The Santa Clauses Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Chapter Four: The Shoes Off the Bed Clause

The end of The Santa Clauses Season 1 Episode 3, “Chapter Three: Into the Wobbly Wood,” surely prepared us for catastrophe and disappointment. But nothing compares to what The Santa Clauses Season 1 Episode 4, “Chapter Four: The Shoes Off the Bed Clause,” is bringing to the table.

Santa’s coat goes missing in the first seconds of the episode and that is the biggest tell that things won’t be snowy and happy in the North Pole with the arrival of “Fake Santa Simon.”

Instead of working to adjust to his new reality, Simon continues to look for ways to make his business blossom. This proves to be the worst decision he could have made.

Everybody knows that the Christmas spirit exists because Christmas comes once a year and the anticipation and excitement pushes people to go all out for it. However, it looks like Simon didn’t get the memo.

His excitement resides in making money and growing his business. By learning that the elves can deliver what they do on Christmas any time of the year, he is pushing the limits of his power to go beyond what any Santa has done before.

His actions enrage us as much as they enrage the elves. What is the point of working all year-round for Christmas when he will make it happen every day?

The worst part is the way Simon behaves towards the elves. He isn’t friendly to them until he realizes he can benefit from their work.

Is this really the kind of Santa we want to see succeed Scott?

To make matters even worse, Simon is going against the only elf on The Santa Clauses who (against her better judgment) has his back and is trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.

Betty proves time and time again to be an elf wise beyond her age (considering she has been married for 900 years, she must be well in her thousands). Not only does she understand perfectly how the North Pole works, she understands the consequences of every action.

Simon immediately catches on to the power Betty has and isn’t afraid to blame her for everything that is happening. A bit hypocritical on his end when he knows what it feels like to be rejected or made fun of.

By firing Betty, he doesn’t realize the avalanche he is setting in motion. As she turns to the Christmas Witch, the former Head Elf has a plan that will hopefully save Christmas and the disappearing elves.

The elves disliking him, the elves disappearing, and him pushing his own daughter away, are just a few of the things that we can add to the list of reasons why Simon is the most dislikable Santa since the fake in The Santa Clause 2.

The elves aren’t the only ones struggling to adjust to their new reality. Scott himself is the Calvin-Claus family member who is having the hardest time adapting to Chicago.

For him, it is all about an identity crisis. Who is he if he isn’t Santa Claus?

He can’t talk about what he has been doing all these years, but also, he can’t shut down everything he became because he was Santa. Luckily, he has a wife who always knows how to bring out the best in him.

With Carol’s help, he realizes the best he can do is embrace both his personas: Scott and Santa. It is that balance that will allow him to thrive.

Maybe not as much as his wife who is finally front and center in her own story. She no longer is the Mrs. Claus who sat at home waiting for Santa to return every Christmas.

This time around, she is the principal who turned bush pilot and now is coming back. “Mom is the dad of this place,” describes it perfectly. The true hero story she deserves!

As much as Carol is thriving, Sandra has made friends, and Cal seems to have found himself a girlfriend, not everything will continue on its happy path on The Santa Clauses.

The ending of “Chapter Four: The Shoes Off the Bed Clause,” proves the chaos in the North Pole will affect the Calvin-Claus family in Chicago. And we can’t help but wonder who “him” is.

Stray Observations

• The nod to Elizabeth Mitchell’s character on Lost is very subtle and nicely done for fans to catch.
• The humor on the show continues and it is particularly great when the girl Cal meets asks if he was in witness protection.
• It will be interesting to see how they develop Sandra’s storyline as animals speak to her.
• Betty and Noel’s relationship is one of the most entertaining on the show and hopefully, they will reunite soon enough.

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What did you think of this episode of The Santa Clauses? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Santa Clauses airs Wednesdays on ABC.

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