Now we’re getting into the action!
Two things became abundantly clear on The Santa Clauses Season 1 Episode 4: Scott Calvin was not meant for the real world, and Simon Choksi was absolutely never meant for the North Pole.
The North Pole is in turmoil as there are real and dire consequences to his actions.
When the Santa Claus coat went missing from his room, it was a bad omen and sign of things to come, and you can’t exactly hold it against the elves for not accepting Simon as Santa when the coat never accepted him either.
While some of the elves were interested in his “Christmas Every Day” idea, the main elves that keep the North Pole running flawlessly knew immediately that it was a bad idea. What makes Christmas special is that it comes once a year—wanting to make every day “special” just makes it ordinary.
Simon, unfortunately, failed to realize it, and the moment he figured out that he could use the North Pole’s delivery system and pair it with the Everything Now algorithm, he became power-hungry.
The elves, and even Grace, called the look “crazy eyes.” Simon was not to be stopped, even when it was abundantly clear that his new idea was siphoning Christmas magic and making the elves disappear. The longer this went on, the darker the snow globe got, and remember, once all the light is snuffed out, Christmas, and thus, the North Pole and all of its inhabitants, will cease to exist.
There was obviously a problem with Christmas when Santa Scott was still in the red suit, and a solution was necessary, but it wasn’t the one that Simon was providing.
His plan proved that he never truly understood what the holiday was actually about, so there’s no way he could be the Santa that the North Pole needs and the one to inspire and remind all of those that may have lost their belief and magic.
Betty was very lenient and lax when letting Santa Simon find his groove, but the moment she witnessed two of her best elves disappear while trying to point out the underlying issues plaguing the North Pole, she had to put her little elf foot down.
And that’s when Simon did the unthinkable—he fired her as Head Elf. How dare he?
Another issue, aside from his tunnel vision and a deep desire to be successful and dominate the delivery market, is that Simon doesn’t have any respect for the North Pole and how it’s run. He didn’t take the time to get to know the rules and protocols since he thought he knew better, and his ignorance, in turn, made it all worse.
Once Betty was let go, she turned to La Befana for help, which is where she found the Santa coat, hiding out safely until someone “fixed” the Simon problem. La Befana assumed she wanted to get in touch with Santa Scott, but Betty needed someone else to undo the mess…. and I’m guessing this is where our good friend and beloved OG elf Bernard comes into play.
In the final moments of the episode, Scott, who was just finding his way around the real world, er, Chicago, saw his family frozen right in front of him, which was a sure sign that something was awry. A hand reached out and grabbed him, which, again, is likely Bernard coming to deliver the news that I think Scott actually wants to hear: the North Pole needs him back ASAP.
We’re in the thick of the action on The Santa Clauses—if this was a movie, it would mark the halfway point—and the conflict is getting juicy.
I’m glad that despite the Calvins’ exit from the North Pole, we’re still seeing what’s going on over there because human life in Chicago is quite dull as expected. It’s a lesson being hammered home for Scott, who is struggling to assimilate and find his purpose in the real world away from his role as Santa. In Chicago, he’s just a regular middle-aged dude, while his family is thriving–Carol in her new role at a charter school, Sandra with her new horse girlfriends (human girls who ride horses, just to be clear), and Calvin with Riley, the girl who he met on his first day of school and sparked a connection with. Scott, meanwhile, tried to be a delivery driver for EverythingNow.
It’s not surprising that Scott is struggling so much considering he was once the most beloved man in the world. He’s not used to being the man with all this time on his hands. He finally has time to spend with his family, but now, they all have responsibilities and things to do. The tables have been reversed, and now he’s feeling what his family felt all those years as they sacrificed their happiness and freedom for him.
He’s also now seeing what it must have felt like for Carol to give up her whole identity—it’s a struggle that he never understood until now.
But that’s also why it would be selfish of him to ask her to make the sacrifice again, so I don’t know how they are going to reverse this Simon mess. Maybe Santa Scott will be able to appeal to the part of Simon that arrived doe-eyed and enchanted by the North Pole at first? And maybe they can figure out a way to share the role? There’s no denying the North Pole could benefit from some modern-day changes, and maybe being Santa 24/7 isn’t healthy for anyone, but with a few tweaks that don’t come from a selfish and self-serving place, it could be the chocolate-oiled machine it once was when Christmas spirit was at an all-time high. Simon has a lot to add to the operation, but for now, he’s just coming at it too recklessly and thus, destroying Christmas in the process.
I also think that Grace is going to be the key to getting through to her father. Noel was onto something when he told Simon that there was a reason he has pushed Grace to the side because she’d never allow her father to act this way. Betty needs to get Grace on Team Elves to save Christmas!
Other Sugary Thoughts
- That barista speaks for every coffee shop employer working during the holiday season. Scott–stop it.
- What’s going on with the timeline? When the Calvin family arrived in Chicago, the teens went to play in the snow, but all of a sudden, it was Memorial Day. Have they been there for several months already?
- Buddy Calvin had a point questioning why we have picnics for fallen soldiers.
- Sandra can still hear animals talk, including the horse who was running away from a bee. What’s the point of this subplot? Is she supposed to be Santa?
- Simon stooped to a new low when he threw out Noel’s letter to Betty. He’s such a grinch Christmas fun-sucker. Bah humbug.
What did you think of The Santa Clauses Season 1 Episode 4? Are you excited about Bernard’s arrival?