The Santa Clauses Season 2 Episode 5 finally gave fans insight into the Betty-led coup against Mad Santa thousands of years before his resurgence in Illinois, Scott Calvin’s old stomping grounds, with a vengeance. 

Of course, we know that Magnus Antas was turned into a nutcracker—before coming back alive with a sprinkle of Santa magic at Santapolis—by the elves, but what we didn’t know is that Betty and La Befana teamed up to make sure he got what he deserved. 

Betty, returning to the North Pole early from her Kribble Krabble, turned in her resignation upon telling Santa Scott the full story, but he didn’t care about any of the clauses/rules, adamantly calling her a “hero” for her sacrifice. 

Nothing that Betty told Santa Scott was all that shocking to audiences, though he was definitely taken aback by the news, he didn’t have much time to sit with it because Cal ventured out of the North Pole to retrieve his vest from Magnus Antas, not fully understanding the level of danger he was putting himself in. Cal’s naivety is his best asset and his greatest flaw, all at the same time.

On the other hand, you have to pride him on his bravery because he walked in without a plan and tried to handle it himself without any fears… well aside from his fear of heights and flying the sleigh, which he somewhat conquered. 

Mad Santa turned Cal into a puppet after he called his dad the greatest Santa of all time, and was surprised by how much Santa magic he possessed, which means that Scott may get his wish of keeping it in the family business after all.

After they locked all the vortexes and portals coming in and out of the North Pole, Scott and Carol had to find a more unique means of transportation back to the Windy City to save Cal from Mad Santa, while Sandra hung back with La Befana to keep the North Pole safe. Having a witch in the family came in hand!

As for Betty, I’m a bit bummed we didn’t get to see any of her adventures in the real world, and it feels like a missed opportunity to have her not come face-to-face with Mad Santa and Olga, however, I did genuinely like the moment where Noel stood up for his wife and made sure that Magnus Antas knew who she was—her name is B-E-T-T-Y, don’t forget it because she’s the one who managed to take you down and save Christmas for everyone! The North Pole was functioning without her, but it wasn’t thriving, so it’s a good thing she’s finally back. 

As for the second season of The Santa Clauses, I feel like it would’ve benefitted from being a movie rather than a limited series because it does feel like the storyline is being dragged out unnecessarily at this point… and it’s starting to lose its magic. 

Also, poor Kris, who just wanted to run his little Santa village and earn his father’s love, and now he’s stuck in the royal battle between Mad Santa and Santa Scott. But at least he’ll have one heck of a story to tell, if they don’t dust him when all of this is finally over. 

Operation Save Easter is in full swing on The Santa Clauses Season 2 Episode 4. Easter was celebrated as the holiday became the North Pole’s problem after Sandra accidentally turned the Easter Bunny into an actual bunny.

While Scott isn’t used to hiding Easter eggs and delivering baskets, he is used to sneaking into homes unnoticed to drop off goodies, so all they really needed to adjust was the costume—a funny hat, an eggplant coat, and an invisibility cloak that could’ve been straight from Hogwarts. 

Naturally, Cal assisted as part of his “Santa training,” which hasn’t been going so well, and while he definitely proved he has a long way to go when he mistakenly hid the Stink Eggs from the Basket of Tricks versus the actual eggs, it helped him get his mind off of Riley. 

Everything was going pretty smoothly, in fact, aside from Cal and Scott needing to backtrack to a few houses until Scott decided to be a good dad and stop by Riley’s place so that his son could see her. We knew Cal’s love life was going to cause problems, but in a way, it’s also a good thing that it brought the whole Mad Santa situation into Scott’s orbit as the elves were never going to fess up. Plus, it helped him make sense of the visions he was having. 

The arrival at Riley’s set off the alarms for Mad Santa, who put a whole plan into motion by using North Pole magic to turn Santaland into a premiere winter destination that rivaled the North Pole. Little did he know, Santa was actually in town for a different reason—and the elves chose to keep the North Pole magic being used in America a secret from Santa, as they were determined to keep him from finding out the truth about Mad Santa.

Was it the best decision? Likely not. But Noel is doing his best and hoping that it’s enough. Plus, they all vowed to protect Santa at all costs by closely monitoring him. When they realized he was on a collision course with Mad Santa, the emergency protocol was enacted just as Scott and Cal got caught in a trap set up by Olga. 

Mrs. Clause was the true hero of the episode, however, taking her jetpack to save her husband and son once she found out the truth about the missing nutcracker coming to life in Chicago. She never panics or misses a beat, which was also evident when she enlisted Sandra’s help to scavenge the Easter Bunny’s house to save the holiday. 

She use the opportunity to reconnect with Sandra, who was struggling from her fallout with La Befana and swore never to use magic again, despite the fact that she’s a witch. 

While I don’t know if destroying the Easter Bunny’s house—and defending it by saying he’s so messy he won’t even notice it—was the right move, it was sweet that she helped Sandra find an outlet to channel all of that anger. As women, we often need to be reminded that it is okay to be angry, and there’s a healthy way of getting all those emotions out without repressing them and letting them fester and make us resentful.

Overall, there were a few key developments, but mostly, the episode felt more like a filler, especially all the scenes with the Sandman. Even though Scott learned of Magnus Antas’ existence and came face to face with him, we will have to wait until next week’s episode to see what comes of it. Will he be furious with the elves, especially poor Noel?

What happened to him when he got hit with the ball of fire? Will Cal and Sandra play a role in helping Santa Scott defeat Mad Santa?

And what’s Magnus’ plan now that Santa is aware of him? It feels like he’s run his course in Santaland. You’d think Kris would’ve realized by now that Mad Santa is actually a villain, but alas, he’s just happy that he can make his father proud with his Christmas-themed park now a roaring success. 

Also, where is our girl Betty? Why aren’t we seeing more of her adventures in the real world? 

What did you think of the episode? Are you enjoying the season thus far?

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?