Home For Christmas: Johanne’s Journey To Finding Love Again Following Her Breakup With Jonas – Was Season 3 Really That Necessary?

While we discussed Miranda’s hardships as she was juggling motherhood and work in the original Sex And The City series in the 2000s as a woman in her mid-30’s, I thought to myself of another woman in her mid-30’s – Johanne, the 36 year old nurse and protagonist of Netflix’s Home From Christmas. Unlike Miranda, she wasn’t a mother, nor did she ever plan to become one. In fact, by season 3, the newest season that came out in December, Johanne broke off her years-long relationship with Jonas, her main love interest who was much younger than her, break up for that exact reason. I was honestly so sad to see their relationship end. At the same time, though, it wasn’t much of a surprise. It was even realistic.

When they first got together, Jonas was 19 and Johanne was 32. He had no way of knowing what he wanted for his future back then. Years later, he gained maturity and experience; 5 years worth of both. He’d gotten to know what he wanted and expected for himself, and that was kids. He’d never thought about that before. Not only did he want kids, but he wanted them with Johanne. She, however, didn’t want that, and she wasn’t willing to sacrifice that part of her life for him. The break up not because of a lack of love between one another, but because of the realization that they wanted different things for their future. When they met again some time after their breakup, Jonas revealed to Johanne that he had a new girlfriend and that, unlike with Johanne, he told her straight away what his hopes were for the future.

Johanne’s breakup with Jonas, even though I didn’t like it or approved of it, made perfect sense. Even so, it didn’t make it any less sad. She was back on the market, looking for love. She was back to where she started all those years before. As she embraced her new single life, she navigated a chaotic life, balancing a new leadership role, family pressures, and a return to dating. She focused on her personal growth, self-reflection, and finding love again. She didn’t have the best of luck in modern dating. But that wasn’t entirely her priority. She was merely having fun when it came to dating. Her main goal instead was being promoted at work.

To get over the breakup with Jonas, Johanne decided to remodel her kitchen. She was also preparing to have her family over for Christmas, so she was notably in a rush. After conducting numerous interviews with different candidates, she hired a carpenter, Bo. Though annoyed with the timeline of completion, he agreed to take the job. He even saw some of her intimate, most embarrassing moments in her casual dating pool, and was somewhat judgmental of her.

Embarking on a serious relationship following her breakup with Jonas wasn’t in the cards for Johanne. She was still reeling. She was still navigating her new normal and figuring out what it looked like without Jonas. She was scared of opening herself up to the mere possibility of beginning another serious relationship. The breakup itself was necessary, albeit painful, step in her personal development, stemming from irreconcilable differences regarding Johanne and Jonas’ separate futures that didn’t align with their future as a couple. To break it down more thoroughly:

The breakup made sense within the narrative for several key reasons:

• Fundamentally Different Life Goals: The primary reason for the split is that Jonas wants children, while Johanne does not. This core incompatibility, which was briefly touched upon in earlier seasons, is solidified in Season 3 as a reason they cannot sustain a long-term partnership.

• A Shift Towards Personal Growth: The third season shifts focus from a frantic search for a partner to Johanne’s self-reflection, career, and finding happiness outside of a relationship. The breakup forces her to stop chasing a “perfect” romantic ending and instead confront her own desires and “get her life together”.

• The Rejection of Societal Pressure: The narrative consciously avoids “punishing” Johanne for her choice not to have children. The show aligns with the idea that happiness should be the priority over conforming to traditional milestones, justifying her decision to walk away from a relationship that no longer serves her needs.

• The “36 and Single” Reality: The season portrays a more mature, slightly weary Johanne who has learned what to avoid after years of dating. The breakup highlights the often-difficult, real-life choices women face in their 30s regarding partnership, family, and personal freedom.

• The Focus on Internal Happiness: The story aims to show that finding a “home” is about finding peace and stability within oneself, rather than relying on a romantic partner to complete you. The breakup acts as a catalyst for this personal realization. 

The ending of season 2 saw Johanne making a grand entrance to tell Jonas she loved him. It was after her father made her realize that he made her feel like “home”. He made her feel safe. She initially hesitated to say her feelings out loud to their age difference, but her family, particularly her dad, made her realize that it just wasn’t important enough to miss out on an opportunity to be with someone she truly loved. Luckily for her, Jonas felt the same way.

Their breakup years later had nothing to do with their age difference. It had to do with their different views of their future together, which forced them to live their lives separately from them on. This factor could’ve looked exactly the same had Johanne dated someone her own age. The fairy-tale ending in season 2 felt like an ending to a rom-com. While it’s true that she was, indeed, happy with him, she was also scared of being alone. It wasn’t until she found out that he was the one who sent the 100 roses to her door that she developed feelings for Jonas (again). It wasn’t until only then that she saw him as a possibility for him to be the one for her. The ending for season 2 felt triumphant in the moment, but it also left open the question of whether these were good enough reasons or not. It turned out that Jonas sending Johanne 100 roses as an apology wasn’t enough. They still broke up. They got to experience real, sincere, genuine love for one another, but nevertheless, they still broke up. Love alone wasn’t enough to save their relationship.

When the series first made its debut, it was in 2019. It sounded like another one of those “single woman at Christmas” stories full of clichés, right? Well, kind of – but the series cleverly (and very humorously) upended them. Johanne was on a mission to find a date for Christmas. She was on a journey of online dating, having amazing sex (again and again… and again), laughing her head off while living with her best friend, nurturing her relationships within her family and befriending an elderly female patient at work who inspired her with no-nonsense talk about not fitting into society’s expectations. 

Season 3 was a 180 degree turn for Johanne. This time around, she wasn’t looking for love. Love found her. She spent much of the season focusing on herself; not on love. She didn’t care if she had a date for Christmas. She just wanted to be with her family. She wasn’t chasing love anymore. She allowed to naturally come to her in time. There’s a great difference between the two. Chasing love is a forced, ego-driven pursuit based on fear, insecurity, and trying to prove worth through effort, often resulting in anxiety and attachment. Conversely, having love find you is a natural, peaceful process that occurs when you cultivate self-love and stability, allowing a genuine connection to flow freely. To break it down more thoroughly:

Key Differences:

• Effort vs. Flow: Chasing feels like a constant, exhausting fight for attention, time, or validation. Having it find you feels natural, peaceful, and requires no begging or manipulation.

• Internal vs. External: Chasing stems from a lack of self-love, trying to fill an internal void with external validation. Being found happens when you are whole on your own, operating from a place of abundance rather than neediness.

• Character vs. Chemistry: Chasing often leads to chasing fleeting chemistry or toxic patterns. Being found brings a partner who respects your boundaries and shows consistency in action.

• Outcome: Chasing often leads to heartbreak and being taken for granted. Being found leads to a partnership where you are cherished and respected. 

Essentially, chasing makes you a runner in someone else’s race, while allowing love to find you makes you the priority, allowing the right person to step up willingly. 

Season 3 of Home For Christmas felt drastically different than the original premise of the show. It wasn’t about Johanne finding a boyfriend anymore. It wasn’t about Johanne relentlessly trying to find a date to bring home for Christmas so that she wouldn’t be the only one alone for the holiday season. Instead, it was about Johanne relentlessly finding herself. Season 3 gave a reflective retrospect of Johanne’s life. It wasn’t about a relationship with another person, but rather about the relationship with oneself.

Joanne went a year being celibate following her breakup with Jonas. Her younger colleagues at the hospital where she worked referred to her as a “Gold Monk” – someone who’s gone a year without sex. This motivated her to begin a string of flings and one-night stands. But never did she think of getting into anything too serious. As she told her friend of what it was like dating in her mid30’s, ‘At this stage, you get to pick between two kinds of men. A divorcee with kids and baggage or a man-child with a Peter Pan complex and endless commitment issues.’ Based on my friends’ dating experiences, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

And with everything going on in her life, it didn’t really seem like she had much time for a serious relationship. She spent much of the third season trying so hard to keep her family together, doing everything she could to make sure no one was hurt and that nothing was falling apart. She was there to support her dad, who found himself to be lonely as he was still reeling from his divorce from Johanne’s mom. She also found herself caring for her young niece and nephew while their mother was going through a crisis. It was exactly this situation that made her get closer to Bo on a personal, much deeper level rather than just someone she hired to fix her kitchen.

Most certainly, Johanne had a blast with Bo as the two spent the day entertaining the children. It was the first time in the entire season that she seemed truly happy following her breakup with Jonas. Seeing him again after the breakup brought back old wounds. It wasn’t that she was eager to get back together with him. She knew it could never happen given the reason as to why they broke up in the first place. It was rather a reminder of the heartache the breakup had caused her. She knew Bo would never be a meaningless fling if she ever built up the courage to ask him out. Consequently, she ended up chickening out. This trend continued days later, when, once the nurse came to terms with her feelings for the carpenter, she mistook his close friendship with bartender they’d previously spent time with for a relationship. This compelled her to attempt to put some distance between herself and Bo. The misunderstanding was soon dispelled.

Bo surprised Johanne by having the kitchen ready by Christmas Eve, which was a miracle beyond measure. He also left a note with the surprise, asking her to meet him so that they could give a real romance a chance. She happily rushed to meet him, only to faint on the street outside her front door. She had a heart attack, which was a terrible result of the stress she’d gone through. She woke up 5 days later, missing Christmas. Her health was fine, but she didn’t even care. Johanne was more concerned about the fact that she might’ve just blown her chance with Bo, after accidentally ghosting him for the second time in the same month. Even though he remained radio silent, she refused to give up and embarked on a quest to find him with the help of Vera, her younger friend and colleague. The duo ran around town and even chased down airplanes in airports. Yet, it seemed all their efforts were only in vain.

Inevitably, Johanne and Vera returned to Johanne’s place, prepared to spend a solemn New Year’s in each other’s company. However, Vera actually had a surprise for her friend: a New Year’s Party, attended by all her closest friends and family. To add to it, there was another surprise waiting for her. Bo was there at the party. Her brother ran into him at a gas station and invited him over. It didn’t take long for the duo to break away from the party and confess their feelings for one another.

As I watched the third series of Home For Christmas, I realized I wasn’t even intrigued by Johanne’s love life. I didn’t care who she ended up with; or even IF she ended up with anyone at all. The love story, I’d say, was somewhat unnecessary. And yet, the connection between Johanne and Bo was somewhat unexpected. Unlike the previous two seasons, Johanne, at this point, had grown quite a lot, which meant that the rapid fire of shenanigans and romantic misadventures was also reduced. That stuff is still present, but the third season was more restrained and less farcical than the first two. That did mean it was a little less funny, but the tradeoff is the emotional payoffs are more satisfying.

Life isn’t always funny, and I think that was exactly the point of Home For Christmas’ third season. It’s not always made for laughs. Sometimes, life feels messy. Sometimes, life feels sad. Sometimes, life feels completely empty. Those were all the feelings Johanne had following her breakup with Jonas. A year after the breakup, she found herself to still trying to put the broken pieces of her life together.

There’s no real timeline for grief. And grief doesn’t have to be just about death. It can also be about the life you envisioned for yourself no longer existing. Johanne was grieving that exact loss. She loved Jonas. She envisioned spending the rest of her life with him. But alas, that wasn’t going to happen. Perhaps it was never going to happen. Perhaps their relationship always had an expiration date; much like food you buy at the grocery store does. Relationships may have an expiration date due to fundamental incompatibilities, diverging life paths, or intentional, pre-arranged agreements (time-capped dating). Common reasons include mismatched long-term goals (e.g., children, location), evolving personal growth, or the relationship serving a temporary purpose, such as providing companionship during a specific life stage. To break it down more thoroughly:

Common Reasons for Relationship Expiration Dates

• Divergent Paths and Goals: Partners may discover their future plans do not align, such as differing desires regarding marriage, children, or career locations.

• Time-Capped Arrangements: Some couples intentionally enter a relationship with a pre-set end date, often used to enjoy a connection without long-term commitment.

• Personal Growth and Evolution: Individuals change significantly over time, and partners may outgrow each other or evolve in different directions.

• The “7-Year Itch” or Short-Term Spark: Research suggests the initial passionate phase of a relationship can fade within a few years, leading to a natural conclusion if not sustained by deeper compatibility.

• Practical Limitations: Temporary circumstances like living in different cities, school schedules, or temporary work assignments can create a functional “end date” for the relationship.

• “Learning” Relationships: A relationship may feel like it has reached its natural conclusion once both people have learned what they needed from it, suggesting it was designed for a season rather than a lifetime.

• Loss of Connection: A gradual fading of emotional intimacy, meaningful communication, or a desire for deeper connection can indicate a relationship has reached its end. 

Understanding that not all relationships are meant to be permanent allows for viewing them as successful, transformative experiences rather than failures when they end. 

When I first heard that Home For Christmas was coming back for a third season, all I could think of myself was, ‘WHY?!’ Like…why couldn’t you leave Johanne and Jonas alone and pretend they lived happily ever after in the fictional world? Then, as I hate-watched the series, I came to the realization that I kinda loved it. One happy ending is just another beginning. Season 2’s fairytale ending with Johanne and Jonas exclaiming their love for one another was just another beginning to the story of Johanne’s arc.

The whole point of the third season was that before Johanne ever thought of getting into another relationship, she first needed to be fully okay with herself. She first needed to fully embrace who she was as a person; as a woman. The season might’ve get different than the previous two, but maybe that was intentional. After all, life doesn’t always stay the same either. So to answer the question of the title – YES. It was definitely necessary. Love doesn’t have to be between two people. It can be between you and yourself. It can be the journey to finding the ‘YOU’ following heartbreak; a heartbreak that even caused Johanne a heart attack. This journey doesn’t have to be by societal timeline, but your own. Season 3 was there to tell that very story. Bo wasn’t the second main lead like Jonas was in the previous two seasons. He was the addition; the cherry on top. Jonas was the person that once made Johanne feel at home. Following their breakup, Johanne was forced to find her new home. But not in a new man. Instead, she had to find it within herself.