The Ending Of The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two Explained
Life seems like it would be pretty sweet if you were Santa Claus. You eat all the cookies you can get and only have to work one night out of the year. Of course, if you're Kurt Russell's Santa Claus from "The Christmas Chronicles" movies, you constantly have to struggle to make sure the holiday goes off without a hitch.
In the first "Christmas Chronicles," Santa's sleigh crashes, forcing him to team up with two precocious kids — Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis) — to retrieve the gifts and save Christmas. Jolly old St. Nick has a lot more on his plate for the sequel than just some missing presents. He has to go toe-to-toe with the villainous Belsnickel (Julian Dennison), who causes all sorts of mayhem in his village. In the madness, Kate winds up being transported to a Boston airport in 1990, and all she has to do is buy some AAA batteries to power the device to send her back to the present day. Of course, something intriguing happens on the excursion that completely turns Kate's life around.
"The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two" is a wonderful film the whole family can enjoy, and here's what you need to know about the ending explained.
Kate finally gets a chance to say goodbye to her father
In "The Christmas Chronicles," it's established that Kate and Teddy's father passed away. We don't get a ton of information about him, but the absence of a father figure plays a significant role in the kids wanting to capture Santa in the first place. In the sequel, Kate's still trying to get over her dad's death, which is tough when the family goes on vacation with mom's new boyfriend. She doesn't necessarily like the guy initially, but when she goes on the epic escapade with Santa, she receives the closure she's wanted for so long.
When Kate and Santa travel back in time to the year 1990, Kate meets up with a young boy named Doug (Sunny Suljic). Once she gets to know him better, she realizes that Doug is actually the child version of her dad. When it's time to go back to the present, Kate's hesitant initially because she wants to get to know her father better, but she knows it's time to go. Their exchange ends with her giving Doug a big hug and referring to him as "Dad."
It's a heartwarming moment because it allows Kate to move on. Naturally, the gang saves the day against Belsnickel shortly thereafter, but the real emotional journey of the film is Kate coming around to accepting her mom's new boyfriend. She can do that now, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Belsnickel has a family reunion of his own
The Pierces aren't the only ones who come together as a family by the end of the Christmas flick. As we learn through lofty exposition, Belsnickel used to be one of Santa's elves before going rogue. He's a prodigal son of sorts, and Santa knows there's still goodness in his heart. After a deadly game of chicken, Santa hands Belsnickel the very first toy the two of them ever built together. You could almost say the act makes Belsnickel's heart grow three times in size because he finally becomes ready to reconcile with his family, returning to the traditional elf form in the process.
It's good to see a redemption arc in a Christmas movie, and it suggests that if "The Christmas Chronicles: Part Three" ever happens, Belsnickel won't be the primary antagonist. It's unclear what direction a sequel could take or whether Netflix is even interested in further pursuing the franchise. As it stands, "The Christmas Chronicles" duology remains essential viewing when you feel like snuggling up on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa.