Why Everyone Hates Mayor Lewis In Stardew Valley | Screen Rant
Stardew Valley primarily takes place in Pelican Town, and its Mayor Lewis is one of the most-hated residents due to his rotten personality and greed.
Plenty of characters in Stardew Valley have charming story arcs and beloved friendships with the player character, but Mayor Lewis is hated by an overwhelming majority of the Stardew Valley fandom. At first glance, Lewis appears to be a friendly old man welcoming the new Farmer into the Valley, but his personality becomes far more sinister as time progresses. With most of his actions actively working against the player and community, Mayor Lewis may be the worst resident Stardew Valley has to offer.
Stardew Valley is home to 28 different residents, with some incrementally added throughout in-game years. Despite each character’s initial personality, further development is unlocked as the Farmer grows closer to them. Male and female characters are available as romance options, but the remainder of residents can still grow close to the Farmer. As relationships progress, players are awarded hearts with individual residents that unlock heart events. These enable cutscenes that reveal more about residents’ personal lives and struggles, including Mayor Lewis’. While some character stories are sympathetic, such as Shane's or Pam’s, Mayor Lewis only succeeds in proving his greed and selfishness despite being “proud of [Pelican Town].”
Mayor Lewis is one of the first two characters players meet in their Stardew Valley journey, alongside Robin, who helps welcome the Farmer to their new home. He gives the player their first mission of meeting Pelican Town’s residents, which seems to encourage bringing the community together. Unfortunately, his goodwill ends there and devolves into a manipulative, one-sided relationship with the Farmer. Players must repair a crumbling community while compensating for Lewis’ ineptitude and cruelty, making the Mayor one of the most reprehensible characters in Stardew Valley.
The Farmer accomplishes several significant tasks in Pelican Town throughout their several in-game years. The most significant task concerns Stardew Valley's Community Center, which requires hours of dedicated grinding to complete. Unfortunately, Mayor Lewis contributes nothing to this effort and only passively remarks that the Center has been in disarray for a long time.
The Community Center provides a livelihood to several characters, such as Willy, who states that he’s barely made ends meet since the Center closed. As the Farmer donates hard-earned loot towards the game’s various bundles to repair the Center, one may wonder why Lewis doesn’t contribute towards donations at all. Mayor Lewis doesn’t appear to accomplish any work assigned to his station.
Mayor Lewis expresses his thanks following the Community Center’s completion in Stardew Valley but fails to offer significant improvements beyond that. Instead, Lewis focuses on the efforts made by others and criticizes players who deny him assistance. Furthermore, when the Farmer fails to comply with Lewis’ demands, the Mayor becomes snippy and standoffish. His failure to make moves towards a better Pelican Town and lack of social graces only increase Lewis’ uselessness in the town’s professional and social environment.
Mayor Lewis’s most direct action is overseeing Robin’s construction of Pelican Town’s weekly request board, which results in more work delegated to the Farmer than an official correspondent. Though the town’s population is small, it’s rather disappointing that Lewis implemented no system to fulfill sizable citizen requests before the Farmer arrived.
Like many characters in Stardew Valley, Mayor Lewis maintains a private life outside of the player’s view. However, observant players quickly discover his romantic relationship with Marnie. The infamous Lucky Purple Shorts quest requires the Farmer to retrieve the Mayor’s underwear, despite the inappropriate connotation of such a request. These can be found within Marnie’s bedroom, resulting in discovering Marnie and Lewis’ nightly activities. The characters also meet within Gus’ Saloon, chatting with one another late into the night.
Once players get enough hearts with Mayor Lewis, he appears speaking with Marnie outside his house and insisting that he can’t go public with their relationship or else he risks losing public support. This realization brings Marnie to tears, leaving her heartbroken and without a clear way forwards to secure her happiness.
Players frequently utilize Marnie’s services by purchasing livestock and hay, but few other characters use her business. While most shopkeepers complain of a loss of business to JojaMart's appearance in Stardew Valley, Marnie fails to mention money troubles. Her close relationship with the Mayor suggests he may be utilizing some of his connections to help keep her business afloat. Lewis’ hesitance to reveal their relationship doesn’t make sense unless his companionship with Marnie resulted in unlawful actions. Either way, his failure to put Marnie’s happiness before his professional advancement projects his selfishness and unwillingness to mature.
The breakdown of Pelican Town can be delegated to two primary causes: the infamous JojaMart takeover within Stardew Valley and the lack of public necessities and commodities. Penny frequently remarks that there is no school system in town, leading to her teaching Jas and Vincent with destroyed textbooks in the rundown Library. Significant portions of the town’s infrastructure have also broken down, including several bridges, the minecarts, and the bus that provides Pam with a source of income. This bus breaks down shortly after the Farmer arrives, essentially cutting Pelican Town off from the rest of Stardew Valley. As a primary form of public transportation, its repair would have been appropriate for tax funds. However, Mayor Lewis fails to utilize town funds for the upkeep and well-being of Pelican Town under concerning precedents.
Mayor Lewis repeatedly boasts that he’s enjoyed his position for twenty years and hasn’t had to run against anyone since. However, there is never a public election in Pelican Town. Neither the Farmer nor the accompanying characters of Stardew Valley have the option to run against Lewis in-game. Even when the Farmer is the most popular resident in Pelican Town, no one suggests becoming Mayor. While this is likely because of a lack of in-game systems and mechanics, it could also point towards Lewis’ corruption and suppression of democracy.
Additionally, Lewis could be using his influence and tax dollars to keep Marnie’s failing business afloat. The Farmer is the only resident who would have regular use for her services, and it’s unlikely that she’s the sole supplier of milk and eggs with JojaMart in town. While the rest of the town barely scrapes by, Lewis fails to fulfill his duty as Mayor and improve the lives of his residents.
Thankfully, Stardew Valley provides many alternative mechanics that don’t involve Mayor Lewis. Despite the inability of players to remove (or improve) Lewis’ character, there are few requirements to interact with him. Fixing the Community Center, romancing one of Stardew Valley’s Bachelors or Bachelorettes, and making the spirit of the Farmer’s grandfather proud are just some of the many goals players can accomplish in-game. Stardew Valley’s developer, Concerned Ape, is currently working on its next big project, Haunted Chocolatier, which will hopefully lack appearances from the infamous Mayor Lewis.