The Norwegian Christmas show Home For Christmas is a millennial blessing and curse. Not only is it moving because of how realistic it feels, but it’s also a reminder of how this generation doesn’t have the best luck in love. Sure, it’s simply a comic representation of the situation for some, but for others, it’s their whole personality, no? Anyway, Home For Christmas season 3 is all about Johanne growing up and working on herself. Not only in the romantic sense but also in the “I have to get my life together” sense. Johanne is working on getting the ward manager post this season, but the best part is, she isn’t changing herself in the process. She’s still being completely honest and a little bit naive in her pursuit, but that’s what makes her optimistic Johanne. But in the love department, in typical fashion, Johanne’s in a dry spell after her lovely younger boyfriend Jonas decides to leave her because of their separate expectations about the future. Will Johanne find love again? Let’s find out at the end of season 3.
Spoiler Alert
Is Johanne okay?
Episode 7 of Home For Christmas ended with Johanne fainting just as she was stepping out to meet Bo, presumably the love of her life. Honestly, I was worried it would be some chronic illness, and we’d find out that this show is actually a tragedy and Johanne’s going to die, but fortunately it isn’t, and it turns out she had a minor heart attack (I don’t see how that’s any better, to be honest). It appears a man ends up finding Johanne and taking her to the hospital, but it’s real luck she ends up in her own hospital, or maybe someone helped transfer her. Anyway, Johanne wakes up way later on New Year’s Eve, learning that she’s been out for 5 days. She takes a moment to figure out what’s happened, but her family shows up, and they’re delighted to see she’s okay. It does feel a little bit like a final reunion because everyone’s there, and they’re all happy to see that she’s doing okay. And she is much better; she just had a concussion (and a heart attack). Man, it goes to show you, even compassion and being fit can’t save you from heart attacks. But hey, Johanne’s finally up and at it after getting all the rest she needed, so yeah, she’s fine.
Does Johanne Get The Ward Job?
In season 3, Johanne’s main focus is getting a promotion at work. There are a bunch of new people working as nurses, and she feels like she can definitely handle this workload. Additionally, we already know the only department she really struggles in is the love one. Johanne’s very compassionate, even for a nurse. She’s eager to connect with patients on a personal level. This is how she feels she will be able to have them be more cooperative. Johanne gets to act as ward manager for a week and gets monitored by a dude from the government named Magne. Magne and Johanne aren’t like public enemies, but he’s the opposite of her in every way. He seems stuck up, quiet, and observant as opposed to Johanne’s inquisitive and meddling nature.
It all begins okay until Ralf, one of the other guys up for the job, starts to wreak havoc on Johanne. When she plans a Christmas Secret Santa as a bonding exercise, he sabotages it. First of all, he makes it seem like nobody’s actually interested in doing Secret Santa and calls it a stressful exercise, adding-on to an already stressful time. Then later, he gives one of the nurses a plant that triggers her trypophobia on purpose so that he can turn her against Johanne too, making for a good case against the whole endeavor. But eventually, after the whole heart-attack fiasco, everyone realizes they want Johanne and that she was at no fault here. So the girls apologize to her, and Ralf’s already on “sick leave,” probably sick from embarrassment because he didn’t get the job, nor did he sabotage Johanne enough, so it’s all good. On the other hand, Magne’s report calls Johanne out for being overzealous in terms of compassion, but also points out how that’s what gets the patients to be more communicative and cooperative with all the nurses, which makes her the perfect candidate. So, yes, Johanne’s Christmas present really is the promotion she’s been waiting for and working hard towards.
Is Johanne Still A Gold Monk?
The biggest running joke this season is the “Gold Monk” one, made up by Vera and Johanne. Vera is a Swedish nurse who Johanne’s quite fond of, and when she discovers that Johanne hasn’t slept with anyone in nearly a year, she calls her a gold monk (and then later Bente gets called a platinum monk). This becomes a joke that they keep coming back to the whole season, but as Johanne comes closer to Christmas, it’s really starting to look like she won’t meet anybody who can break this curse. In this season, there’s a nurse at work who flirts with her, but then ends up telling Vera the same things and doing the deed with her in the copy room, where Johanne finds them. Then she meets a parent at her nieces’ and nephews’ school because Maria isn’t able to handle the stress. But unfortunately, Adrian’s ex-wife is the school coordinator and continues to come in between them, asking to be involved in their calendar and wanting to tell Johanne how to take care of her kids. She also clearly doesn’t like her at all, but more importantly, Johanne only got with Adrian because she was feeling a little bit desperate at the time, and didn’t realize the answer she was looking for was in front of her the whole time.
Bo the carpenter has been eyeing Johanne ever since he saw her. He ultimately finishes her Christmas gift—the kitchen—in time, and even decorates by the time she returns home after her massive Santa run. He’s hoping to see her at 11 PM too, but that’s when Johanne gets a heart attack. Bo and Johanne spent time with the kids, and everyone in the family likes him too (those who’ve met him, of course). But Johanne’s doubt appears when one of his colleagues from the bar shows up to watch the play with him. Without asking him, she thinks they’re together, and this leads to her pushing him away and being mean to him. But she learns on Christmas Day that they’re just friends, and in fact, Bo just needed moral support (uff).
In Home For Christmas season 3’s ending, Johanne and Vera do a whole trip of the town to find Bo, but even the flight he’s meant to take takes off before Johanne can make it. So ultimately, Vera gives her a gold dress because she’s the gold monk. She gets her dressed, and when they step inside the house, Johanne’s surprised to see her whole family there, the Christmas dinner she wanted to host finally coming alive. But Tor tells Johanne that the family’s sorry they neglected her and didn’t realize how precious she was until she had a heart attack (he’s really feeling it, poor papa). Everyone loves Johanne, and she’s genuinely blessed in this moment, a Christmas miracle she’s been waiting for, but the ultimate gift is that Morten found Bo at a gas station and brought him home, telling him everything that happened, making Johanne not a gold monk anymore (how cute).
Will There Be A Season 4?
Netflix hasn’t renewed Home For Christmas for a 4th season, but I also feel like Bo is the perfect guy for Johanne finally. She’s got everything she wanted, and this is a realistic happy ending for the show. Though, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Johanne again. Maybe next time, instead of dealing with love problems, Johanne and Bo could be struggling with a family Christmas. Who knows? With that said though, what did you think of season 3? I think it’s become a fun part of my Christmas watchlist.
