schitt advises Moira Rose to trust her flighty daughter:
“Listen, I can’t speak to who Alexis was before you came here, and from what I’ve heard I don’t really want to dig any deeper into that, but what I can say is this. I have watched your daughter over the last couple of years grow into one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. She is a hard worker, she is kind, and she is capable of so much more than people give her credit for.”
Jocelyn’s right. It’s hard to think of Alexis as an admirable character because she’s so obnoxious in the beginning, but one of the most interesting things about “Schitt’s Creek” to me is the growth of the characters throughout the series. After I heard that speech, I realized that asking myself “What Would Alexis Rose Do?” throughout the day might actually be a winning technique — a technique of growth, of kindness, of confidence in one’s abilities.
In Season 1, Alexis is superficial, selfish and egotistical, uninterested in anything but money, fashion and popularity. She hangs out with billionaires, Middle Eastern royalty and Instagram influencers.
She did pick up some life skills during her international jet-set lifestyle:
- negotiation (“You learn pretty quickly when you’re in a Ugandan diamond smuggler’s villa playing for your friend’s freedom”)
- survival (“ Do I have to remind you of the time that I was taken hostage on David Geffen’s yacht by Somali pirates for a week”)
- escape (“In case you wake up in a chair with your hands duct-taped together, you can snap the duct tape by just raising your hands over your head, and then bringing them down really hard”) and
- resourcefulness (“I have my license in seven different countries, and I have my F Class”).
But when you think about it, Alexis is by far the most capable member of the Rose family. She is the queen of the pivot, able to rethink her strategy in any situation. When she arrives in Schitt’s Creek, she needs to learn how to apply those attributes to normal life.
When her fabulously wealthy parents lose all their money and move the family into a hotel in a dead-end town, Alexis adapts, just as her adventurous former life taught her. She has no money and no friends, so she goes out of her way to meet the townspeople and learn the lay of the land. After she finishes her community service (long story), she gets a job. She goes back to high school in her late twenties to complete her degree. She studies communications at the local community college and hangs out her shingle as a publicist. She becomes engaged (for the third time, but who’s counting?) to the local vet.
Alexis also picks up some new life skills over the course of five seasons. She learns to value kindness over money and status. She realizes that she deserves better treatment from her friends, all of whom abandoned her when she became poor. And she learns to compromise and put other people’s needs ahead of her own.
So what would Alexis Rose do in any given situation?
Arguing with a friend? Alexis Rose would kindly disagree, saying “or what if we just...” or “or we could…”, with a smile and never raising her voice. (If no common ground could be found, Alexis would smile and wrinkle her nose but say nothing at all).
In a pickle? Alexis would give herself confidence by thinking of other predicaments she managed her way out of, like the trunk of a Thai drug lord’s car.
Long day? Alexis understands the importance of self-care and the occasional spa treatment.
Running out of patience? She’d try to keep her poise and her sense of humor, but ultimately she’d let out a muffled scream and leave the room. (The scream makes you feel better and leaving the room ensures you’ll say nothing hurtful.)
Struggling to make something work? Alexis would keep trying alternatives until she found success, improvising on the spot if necessary.
But most importantly, Alexis would have unshakeable confidence in her own abilities. Even though everyone around her thinks she is scatterbrained and frivolous, Alexis knows exactly how capable she is. If you’re asking yourself “What Would Alexis Rose Do?” for an answer to a life problem, the best answer is that she would never, ever, doubt herself. And that’s advice many of us can use.
