The Santa Clauses Season 2 Episode 3, titled “No Magic at the Dinner Table,” was a slower-paced episode up until the final few moments where Cal and Sandra, being typical rebellious teenagers, took the reindeer to the real world to pay Cal’s ungrateful girlfriend, Riley, a visit, and unintentionally gave Mad Santa access to the magic he needed to kick off his reign of terror.
That honestly about sums up the episode.
Mad Santa and his sidekick struggled to make their way back to the North Pole for much of the episode, and without magic, they were rendered rather helpless, though they did bide the time by tormenting the poor Easter Bunny by forcing him to eat a huge pile of Peeps, which he likened to packing materials. They weren’t lying, Magnus Antas really is pure evil.
The Easter Bunny used his weaponized eggs—too many Peeps are bound to give you bad gas—to stage his swift escape, arriving at the North Pole to warn Santa Scott only to get turned into an actual bunny by Sandra, accidentally, of course. Scott’s children are creating a world of problems, and they can’t really be excused simply because they are accidents. They are both adult enough to understand that their actions have real-world consequences, but it proves that they aren’t ready to take on the family business.
Not only is Scott completely unaware of the threat bubbling up in the real world, but because of Cal’s carelessness, Mad Santa was able to restore his powers using the Santa in training vest.
Cal threw the vest in anger after his visit to see his love Riley backfired, with the teen girl breaking up with him because he spends “too much time with his father” and not enough time with her. It was harsh when she asked him to dust her so she could forget all about him after he fought to have her included in all the North Pole shenanigans.
It’s almost like she didn’t realize he was in training to become Santa. But that’s the problem with young, and specifically, first love—it happens when you’re so young that it’s your whole world, when, in reality, Riley was never the right person for Cal, and he should’ve been focusing more on his future before letting the right woman in on his secret; a woman who would want to be part of it all right alongside him rather than making him choose.
Teenagers, right? Instead of focusing so much on getting Cal to fly the sleigh, maybe Scott should be showing him the true meaning of the job, and emphasizing how important it is not to allow North Pole magic to infiltrate the real world as, clearly, danger is lurking everywhere.
Hopefully, now Cal will see things in a new light and begin to take his training seriously—or tell his father he’s not interested—because it’s something he wants to do, not because it’s something other people want from him. As you grow older, you begin to learn that you can’t please everyone.
And now that Mad Santa has access to magic, he can make good on his threat against Santa Scott, infiltrating the North Pole with his gnomes. It’s going to get ugly, I can feel it.
I hate to say anything negative against Mrs. Clause, especially after she had such a hard time accepting that her daughter was spending so much time with La Befana, but why has it been three months since she launched her investigation into the missing nutcracker and she’s wielded zero results? She couldn’t even verify that it was last seen in Chicago!
She should’ve focused more on the case and less on her jealousy, which was unwarranted as Sandra wasn’t trying to replace her or cut her out of her life, she was simply enjoying learning more about herself and her powers. Unfortunately, Sandra’s misstep with the transformation spell on the Easter Bunny drove a wedge between her and La Befana, who suggested that they hit the brakes on the training as she’s becoming too powerful too quickly. Everyone seems to have underestimated Sandra, so I understand her frustration over the years.
Of course, her powers could always come in handy now that the North Pole is about to get infiltrated by Mad Santa’s attack.
Also, where is Betty? None of this would’ve happened under her watch. Not to mention it’s been several months and she hasn’t come across Mad Santa in the real world, which seems unbelievable considering he smelled the reindeer the moment they set foot in the real world. I guess Mad Santa doesn’t have an elf radar at all.
How is Betty faring? Will she make it back to the North Pole to help Santa Scott? Will the Legendaries be notified of Mad Santa’s return?
As for the best moments of the episode, it’s between Mad Santa and Olga trying to find a rideshare with their goat, stating that they’ve “brought their own provisions for the journey,” La Befana clarifying that her beautiful sing-songy voice is just her Italian accent, and Mrs. Clause dressing like Alice Cooper to connect with her teen daughter… for some reason.
What did you think of the episode? Did it feel more like filler to you before the real action starts? Will Santa Scott begin to understand that his children aren’t ready for the responsibilities of the North Pole?