Christmas Casanova

Ha!

Remember, you have to flip the action and reaction.

- Okay. - Hup!

Beautiful. Ha!

Keep it up!

Ha! It's a dance!

Communicate with your opponent through eye contact.

Hey!

Ha.

Ha!

Hup!

Not bad for a podcast creator.

Not bad at all!

There you go.

- Okay. - So, any last thoughts

on sword choreography?

Where it's led you? How it's shaped your life?

Well, I suppose it's like I said before.

It's a dance, even with an opponent.

Well, thank you, Jaclyn. I'm gonna miss this.

Are you gonna put these training sessions

- in the podcast? - No, no, no,

that was just for fun.

I keep myself out of the narrative.

I believe that makes for a messy storytelling.

I like keeping my focus on my subjects.

Merry Christmas,

- and thank you again. - Merry Christmas.

Hi.

Hi! Ooh, are those the special Christmas flavor?

Yep. Helena's Bakery started making them yesterday.

Wow.

And I just finished up

with Jaclyn Snyder.

Nice!

Well, have you decided what angle you wanna take?

I think I'm going with sword choreography

as a metaphor for conflict and communication.

You're like a Michelangelo with a slab of marble.

Yeah, exactly.

Oh, by the way, Max and I

are going to a Christmas pub crawl on Friday.

You should come.

Help wake up the Christmas spirit?

You know I have plenty of Christmas spirit.

I'm just... going cozier these days.

Tonight, I'm taking another stab at my mom's mulled cider recipe.

I know you miss your mom. Especially this time of year,

but I'm worried you're missing out.

We live in New York.

You should let the city help you celebrate.

Yeah.

Um, by the way, Janice was looking for you.

She wanted to set up a meeting.

Yeah, I heard she was making rounds

about how to...

optimize listenership.

I'm worried "Life and the Like"

is on the chopping block.

She set up a meeting with me yesterday.

- It was fine. - Of course it was!

"Live Life Winning" is one of the most

popular podcasts out there right now.

Uh... Janice.

Six o'clock.

I think I'm gonna work from home today.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, how's it going?

Now, an ongoing misconception

is that apps and our phones create distance between people.

But the Sous Vide app is the perfect example

of the exact opposite.

It's like a book club, but with recipes.

Real-time cooking parties over long distances.

Um, our market research indicates

that this new generation of consumers is review driven.

For a Christmas theme, we thought it'd be a fun idea

to incorporate cartoon characters like elves,

reindeer, or even Santa Claus himself,

if that's not too hackneyed.

Hackneyed?

Hmm. Maybe.

Um, or maybe something classic?

Like Ugg boots? So many studies.

All this market research. I guess I was just looking

for something a little more...

Alive.

Raw.

Alive. Raw.

- Yeah, yeah. - Yeah.

We can do that.

Either way, really looking forward

to your pitch presentation on the 23rd.

- Thank you for coming in. - Mm-hmm.

Great. Yeah.

I'm sorry, guys.

Alive. Raw.

Yeah, you should probably just give this account to Nadia.

Don't you think? I mean, we all know Christmas content,

it's... it's not your forte anyway.

Beth Barca should know that the creative director is on it.

We need to win this account for the agency.

It'll keep us tapped in and relevant.

And speaking of Christmas content,

I'm feeling rather inspired.

I'm gearing up to go see the Schultzes for the holidays.

Tanya and I are actually

meeting in a few hours to discuss travel plans.

Tanya Schultz, your bestie from childhood!

Maybe, on your drive to Vermont,

you two can discuss why you're not a couple already.

- Maybe. - You know, the latest

"Live Life Winning" podcast

made me think of you two. It talked about how people

ignore good things that are right in front of them

because they think that everything worthwhile

must be a challenge.

That's not a revolutionary philosophy, Bryan,

it's a cliché. Tanya is my friend.

Her family is like my family.

End of story. Get outta here. Go do some work.

Think about it.

- Okay! - Yay!

- Okay, there you go. - Thank you.

: Cheers.

Yum!

It's good, but it's still off.

Better than last time.

You know, I think the cardamom was a good addition.

You know, if this meeting

- does happen with Janice-- - If you're unable to hide

from her until 2036?

Do you think I should come up with pitches for new podcasts?

No! I think you should stand by "Life and the Like".

She comes from a true crime background.

I mean, she wants things that have a big hook, you know?

To be sensational. Maybe I could do a series

on a spy. Or a tightrope walker.

What makes your podcast

so much fun is that you find everyday people

who do everyday things,

but you end up wanting to keep hanging out with them.

You're authentic! So be it!

So, no spy?

Maybe not.

Fine.

They only had one raspberry left.

But I thought I'd let you have it.

- Yes! - To repay me,

you can do the driving to your parents' house.

About that. Okay, you know that huge

pine tree outside my parents' kitchen window?

- Yeah, the squirrel hotel. - It fell over onto the roof

and now they have to repair it, so they've decided

that they won't be hosting Christmas this year.

Are they sure? You know, maybe we can help them.

They are pretty decided. In fact, they're coming here,

to spend Christmas in New York.

I'm a bit worried it's gonna be tight at my place.

But the silver lining is now they get to meet Cliff.

Wait, um, Cliff?

I thought you weren't that into him?

I forgot to update you. Okay, we had this great weekend.

He took me upstate to this festival

and we went ice skating. And...

...something clicked into place.

And it turns out, he's really a Christmas guy,

so I think Mom and Dad are gonna love him.

I'm a Christmas guy.

Of course. It's not a contest.

- No. - 'Kay. Anyway,

Cliff's outta town, but he'll be back on Christmas Eve.

You know, of course, you're welcome to join us,

but I also know you may have your own traditions here, so...

Oh, do you not want me to join you guys?

No, no, you-you can, you know, I just...

I know it's not Vermont, so...

No, that's okay. I wouldn't wanna get in the way of Cliff.

No, you... you wouldn't be.

Uh, oh, you just got a...

I think I was wrong when I used the term "cliché"

to describe your assessment of me and Tanya's relationship.

You know how we always say there's a fine line

between cliché and classic?

Classic being universal, undeniable.

Maybe this is classic.

Maybe you're right about me and Tanya.

Finally.

You know how we always talk about that ah-ha moment?

Last night there was some raspberry jam on her chin

and it was just this... ah-ha!

- It was a moment! - Can I just point out that

you are talking about all this in advertising terms.

Of course, she has this new boyfriend named Cliff,

who's a real Christmas guy.

What? I thought you wanted the two of us to get together?

But now she's not available.

You know, today, "Live Life Winning,"

they are doing call-ins for a special Christmas episode.

You could call them.