Letterkenny mysteries

***Letterkenny* mysteries** arise as the humour in the show is largely derived from wordplay and in the interactions of the various characters and groups with one another, and the writers are not focused on constructing a consistent overarching universe for them to inhabit. A selection of unanswered questions follows.

## Character Names

Almost no characters, whether main, supporting, or guest, have had both their given name and family name revealed. The vast majority are known only by a first name (e.g. Tanis, Gail) or by a first name and nickname (e.g. Daryl/Dary, Marie-Fred/Marie-Frédérique). A handful are known exclusively by their nicknames (e.g. Rat-Ass, Joint Boy), and even fewer exclusively by a last name (e.g. Mrs. McMurray, Reilly). The Coach's name is not known, and he is simply known as "Coach" or "the Coach" to all.

Some views of Fartbook profiles suggest Katy's (and Wayne's) surname might be "Campbell."(Fartbook) Nothing in the show since has been seen that would confirm or deny this, however. An extended riff on names features in Great Day for Thunder Bay, when Katy strikes up a conversation with "Zack Russell Terrier" and "Ty Food" about relations and mutual acquaintances, but none of these other individuals appear, or has ever been mentioned otherwise since.

In fact, only Bonnie McMurray and Jim Dickens among regular characters have both a first and last name.

The other named characters are the degen leader Alistair Orson Westwood Yates (Way to a Man's Heart), the five named members of the Dyck family (Dyck's Slip Out), the four named members of the Bay family (Great Day for Thunder Bay), and TSN personalities playing themselves (Great Day for Thunder Bay)(National Senior Hockey Championship). In addition, Angie's new beau, who appears only in Ain't No Reason to Get Excited, is credited as "Troy Dauhmer," but this name is never actually used in the dialogue.

## Time Progression

The progression of time through episodes and seasons is somewhat unclear. In A Fuss at the Ag Hall, Wayne indicates that his romantic pursuits would be the theme of the "next six weeks." Since a traditional television sitcom would broadcast one episode a week, each episode would correspond to a calendar week, indicating that the show takes place in something like real time. Thus, Ain't No Reason to Get Excited would have taken place in 2016, with two seasons per year since. They do not necessarily represent the same six-week blocks, however, as is clear from the weather and hockey schedule.

The holiday specials appear to be disconnected from the timeline of the seasons (see below).

In The Native Flu, Dan says Tanis and her crew burned down the produce stand a "a fortnights ago" (two weeks), which is reasonable, given that Wayne and Tyson’s rematch in A Fuss at the Ag Hall follows on immediately from A Fuss in the Back Bush.

## Character Ages

Few characters' ages are known; among main characters, only Bonnie's age is given, as 20 in Season 3; in Season 1 she was established as being home from college. Wayne and Katy's late Uncle Eddie was said to be in his 90s when he passed away (and may have been a great-uncle), and Dan's nephew Samuel is said to be 6. Most of the main characters appear to be in their 20s or 30s, with the Coach being somewhat older than the others (but not *that* much older (The Three Wise Men)). Who is older or younger than whom, and by how much, is not clear given the information revealed, which is often contradictory and may be deliberately so:

* Angie is said to be Wayne's "high school sweetie," who had been together for five years. Since Grade 13 in Ontario was phased out by 2003, and as Wayne may be presumed not to have had any scholastic or disciplinary problems causing him to be held back, this would make Wayne 23 or 24 at the oldest at the start of the series. A counter-argument is that they may have dated in high school, split up, and then gotten back together for five years some time after school.
* In Wingman Wayne, Wayne seems ready to hook up with Jessica, who is identified as Jivin Pete's daughter. In Modeans 2, however, Jivin' Pete appears to be a contemporary of the Hicks, and too young to have a daughter for whom Wayne would express any interest. Wayne was extremely skeptical of pursuing a relationship with the young Bonnie, despite both Bonnie and McMurray's eagerness for it, wanting at least to "let the paint dry a little."
* In Relationships, Wayne is set up with a psychologist named Kim, who turns out to be Gae's mother. Gae is similarly only younger than Wayne by a few years, so Kim would need to be either significantly older than Wayne or to have been an exceptionally young mother.
* Katy is said to have won the Letterkenny Adult Spelling Bee nine years in a row, then lost the tenth to Stewart. This would put her age in Letterkenny Spelling Bee at about 29, or about 25 or 26 at the start of the series.
* Katy seems to be close in age to Daryl, since she has stories about him getting boners in Grade 9 (Super Soft Birthday). She is at least a couple of years younger than Stewart, since she mentions sneaking into his parties when she was 15 (Rave).
* Stewart and Devon seem to be peers, and Roald mentions them playing Ecco the Dolphin on Sega CD in grade 3; that game was released in Canada in 1993 (Sled Shack). Assuming an otherwise ordinary school career, this could place them as old as their early 30s at the start of the show. On the other hand, if their love of vintage gaming began at an early age, this could have taken place much later.
* Jonesy and Reilly were cut from the Letterkenny Shamrocks in their overage year at the start of Season 2, which would make them 19 or 20 at the start of the series.
* If the Bay brothers' ages correspond to the McMorris brothers' ages, they would have been 23 and 25 around the start of the series, and thus out of the Shamrocks for at least two and four years respectively. Reilly and Jonesy would have overlapped the older brother by a year at most, which puts into question the closeness of their friendship.

## Age Groups

Almost all the characters encountered on the show are in their 20s or 30s, with the sole exception of a couple of Native children and Samuel, and short encounters with Tanis' father Wally and Marie-Fred's uncle. Wayne's matchmaker date Kim may also be older, as she turns out to be Gae's mother. Other older figures are seen here and there—at Daryl's birthday party or on the Ag Hall board, for example, and accompanying Jim Dickens thence—but there are no conversations or interactions with them.

While the characters frequently reference wide circles of friends, teammates, uncles, aunts, and various first and second cousins, parents are rarely mentioned except in passing—like when Wayne says his dad thought he was stoned for leaving the barn door open after chores (A Fuss in the Back Bush), or when a coyote with a Roman candle in its butt hole dropped "seven shades of shit in Dad's work boots" (Ain't No Reason to Get Excited).

Other mentions include Daryl's mother, who would organize his super-soft birthday parties (Super Soft Birthday); Stewart's mother, with whom he lives (Great Day for Thunder Bay); and Reilly and Jonesy's mothers, the subject of foul chirps from Shoresy, and who turn out to have had actual contact with him (Back to Back to Back). This is lampooned in a sight gag in Hard Right Jay, in an the title of an op-ed in the *Letterkenny Banner*: "Local Kids Out of Control; Where Are the Parents?"

## Wayne and Katy's Origins

Wayne and Katy were close to their Uncle Eddie, and speak fondly of him, but have never mentioned their parents except in passing. Very little is known about their upbringing except that "we don't make a thing of birthdays in this family"—causing them to go bucky at Daryl's super-soft birthdays instead (Super Soft Birthday). Wayne and Katy do appear to be related by blood to Eddie, at least, given Wayne's reaction to Gail's calling him "Uncle Eddie" in The Three Wise Men.

Wayne and Katy may be joint proprietors of the farm, perhaps inheriting it from their parents, or having it gifted by Uncle Eddie, but these circumstances have not been explored. In Yew! they go to Letterkenny Central Credit together, presumably because the budget for Wayne's "project" exceeds the amount he can withdraw from a joint account he might have with Katy.

Although the *Littlekenny* shorts give the "origin story" of the Hicks, they focus on the developing friendship among the Hicks, rather than the wider circumstances of their upbringing.

## Wayne and Katy's Mennonite Connections

In Bush Party Season, Katy answers several questions Marie-Fred has about the Mennonite life knowledgeably but in somewhat cryptic tones. When asked if anyone ever leaves the Mennonite life during rumspringa, for example, she replies wistfully, "some do." Later, in Dyck’s Slip Out, Noah Dyck also thanks Wayne for his family always being good to the Mennonites, implying that the two groups are distinct.

At Daryl's super-soft birthday, Dan said the party was more for Wayne and Katy than for Dary and Dary says that's because "they weren't allowed to have birthday parties growing up." In "Miss Fire" Katy notes that she and Wayne weren't allowed to watch TV growing up. These are not indicative of any particular religious affiliation. More conclusive is the evidence provided in Squirrely Dan’s story of how he was sweet on Lovina Dyck: he noted that Wayne and Katy were absent, being away at the Jeff Davies Memorial Baseball Tournament.

## Holiday Specials

The relationship of the holiday specials to the regular seasons is unclear on several levels. They are "self-contained": they do not address any of the cliffhangers from the last episode of the preceding season, nor foreshadow plot elements in the forthcoming season. Plot developments in the holiday special are not referenced later on, with the sole exception of Gail's "gerry care" fetish and relationship with Uncle Eddie.

The weather depicted in St. Perfect's Day and The Haunting of MoDean's II is highly unseasonable for southwestern Ontario—if Katy is chilly enough to wear a blanket around the house in Super Hard Easter, she is unlikely to be wearing skimpy clothing to a St. Patrick's Day festival. The characters do reference this in the dialogue, however.

## Geographic Location of Letterkenny and the Rez

*See Letterkenny (location) and The Rez*

It is generally acknowledged that the fictional town of Letterkenny is based on Jared Keeso's hometown of Listowel, Ontario. Nevertheless, Listowel's distance from Quebec has led some to theorize that it is located somewhere in the Ottawa Valley.

The Rez, on the other hand, has few clues indicating any connection to real-life Native reservations. The specific culture/tribe to which Tanis and her associates belong is never mentioned. Tanis uses the Mohawk (Kanien’kéha) term of endearment "Tóta" in reference to her grandmother (The Ol' College Try), and has elsewhere used Mohawk words in passing to other Native characters. The Iroquois/Haudenosaunee are not the only prominent First Nations in southwestern Ontario, however, as the Ojibwe, for example, have a sizable presence.