Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas was one of the most charming holiday series. I loved that it was mainly a rom-com, but it also included endearing moments of family and friendship.
It felt like a cozy, spiked hot cup of cocoa and a present with a big bow.
Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas Episodes 5 and 6 included more angsty moments as Kate contemplated her final choice and learned who accepted her for her true self, and not some fantasy version.
Delilah (Mary McDonnell) and Laura (Lucy Eaton) shone as meddling matchmakers for Kate and Callum and Mac and Evelyn.
Those two were like two peas in a pod and knew how to get into people’s minds to get the job done.
I appreciated that the series mainly focused on Kate’s self-awareness, and we could tell when she was finally ready for love.
When In Doubt, Add a Third Option
Deliah wasn’t wrong, but it was still funny that she thought adding a third dating option would make Kate’s dating crisis easier.
Sometimes, I thought that Kate barely gave the dates a chance and put all her eggs in Richard’s basket.
It also seemed like she thought it was absurd that Callum could be attracted to her.
Therefore, it was refreshing to see her with Charlie since they were both in textile design and hit it off instantly.
While I’m unsure if there was romantic chemistry, Charlie understood Kate and genuinely wanted to make her happy.
I loved that he took her to the Winterhorn Museum and that he wanted to display some of her patterns there in the future.
Kate may not have made a romantic connection, but she met a valuable friend.
Delilah and Laura Made an Entertaining Matchmaking Duo
Laura seemed to connect better with Delilah, which should be no surprise. They both loved to meddle and matchmake in people’s lives.
Delilah knew how to poke Evelyn, who insisted she and Mac weren’t together, but Delilah could sense jealousy and made it worse by arranging for her and Mac to ride past Evelyn on Mac’s motorcycle.
Evelyn’s face was priceless, as was her friend’s, when Mac came begging for forgiveness and asking her out.
She didn’t like being made a spectacle of, but Delilah proved her point.
Delilah was also the only one who knew about Callum and Kate, but she slipped by letting Laura know there were issues.
Laura couldn’t have her best friends at odds, and I loved how she helped Callum arrange a date and even involved Drew.
It may not have worked, but that was because of Richard, and Laura will make the ideal person to help Drew in a matchmaking business.
I’m relieved that Kate realized her best friend had good intentions.
The Platonic Moments in Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas Were the Best
Delilah (Mary McDonnell) and Evelyn (Jane Seymour) sold any family scenes they were in.
I always enjoy flawed families, and Delilah made many mistakes by abandoning Kate as a teenager and failing to forge a meaningful relationship with her.
However, she showed up, tried to bond with Kate now, and kept reaching out to her, even though Kate seemed distrustful of her mother’s gestures.
I suspect talking about Kate’s love life worked better than buying a house in London and hiring Kate as her new decorator.
However, Delilah spoke the truth. She didn’t need Kate’s permission to move to London, and she wanted to be there if Kate needed her, whether to test her skills as a new client or to share a cup of coffee.
While I understood that Kate’s relationship issues stemmed from her mother, she needed to let them go, and it was refreshing to watch her make peace and form a new, lighthearted bond.
I loved Evelyn and Callum’s bond. She treated him like a son, and they often experienced similar relationship issues.
I laughed when they took their frustrations out on the pie dough because they were both afraid to move on in their romantic relationships.
Since they weren’t biologically related, it may have been easier to talk honestly about things like village gossip and encourage one another.
I also appreciated that Evelyn called Callum when Mac fell because she needed someone to lean on, and Callum cared about Kate’s dad. Everyone was so interconnected.
Richard Didn’t Know Kate As Well As He Thought
Richard was a smooth operator, too good to be true, as Kate feared.
He knew how to woo Kate with romance, like by planning a beautiful Paris date, but he broke the rules of the game because it was someone else’s date.
He thought he was the only one who mattered to Kate, yet he romanced other women.
He should have known the female contestants would compare notes since Kate had grown close to another one, Majorie.
Kate never expected to feel jealous when she and Charlie ran into Richard and Majorie on a date, but chalked it up to the rules of the game.
Her antenna only went up when Majorie started crying at the ball that the guy she’d fallen for had brought someone else.
That’s right. Richard had bought matching bracelets for both women and flowers and sent similar flirty texts.
He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong since he’d ultimately chosen Kate.
To him, it sounded like a game, and they had the best romantic story, whereas to Kate, it meant something.
When he accused her of overanalyzing things, Kate realized Richard did not know her as well as she thought he did, and she wanted someone who did.
Perspective Was Everything, and Callum and Kate Remembered Things Differently
Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas Episode 5 featured some lighthearted moments, especially when Oliver tried to apologize to Callum, and Callum was only grateful the truth was out there.
He was so depressed that revealing his feelings hadn’t gone well, and it was hilarious to see Oliver comfort him. Poor Callum needs some guy friends.
We’ve seen that perspective is everything, in that people remember things differently from the past, and Kate and Callum could barely speak to each other.
Callum insisted that Kate stop treating him like a joke, as she thought she deserved more time to process the impulsive kiss he gave her when he changed the rules.
The best part of the scenes was Laura’s comical expressions as she learned that her best friends had kept a secret from her and looked determined to fix this rift.
It was challenging not to side with Callum since Kate seemed so stubborn and wouldn’t listen to reason.
Kate enjoyed controlling everyone else’s lives, but wouldn’t fix her own mistakes, and everyone had grown weary of that.
She didn’t want to hear it since she was worried about her dad’s panic attack, but Callum had grown tired of walking on eggshells around her, stating that not everything was about her.
She needed to open her eyes and realize who had shown up when it mattered most. It was not fair to think Callum only thought of her as a rebound.
He’d always been there, and she contributed to this painful rift.
Friends-to-Lovers is One of My Favorite Tropes For a Reason
It was difficult not to feel for Callum. He’s so much like Laura in that he’s a hopeless romantic and has pined for Kate for years.
He put everything on the line, and she didn’t show up. It’s not entirely her fault, as Richard whisked her away, but she needed to stop treating him like an idiot who didn’t understand his feelings.
Kate thought being with Richard would be easy, since her coping method was to keep things simple and superficial.
It wasn’t until she learned the truth about Richard that she understood what her mom and Laura meant about embracing the messy and the one who accepts you for you.
Matchmaker Laura gave her the push by giving her a framed photo of sketches Callum had kept from years ago.
He’d always seen her, and she finally jumped off the cliff, admitting she loved him, too.
It was endearing how he made her follow him on the patio, so they could kiss by their pear tree and honestly remember that moment.
I shipped them from the beginning. There was something sweet about how they’d been there for each other’s worst times and supported each other.
Callum would do anything for her father, so he’s already passed that test.
I know Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas is a limited series, but I’d love a follow-up on these characters someday on the Hallmark Channel.
Over to you, Hallmarkies. Were you happy with how it ended, or did you want Kate with Richard?
Let us know in the comments.
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If you like Christmas movies, don’t miss any of our Hallmark holiday movie coverage. If you’re a Hallmark fan, I also cover When Calls the Heart. Interested in more analytical and passionate pieces? Check out our editorials and op-eds.
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