Your tags about David's romantic gestures are everything😍💖
we were just having this discussion in chat earlier about how a lot of people can’t see what patrick sees in david. i’ll admit that this is something i have also struggled with, only because david & i are SO similar & it’s difficult for me to find (or admit) anything lovable about myself. like david, i am anxious, dramatic, self-absorbed, judgmental, & catty. but the transformational arc that david goes through over the course of the series, & over the course of his relationship with patrick, shows us depths that we couldn’t see before.
for one thing david is fiercely loyal to those he loves, which we get early hints of in episodes like 3x10 sebastien raine, where he is so protective of moira. but it’s with patrick that we finally see david opening up & letting himself shed his armor to reveal the loving parts of himself that he was too afraid to show before. for one thing, he may be anxious all the time, but when a loved one needs him, he is suddenly a rock, an island of calm in a stormy sea. obviously the biggest examples would be 5x11 meet the parents & 5x13 the hike (& in 5x6 rock on! to a lesser extent, though his anxiety ends up getting the better of him [thanks alexis!]).
in meet the parents, david sets aside his own insecurities to fully be there for patrick. we KNOW how insecure david is about his romantic relationships being more meaningful to him than they are to his partners, & while at this point some of that worry surely has settled down in regards to patrick, his world is a little rocked when he finds out that patrick has been keeping him a secret from his parents this whole time. old traumas are hard to shake; however we see david suddenly transform into this fiercely protective, confident, resolute comfort blanket of love for patrick. he does everything to make things okay, including putting himself in a vulnerable position with patrick’s parents while still under the impression that they may not accept or condone their son’s relationship with him. we see him literally wrap himself around patrick & hold onto him for dear life when patrick admits his fears about his parents. david in this moment doesn’t care how long it takes patrick to tell his parents about david; his concern is patrick’s safety & comfort. he could get angry & take offense to being kept a secret, but he shows so much goddamn empathy towards patrick’s feelings & insecurities over coming out. then at the party he is THERE for patrick with a reassuring word & smile, & even though he knows at this point that patrick’s parents will be accepting, he is still thinking of patrick’s feelings & saying exactly what patrick needs to hear in this moment. he could trivialize patrick’s feelings, but he never does. without missing a beat, david rose drops all of his baggage & all of his worry when patrick is in need.
to me the hike is another perfect example of david’s protective & caring nature. he starts off being dramatic, bratty, & ungrateful, but when he sees the toll of his actions, he is immediately able to quit this behavior, acknowledge that he was wrong, & re-center the afternoon on patrick. he quickly transitions into seeing the day & his own behavior through patrick’s eyes, & he realizes that he hasn’t been fair or sensitive to what patrick wanted to do for him. then this boy who has been whining about a heavy backpack for the past several hours CARRIES HIS BOYFRIEND UP A MOUNTAIN without even getting winded, because he is just SO overwhelmed with the need to care for patrick that he becomes like one of those moms who gets a surge of adrenaline & suddenly develops super strength to lift a car off their trapped baby. & this isn’t an effort for him, he just automatically switches into caregiver mode when it’s needed. patrick doesn’t even have to ask.
i speak of this as growth, but i’m not saying that these are qualities that david suddenly developed because of schitt’s creek or because of patrick. the growth is in the vulnerability & the confidence to show these traits that have been there all along. david rose is nothing BUT love, he has SO MUCH love to give & is SO EAGER to give it, but because of how much hurt it has caused him in the past, he’s learned to switch it off. patrick gives him the security to finally love the way he was meant to, because he IS finally loved the way he was meant to be. it’s more than a throwaway joke when patrick refuses to return the “nice” compliment in 4x01: david rose may not always be a NICE person, but he is undoubtedly a GOOD person. but it is only through allowing himself to be vulnerable & to embrace joy that he is able to show it.
& yeah maybe i’m projecting a little, but dan has indicated plenty of times that we are meant to project. i may share david’s not-so-nice qualities, but i also share his good qualities, including his loyal & protective nature. not to get exceedingly personal (though my friends have already heard way too much about this), but before this show i had been through a shitty time being dumped by my fiancée & then losing all my friends in a really overblown & traumatic argument. after that i told myself i was toxic waste & wasn’t fit to be around other people; relationships only ever brought me hurt, so i figured i’d be better off turning off my need for companionship & just accepting that it wasn’t for me. i gave up on love, including for myself, & slipped into a nasty depression where i only left my house for school. i’m not saying sc cured me; i’m still clawing my way out of it, & i still don’t truly believe i’ll find love again (though i have found friendship again which i’m over the moon about). but through david rose, i have realized that i am worth loving & deserving of love. that’s why this show means a ridiculous amount to me.
so when people say they don’t see what patrick sees in david, i wonder what show they’ve been watching. patrick may be bold & capable, but david brings his humor & his passion & his LOVE, so much love, to the table. in david patrick sees someone who is smart, ambitious, creative, & talented, who just needs a little help gaining the confidence to put it all together. patrick does that for david with rose apothecary & then he does that for david in their relationship. they bring out the best in each other, not opposites but complementary pieces. patrick doesn’t have what david is missing, he just has a way to bring out what david has had inside him all along but has been too afraid to show.
& i guess that’s my essay on david rose. glad you liked the tags! :P
