Review: Happy! “When Christmas was Christmas”

Christmas has never been creepier.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Following last week’s episode, this latest stretch of psycho-pop insanity picks up with imaginary friend Happy and alcoholic ex-cop Nick Sax stuck in traffic. They’re on their way to find Hailey, who’s been kidnapped by a monstrous Santa Claus, but they’re not going anywhere trapped in the morning rush hour. We’re treated to a flashback of Nick’s past, where we find he used to be partners with Meredith, as they visit the home of a high-powered criminal attorney who’s been beating his wife. Nick wants to treat this guy to some street justice, but the lawyer makes it clear that if Nick so much as touches him, his career is over. They leave, discouraged, but still aching for retribution.

Cut back to the present, and Nick begins doing some actual detective work to find out who and where this creepy Santa kidnapper is. They visit an old friend of Nick’s, a former sketch artist who now lives on the streets in a similar situation to Nick’s own self-destructive tendencies. With Happy helping Nick’s description, they manage to get a decent sketch of the guy.

In the background of all this, Meredith and Amanda, who is in custody after punching Meredith in the face inside a police station, decide to do some investigating of their own. They look at the disturbing Christmas card the creepy Santa had left at Amanda’s house and go find the parents of another similarly missing child with the hopes of finding more info or maybe catching the guy.

Meanwhile, Nick and Happy are on the run from the police, after Nick realizes that maybe his recent killing spree/grand theft auto/purchasing of illegal firearms may have earned some attention from the cops. One chase scene later and Nick’s new ride is totaled, leaving Nick and Happy on foot. They show the sketch they have to the prostitute from the first episode, who then directs them to the place where all creepy Santas go, a strip club called “The North Pole.”

We get another look at Nick’s past, seeing how he was having an affair with Meredith, which was putting a strain on his relationship with his then-wife, Amanda. Turns out, Amanda’s pregnant, and she’s feeling like Nick is ignoring her, which he is. Meredith and Nick are called back to the lawyer’s house to deal with another domestic violence call. When they get there…well, it’s not pretty. The wife is dead by her husband’s hand and the baby is now a Hot Pocket, literally exploded in a microwave. Nick, in a rage, takes the lawyer outside, puts his mouth to the curb and pummels him on the back of the head, presumably putting an end to this horrific affair.

Back in the present, Amanda and Meredith’s search comes up short, as they discover the parents had faked the kidnapping and were just keeping their child behind a false wall in the attic. Meanwhile, Nick and Happy dig around for info at “The North Pole”, encountering an ancient stripper named “Mrs. Claus.” She tells them about a perverted mall Santa who did vaguely awful things to the kids that came to see him until his elves rebelled against him and made sure that he “Hung himself.” This surprises Nick, who insists he’s looking for someone still alive, to which Mrs. Claus informs us that this Santa had a son, and that son did not do too well after his father’s death.

Things then take a turn for the disturbing. Creepy Santa forces Hailey to eat a drugged fruitcake of some kind, that sends her on an acid trip to help him find Nick. So, when Nick goes out back to The North Pole to relieve himself, who should ambush him but the creepy Santa himself. He beats the crap out of Nick, and in a shocking twist, leers down at a terrified Happy before declaring, “I can see you” and reaching out to grab him. Chilling.

Our Take:

This show started out with a first episode that felt a little bit rushed and worried me that this would be a show that’s all style with no substance. But I’m happy to see that each of these episodes has been better than the last, combining good storytelling with a dizzying and exciting visual style that makes this show a compelling mystery, a good character piece, and an energizing treat to watch. Can’t wait for next week.