Lark (Elise Gatien) made her debut on Virgin River Season 5, specifically, during the episodes that tackled the wildfires that ravaged parts of the picturesque town. 

Warning – this post has spoilers from the Virgin River holiday episodes. 

After Jack and Brady risked their lives to save Lark’s daughter, Hazel, who went missing from the campsite during the fire evacuation, the single mom began to bond with the latter, extending her gratitude to him for going out of his way to prioritize her daughter’s safety. 

When Brady found out that Lark and Hazel were squatting, he offered them up a place in one of the lumber yard trailers, a selfless gesture that speaks to his big heart. 

Lark definitely set her sights on Brady, especially on the heels of his generosity, and a connection sparked around the time that Brady’s relationship with Brie crumbled and he was looking for some companionship. Lark also helped Brady see the better parts of himself, as Brie held his lies (even though he couldn’t tell her anything about being an informant) against him and made him feel guilty. 

One thing led to another and eventually, Lark and Brady began a relationship after his romance with Brie ended. It was also helpful that Hazel really took to Brady, and thus, he became a bit of a stepfather figure in her life.

Fast forward a few months to the timeline of the holiday episodes, Brady and Lark are going strong, fully embracing their romance and sweet little family together. Lark even invited Brady to meet her mother, though he claims that’s a little too fast-paced for him, which is understandable considering he still harbors strong feelings for Brie, who has currently moved on with Mike. 

However, Brady seems to be in a good place in life, particularly as everything with Melissa Montgomery’s money laundering/drug smuggling at Emerald Lumber has finally settled down. He’s finally able to move past the nightmare that started when he was roped in by Calvin when he was young and reckless, or so fans thought. In retrospect, I guess we should’ve been more suspicious of Lark’s attempts at inserting herself into Brady’s life, though she definitely made it seem so natural. 

In the final moments of Virgin River Season 6 Episode 12, Lark sneaks off to pick up a call from Hazel’s father, who turns out to be Jimmy, who is serving time in prison. Lark informs him that “Brady doesn’t suspect a thing,” which shows that this is Jimmy’s form of getting close enough to Brady to get revenge. 

It’s an awful and disappointing twist considering all the progress Brady has made to turn over a new leaf and hit refresh. He can’t seem to shake this whole Emerald Lumber fiasco, no matter how hard he tries. Bad luck just seems to follow him based on one bad decision he made way back when—and it’s cost him so much, including his friendships and his romance with Brie. 

I’m hoping that Lark realizes just how good of a guy Brady is and how much he’s sacrificed for her and Hazel and decides not to go through with whatever she and Jimmy have planned.

Lord knows that Brady deserves some sliver of good news and positivity in his life, along with a storyline far removed from the lumber yard. 

While most holiday movies this time of year are centered around one’s Christmas wish, ExMas takes a different approach.

Beware—spoilers from the movie ahead!

Imagine the worst possible situation that can occur when you come home on Christmas…. is it your parents inviting your ex-fiancée, who broke your heart into a million pieces, over for Christmas dinner after you told them you weren’t coming into town due to previous work commitments but then decided at the last minute on a change of plans as part of a surprise? If so, that’s the exact plot of Robbie Amell (a treat for all of us Upload fans) and Leighton Meester’s (Gossip Girl) new Freevee movie.

And let me tell you, it brings plenty of comedic moments and jokes, sprinkled into what turns out to be a heartfelt plot about owning up to your mistakes and apologizing for shortcomings in a failed relationship, all while expertly capturing the chaos that is going home for the holidays. You know the former couple will find their way back to each other in the end—this is a Christmas movie after all—but it’s less about the destination and more about the journey that gets them to the “aha” moment. 

It’s a fa-la-la-oh-my-god-is-this-really-happening situation that Amell’s Graham and Meester’s Ali turn into a competitive bet to see which one will win over the family’s love and which one will be kicked out before Christmas day.

Along the way, Graham and Ali realize that they aren’t over each other one bit, while also admitting their own faults led to the demise of their relationship. Graham explains that he was doing what he thought Ali wanted—working more so he could work his way up the corporate food chain to make enough money to provide them with the perfect life. However, all Ali ever needed was for him to be there for her, present and willing, though she didn’t voice it either because she was scared he was going to walk away, so, she walked away first. 

It all comes down to a lack of necessary communication in a relationship—which happens far too often to couples these days that are caught up in the hustle and bustle of life—but there’s no shortage of time to talk it out when you’re forced to spend the holidays under the same roof. 

Robbie Amell and Leighton Meester star in EXmas. Photo Credit: Paulina Stevens/Exmas Film Inc.

Graham’s reaction upon walking into his childhood home and seeing the woman who broke his heart standing at the top of the stairs was to freak out, naturally. And who wouldn’t? This is a huge betrayal of trust from the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally and side with you, no matter what. As he tries to make them see the issue, their argument is that she’s been part of the “family for a very long time.”

When he realizes that Ali has ingrained herself into the family by playing Wordle with his sister and helping his brother study for his exams, he realizes that he can’t just up and leave, he has to show the family how “evil she is” by making them dislike her to “save his family” and “save Christmas.”

Admittedly, it’s a pretty extreme retaliation, but one that delivers plenty of good fun, especially since Graham knows her faults and weaknesses—like her competitive streak—and can easily exploit them. And that’s a two-way street as Ali is also able to sabotage Graham, making her the perfect and worthy opponent. Graham leverages Ali’s irrational fear of goats to ruin the dealership’s Christmas party, while she deliberately moves a sign in the bathroom to ensure that he floods it when flushing, allowing her to be the toilet bowl plunger hero. Of course, these are just two adults acting silly so that they don’t have to confront the harsh reality of their former relationship, but it’s all in good fun. 

They both try to make the other jealous with new crushes—and she tries to sabotage his relationship with Jess by telling her that he has problems in the bedroom (though that short-lived romance tanks all on its own when Jess suggests a threesome with her roommate/special friend), while he allows her to invest in Brady knowing that it will eventually end with him trying to sell her a car during the date. 

But it also emphasizes that the dating scene is a scary, scary place, and once you’ve found your person, you have to hold on to them tight and never let go.

It also becomes evident why the family gravitated toward Ali instead of Graham in the first place—and why the duo inevitably broke up—as Graham isn’t present most of the time; he doesn’t care to ask about his family members’ personal lives or keep up a relationship as he’s too busy with work. His sister, Heather, assures him that Ali was always there at every event when he wasn’t. 

The Christmas season, which starts off to be the stuff of nightmares, helps Graham reprioritize what’s important as he begins to see that he took everything that mattered for granted, his family and Ali included. 

When Graham’s father suffers a sudden cardiac arrest following a competitive, yet friendly, game of hockey during the holidays, that’s when he really starts to understand just how much time he’d invested into the wrong thing. Of course, a career is just as important as anything else, but it shouldn’t take precedence over the things that truly matter–and he was working for a boss who expected him to meet a Christmas Day deadline and had no qualms about calling and demanding more from him even when he was in the hospital following a family member’s health scare. At that moment, Graham takes a leap of faith and quits—the start of his new life on the horizon. (This may or may not be a Horizen pun, I’ll let you decide.) 

There were several other factors that brought him to the finish line, where he realized he screwed up and couldn’t live without Ali, including a heart-to-heart with his mom, a night of amazing drunk sex with Ali, and saying goodbye to her after they both forgave each other for the pain they inflicted. 

Once she was out the door, Graham and his family couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing—and in true Christmas movie fashion, they all ran to get the girl, trying to fit into a vehicle that wasn’t up to par for the journey. As they made their way to the other car, Graham found Ali standing at the front door and immediately poured his heart out to her, only for her to explain that she only came back because she forgot her phone. 

Obviously, that was the last cruel joke she played on him as the two made up and sealed the deal with a kiss. Admittedly, there wasn’t undeniable chemistry between Amell and Meester as actors—they sold the friendship more—but the plot was believable enough that you found yourself rooting for them regardless. It’s actually quite nice for the chemistry to feel more grounded and realistic rather than the kind always portrayed in holiday movies that can sometimes feel unattainable for the average couple.

Fast forward to the next holiday, at their home in Los Angeles, Graham came through on his promise to help her start up her bakery truck, proving that his priorities are finally in order, as yet another time jump two years later, revealing that they welcomed a baby together.

And just because so much time had passed, doesn’t mean Graham didn’t have revenge on his mind as he invited his sister’s ex, Heather, for the holidays because they remained such good friends after the breakup.

As they say, payback’s a bitch, but if Graham’s situation is any consolation, maybe Mindy (Veronika Slowikowska) and Heather’s story will have a happy ending. After all, isn’t that the magic of the holidays?

The film also stars Michael Hitchcock, Kathryn Greenwood, Steven Huy, Thomas Cadrot, and Donna Benedicto. It’s available to stream now on Freevee. 

9 Holiday Movies You Need to Watch to Make the 2023 Christmas Season Bright

Upload returned for a third season that hasn’t skipped a beat. Though much of the action takes place in the real world after Nathan’s successful download in hopes of stopping Freeyond, there’s still a tether to Lakeview, where it all started, via Ingrid and Nathan #2 and Horizen thanks to Aleeshia and Luke. 

The shenanigans of the afterlife at Lakeview have always been the draw of the show, so it’s no surprise that watching Ingrid and Nathan #2’s storyline play out is one of the highs of this season—and surprisingly, Nathan and Nora’s relationship once they’re finally able to exist on the same plane is a bit of a letdown. The pureness of their relationship fades rather quickly when reality sets in, which was inevitable once they actually brought them together.

Nathan #2 is rebooted to a version before the family day/right after poker night meaning that he’s got some memory loss that works to Ingrid’s advantage–he doesn’t remember breaking up with her, finding out that she’s not really dead, nor does he remember that Nora came back and that they launched a whole plan to take down Freeyond. He doesn’t even know that he was murdered and that Choak is responsible. This Nathan is basically thriving on ignorance is bliss—and it looks good on him. It almost doesn’t even feel like the same Nathan that once existed, which is a testament to how much character growth Robbie Amell’s character has gone through in such a short time. His life hasn’t been flipped upside down yet, so as far as he knows, he’s deeply in love with Ingrid and completely oblivious to the issues they’ve been having. Eventually, she confides in him that she’s not actually dead, and unlike his former self, this version of Nathan thinks she’s incredibly selfless in her sacrifice so that they can be together. 

Ingrid initially believes that her chances with Nathan are completely done before finding out that not only is there another version of him but he’s also completely in love with her. She tries to become a better person, someone more like “Norma” so that he’ll like her better, but he assures her he loves her the way she is.

There craziest thing about this is that there’s a reality where Ingrid and Nathan make it work. Who knew?

But Nora isn’t totally out of the picture, she’s simply focused on OG Nathan and ensuring that he survives his download. 

Not only are they trying to outrun the clock placed on him by downloading (the nose bleeds are stressful considering the last download’s head exploded on live television + he’s experiencing weird symptoms like constant farting and being disgusted by most smells), but they’re also focusing heavily on what Nathan came back for—their mission of shutting down Freeyond, the affordable digital afterlife company that’s created using Nathan’s stole code, which got him killed by the founders, David Choak and Ingrid’s dad.

Quite honestly, bringing Nathan back to the land of the living has complicated things quite a bit, making it harder to sustain the magic and innocent silliness not just in his and Nora’s relationship but in the first season altogether. You’d think that by finally getting to be together, Nathan and Nora would be living in bliss, but their reality is a bit more bleak as they adjust to their new dynamics where they are “equals” and no longer dream of “what could be” but make the best of what is.

Making it work is a lot harder than simply daydreaming of being together. They still want to be together, so the effort is there, but they have to accept each other’s quirks, flaws, and faults, along with Nora trying to get used to all the attention that Nathan receives from other women. It’s an adjustment on both sides, all while juggling all the other responsibilities.   Instead of solely prioritizing their relationship, Nora and Nathan are using their time to return the drives of Freeyond’s victims to their families, even if they don’t have the money to do anything with their loved ones (though they do have some sweet bonding time while staying with Elijah’s family on the farm during which they they realize just how lucky they are to finally be together) and focusing on their main mission to destroy Freeyond.

Nathan is forced to work alongside Nora’s ex, Mateo, the lead of the Ludds running point on their whole mission, which makes for some very tense, testosterone-filled moments, with Mateo holding his own against Nathan and not allowing himself to get intimidated. 

Despire his insanely jealous over Nora’s relationship with Nathan, he keeps trying to make a case for himself, but sadly, he doesn’t survive the first episode. His demise comes on the heels of the revelation that Detective Sato is corrupt. When the stakes are so high, you really have to be careful about who you can trust. When Nora and Mateo figure out that Freeyond is basically killing people who are voluntarily uploading, they manage to shut the whole thing down, but Sato arrives and makes it clear that he’s trying to line his pockets by eliminating the people posing a threat to expose Choak. During the confrontation, he shoots and kills Mateo just before Nora is able to use the upload tool to burn a hole through Sato. It’s one of her most badass moments, and while Mateo’s death is a bummer, he almost immediately becomes an afterthought, which proves that he was never as crucial to the mission as he thought he was. 

At the same time, Nathan discovers that Freeyond never intended to give the uploads a place to live—it didn’t matter to them as their primary goal was to eliminate 10 million voters so that they could rig the election. He finds their pre-recorded “press apology” about the tragedy and releases it, thus crumbling Freeyond’s business model.  

There’s a lot of moving parts this season—as we tether between realms–so it becomes hard to keep up with motivations and the what’s what of it all, but the series still manages to keep the same level of kookiness fans have come to love and expect. 

And a special shout out to Owen Daniels’ AI guy, who continues to be a show and scene stealer. I hope he’s making the big bucks for taking on so many roles and carrying the weight of the afterlife alongside Luke, another standout who has truly committed to his overly dramatic character. 

Other Notable Moments Worth Mentioning

• Choak definitely noticed Nathan in the bathroom during the super secret Freeyond meeting, but what will come of it?
• Ingrid is still harboring a huge secret from Lakeview Nathan despite all the talk of transparency—she’s planning on cloning him in the real world. And this version of Nathan might be into it!

At this point, Nora and Nathan are considered mortal enemies as the world believes (has been convinced) that the Ludds are responsible for the takedown of Freeyond (they don’t even confess to their involvement), and while that’s technically the case, the fact that millions of innocent lives were saved is a tidbit the public hasn’t been made privy to just yet, nor do they know that it’s backed by the world’s biggest billionaires.

The stakes are definitely raised, and it’s only a matter of time before Lakeview Nathan is brought up to speed and finds out about his “other” existence… the real Nathan. And what happens when Nathan finds out that he’s been replaced by himself? Will Lakeview Nathan realize he’s also in love with Nora or will he remain faithful to Ingrid?

What did you think of the first two episodes of Upload Season 3?