'Schitt's Creek' Season 6 Episode 12 Review: A significant turning point in the life of the Rose family

Spoilers for 'Schitt's Creek' Season 6, Episode 7 'The Pitch'

It's hard to track exactly when this happened, but at a certain point, the Roses entirely abandoned the idea of going home to New York and accepted their lives as residents of Schitt's Creek. With the exception of Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara), each of the Roses found ties to the town and grew to embrace it as their new home. However, this season has started looking outwards, and Johnny Rose's (Eugene Levy) New York pitch might make leaving Schitt's Creek a reality for the first time since the series began. 

This episode sees Johnny, Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire) and Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott) fly up to New York to pitch a group of investors their plans for an ambitious motel venture. Meanwhile, back at home, Moira has her first real spiral upwards as her unshakable faith in her husband has her counting her "chickens before they incubate" — an infectious joy that spreads from her to Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy), and David Rose (Daniel Levy) but stops rather abruptly as soon as it hits Partick.

There is nothing more the rich appear to enjoy as much as the downfall of one of their own, and Johnny Rose fell hard, and in the eyes of the board, he's no longer really one of them. The meeting was more or less a favor from Johnny's old friend, and the assembled investors mock the first chance they get. Hats off to Matt Wells, who, as Tripp Campbell, plays the most self-satisfied, smug board member to ever have graced the screen. It's a classic tale — the small-town hicks intimidated by big-city men in sharp suits and condescending attitudes, only for them to find pride in their small town principles the big city suits lack.

The twist here is that Johnny Rose, without even realizing it, is squarely on the side of the small-town folks, fighting for the charm, togetherness, and warmth that American towns are meant to embody. He has the perfect blend of humility and pride of a man who's grown up in a small town, despite only being there for three years. Whether or not he leaves the town, Schitt's Creek will always have its claim on him. Roland, too, gets a surprisingly strong moment as he instills the suits the sense of shame they deserve. He has always had an irreverent attitude towards Johnny, but that's apparently been masking a deep admiration and respect for the man. 

Back at home, though, as the Roses get increasingly excited at the idea of leaving, there's one person to whom that would be a crushing blow — Patrick Brewer (Noah Reid). For the Roses, New York is a return to a life they loved best, for Stevie, it's an exciting new adventure, but for Patrick, New York is a life he's never even considered before — and no one ever once asked him if he wanted to go. It's a bittersweet celebration and something that needs serious addressing before David and Patrick's wedding. 

Life in Schitt's Creek is coming to an end, soon, one way or another, and this episode is very much the beginning of the end. Now all that remains is finding out who leaves, who stays, and whose hearts will be broken in the process.

The next episode of 'Schitt's Creek' airs March 31, on Netflix.