Hjem til Jul 3 [Home for Christmas: Season 3]
That break does affect the tone, as well as the story and characters. This is no longer about a woman in her early 30s trying to sort out adulthood - when we catch up with Johanne (Ida Elise Broch), we find she's matured quite a bit in the intervening time. Well, okay, when we're first reintroduced to her, it's en medias res, she's dressed as a giant rat, and she's frozen in place on a stage surrounded by kids. But once that teaser's done and we back up to the start of December, we find she's grown quite a bit between seasons, which means (despite the rat thing) the rapid fire of shenanigans and romantic misadventures is also reduced. That stuff is still present, but this season is more restrained and less farcical than the first two. That does mean it's a little less funny, but the tradeoff is the emotional payoffs are more satisfying. All in all, this is a good conclusion to an exceptional series well worth your time.
I'm getting that out of the way up front, so anyone who missed or ignored my recommendation five years ago can close this window, head over to Netflix, and binge the series from the start. If you enjoy romantic comedy, this delivers the payoff you want while simultaneously deconstructing outdated aspects of that genre. While (final spoiler alert) Johanne does indeed find love by the end, the series explores complex dynamics through its side characters, ensuring that it can't be misinterpreted as suggesting that love only comes in one form or that it needs to be "forever" to be meaningful.
This is most evident in subplots centered around Johanne's extended family. Her sister is going through a rough patch stemming from her disillusionment and exhaustion with motherhood, so Johanne spends a sizable portion of this season stepping in while her sister takes some time away from her husband and kids (this is why Johanne finds herself dressed as a rat in a Christmas play, incidentally). Meanwhile, Johanne's father is still coping with his own divorce, a plotline started in the earlier seasons. Johanne wants him to meet someone, but he's reluctant, thinking he's too old (he eventually winds up starting a relationship with an older coworker of Johanne's). Her mother, on the other hand, is doing fine: she's happy in her new relationship, and the series specifically refuses to villainize her for leaving her husband.
In a somewhat shocking admonishment to genre norms, whenever the series pits happiness against family or marriage, the narrative insists that happiness should be the priority. Her sister isn't punished for walking away for a few weeks, her mother isn't punished for leaving her husband, and Johanne isn't punished for not wanting children.
This is the reason she's no longer with Jonas, incidentally. We're shown a flashback in the first episode of them realizing they want different things out of life and breaking up a year earlier. All of this leaves her emotionally vulnerable and reluctant to start a serious relationship. At the same time, she is open to the idea of having a fling, if for no other reason than it's been a year she had sex, and she's bothered by the implications (there's also some unexamined social pressure around this, which is probably the most problematic aspect of the season). Of course anytime she's about to sleep with someone, something goes comically wrong... or in one case, her aforementioned maturity surfaces and prevents her and a friend from making a drunken mistake they'd regret.
At the same time all this is going on, she's trying to progress in her career. She's given an opportunity to act as a ward manager at the hospital on a provisional basis, albeit with an efficiency expert watching over her every move. As always, her obsession with fixing problems drives her to step over lines and engage staff and patients on a personal basis, leading to some awkward situations. By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, she outright tells the expert she knows she's failed and - while disappointed - is accepting of the situation.
All of this makes for a host of subplots, minor characters, and side stories. The centerpiece, however, is built around Bo (Gard Løkke), a carpenter she hires to rebuild her kitchen before Christmas. Despite initially coming off as aloof, he opens up over time, revealing there's much more to him than it initially seemed. Johanne is drawn to him, but the idea of another serious relationship frightens her, resulting in her failing to show for a date. Then, when Christmas Eve rolls around, she has another chance, following her clearing up a misunderstanding about a female friend of Bo's who she incorrectly assumed was his girlfriend. She texts him to say she'll meet him at his favorite bar, runs outside, and... has a mild heart attack, collapses in the snow, and is found unconscious by a man dressed as a Julenissen.
Sorry, sidenote. The translation refers to him as "Santa Claus," which actually really bothers me, as it robs the setting of flavor and the show of connections between him, the Christmas play (which included numerous nisser), and the characters eating porridge on Christmas Eve prior to Johanne's health scare.
At any rate, she of course survives and wakes up six days later in the hospital, all of which makes for one hell of plot twist.
That brings us to the last episode, with Johanne mortified that she accidentally "ghosted" Bo a second time but (due to his aversion to technology) is unable to reach him by phone to apologize. In addition, while she's in relatively good health, all things considered, she hasn't gotten the go-ahead to leave the hospital (or even her room, though she breaks that rule) for half the episode. But trapping her in the hospital where she works gives the writers a chance to resolve the plot threads around her job. Turns out the efficiency expert had a much higher opinion of her than she thought - the management position is hers. She also discovers she's more appreciated there than she knew, and an unsanctioned act of "crossing the line" to reunite a dying man with his daughter has the desired effect after all.
When she's finally permitted to leave on the 31st, her friend drives her around town searching for Bo. She doesn't locate him, but this gives her family and friends an opportunity to stage a surprise party at her house, fulfilling her wish to have them altogether for Yule (okay, a week after Yule, but they point out she was in a coma for some of Yule and deserves a do-over). Also, they had more luck finding Bo, who's already been brought up to date regarding Johanne's failure to materialize on Christmas Eve and is as eager as Johanne is to start a relationship.
It's all very silly and perhaps a bit too convenient, but... look, the show earned its over-the-top happy ending, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it.
As far as I know, there's no season four planned. If that changes, I'm sure I'll watch it, but - honestly - I'm happy with it ending here. We got resolutions for all the significant characters without betraying the show's commitment to exploring love and relationships honestly without judgement or expectation. Johanne's sister returns to her family stronger, because taking time away for herself was the right call. Her mother leaving a marriage where she wasn't happy was the right call, too - same goes for other minor characters who got divorced. The series encourages honesty and understanding in relationships, rather than conformity to expectations: you don't usually see that in Christmas romantic comedies. On top of that, this remains funny and moving.
It's already been remade in at least a couple other countries: I haven't seen those yet, but it would be interesting to see if those maintain the original's commitment towards approaching its themes seriously and ethically. Regardless, this is absolutely worth checking out if you haven't already done so.
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