Episode 5
Episode 5 of A Storm for Christmas begins with Frank bringing the Swedish woman to a shelter for the homeless. He tells her to get to work and they begin serving food. Ronja gets informed that the airport has found out who Abba is. Thea, the security officer, arrives and tells them that the old man’s guardian got a heart attack in the plane. He himself doesn’t remember much. Henrik gets a call from the Food Security Authority saying that Lasso will be sent to a kennel. Asle tells Ida that he can’t find Ingvild anywhere. He tells Ida that the poster of her album looks good. She says it was made after she had visited her parents. She claims that the Ida in the poster doesn’t have a mother. A woman and her child approach Thea and complain about Alex being a drunk and inappropriate Santa Clause. Thea takes it up with Alex, who complains about the kid pissing on him. Thea takes him away anyway. The young girl at the bar asks Marius for tea. As they talk, he says that running shoes are a good idea as a gift for her father. He then reveals that he had a girlfriend over twenty years ago. She had a daughter but she soon committed suicide and the grandparents didn’t let him take care of the child. The girl asks if he has any regrets and he says he regrets not being able to be a father to her. Thea asks Alex if everything is okay in his personal life. He says it is his work life that is the problem. He then hears the announcements about Kaja and tells Thea that he can talk to the parents. Ronja hands Abba off to Kine, who will guide him onto the right flight to get to his daughter. Before leaving, Abba hands Ronja a portrait drawing of her face. David arrives soon after. He tells Kine he wants to cancel his ticket but changes his mind when she says that the weather might clear up by the next day. Olav messages Diana asking her to come to the VIP lounge for a surprise. He’s arranged for a typical Parisian meal of steak and fries in order to bring Paris to her. Henrik’s boss tells him the dog shouldn’t be here anymore and Henrik agrees to take him elsewhere. The young girl at the bar finds Kaja hiding amongst some Christmas decorations. She asks Kaja if she got lost on purpose and Kaja says yes. She wanted a break from her arguing parents. The girl admits she never had a mom or a dad but lived with her grandparents. She asks Kaja if they should go find her parents. Marius calls someone named Jan Haugland and asks if he can speak with ‘her’, despite ‘knowing what their agreement was’. The person at the other end cuts the call. Later, Marius’s health seems to get worse as he throws up in a restroom. Arthur comes across little Lukas playing the piano. Maria arrives to stop him but Arthur requests her to let him continue and soon joins in to play with him. People around them begin to stop and listen, Alex, Ingvild, Ronja, and David included. A montage shows the Swedish woman happily helping out at the shelter, Kaja reuniting with her parents and Ida tearing down the poster of her album. The young girl buys a pair of running shoes. Ida comes to stand by Ingvild and apologises to her. At the bar, Marius collapses. Everybody cheers as Arthur’s piece gets over. He stands up and bows, clearly moved by the reaction. The young girl comes back to find that Marius was taken by the paramedics. David asks her if Marius is her father. She nods.
The Episode Review
Nearing the end of the show now, we see the characters have a direct effect on each other. Arthur plays the piano with Lukas and the young girl helping out little Kaja are prime examples of this show’s overlaying message: be kind. The replacement of a spoken monologue with a piano piece and a montage was great. It created a poignant moment in the show where one can almost visibly see the changes happening in these people. I do wish we had gotten to see more of the old man and his particularly sweet smile. But stories are now beginning to come to a close, leaving a bittersweet air at the end of this episode.
