Original subtitles

Here we come a-wassling among the leaves so green.

Here we come a-wondering so fair to be seen. Love and joy come to you and

to yourself too.

God bless you and send you a happy new year. God send you a happy

new year.

Here we come a-wassling among the leaves so green.

to be seen. Love and joy come to you and to yourself too. God bless you and

send you a happy new year. God send you a happy new year.

Mackenzie and I'll be in Chicago for three nights starting Thursday opening

for the Dalton Blake Band.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you on the road in the new

year. Good night.

Hey Lewis, what are you doing here?

What? Manager can't come see his favorite client?

Well, your oldest client, but thanks for trying.

Great crowd, huh?

What's wrong?

Okay, look, Maggie, I'm sorry, but Dalton Blake didn't sell as many tickets

as he expected to for Chicago.

He's canceling the shows?

Oh.

He's canceling me.

Look, he just wanted a stronger opening act. You know, somebody who could put

more people in seats.

Lewis, I really needed this.

I know, I'm sorry, but my idea is take advantage of the time.

Go home, relax, write me a big hit, and we'll start the year off strong, huh?

Yeah, I'll get right on that.

Maybe this will help.

Oh, you didn't have to do that.

Oh, I know, but it's kind of for me, too.

Gee, what are you trying to tell me? Look, this phone is loaded with all the

ArchLine apps that help with lyrics and sound, and it's got this amazing auto

-tune feature that you obviously don't need, of course. Of course, yeah. It's

the receipt in here because I could return it along with the ArchLine apps I

won't be using and use the money to get my van serviced. Plus, you know, this

baby works just fine.

Please.

Just check it out. Play with it for a while. See what you come up with.

Merry Christmas, Lewis.

That hit song is in as far away as you think.

Good news, Mom.

I'm going to be home a little earlier than expected.

Everything's fine.

Just a change of plans.

You know how it is.

Ah, well, there's my girl.

Hey, Dad.

Maggie.

Welcome home, sweetheart.

You must be exhausted.

Yeah. Well, we've got soup on, and there's apple pie.

Okay, to be fair, we may have some apple pie. Ed!

Let me take that for you.

I just baked that pie yesterday.

Well, you shouldn't bake it so well if you don't want me to eat it, right?

He's incorrigible.

Vanilla ice cream. Honestly.

Despite

his...

Vast holdings. Your father's trust was very simple.

With two exceptions, everything goes to his endowments.

Exception one.

Piper.

He set up a trust fund for Mia and Max. And since you indicated to him that you

will have no more children, he did not leave anything additional.

Archer. He did not leave a trust for any future children you may have. Makes

sense. There's no guarantee I'll ever have any. No.

He said it was because Piper had children first, so she wins and gets the

money.

That makes even more sense.

You never miss a chance to dump on him, do you? And you never miss a chance to

defend him.

May I speak bluntly?

Of course.

I've known you two for most of your lives.

And I've never understood this obsession your father has had with pitting you

against each other.

And maybe now that your father is gone, you two can build on a new kind of

relationship.

You know, they've invented a way to turn those off. I could show you if you don't

understand how.

It's work. It can't wait.

Fine.

Charles, you mentioned there were two exceptions.

What's the second one?

Your father's seat on the board of directors of his company.

In keeping with this custom, your father willed that seat to whichever one of you

had the higher net worth as of 12.01 on Christmas morning.

Yes!

So, what are you guys doing for Christmas?

Going to Aspen.

I got us a suite at the Dell. Oh, we stayed there, right? We did.

I remember you beat me down the slopes every time.

What are you doing this year?

Probably just staying in town. I'm pretty busy. Me too. I'll be working in

Aspen. Oh, I was going through some things at Dad's, and I found this in a

closet. I thought you might like it.

Oh, wow.

Remember?

Yeah, up by the Finger Lakes.

That was the only time we ever had a real Christmas tree, wasn't it? Hey,

there were trees in the hotel lobbies all those other years. Let's hope trees

don't count.

It would cut it down at that funny place.

Yeah.

Hey, I'm sorry about Dad's board position.

No, you're not.

You're right.

I'm not.

But I am sorry that it had to be at your expense.

I had a really good year with those settlements coming through. Next year,

it might have been you instead.

Merry Christmas, Piper. You too.

Merry Christmas, Uncle Archer.

Merry Christmas.

Now you put it in the envelope, and it'll go straight to Santa.

I know that hug anywhere.

My bestie's back in town. My bestie's back in town.

Hi, dear Maggie.

Lucy Moose. I missed you.

Hey, what style are you wearing?

You sent it for me.

I remember.

Wow, it looks good on you. Perfect size, by the way.

I love it. Thank you again. Of course.

Do you want to write your letter to Santa now?

Yeah, why?

I don't suppose your mother made her famous coffee. Is the earth still

spinning?

Luce, we'll be back in a minute, okay?

Oh, it's so good to see you.

So, what else has been going on around here since we last talked?

Well, you remember I was telling you about Lucy's Little Christmas Choir?

Yeah, how's that going?

Bad to worse.

It's small, and the kids are bored to tears.

But do you want to know the latest tea?

Spill it.

So, the director met the love of his life online and decided to rather

impulsively fly down to Florida to visit her for the holiday. I have questions.

Me too.

But more importantly, we need a director.

And since you're home early... The hardest of passes.

Oh, come on. It's just until the Christmas Eve concert. Just a couple of

weeks. There's even a small stipend.

Well, a stipend would be lovely, but...

I don't know anything about leading a children's choir.

Oh, excuse me. You sang in that very same choir for ten years. So did you.

You can lead it. No, I can't because I have no musical talent.

They really only let me sing in that choir because I brought enthusiasm and

double chocolate brownies. Oh, I remember those brownies. Those were next

level. I can make you a tray of them later today if you say yes.

Well, they weren't that good.

You may be able to say no to me.

But can you say no...

to this beautiful face.

But you're sure about waiting until the new year to announce both new apps?

I'm sure.

It's a family thing.

Anything else?

No, but about that... About what?

Family. I know it's been a few weeks and we all sent flowers, but I just wanted

to say I was sorry to hear about your father.

Thank you.

TJ, I'm gonna be AWOL until after Christmas.

I need inspiration for a rollout, especially Project Harmony. So if I

don't talk to you, have a happy holiday.

Yep, talk to you then.

Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, how lovely are the

branches.

Okay, great job, kids. Keep practicing, and I'll see you next time.

See you next time.

Archer Donovan, Oscar Carr.

Hope you haven't been waiting too long. Just got here.

Listen, Archer, like I said on the phone, I'm sure we can find you

something nicer.

Nope. This is the one I want.

Okay, well, I came by last night to start the fridge, the furnace, and the

hot water.

Anything goes out, just give me a text. Okay.

There is Wi-Fi, but it's not always great.

All right.

Oh, by the way, there used to be a... Christmas tree farm around here? Eds,

just up the road a bit.

Thanks again.

This is the best cheese she's ever made.

Hey there.

Janet McKenzie, are you looking for a tree?

I am.

I've never had one before.

Never? Well, once as a kid, but not as an adult, so... Oh, do you want to chop

down your own?

Well, for that you're going to need a little expert guidance.

Ed seems to be swamped at the moment, but my daughter is around here

someplace. Let me get her for you. Oh, that's fine. I can find her.

Okay.

Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. Don't we

know all gay apparel, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

You scared Johnny and June.

Oh. I'm sorry.

I'm just teasing. They're fine.

Here, you can make it up to them with some blueberries.

Okay.

Go on.

Hello.

Are you interested in... Oh, you are interested.

Wow. You're hungry.

Sorry, I, uh, scared them.

Oh, no. A car horn would scare these piggies.

You're just silly.

Anyway, were you looking for me?

Right now, I'm just looking for my dignity.

Well, I'm sure it's around here somewhere.

I'll let you know if I find it.

I came for a tree. I've never had one before, and your mom said you

are the expert.

You've never chopped down a tree, or you've never had a tree? Correct. Both.

Well, once as a kid, we had one.

Let's find you a tree.

Come on.

Bye, little guy.

These would fit in a normal-sized room. Is your ceiling standard height?

Maybe. I guess.

This one looks nice.

What? What's wrong with that? It's a little crooked. Not good for a first

-timer.

Oh,

but look here.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I like this one.

No, I don't. Why not?

There's a thing in there. It's looking back at me.

Oh, it's a possum.

A little Ronnie.

A Ronnie?

My dad names animals. All possums on the property are called Ronnie. All

squirrels are called Stumpy.

Don't even get me started on raccoons.

I don't know why he does it, but I will happily...

dislodge ronnie if you have your heart set on this tree absolutely not the last

thing i need is a possum eviction on my soul uh what about this one yeah

currently vacant i think we have a winner all right i'll hold you saw as

close to the ground as you can let's do this all right

so uh right before i made my grand

entrance I heard you singing.

You've got a great voice.

Thanks.

It's actually my job. No.

Maggie McKenzie.

Don't worry. I'm one of those constantly touring, playing every gig I can, always

broke musicians.

I have about 12 fans, and no one else has ever heard of me.

Archer Donovan.

No one's ever heard of me either.

Are you in the business?

Not really. Not like you.

I own a company called Archline.

We make, um... I know what you make.

I know all about you.

You make apps so that people can pretend to be musicians instead of doing the

actual hard work to understand music. So they can rip off the talent of people

who built this industry.

It's funny, I was actually going to make that our corporate motto, but it

wouldn't fit on the business card.

Make sure you keep it in water. Dry trees are a fire hazard. Okay. No

candles, obviously.

And fill the stand with water twice a day. Right. Only the stand for it. You

sell those here?

Nope.

Wait, I'll find one online.

Let it breathe for two days. The branches need to relax before you

decorate. Two days of breathing. Got it. Is this really your first tree, or did

you just make that up? Why would I make that up? I don't know why you do

anything. Probably because we just met.

My dad will bring you up.

Thanks for shopping at Ed's, home of holiday trees, micro pigs, and

antiquated musicians who still believe that talent matters.

Is that on your letter, Ed?

Well, sounds like you stepped into something, huh? Well, I sank all the way

up to my ankles in it.

She reminds me more and more of her mother every single day.

Here, let me grab that for you and bring it to your car. How far you got to go?

Oh, just up the road. I'm staying at Billsborough House.

No kidding.

Wow, good for you.

I've always loved that place.

Let me get that for you.

All right.

Where's your car again?

It's over there.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree That leaves us so unchanging

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree That leaves us so

unchanging Stay, stay.

Stay. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree That leaves

us so unchanging

Yeah!

I knew this Christmas thing.

Okay.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, that candle shines so

brightly.

That fella really wound you up out there today.

Anything I need to go talk to him about?

I appreciate that, but this is entirely on me.

Is he a fan?

No, he's in the business side of music, which is ick right there.

He and I both know where this industry is going, except he was smart enough to

capitalize on it, and I was not.

So he's smart, and he's got himself some money, and that makes him the bad guy?

Yes.

I don't know.

Maybe.

I guess.

Maybe you owe him an apology.

I definitely do not.

Well, he's staying down at the Billsboro house.

If you remember your manners.

What about his manners?

Oh, is he mad at you simply for existing too?

I'll get it.

Ed's Tree Farm. This is Maggie.

Maggie, finally.

I've been trying to reach you all day.

Don't you dare hang up this phone. Lewis, how'd you get this number?

I've always had this number.

It's your emergency contact. And since you're not answering the phone that I

gave you... Yeah, Christmas rush. Sorry.

Uh-huh.

Well, look, I'm just calling to check in, you know? See how the new cell

phone's working out, if you've been doing any writing.

I haven't had a chance to set up the new phone.

Or write.

Sorry. Maggie, can I be blunt?

You're always blunt.

Look,

there's no nice way to say this, but the business is leaving you behind.

I'm having a hard time booking you in any place bigger than a coffee shop

right now.

i see i don't want you to go to a dark place on this but my point is i just

need you to write me something solid we'll bring it into the studio we'll

clean it up you know i know you don't like the bells and whistles but that

phone uh it's the lewis uh he just got loose sorry i gotta go bye

oops guess you told

him

Oh. What is this?

Lewis gave it to me, so I'm gifting it to you since you're currently phone

-less, thanks to someone we shall not identify.

I redirected the house number to it.

Seems a lot smarter than my normal old phone.

Like it's going to manage my finances and tune up my transmission for me

without asking.

Yeah, Lewis seems to think it can do all that and more, but you don't need to

worry about that unless you suddenly decide you want to become a social media

star.

It has all those, um, apps from the guy who bought the tree today.

Ah, you mean that really nice man who's staying all alone at Billsboro?

Laying it on a little thick there, Mom.

Fine, I'll run down to Billsboro House and apologize.

Proud of you. Even though I wasn't wrong.

Of course not.

Oh, uh, hey, do we still have those Christmas supplies in the barn?

Have you ever known your father to throw out anything?

Right here.

Will you accept an apology in the shape of a free tree stand and some hopelessly

tangled tree lights? I will accept it all with gratitude.

Come on in.

Thanks.

Wow.

Always wanted to see inside of this place.

It's gorgeous.

Well, that's because you weren't here four hours ago when everything was

covered in dust.

Yeah, it's, uh, I haven't even started on the upstairs yet. It's going to be an

ibuprofen kind of night.

Oh, and there was a spider that will have a starring role in my nightmares

for years.

You know, I was kind of surprised that you were staying here. I heard it's been

empty for a while. No, it's just an old, traditional place. I didn't think that

was your brand.

You know, the old and the new can peacefully coexist.

And I don't have a brand.

That's not really something that people do in the real world. All right. Well, I

just came by to...

Wait, where's your tree?

It's soaking in water.

Where? Oh, upstairs in the bathtub.

I'm joking.

It's outside.

Seriously?

You told me to put it in water.

Yeah, inside the house.

I didn't have a stand. I didn't have a bucket. I improvised.

It's fine. It's fine.

All I gotta do is give it a little tug.

Yeah, this ice really isn't good for the tree.

Well... They're not really worried about hurting it.

Okay, let's think this through. I can't bring the tree into the house when

there's an iceberg attached to it, so I just have to break up the ice.

By using a blow dryer?

Or you could saw off a little more of the trunk just above the ice.

Okay. Yes, exactly. Let's do that.

Okay, how much you want to bet that this barn has got a saw in it?

It's fine. I can do it myself.

I can do it myself.

Hey, how'd it go with that fella down at the Billsborough house? Oh, so get this.

He didn't have a bucket or a tree stand, and yes, I told him to put it in water.

So he finds this tub and puts it in that.

Outside.

So the tree was cemented in this clawfoot tub filled with ice, and he

didn't know how to fix it.

Well, he did tell you he's never had a Christmas tree before, right?

If I have to keep apologizing, I'll have your whole place

decorated.

Here's some exterior lights in case you want to... I don't know.

Come on in.

Why does it smell so delightful in here?

Oh, it's probably the cinnamon rolls. These are old school. Nice. Thank you.

You made these?

Uh, I did.

Yeah, it takes a few minutes for the yeast to rise, but after that, it's

pretty simple.

You made these from scratch?

Yeah. I've been making since I was 14.

No judgment, but that's kind of random.

Uh, well, it was a money-making venture. You wouldn't believe what high school

kids pay for home-baked.

But before you become too impressed with my talents, this tree rookie needs a bit

of help.

Well, that's not a rookie issue. Tree straightening is a two-person job.

Here, if you want to loosen the base. Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right. Okay, lock it in.

Okay.

Have you thought about ornaments?

Yeah, I was thinking about just going online and buying a bunch of stuff.

Or you could support local businesses.

Or I could just keep irritating you and accept apology decorations.

Hey, is that you in these pictures over here?

Oh, uh, yeah.

So you've been here before?

Just the one time.

Well, it must have been a good time if you came back.

It was my best Christmas ever.

Is that when you got the tree?

Yes, actually. We got it from a little place called Ed's. Have you ever heard

of it? Really? Yeah.

So where's your family now?

Can I interest you in some cinnamon rolls? I only know how to bake in large

quantities. And I definitely should not be eating all of these by myself.

Mm.

Marry him. Stop.

I'm not joking. He just made these. I bet he has a good sourdough starter,

too. You should ask him. Well, since I managed to leave without being rude, I

don't have to apologize to him again, so I don't have to see him again. So let's

just change the subject, please. And you can tell me what's going on here.

There's a lot of bills.

Yep.

Trying to decide which ones to pay first.

Boy, the competition is tough.

Maybe we were just too late to the game.

You two in here sharing secrets?

Always. Here.

Compliments of Archer Donovan, the wildly irritating man staying in Bill's

broth house.

Wildly irritating, but attractive, I bet?

That just adds to the irritation.

Yeah,

and then you just tap here to stitch the video.

No kidding.

Wow, easy as that. And so, just anyone can see it? Well, yeah, everyone who's

on the app.

Maggie!

Hi.

Hey, sweetie. I wasn't expecting to see you here.

I had some questions about the cell phone, and I remember you said that

Archer here is a technology king.

I prefer the term technology wizard. I will also accept technology shaman.

Ed, tell her your idea.

Okay. I am going to shoot some videos to promote the farm.

I think maybe we should be getting back.

All right.

Maggie, do you have youth choir tonight?

I do.

Don't remind me.

See you soon. Bye. Bye, Dad.

Uh,

do you want to join me?

Uh... Fine.

Sorry to sound negative about the choir.

I love the kids, but... It's been a challenge.

I'm not a good teacher.

I'm also not good at social media, although I'll be my dad's tech support

now when you leave.

Thanks for that.

Really sold me out for mac and cheese.

To be fair, it's really good mac and cheese.

Look at this guy.

He's gonna go viral.

Should have charged him 10% on all future earnings.

You know, I've been doing this for almost 20 years. My dad will make one

video of a pig sneezing and get more engagement.

You could change that, you know. Have you been talking to my manager?

There's something about this whole puzzle that I don't understand, isn't

there? Yes.

My career, such as it is, is ending. Because according to my manager, I'm an

old-fashioned Luddite.

I need more tech, more social media.

And the worst part is, he's not wrong.

He's not right, either.

There's got to be a balance.

Not that I can find. We'll see you later, you two.

Bye.

Bye. Okay, but seriously, what is it like to grow up with parents who love

each other like that?

Wonderful.

Cringy.

Safe.

Having a home where I felt protected no matter what.

It's the only way I survived all these years of playing state fairs and coffee

shops and everything in between.

What about you?

Me? No, I don't play state fairs or coffee shops. You do deflect well,

though. Yeah, that I do.

Look, it's a long story. Both my parents are gone now.

I barely have a relationship with my sister, and she's got two adorable kids

that I hardly know.

Well, what's she doing for Christmas?

She's bringing Max and Mia to Aspen. Does she know you're staying at

Billsborough? No, ma'am. Well, why don't you send her a photo? If that house was

special to you, chances are it was special to her, too.

I appreciate it, but...

I don't think this situation with my sister is repairable, so.

Um, I gotta get going.

But, um,

I'll see you soon, I hope.

Sure.

Do you think we'll ever have a tree of our own?

I don't think so.

Mama doesn't like them.

Well, that's closer to it. Did you hear the difference?

Hey.

Clara and Carlos, Maggie's friends. Oh, hi. Nice to meet you.

That's our daughter, Lucy, up there.

Are you, um, Archer, famous cinnamon roll baker?

I guess I am.

Come by the Charlie's store sometime. We'll pay you back an ale. Deal. Okay,

kids, see you next time.

They're great. They are sweet. That they are.

having fun thanks again bye maggie see you soon hey so

this is the infamous children's choir they sound great you would

fail a lie detector test before they even hooked it up um

i did it i sent this

to my sister in aspen That's so wholesome.

What did she say back?

Nothing. She won't respond.

But I wanted to thank you for encouraging me.

Are you and your sister really that different?

No, we're that much alike.

Oh, well, that'll do it.

It's impossible to overstate how competitive we are.

I'm sorry.

Anyway, I didn't come here to dump on you.

The choir.

We have a new app.

that we're getting ready to release. It's in beta right now, and I was

talking with my team... No, no, no apps.

Just hear me out.

It helps kids hear and match notes.

You can upload their songs, and the app will reactively help them sing it

correctly. It's all like a game.

It just teaches them music, Maggie.

There's nothing in there that's gonna become sentient and take over the world.

It's old school and technology happily coexisting.

And it would help me a lot to have some young testicles. Yeah, I've gotta lock

up.

Okay.

I guess I'll see ya.

And that was today's fun fact about Christmas trees. So remember, when

you're ready for a tree, come on down.

I'm Ed, and this is Ed's Christmas Tree Farm.

Well, what do you think?

Are you selling trees or used cars?

I'm selling my style, my... what do you call it? My brand.

Who are you?

Archer?

Hello?

Hey, uh, sorry to call so early. We live on a farm. We've been up for two hours

already. What's wrong?

Oh, just a small issue.

I don't have any heat here.

Uh, I swear, I could freeze a polar bear. It's so cold here. And I've

watched every video I could find online about furnaces, but none of them refer

this furnace.

So, any suggestions?

Well, son, did you put any wood in there before bed?

Wood?

Okay.

Wood, but...

Okay,

so I just cram it full of logs, light it up, and I'll be warm again?

No, no, it's not quite that simple. You see, the trick with fires is you've got

to start small.

Do you have any small pieces of wood laying around that you could just throw

in there? Maybe some dried bark?

Oh, yeah.

a dozen or two big logs in there, you should be good to go.

Yes.

Man has created fire.

Archer, do you have a fireplace at home?

I do. Well, how do you start it? I press a button on a remote.

Great. This is really rolling. Thank you so much. You saved my life. Why don't

you come over, have a hot shower and some food?

And then you just tap there to stitch it.

Got it. Wow. This is a hoot. Now, just remember the most important rule of all.

The internet is forever.

Right. So don't be that guy. Definitely don't be that guy.

Thank you for breakfast.

Anytime.

Oh, and don't forget to say goodbye to Maggie. She's in the barn.

Come December, shining gold and silver.

those rings

I don't understand.

You said you were staying in town.

I was.

And then... You gave me that.

And my plans changed.

Why are you here?

You were right.

Hotel trees don't count.

And I realized I was doing the same thing to my children that... you know.

Why didn't you call and tell me you were coming?

Look, we can go if you don't want us here. I didn't say that. But I mean,

hey, do whatever you want. You always do.

Mom, we're all set up.

Hey, guys.

Did you find the bunk beds?

I'm gonna take the top one tonight.

Tomorrow, we'll switch.

You know, that's the same room that your mom and I slept in when we stayed here.

Think you'll be comfortable there?

Good.

Mom?

What if Santa doesn't find us?

There are some concerns that our change of plans will be confusing for Santa.

Then he won't be able to find them. Oh.

Well, I actually know of a place where you can write a letter to Santa. And I

know for a fact they get delivered.

Should we do that? We could go first thing in the morning.

Great idea, but...

I have a bunch of calls tomorrow morning.

Maybe in the afternoon.

Or I could take them. Yes, please.

When you kids are done writing your

letters, I want you to meet me right over there because I want to give you

each a cherry wink cookie.

Sound good? Yeah. All right.

She's in the barn.

I'll be right back, okay?

you sound great what are you doing here uh well at the moment my

sister is on a work call in my house and max and mia are just outside with your

mom writing letters to santa at least it gives you and your sister a chance this

has never worked out before okay so let's control our expectations

Whenever we get together, we always revert back to our old ways, like we

can't break the pattern.

I'm sorry, Archer. That sounds toxic.

You have no idea.

Tell me.

Okay.

Buckle up for this one.

Growing up, once we were...

old enough to start earning money my parents would track exactly how much

money we earned every year to the penny was that meant to teach you the value of

work or money no no no they wanted us to learn the value of winning at all costs

on december 25th at 12 01 a.m whichever one of us had

made the most money for the year got huge presents

And the other one got nothing.

Marsha, you were just little kids.

Yeah, but we became little mercenaries.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, after copious amounts of therapy, I went no

contact with my father.

And his parting shot, he did it one last time with his board seat.

It's gonna go to whichever one of us has the higher net worth this Christmas

morning at 12.01.

Archline has two new apps coming out in the new year.

The one for kids and one that we're calling Project Harmonies. Anyway, if

any news leaks about either of them, my stock is gonna skyrocket and I'm gonna

be worth way more than my sister.

But don't you want the board seat?

Uncle Archer, we brought you a cookie.

Hey, uh...

Mia, Max, this is my friend Maggie.

Hi. And these are her special little pigs.

We have to be very gentle around them, though, because they startle easily.

Max does, too.

Hey, how about I trade you that cookie for some blueberries for the pigs?

What are their names?

Well, this is Johnny, and this is June.

Why'd you name them that? They're named after one of the greatest country

musicians of all time. And her husband.

Oh, you're good.

Hey, guys, you know, Maggie actually runs a children's Christmas choir.

We'd have to ask your mom, but I'm sure you would be welcome there.

Yeah, my goddaughter Lucy would love to be friends with you.

Oh, yeah?

Fun.

Yeah, get in there. Look, look at the blueberries over there. You can't have

this. This is mine.

Get over there.

Thought I saw you here.

Well, you still build a good fire, Maggie.

I think you wrote your first song here.

Yeah, I had such big dreams.

Dreams only die when you stop watering them, kiddo.

Archer wants me to use one of his apps with the kids.

I feel like I'm going to the dark side.

Hey, you remember Grammy's rules about thank you notes?

Always handwritten and proper cursive.

She just about keeled over when you started dotting your eyes with those

little hearts.

You see, the thing is, what we grew up with is what seems right.

Cursive was right for her. Me, I was fine with printing. And you...

Just like Uncle Henry and his massive collection of LPs and 45s, right?

CDs were too scary for him.

Are you saying I'm turning into Uncle Henry?

No, no. What I'm saying is, you grew up in a home where we played a lot of great

music, like Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt.

Yeah. And you learned from them.

But maybe it's time you figure out... How those ladies inspired you and used

it to make something new.

I'm so stoked you guys are doing the cookie crawl this year.

Hey, anything to get people in here, right?

Speaking of which, we promised Archer an ale, so feel free to bring him by

sometime.

Yeah, maybe.

Okay, what did he do this time?

He wants me to use this app with the kids. He thinks it will help. What app?

Yeah, what app?

Maggie?

Hi, I'm here with Lucy and she has a message for you.

I want to try the app!

Did you get all that?

Did you just get outvoted?

Rolled right over me. Hey, Maggie.

This is gonna be fun, okay? And if it's not, we can stop.

Okay. I trust you.

No, you don't.

No, I don't, but I'm trying.

We'll take it. We'll see you soon.

I don't hate tech, you know.

It's just everything made with these apps sounds the same to me.

That's what Lewis wants me to write.

What do you want to write?

I don't know.

I used to dream of writing the next great Christmas song.

Sounds silly, you know, but... I guess I just want to write something that will

make my fans happy, my manager happy, my distributors happy.

I literally want to make everyone happy, but no one is.

There's this funny thing that we do when something's not working, we do it

harder. At work, I tell people, okay, we tried that, it failed. Now instead of

doubling down, why don't we step back, find a new approach?

In your case...

I don't know. I could be completely wrong, but it seems like your career

hasn't been working out the way you want it to, but you just keep trying harder

and harder.

And every step feels further from my heart.

Well, you know what they say. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

If you're lost, go back and try a different road.

Are you saying I should shake things up?

Yeah, shake things way up.

Do whatever you want. Just make yourself happy.

And trust me, everyone else will be right there with you.

Come on.

Okay, and then if you hit the note, see, your avatar advances.

Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay, now this option up here is really fun. You

see all those people there? Those are all of you.

So you get to track each other's progress as you all move through the

different levels. You can send each other rewards. You can give each other

virtual high fives. You can even challenge each other to sing-offs.

Pretty cool, huh?

Yeah. Okay, so you're all going to have a chance to play around with it.

If you have any problems using it or if you have any ideas for how we can make

it better, write those things down and Maggie will let me know about it. All

right, go for it. Have fun.

You never stop, do you?

And you never start.

I haven't seen you take one meeting since I've been here. No wonder I'm

getting the board seat.

We're grabbing takeout on the way home. What would you like?

You know what?

I'll just have whatever you're having, okay? And I'll meet up with you later.

Okay. Max, Mia, let's go.

Hey, everything okay?

That was my manager.

He said he can't book me anywhere big enough to justify keeping me on, so he

dropped me.

It's over.

My career's over.

It's gonna be okay.

So what are you gonna do?

Well, I've worked through stage one, panic.

And last night I embraced stage two, crying in self-pity.

And now I'm firmly in stage three, pretending I don't care and envisioning

walking away.

But you love making music. I know, but I feel like I'm in this dysfunctional

relationship with it.

Maybe Archer's right. Maybe I need to shake things up. Do things my way.

Well, speaking of Archer, and you didn't hear this from me.

But your choir is getting better already.

Really? Yes. I was listening to them a little bit last night, and they're

getting good.

And more importantly, they're jazzed about it.

Lucy's keeping a list of all the new features she wants. Of course she is.

Oh, are you guys coming to the rap-a-thon? Can't. We booked a party

tonight. That's good, though. Yeah.

But, you know, if you want help, I bet Archer is free.

What? What now?

Okay, you know what? We're going to go from the top.

This guy supports your career.

I know.

He's employed.

He's smart. He has great eyes. All true.

And he calls you on your nonsense.

I mean, I can see why you're not attracted to him. He's so not your type.

Yeah, he really is all those things, isn't he?

And he bakes. Oh, I forgot about the baking. That's it. I'm inviting him.

Hey. Hey, guys. Come on in.

You must be Piper. Hi. So glad to meet you.

Max and Mia, welcome back.

The little piglets missed you.

Let me take your coats.

So, what do we have here, son?

You want to tell them what kind of cupcakes we made?

Reindeer. I put on the antlers.

Well, look how clever you two are.

Come on in. We're setting up in the dining room.

You can sit here, Mia. Oh, good timing.

So, this is the famous wrap-a-thon.

I've been looking forward to this.

What are we wrapping here?

Well, every year the businesses downtown do a cookie crawl. It's like a pub

crawl, but for the whole family.

We did this.

Do you remember? Yeah, I do.

You guys are going to love it.

It's like an assembly line. So, Mom and I make up the little boxes, and Mia and

Max, you can put something inside each one. Like... one of the Christmas

cookies, or a little pig ornament.

Ed closes the boxes, and Piper and Archer, you can decorate them with a

ribbon or both.

Let's do this.

All right. All right. Okay.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Oh, I need some more of these.

Cocoa kettles, laughter and cheer.

Jingle, jingle, Christmas chimes appear. Let's go in another box.

Archer? Archer?

I want to do ribbons for a while. Can we switch?

Yeah. Thanks

for

having us all over.

It was fun.

And thanks for noticing what was happening with my sister and I.

Happy to help.

Hey, fun fact.

I played my first for real solo gig in here. Really?

Yeah. When it's not Christmas, they have a little stage set up here. Just big

enough for one person. They do open mic nights, comedy, poetry slams. I was so

nervous.

Okay, um, I was up late last night thinking, and I'm going to ask you this

gently. You can say no whenever you want.

Okay. You remember I mentioned the other app we're developing?

project harmonies it's basically the online equivalent of that but globally i

i don't understand it lets people put on a show save the live performance make it

downloadable and monetize it and we added in these augmented reality

features so users can watch the show but it looks like it's taking place in a

different location i've been trying to figure out what the hook is what would

make it different and you told me i did

What did I say? Singer-songwriters.

Poets. Original content only.

It's like the latest in technology meets good old-fashioned talent.

I need someone to help me. Maybe a musician who still believes that talent

matters?

I did say that, didn't I? Yeah, you did.

Can I think about it?

Of course.

If she agrees, we're going to keep it simple. 15, 20 minutes each, 12 acts,

one after the other.

You think we can get this done by Christmas Eve?

It would be tight, like wildly tight, but I love the direction.

It's authentic.

Can you get marketing to start playing with it?

Just sent the email, I already know some acts, and I set the meeting with Dev in

10. You're so good. It's almost embarrassing.

Max? Mia? I gotta go. Keep me posted.

Hey.

Oh, the kids are outside.

Looking for more pine cones to hang on the tree.

They're having a great time here.

Thanks again for letting us stay.

Of course.

So, something on your mind?

Okay, so I guess I didn't call in advance because I was scared you'd say

no. You're my sister. You're always welcome. I'll try to be better about

letting you know that.

Me too.

And that's our time!

You guys are amazing!

Thank you so much for your hard work. We'll see you next time. Oh, and

remember to give your suggestions to that handsome-looking guy back there.

All right, so what did you guys think? Was that cool?

Really? I'm so glad.

You guys are singing so well. I think you could be on stage.

This is a pine cone.

No, that's not a pine cone. That's a flying sparkle dog. I'm surprised you

kids don't know this stuff.

I called in dinner, but they're busy, so it'll take an hour.

But look what I found.

It's the Fortunopolis game we played. I think it's the same one.

Look, there's a piece of tape we put on the lid when Uncle Archer broke it. Why

did you break it?

Because your mom beat me and I was a terribly sore loser.

Hey, why don't we play while we wait for the pizza to get here?

Yeah!

Some people with micro pigs swear that they are very smart and make for great

pets. But not me, though. No, sir.

They're just livestock to me.

No, no, no, sweetheart.

You're not livestock to me. You're my little precious one. Yes, you are.

Oh, yes, you are.

Ed, come wash up for dinner.

Okay. Well, that sounds like the dinner bell. Until next time, I'm Ed.

Oh, it's okay.

You're okay. You're okay. There you go. You want me to publish it?

No, no, no. I need to add some more hashtags and make sure the metadata is

right. Really? Who are you?

240K followers.

Does that stand for 1,000? I stand corrected. You are amazing.

As the sole owner of all four shipping ports, you owe me $200.

Piper, can we just stop and have some dinner now? No.

I'm winning. Pay up.

Okay.

Here's your money.

Can we stop now?

Some things never change.

You just can't stand to see me win.

Okay. Here is all of my play money. It's yours now. You're rich. You win.

I don't care.

Can we just eat, please?

No. You don't get to just walk away.

It doesn't work like that. Do you even hear yourself?

Uncle Archer, please don't go.

I'm sorry.

Archer, hi.

Hi. We're just about to have some pie.

Come on in, join us. Oh, thanks.

We're just in the kitchen.

Hey, um, uh, I was just, um... We're glad you dropped by.

Maybe you can help settle a little debate that we've been having.

See, I think that if Ed continues to eat my pies at such an alarming rate, that I

have every right to hide them. But my daughter thinks that I'm being

controlling. I didn't say controlling.

Well, it was implied.

It was, honey. Hey, whose side are you on?

Oh, good point.

So, what's your opinion?

Um... My... My opinion is that a video of Ed learning to bake his own pies

would probably go viral. Mm-hmm.

Archer, Maggie tells us that you are going to do some big concert on

Christmas Eve. It's not big. It's just a beta run of our new app. And you want

our Maggie to help you?

No. I want Maggie to headline it.

If she will agree to it. Ooh.

Archer, has Maggie told you about her Uncle Henry and his humongous collection

of LPs and 45s?

Hmm?

Well, uh, oh.

Fine, I'll do it. I'll do it. You will?

Yes.

Amazing. Great. Well, now that that's settled, um, how about some pie?

I didn't know where to go so I ended up here.

I think I just wanted to laugh with your family.

How do I do this?

How do I build a family when we revert the moment we see each other? You find a

new way.

Because as this brilliant guy once told me, if what you're doing isn't working,

try something different.

You were my big brother.

You were stronger, faster, and everyone liked you more.

My entire focus became beating you.

Why?

It was never about the money.

You know that, right?

I know.

I couldn't understand why you barely talked to him these past years.

But I think I do now.

I couldn't heal from the damage while he was still trying to inflict

it.

I don't know how to do this.

You do, though.

Pipes, you're raising the two most cooperative kids I've ever met. They

find common ground on everything.

they're pretty great huh but that's not even my point that kind of respect and

love between young siblings it's not factory installed equipment they learned

it from you which means you know what it looks like you just have to

find a way to gift it to yourself so

lots of therapy oh so much therapy but

I can be there for you.

Please don't give up on me.

I won't.

TJ's bringing up all the livestream equipment.

So, from a technological point of view, we're set.

I want you to go last.

You okay with that?

Yeah. But the kids sound so good. I want to give them some of my time. Is that

okay? Of course.

Oh, it's Clara.

She's melting down. I think it's business stuff.

I'm gonna go help her. Okay. Stop by?

Sure. Hey, if it's business stuff, maybe Piper and I could help, too.

We're completely out of options here.

I think it comes down to competition.

There are already three other microbreweries in town. Maybe we could

offer a wider variety.

Or, oh, I don't know.

You know, a smart guy once told me that if something isn't working, don't keep

doing the same thing harder.

I wonder who that was.

Miss Frosty. No, it was me.

I know it was you, but do you remember Miss Frosty?

Yeah, it was one of those little ice cream joints near us. They had a few

picnic tables, but nothing comfortable.

So everybody got their ice cream and then ate it in the car.

Eventually, they closed.

New owners came in and made it a place for the whole family.

I get it, yes.

Those other breweries, they're loud, right? Where guys go after work to watch

the game, yell at the TV. They're not places for families.

We have all that room out back. Yeah, yeah. We could put in chairs.

Fire pits, movie nights.

Games inside in the winter. Yes. Yeah. You can even have a draft pool for

juices and sodas. Why is it called Trolley Stop?

Oh, um, years ago there was a trolley.

Bring it back.

Find some old jitney for sale. Rehab it. A few nights a week, it makes the rounds

in town. Anyone coming here rides for free. Yes, the kids would love it. The

adults wouldn't have to worry about driving home.

Brilliant.

You two are some kind of dream team.

Thank you. Thank you.

And now be sure to tune in on Christmas Eve and watch my baby girl sing.

Until then, I'm Ed, signing out after another successful Christmas cookie

crawl. Ho, ho, ho!

TJ, what's up? Can you talk freely?

Nope. Okay, then listen.

Do you know someone out there named Ed?

Sure. Well, he just posted a video talking about how he can't wait to hear

his daughter sing live on Christmas Eve, encouraging everyone to tune in. Uh-huh.

Then a whole bunch of hashtags showing gratitude to you, Archline, and you

guessed it, your new software.

Mm-hmm.

Good news, I guess, is the stock is soaring. Your net worth has never been

higher. And we were going to announce in a week anyway, so whatever reason you

had to delay is no longer in play.

Okay, got it. Thanks.

Hey, I can't explain.

That's why you've been so nice.

What? You're making more than me this year.

You're getting the board seat, and you knew it the entire time. No.

Kids, pack up.

We're leaving.

Piper.

Piper!

Pipes, listen to me. This was leaked. I deliberately delayed any announcement

until the new year so that you could have the seat.

I am not your charity.

Take the seat. It's yours.

It means more to you than it does to me. No, I need to win it fair and square.

What's fair about this?

Let's go.

In the car. I don't want to go.

I want to stay too.

Are you sure I can't get you anything?

No, I'm fine. Thanks.

I put the information about the concert out there.

I mean, I was that guy, wasn't I?

A little bit, yeah. But it's okay, really. I am so sorry, Archer. How much

is this going to hurt your business?

Oh, my business is fine.

It's my relationship with my sister.

I'm sure you've noticed the competitiveness.

At the end of the day, I knew I was taking a risk, but I decided to help

Maggie. But you shouldn't have to choose, son.

Family is family, whether you're born in it or you find it on your own.

Well, it's bedtime for farmers.

Big storm coming in. I can feel it in my bones.

You be careful when you drive home.

I will. Good night.

Tell me something good.

Well, um, I wrote a Christmas song.

And I think it's not bad.

I may play it tomorrow.

Yeah?

That's great.

I'm proud of you.

Um, hey, I have a question.

If technology is so great, why can't they get the icing to cover the entire

pop tour?

Don't make me laugh, Maggie McKenzie.

I'm trying to be sad right now.

You're kind of ruining it.

Lewis? Wait, what are you trying to say?

Okay.

That's great, thanks.

Okay.

Right, so, how's the feed?

No problems that we couldn't solve. Heavy traffic on the servers, but so far

so good.

Maggie's up in about an hour.

Great.

what's wrong maggie's still at the farm she's not coming

Hey. You want to tell me about it?

Um... I've been talking with Lewis.

He heard about the concert tonight.

So I played him my Christmas song.

He thinks it's a winner.

Okay. But he doesn't want me to play it tonight.

He wants me to get back in the studio and release it next November.

I see.

He wants to rep me again, Archer.

And he doesn't want me to showcase your product for free.

He thinks you're using me, I guess.

Well, I'm glad he believes in you again.

Good luck.

You're leaving?

Just like that?

What do you want me to say, Maggie?

I'm not using you.

I made you the headliner. I know, but Louis thinks... Louis?

Louis dropped you.

And then as soon as he heard about this, as soon as he thought he could make a

profit off of you, he's back?

I don't know.

Maybe it'll all work out this time. Maybe if you just keep doing what you've

always done, but do it a little harder, everything will turn out well. You don't

understand how hard this business is.

I'm scared that... What if... What if this is as good as it's

ever gonna get for me?

What if you go back and work with that guy and you never find out?

kids Maggie's a bit delayed but I'm gonna help you with your warm-up but I

need you on stage right now one up on stage that's it thanks for trying come

on hurry they're already warming up hey hi

I was so terrified of this board position.

It's too much for me. I'm glad it's going to you. It's not going to me.

You're perfect for it. That's why I was delaying any announcements.

That day at the brewery, it felt like a glimpse of what you and I could do if we

were on the same team for once.

What?

O'Donovan has to sit on the board of directors or else the entire board is

dismissed, right?

Right. There's no rule that says.

Two Donovans can't sit on the board.

I like where this is going.

Let's split the job, 50-50. What if the board disagrees?

Then neither of us takes the position, the board is dismissed, and we start

over. I love it when you play hardball.

But listen, Pipes, you and me, we're going to have to fight to make this

work. That means no more running away for either of us.

Deal?

Deal.

So, is everything set here?

One major hiccup.

Maggie's not coming. What are you talking about? She got a call from her

old manager.

No, I mean, what are you talking about?

She's already here.

Thanks for coming out on such a stormy night.

A little housekeeping.

This is TJ over here with the camera. Please stay out of his way and off

stage. Otherwise, sing along, dance, enjoy yourselves, and feel free to use

Archer's app to interact with the performance.

If you haven't downloaded it yet, now is the time.

By the way, David.

What? Are you and Maggie together?

I'm just going on record.

Noted. The kids will go up first, and if we have enough time, I might do a song.

So get comfortable.

Thank you to Archer and his team.

Everything has gone perfectly so far, and I'm sure everything is going to stay

that way.

What happened?

Okay.

It's okay, everybody. How about let's all take out our phones and use our

flashlights. Everybody, can I get your attention over here, please?

Everybody, can I?

Can I have your attention, please, over here?

Everybody, please listen to my brother.

Thank you.

Okay, so we've got 11 minutes to fix this. This is upstate New York. I know

you all have generators, so if anyone thinks that they can go home, grab

yours, and bring it here in a couple of minutes, please do that, okay?

TJ, do we have enough power to run the broadcast?

Probably, but not enough to run lights to.

Okay, okay.

Ed is going to be your point person for the generators.

We also need you to find any candle that you can get your hands on and get it up

on that stage, okay? My sister Piper will be in charge of that.

Thank you. I know we can do this. You're amazing. Let's go.

Thank you.

And I'm sorry.

five seconds everyone good evening and happy christmas eve to all our friends

around the world i'm maggie mckenzie and i'll be bringing you the final

performance of the night we lost power literally 11 minutes ago uh but thanks

to our friends and family we manage this high-tech culture

Okay, we have a couple of minutes left. Enough time for me to do one song.

I have a lot of songs, as some of you may know.

But Christmas is a time of surprises.

And tonight, here's yours.

Surround you like a ribbon. Hold you close. You're the one thing I've been

missing. I remember this.

Oh, to be here with you is the key.

Tis the season come December, shining gold and silver.

Sleigh bells ringing, snowy weather, twinkle lights that shimmer.

Been counting down my days, stockings hung by the fireplace.

Memories so evergreen, this Christmas you're all that I need.

Wrap my arms around you like a ribbon, hold you close, you're the one thing

I've been missing, I remember this.

Oh, to be here with you is the gift, and so I...

with love and peace.

Good night.

And we're out.

Thank you so much, everyone.

Wow.

I called Louis back.

Oh, what'd you tell him? I said no thanks.

I'm gonna shake things up.

Mind if I come along for the ride?

I was hoping you'd ask.