Amish Mafia’s "John Schmucker’s Birthright Sub-Plot A Faulty Premise"

As the second season of Amish Mafia kicks off, one of the season long sub-plots of the show is likely to revolve around the effort of young John Schmucker to win back his supposed “birthright” to head the Amish Mafia of Lancaster-a birthright he believes he has been cheated out of by Lebanon Levi. Anyone who has viewed even one episode could justifiably have the strongest of doubts as to whether any leadership skills could possibly reside within the person of John Schmucker. Last season John had to peddle as fast as he could just to maintain his status of lackey to the current Amish Mafia godfather, the aforementioned Lebanon Levi. Nevertheless, according to what was “revealed” last season by John’s sister, Esther, their father was supposedly an elite member of the Amish Mafia and that “power” should rightfully have passed down to his son upon his death but was not. Therefore, John is depicted as being determined to win back his rightful position.

The story, as Esther tells it, is that “I was born and raised in the Amish community. My father was a member of the Amish elite. He died when I was really, really young. His position got handed down to the guy underneath him, who was Lebanon Levi’s father.” This was revealed in episode one. In episode two, she adds more “information” on the subject: “The power is usually passed down through family, but when my dad passed away the boys were too young, so Levi’s dad was next in line. But instead of passing it on to my brothers like he was supposed to, he passed it on down to Levi.” The viewers are not told why it is John Schmucker, the youngest of the brothers, should be entitled to be the Amish Mafia kingpin, but scenes in these episodes leave no doubt that Esther and John supposedly believe that John is the “rightful heir to the throne,” so to speak.

This would be an interesting plot line, to be sure, for a fictional drama (or comedy-however you choose to view the show). Unfortunately, Amish Mafia is presented as “reality” and this is where its plot lines usually fall apart.

That is certainly true in this case. Investigation by Archangel Investigations has revealed that John and Esther’s real father (they actually are brother and sister in real life) died in 1986. Indeed, the sibling co-stars were extremely young at the time. However, even if, for the sake of argument, we accept it as true that John and Esther’s father was really the Amish Mafia boss when he died, we are next confronted with a fact that strikes a fatal blow (no pun intended) to the entire premise of this plot line. Archangel’s investigation has further revealed that Lebanon Levi’s father died in 1981. That’s right! According to Esther Schmucker’s account, as depicted on Amish Mafia, her father’s legacy was, upon his death, handed down to a man who had been dead for five years. Oops… awkward!

Further demolishing any “reality” underpinnings of this particular sub-plot premise is the reliable information received by Archangel Investigations from a source close to the show that John Schmucker was not even an original cast member of Amish Mafia. The part of his character became necessary– to play the role of Lebanon Levi’s underling– when original cast member, Alan Beiler, (who is still a part of the cast) was arrested and became temporarily unavailable as the show was going into production for the first season’s episodes. By the way, it should not be considered too surprising that John Schmucker was found and cast to play the role. His sister, Esther, who already was a cast member in the show, had previously been employed as the casting director of “Breaking Amish,” and was the current casting director/consultant for “Amish Mafia,” suggested her brother John would be suitable for a role.

By all means, grab your popcorn and get ready for another season of fun watching the compelling silliness that is Amish Mafia. Seventy to eighty years ago people were wildly entertained by the antics of the “Three Stooges.” There is, likewise, no shame to being entertained by Amish Mafia in 2013. Just remember, however, that if you are looking for “reality,” you are no more likely to find it in Amish Mafia, than you would in an old Three Stooges movie.

Source by Dave Crill