Digging deeper into Lewis’ scripted events as well as the state of the town in Stardew Valley shows that the good mayor is doing some shady things behind the scenes. These actions range from negligence to the misuse of Pelican Town’s taxes.
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Mayor Lewis’ Job in Stardew Valley
When the player first arrives in Pelican Town, Lewis meets them with a warm welcome. He then explains some of the game’s basics and even leaves parsnip seeds to help the player get started. After this first cutscene, the players are then given free rein to explore the town and meet the other NPCs. This is where they may start noticing that things are off.
As mayor, it’s Lewis’ job to take care of Pelican Town. He has to ensure that the citizens have what they need to live comfortable lives. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Lewis is working toward this goal. He’s been mayor for 20 years and yet Pelican Town doesn’t seem to be benefiting from his influence.
While the player first explores Pelican Town, they’ll find plenty of otherwise useful areas closed off. For one, the quarry and one section of the beach are inaccessible because of broken bridges. The same goes with the town’s railway and spa because these locations are blocked by rubble. Finally, the town’s bus and Willy’s boat have fallen to disrepair, preventing the villagers from traveling to the desert and Ginger Island. All these services would prove useful to the villagers, while also turning in extra profit for Pelican Town. Thus, it’s strange why they’ve been out of commission for so long.
All that said, perhaps the worst example of Lewis failing at his obligations is the Community Center. At the beginning of the game, the Community Center is just a dilapidated building that sits in the center of town. Lewis says that it used to be Pelican Town’s pride and joy. Now, no one ever uses it anymore, but the player can change that by restoring the building. Of course, this part of Stardew Valley is important as it gives the player a tangible goal. However, there’s something to be said about Lewis’ negligence as he lets the Community Center — as well as many other things in Pelican Town — fall to ruin.
Lewis is also more than happy to let the player oversee Pelican Town’s restoration. With some help from the Junimos, the farmer can repair the Community Center along with other structures in Pelican Town, like the bus, the minecarts around town, and the bridge to the quarry. All this is handled and paid for by the player.
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Lewis’ Infamous Golden Statue
This negligence could be explained if Lewis lacked the funds needed to maintain the town. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case as he regularly collects business tax from the town’s merchants. He has more than enough money for the town’s infrastructure, and this is proven by solving the puzzle of Secret Note #19.
Secret Note #19 contains a map that directs the player to an area behind Lewis’ house where they’ll find the Solid Gold Lewis statue. Placing the item down anywhere in town will result in them receiving an unsigned letter the next day. The letter is clearly from Lewis as it reads, “In the future, I’d appreciate it very much if you refrained from placing my PRIVATE belongings in town for all to see!” It will also have 750g attached to it — likely hush money.
This begs the question: Where did Lewis get the funds for a custom-made solid gold statue of himself? The most probable answer is Pelican Town’s funds. Lewis is embezzling taxpayer money and using it to purchase unnecessarily luxurious “private belongings.” Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t have any funds left to spare for the rest of Pelican Town.
That aside, after getting the hush money for the Solid Gold Lewis statue, it can be found on one side of the mayor’s bedroom. Though there’s also a small chance for it to appear in Marnie’s bedroom instead. This is where Lewis goes from being a bad civil servant to a questionable partner.
The Even More Infamous Purple Shorts
If the player gets to six hearts with both Lewis and Marnie then heads to the town center at night, a heart event will play. In this heart event, the two are talking about making their relationship public. Marnie wants them to be open with the rest of the town, but Lewis refuses, saying that doing so would undermine his authority. Marnie is hurt by this. She comments that Lewis is too wrapped up in his job but ultimately agrees to keep things under the radar.
Lewis’ reasons for keeping his relationship with Marnie a secret are never fully explored. Even so, many in the Stardew Valley community dislike his attitude as they believe he’s leading Marnie on or simply using her. Though there’s no outright confirmation of this in the game, there does seem to be a mismatch in Lewis and Marnie’s commitment to the relationship.
Marnie has multiple lines of dialogue where she swoons over Lewis, including one where she outright ignores the player while she’s with the mayor. There’s even a note that she wrote that can be found in the mayor’s bedroom. It reads, “I know you’re busy but can’t you make time for me?” In contrast, Lewis doesn’t have a lot of dialogue concerning Marnie, save for a few where he’s simply doing his duties as mayor.
All this could be dismissed as Lewis and Marnie’s private business, but that isn’t the case because Lewis blatantly asks the player to find his purple shorts. These purple shorts can be found in Marnie’s bedroom (where there are also suspenders in the drawer). Lewis is quite literally asking the player to take care of his dirty laundry — not exactly professional, to put it lightly.
Overall, Lewis is a shady mayor who is probably stealing from Pelican Town’s funds, and he’s also in a questionable relationship with one of the sweetest NPCs in the game. Really, it’s no wonder that so many in the community dislike him. It’s a shame that there’s no way to confront him about his deeds, but at least the player can make him cry by saying that they’ll tell everyone about his relationship with Marnie.
Stardew Valley is available on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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