Let's Talk About: The Unfortunate Dews

"The family who live here are called the Unfortunate Dews. They used to own a beautiful farm on the other side of the island, but after an epidemic struck their cows they were forced to sell their farm for a pittance. Now they have begun a new life in the Forgotten Fields."

 - The Unfortunate Dews' Farm, SSO area description

The Dews don't seem to exist, except in location descriptions. The Unfortunate Dews' Farm in the Forgotten Fields looks to be abandoned, populated only by the animals the Dews seem to keep. It's a curious setup at this farm, to say the least, and let me outline a few of the odd features.

Firstly is the evidence that there are humans living there, despite evidence to the contrary:

We have a working horse trailer, which would be an odd item to abandon. A chicken coop, which to abandon would be cruel. A house with full crates of cabbages, whereas there are no other full containers on the rest of the farm, suggesting that this is their home. And a mailbox, which is an odd feature to find in the middle of nowhere.

So it makes sense that the farm is occupied, even if the residents are in hiding. The oddest part of the farm is actually the barn, which is the only cobwebbed building. And the only building to light up at night:

"The Dew family once occupied this farm. They left Jorvik after they became bankrupt, and nobody has moved into the farm to take over. It now lies dilapidated and unused."

 - Dew's Farm, SSO area description

"Owned by the Dew family, as part of their ownership of the largest farm on the Eastern slopes. Since the family disappeared, the paddock has fallen into disuse."

 - Dew's Paddock, SSO area description

The Dew's Farm, on the other hand, is a beautiful farm in Epona that lies entirely unused. It may not be cobwebbed, but it is covered in weeds. More interesting, however, is the Moses Lighthouse nearby.

"Every night, the lighthouse shines into the darkness, but nobody's seen the lighthouse keeper for years..." 

 - Moses Lighthouse, SSO area description

So the Moses Lighthouse is still regularly attended, even if nobody has seen the keeper. Somebody is hanging around, even if they don't live on the farm. Who would keep the lighthouse running?

"Someone used to live here, but it was a long time ago." 

 - Seahorse Point, SSO area description

"There used to live an old couple up at Seahorse Rock up until a couple months ago. They had such bad luck with everything. In a couple weeks their animals got sick, the water turned black, and the entire farm was quarantined. Eventually they couldn’t afford it and Ms Drake at the G.E.D. bought it for a pittance. I don’t know why she wanted it, but the G.E.D. is up there now, digging in the ground all the time."

 - Susanna, Roof On The Track

Seahorse Point is an interesting case in which we find that the farm is likewise abandoned and now occupied by GED, though some animals were left there.

These three farms seem to be linked.

It's a common belief that the Dew's Farm and the Unfortunate Dews' Farm are/were both owned by the same family, but note the spelling in the names: Dew as opposed to Dews. It could be that these two separate families just have similar names, and their farms aren't linked at all except in circumstance. Or the name difference could be a typo.

Another odd link is use of the word pittance. Seahorse Point was bought for a pittance, and the Unfortunate Dews sold their old farm for a pittance.

Then we see that the Dews are called Unfortunate, and the couple from Seahorse Point was said to have bad luck.

"I’m going to give you errands to run every day from now on. Make them and show some diligence, and I might promote you to be my personal assistant. I really need a new one, my old one forgot I’m not using milk in my coffee so I was forced to fire him and banish his entire family from their family farm. Ha ha, good times!" 

 - Ms Drake, Black Coffee For A Black Heart

And lastly we find, only a day after we're set to clean up Seahorse Point, that Ms Drake sabotaged her last assistant, driving him from his family farm. With Seahorse Point currently overrun by the GED, it's possible that her assistant lived on that farm.

What conclusions can we draw here?

I would suggest that the common themes of pittance and misfortune might suggest that Seahorse Point and the Unfortunate Dews' farm are linked. I believe that the family from Seahorse Point was sabotaged by Ms Drake, forcing them to sell up and move into a dilapidated farm in the Forgotten Fields, where they still live in fear.

And in this, it's possible that the Dew's Farm is unrelated to this situation. Their bankruptcy could have been entirely unrelated to anyone else, and they truly have left Jorvik island as the description states. Perhaps the lighthouse keeper was never a member of the Dew's Farm, but a hermit.