To New Beginnings (Det nye år)

TO NEW BEGINNINGS

- Vincent, it's time. - Yeah, all right.

- Who needs a top-up? - Great Champagne.

- You really need to get a TV. - Are you drinking Champagne?

- No. It's alcohol-free. - It's not Champagne. It's Crémant.

- The Champagne is for midnight. - I can't tell the difference.

- Jens, isn't it almost 6? - Yes, calm down.

Okay, I think I've got it.

We're seconds away from the live transmission...

Kris, you're in the way. Move aside.

- Can everyone see? - Turn it sideways, Dad.

- Oh, there he is! - What about Vincent?

- Vincent, Frederik is on. - King Frederik!

- Oh, he looks good. - He's a very handsome man.

He gets 12 million kroner a year.

- Does he really? - One million per month, tax-free.

It's more complicated than that. Let's just focus on the King's speech.

Did you pay for parking? Are we in a green zone?

Blue, but it changes in the new year.

- After midnight? What if it's before? - It doesn't matter!

They don't give out tickets on New Year's Eve.

- Does everyone have a drink? - Yes, we have Crémant.

- I miss Queen Margrethe. - She was fluent in five languages.

- I don't think so, Jens. - Italian, French, German, English...

- And Greenlandic. Well, Danish. - So four.

- I can't hear a word. - Vincent?

Why not just turn it off and watch the rerun later?

That won't improve the speech. Caro?

I once had mojitos with Joachim at Simon's Bar.

I didn't know it was him. I think he liked being anonymous.

- He tells that story every year. - It's a true story!

Stop it, Caro! What the hell are you doing?

Ow, Dad! Not the hair!

- It looks good. - Vincent, it's on!

Let's give a big thanks to King Frederik the 9th.

- The 10th. - Right...

And I assume it's: "Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie!"

"Same procedure as every year, James."

Before I give the floor to our beautiful hostess -

- who has opened her house to us again this year...

- Once again. - Yes, once again.

I'd like to propose a toast -

- to Martin, your husband and my best friend, who's no longer with us.

- To absent friends. - To absent friends.

Well, as the beautiful hostess and all that...

- Speech, speech, speech! - I don't think so.

This is a special year, because Finn is going to be here.

- Hi, Vincent. - There you are.

He looks just like his dad. Come here. Bring it in.

I'll try that again.

Finn is coming, and this is very new to him as he doesn't know anyone.

We'll take care of him. I can't wait to meet him!

- Do you like him, Vincent? - What I wanted to say...

Is he hard to "find"? I mean, because Finn is a goofy name.

Let's just remember to embrace new things, okay?

And old!

Jens, if you want Caro to eat, you need to get started.

- Jens is driving Caro to a party. - First New Year's without the parents?

- I can get there myself, Dad. - No, Jens should meet Laura's parents.

- If they're there. - They will be. Right, young lady?

- Yes, Mom. - All right!

I'll go to work my magic in the kitchen. Also, cod is definitely not extinct.

There's one left, and we're eating it tonight.

I caught it myself. Oh, is Katrine eating with us tonight?

- Katinka? Yes. - Just making sure.

- She'll be here anytime. - Anytime is nothing time.

She said something about some friends and a cake...

Not the wreath cake? We brought that.

I have no idea, Jens.

But is it serious, or just la-dee-da as usual?

- "La-dee-da as usual?" - Well...

It's actually going well. Really well in fact.

Is there something we should know?

I'm considering having kids. Well, we're considering it.

Okay.

How the hell do you do it? Tell me your secret!

Take it easy. I'm just considering it.

- Why waste time? Isn't she 24? - No, she's 25. Almost.

At least she's older than me this time.

She's really down to earth. She's studying law.

She wants to do a PhD, and she's working on an app with vintage...

Good evening.

- Good evening. - Oh, I thought Nomi was here.

- Hi! There you are. - Yeah, I just let myself in.

Can you take this?

- This is very exciting. - This is Finn.

- Hi, Finn. - Hi.

- Would you introduce yourselves? - Good idea.

- I'm Kris. - You're Nomi's best friend?

You worked at a café together in Frederiksberg?

- Merry New Year or whatever you say. - You say "Happy New Year".

You say "Merry Christmas and a happy New Year."

Let me try to guess, since Nomi has told me so much about you.

- You must be Jens? - No, that's me.

Oh, hello, little Jens. And you're an investment banker?

- You brought a wreath cake. - I didn't ask him to.

I thought flowers were too basic, so I made a cornucopia.

Anyway... It's nice to see you in a different setting, Jens.

- What do you mean? - You performed at Francisca's party.

- You were there? - You two have met?

I loved it. You guys rocked. It can't have been your first time.

Not even close! I was way better 30 years ago. Back then...

I love music, truth be told.

I'm crazy about music, to be honest.

I'm not surprised to hear that!

- We danced at Francisca's party. - Are you sure?

Well, I guess I'm forgettable... You don't remember?

If the main table was here, I was sitting there.

- And I was there? - Yes, with Francisca in the middle.

Oh, so that was you. Or it is you.

Well, that's fun. And here's the man of the house.

Hello, buddy. How's it going?

How did you two...?

Finn is the lead physician at the radiology department.

We started running up and down the stairs to see each other.

It's the classic doctor-and-nurse trope.

Wow, that's wonderful.

I've heard doctors take off their wedding bands at staff parties.

My wife died two years ago, so it hasn't been relevant in my case.

Oh... I'm sorry about that.

Don't worry, Kris. You couldn't have known.

- Hi. - Finn seems like a good guy, huh?

- Yes, definitely. - He's a very interesting man.

- What do you mean? - He's a doctor, good-looking...

- A good-looking doctor, huh? - He could have been a total loser.

- Come on, honey... - Of course. It's great.

- It's good for her to be adventurous. - Is that what this is?

You know...

All those new feelings and dreams can be invigorating. Remember?

He was pretty intense on that dance floor.

- I don't need to hear that. - Oh, don't be such a dud.

I'm cooking, and I don't even know if Katrine is coming.

Kris is so anti-social.

He buys five roman candles and expects us to take care of everything else.

She's allowed to have this.

It was bound to happen at some point. We need to give him a chance.

Yes, of course we do.

I don't know what you're trying to start here.

He's not Martin.

There isn't anyone like Martin.

No...

- Should I open some wine? - Yes, that bottle one there, please.

Should I fix up the plates?

Kris? How does Vincent feel about everything?

In terms of Finn and all that...?

- He doesn't look very happy. - Well, he never does.

But Finn seems pretty nice, doesn't he?

- Is everything okay? - We're almost ready to eat.

I can't believe Finn doesn't remember me!

- I didn't know he's a bit older... - He's not that old.

- You both look happy. - We do?

- You're glowing. - I don't know about that.

You're always glowing.

- We're out of toilet paper. - It's in the cupboard.

Yes, I found out the hard way.

You smell really good.

- What's that? - It's this year's cod.

I caught it myself this morning. 6.5 kilos.

Ah yes, the Gadus morhua as they're actually called.

- I was about to say. - Did you clean it?

Just like with people, 25% of a fish consists of organs.

- That much? - My grandkids call that a "fun fact".

I teach high school biology and we...

Hold that thought. How long has it been out?

- It's next in line, I just had to... - Is it going bad?

- I think we need to dress it now. - Can you do it, Finn?

- I don't want to get in Jens's way. - He'd welcome the help.

I would love to support Jens in the kitchen if he needs it.

Let me put on an apron. That's a big guy.

But if we take out the guts we'll probably be down to 4.5.

- Sure... - First up, chopping off the head.

You make the incision just behind the cranial cavity.

I'm glad I don't have to do it.

And here it is.

This is a fine specimen.

Very nice catch, Jens. Then we have the eyes.

We need to dig those out...

Here it comes... The eye of the cod.

No way!

You did not just do that!

Fish eyes are full of vitamins and minerals.

We'd all live to be 200 if we only ate cod's eyes.

- Finn just ate a raw cod's eye! - You're such a show-off.

I only have eyes for you.

Let's go sit down while the soup is still hot.

- Do you need any help? - It's under control. Thanks, Finn.

No problem. I'll come back to this.

Thanks.

Where do you want me to sit?

- Cheers! - Happy New Year!

- Water, anyone? - But why not use it some more?

Why don't we share our New Year's resolutions?

- Caro, why don't you start? - No way, Mom.

- Why don't we skip it this year? - You start.

It just takes so long.

We'll do a lightning round. 45 seconds each.

- That's an unfortunate attitude, Caro. - What?

We're supposed to talk about the things that were, are and are yet to come.

- We can do that tomorrow. - Or Wednesday.

- Come on, 45 seconds. - Someone say something then.