Team McQueen suffered a major loss last week on NOS4A2. This week, in “Welcome to Christmasland,” Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings) won’t stop fighting for her son Wayne (Jason David).
Chris McQueen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) made the ultimate sacrifice for Vic when he pushed her out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, the harm fell on Chris, courtesy of Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto).
Charlie and Wayne are almost to Christmasland. But the unexpected awaits Charlie, because Millie Manx (Mattea Conforti) is looking for a way out.
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IN CHRISTMASLAND
Wayne and Charlie make it to Christmasland and are greeted by everyone but Millie Manx. Charlie shows Wayne around, and gives him an astronaut jacket and a pair of giant scissors to play games. Before Wayne can start playing, he has to sign the guest book. When he writes his name, he stops after the first name. Charlie gives him some help, and Wayne writes Manx as his last name, like all of the other children before him.
Vic frantically tries to start her bike, but Lou (Jonathan Langdon) stops her. He does a quick repair, even though he doesn’t want her to go to Christmasland by herself. Vic is determined to save Wayne but doesn’t know what will happen. She wants Lou to stay behind because Wayne will need his father. That scares Lou, so he says Wayne needs his mother too. They kiss, and she asks Lou to stay with her father’s body.
Vic starts the bike and heads out. She sees Maggie (Jahkara Smith) on the side of the road with the explosives in hand. Maggie wants to go with her to blow up Christmasland, and Vic agrees to take her. Vic rides towards the spot where she heard Millie talking to her.
Charlie finds Millie in the Eternal Maze and wants to know why she wasn’t there to greet Wayne. Millie says she has enough friends. She wants to leave Christmasland, despite Charlie saying it’s a safe place. Charlie sees the cat pin on her lapel and knows she’s been outside of the park. She tells him about the house and they leave to take a look at it.
THE BACK WAY IN
Vic and Maggie arrive in Christmasland and are immediately spotted. While they walk, the girls talk about how Wayne may have changed and if he’s better off not remembering Vic. A little girl follows Vic and Maggie. She runs up behind them, but they hear her footsteps and turn around. Maggie yells “red light,” and the girl freezes. Apparently it’s a trick she uses as a librarian.
Millie takes Charlie to the house. He gets scared when he hears Mr. Tim from behind one of the locked doors. Millie takes him to her mother’s room and starts playing with the jewelry. Cassie (Celeste Arias) appears and starts dancing with Charlie, talking about their life together. Charlie gets scared and wants to leave, but Millie won’t leave without her mother.
Cassie says she’s tied to the house because of what Charlie did to her. She calls Charlie a failure and says he created Christmasland to escape. It’s a place where Charlie isn’t a failure and not a coward who devoured his family to feed his ego. It will all turn to static. Charlie doesn’t believe her because he’s immortal and Christmasland is forever. He says no one can get into Christmasland without him knowing. Cassie says Vic McQueen is already here.
Charlie tries to drag Millie away but she stops him and asks Cassie to go with them. Cassie says if Charlie loves Millie he’ll take her away from Christmasland before Vic McQueen unleashes the static that will take them all. Charlie heads for the door, and Millie stops. She says they will die if they go back to Christmasland. She wants to go to the real world, and wants Charlie to go with her.
DRIFTERS
Tabitha (Ashley Romans) and Lou wait for Vic and Maggie at the Sleigh House. The two of them compare notes about being in relationships with Vic and Maggie. They’d both do anything for their loves. Lou isn’t sure what he’ll do if Vic and Wayne don’t come back. Tabitha promises they will come back, with Maggie.
Vic and Maggie find the village and see a kid in an astronaut suit standing in front of a Christmas tree. Vic thinks it’s Wayne, but it’s a little girl. She says they are too old to be in Christmas Land and starts yelling for Charlie. Vic looks up at the tree and sees faces hanging from it. Maggie notices the details too and sees a familiar face on the tree.
The kids surround the adults, and Charlie calls out to her. The kids leave to gather around Charlie. Vic looks at Maggie and turns to follow. Maggie climbs under one of the trees. Vic finds Charlie standing next to Wayne and Millie. He welcomes her to Christmasland.
WELCOME TO CHRISTMASLAND
Vic calls for Wayne to come to her, but he stays close to Charlie. Charlie says Wayne doesn’t want to leave. Vic tells Wayne that Charlie is hurting her and Christmasland is not his home. She calls out to him again, calling him Wayne McQueen. Wayne yells back that McQueen is not his name. Charlie says Wayne’s healing just began and he’s happy in Christmasland, like all of his other children.
Vic points out that Millie isn’t happy. She says her bridge didn’t get there on it’s own. She wants to leave with Vic. Millie doesn’t say anything. Vic says she’s scared, but she wants to leave. Charlie is a monster who took Millie from her mom and took Wayne from her. He doesn’t belong in Christmasland; none of the children do.
Vic tells Millie that she will keep her word, she can return to the real world with her and see the Great Wall of China. All she has to do is bring Wayne to Vic. Charlie says they should let Wayne choose. If he wants to leave, he can. Charlie asks Wayne if he wants to leave. Wayne says he just got there so why would he leave.
Charlie smiles and tells his children that they have drifters among them. Vic McQueen and Margaret Leigh. Maggie finishes setting one of the explosives and leaves the tree. Charlie yells “scissors for the drifters” and the kids with weapons run after Vic. Vic runs into the costume store and sets an explosive. The kids get in and she runs out the back door.
CHILDISH GAMES
Maggie runs to the roller coaster to set explosives. One of the little girls follows her, sneaks up on Maggie and takes her bag of tiles. Maggie tells her to give it back and tries to play red light-green light with her. Another demon child shows up and they play keep away until the rest of the kids show up. The little girl runs into the Eternal Maze, and Maggie follows.
Another group of kids tries to corner Vic. A girl runs up behind Vic and jumps on her back. The girl bites Vic on the shoulder, and the others jump on them. A tree explodes, causing everyone to fall back. Vic gets up and starts running. The kids get up and run after her. The tree falls, and Vic makes it past the tree before it lands on the demon kids. But they don’t stay down for long, so Vic keeps moving.
Charlie is affected by the explosions and Millie watches him with worry. He thinks Vic poisoned Millie, like Cassie tried to do. He will forgive Millie, though, after she kills Vic and hangs her head on a new tree. Millie asks Charlie to stay in Christmasland and to let Vic leave with Wayne. He says he has work to do, and it would be fair to Wayne. Millie realizes that she’s not enough for Charlie Manx and she never was. Charlie says Millie is his joy, but they have to focus on Vic McQueen because she is trying to destroy everything they built.
Millie begged him to leave this place, and he wouldn’t. Now she asks him to stay, and he won’t do that either. She decides to leave one way or another, and Charlie grabs her. He’s her father and will do what he says. Millie tells him to hang Vic’s head on a tree himself and pulls away from him. She tells him Merry Christmas and leaves. Charlie gets upset, obviously blaming Vic McQueen for Millie’s behavior. He picks up a silver hammer and rushes out to find her. The costume shop explodes, causing Charlie to cough up blood.
THE ETERNAL MAZE
Vic gets away from the kids and sets another explosive. She runs back to the village and sees a group of kids watching a quartet singing a Christmas carol. Wayne is among them. When the kids run away, they leave Wayne behind. Vic runs out after him. When he sees her, he runs away to the Eternal Maze.
Maggie catches up to the girl who took her bag. More kids show up and Maggie gets her bag back. The little girl is angry and tells the others to punish Maggie. They attack her, holding her down so the little girl can bite her. Vic arrives and saves Maggie from another bite.
They hide from the kids until they run past. Maggie lets Vic know that she set all of her explosives; Vic did too. They hear more kids and try to be as quiet as can be. Maggie looks around the corner and sees Wayne. Vic calls for him, calling him Bats. Wayne doesn’t like that name and wants to play a game. Vic says she will let him play all the games and beat her if he goes home with her.
Vic tries to make Wayne remember his life in the real world and his nickname Bats. She says she gave him that nickname because she loves him. He says she doesn’t because she left him, no matter how good he was, she left. Vic says she’s there now, she’s through breaking promises to him. She gets close enough to hug Wayne and he stabs her with his scissors. He yells that he won the game and runs away.
CHRISTMAS IS OVER
Charlie Manx enters the maze and finds blood. Maggie picks up Vic, and they try to find the exit to the maze. Vic wants to find Wayne, and Maggie says they will. They get to the exit, but it disappears. Charlie shows up, saying the maze is his creation. Everything in Christmasland is a product of his imagination. Children always find their way out of the Eternal Maze, but adults never do.
Charlie attacks Maggie. Vic begs him to let Maggie go, saying he can have her. Charlie says he already has them both. He starts to hit Maggie again, and the roller coaster explodes. It hurts Charlie and he falls back. More explosives go off, hurting Charlie, and making him moan in pain. He immediately turns old. Vic picks up the hammer and hits Charlie in the head a few times. Maggie stops her, saying they have to get out before the place falls apart.
Charlie is able to get up and out of the maze. The children are running around screaming. He screams for Millie, but Millie is at the barrier. She hears his cries and jumps through the barrier anyway. The static appears on her hand and she runs to grab her ornament, a cat. After that, Millie hears a car door and runs away.
Vic finds Wayne at one of the cottages. She calls out for Bruce Wayne McQueen. He turns around and asks to play again. Vic picks him up and carries him away. Wayne protests the entire way, saying he will hate her forever. She stops, puts him down and firmly says that she is his mother and they are leaving. The power goes out in Christmasland. Wayne realizes that Christmas is over.
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
