TV Review: The Santa Clauses Episode 3
We’re back in the North Pole for Episode 3 of a contemporary continuation of The Santa Clause. Thanks to elf magic, the Calvin/Clause family will have a fully furnished house ready for them in Chicago- although it makes me wonder if they also get a pension or if Carol and Scott will have to get jobs. Everyone is packing and ready to go except Sandra, who is now also experiencing a new magical skill like Cal did in the last episode. She can actually hear what the reindeer are saying instead of their typical grunts, which makes me wonder if the Santa mantle can be passed in tandem to two people, if my theory is correct that Cal will eventually be Santa. You certainly couldn’t call them Santa and Mrs. Clause since they’re siblings… And the “Mrs” clause could be problematic if Cal becomes Santa since he’s only about 17 and has never lived in the real world, so hopefully he would have at least 8 years to find someone like Scott did.
The first interview we see for Santa candidates is Peyton Manning, which felt like a totally unnecessary cameo. I’m wondering if the creators thought that bringing in a cameo like that would help parents enjoy the show more, but it certainly didn’t do anything for me. Then it’s straight to Simon, who is very quickly declared Santa within a few hours. I thought that there would be more of a training period where Scott shows him the ropes but apparently they’re leaving that entirely up to the elves. Except that they should also be giving Simon time to wrap up his human affairs before fully moving in to the North Pole, so the lack of doing so could be a logistical issue. It doesn’t seem fair to let his business tank just because he’s Santa now.
La Befana is introduced as another Legendary Figure, though not specifically called that, and is a nice nod to non-American celebrations of Christmas. La Befana is traditionally an old woman who delivers either candy or coal to the stockings of children in Italy on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, January 5. She is still celebrated today and children receive black rock candy to stand in for the place of coal. Laura San Giacomo, Italian-American, did a good job of representing her in this show. The elves talk about her like she’s an evil witch but she’s shown to be perfectly reasonable and kind, though perhaps mischievous.
The Santa coat was officially passed to Simon with surprisingly little fanfare, and then it looked like the coat rejected him but everyone shrugged it off. Simon had a hard time picking it up and the coat looked like it was trying to get away from him, so he dumped it on a table. I’m guessing that he and the elves will prep for the next Christmas but that he’ll be unable to put on the coat on Christmas Eve, which will cause a huge disturbance and bring the Clauses back to troubleshoot. Then my guess would be that the coat reaches for Cal and/or Sandra instead and everyone is forced to deal with the consequences. Perhaps Simon will go back to his normal life having learned something from his time at the North Pole to save his business. Having the coat reject possibly the first non-white Santa could potentially be a little problematic, so I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any further questionable plot choices.
In general, this episode was pretty easy-going and exactly the kind of tone and content I expected, but I do have one major issue. Scott and Carol intentionally decide not to tell Simon about the “Mrs” clause part of the contract, which is extremely problematic. Simon had earlier revealed to Scott that his wife died two years earlier and he had a rough grieving period, so not telling Simon that he will be forced to marry again for this job is exceptionally cruel. It was already an issue that Scott wasn’t told about the “Mrs” clause until he had been Santa for eight years, but at least there’s the slight excuse that the previous Santa couldn’t fill him in on the rule. But now Scott and Carol are actively thinking about it and choosing not to tell Simon. The other clauses are also important to know about, but being forced to get a wife is definitely the most personally impactful. (Not to mention that adding a new clause in even finer print every time the writers want to make a sequel is also problematic for these kinds of reasons.)
And so I remain skeptical of the choices this show is making. I will try to keep an open mind, but this show won’t skate by on nostalgia alone- it needs to make its own impression, and it needs to be a good one.
