After five years, Hjem til Jul charmingly returns for a third season. Five years ago, the quest for love seemed to have ended forever for nurse Johanne (Ida Elise Broch). With that, Hjem til Jul (Norwegian for Home for Christmas) also came to an end after two seasons. In a way, it was fitting because the story had reached its conclusion, but it was also a shame because I definitely would have liked to see more of her life. This December, however, Johanne is single again and returns for a new search for love. And that makes for enjoyable television once more.
Season three does the same as the previous two seasons, but wraps it in a new guise.
The third season offers the same recognizable moments that the first two seasons did, yet they manage to do something new. It's a smart move that they set this season five years later. If Johanne had to enter the dating scene for the third Christmas in a row, the repetition would have been too distracting. Now, she has been in a relationship for several years and is much more mature. Although five years seems short, people at thirty-six are in a very different life stage than at thirty-one, and the creators portray this well.
The dating pool now consists of more single fathers than before, and a twenty-something is now truly too young. This season also succeeds in making viewers wonder which man she'll date next. Will it be the handyman renovating her kitchen, the young colleague, or the single father she meets at a parent evening? And what’s wrong with them this time? It results in scenes that are sometimes heartwarming but more often awkwardly hilarious. Highlights in terms of the latter are a dinner at one of the men's houses and a Christmas play in which Johanne unintentionally plays the lead role.
This season allows for more serious storylines.
This season also succeeds in incorporating more serious themes into the story, which suits the series well. This season raises questions about whether your life is truly complete once you have a job, a partner, and children. This is well illustrated in the storyline of Johanne's sister. The fact that Johanne takes on more responsibility in both her work and personal life also adds more drama. Since this season is slightly longer than the previous two, there is more suitable space to tell these stories.
Like the first two seasons, Hjem til Jul is delightfully atmospheric once again. The snow-covered streets, festively decorated hospital corridors, and preparations for the Christmas holidays create that expectant atmosphere that hangs in December leading up to Christmas. The lead actors are also enjoyable once again. Ida Elise Broch is still a fine actress, and actors like Gard Løkke (the handyman), Dennis Storhøi (Johanne's father), and Helga Guren (Johanne's sister) are delightful as well.
Season three of Hjem til Jul is a pleasant return to the Norwegian awkward Christmas scenes we've seen in the first two seasons. The story is once again concluded, and there would, in principle, be no need for a fourth season. Yet, I would absolutely not say no if the creators found a new way to continue Johanne's story.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
