Breakup Season

- Are you taking a picture? - Yeah! Wai-- wait, uh, stay that way.

- Stay cold? - No! No, no. Just, like,

look where you were just looking a second ago.

You can't be serious, I'm too cold.

Okay. It's all right, I think I got it.

Sorry for the wait.

He should be here any second.

-Happy, boo? -Happy, boo.

Is that a notification that you just tagged me in a picture?

-Yep. -Ben! Did you post that?

- Yeah, it's a great shot. And, and you in Oregon,

that is an event.

Woo-hoo! Hey-hey!

- Welcome home, city slicker. Oh! - Hey! All right.

Hey, Leonard, thank you for coming all the way out here, man.

Absolutely! Anytime, anyplace!

You need a ride, I'm your guy. Hop in. The van is warm.

Oh, great!

It's not just, like, I had divorced parents, you know.

But it's that I never get to settle.

You know, my stepmom spends the entire day

before Christmas baking, and she just loves it.

And I don't get to do anything like that 'cause I'm just being shuffled around

between my mom's side and my dad's side.

-And-- -Well, now you get to settle.

-What have you told them about me? -I told them everything.

-They already love you. -Oh!

Welcome, welcome to Vlogmas Day...

Twenty-two, you guys!

I am your host, Liz Russell. What did I do this season?

I ice skated with my very best friends in the whole wide world.

I had, like, a little mistletoe moment at Capital Navidad,

with you-know-who.

I don't know about you guys, but this time of year,

I'm always getting, like, Christmas carols stuck in my head.

This is my mama, Mia. She's still finishing up the semester

with-- how many more papers do you have left to grade?

Two. Can you please take that somewhere else?

Two more papers left to grade!

Rock star status right here, you guys.

Love this girl. She's so hard-working.

And this is my father, Kirby.

Ooh! When have I ever been called "father"? Father.

Be funny, Dad. Just go with it.

"It is here that the thespian aliens

regarded this earth with envious eyes

and made their plans, called... Rosebud?"

I don't know what that is.

I thought you were studying film.

Media, Dad. Film was last semester,

and I've told you that three times.

-Oh! -And psychology as well.

My big brother, Ben, is currently en route with his new girlfriend,

Cassie, who is going to be spending

all of Christmas break with us.

Finally! I am not gonna be the only girl in this house.

Liz, you need to finish the decorations you started.

The living room's a mess.

All right.

- Welcome. - Ben!

Hey! Hey, we made it.

- Oh! - Hey!

Oh, Mom, Dad, this is Cassie.

-Oh! Hi, sweetheart. Hi. -Hi!

-So very nice to meet you. -Oh!

- The famous Cassie. - Hi, Mr. Russell.

Oh, please, Kirby.

- Mr. Russell's for the cops. - Cassie!

-Hi, Dad. -Hi!

Have you two met?

Uh, no, not in person. But--

But I love your Intro to Psych videos.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

I'm gonna do more after Vlogmas.

It's just-- it's been so crazy.

Liz, I need you to finish the living room.

I've asked you twice now.

- Mom, they just got here. - Exactly.

Okay! Well, um, where do you want us to put our stuff?

Oh, yes! Okay, you're both staying upstairs.

It's a little cluttered, so don't mind that. And, um,

well, we don't really have, like, a dating sleepover policy in place,

but it is a full house, so just... be good.

All right, let's, uh, get upstairs.

All right.

- Welcome. - It's cute.

Well,

- that was-- - Oh, uh, yeah, they're--

they're clueless. You were great. As usual.

All right, let's, uh--

Can I just be horizontal for, like, five minutes?

Yeah. Uh, did you sleep on the plane?

Could just be the altitude?

Okay. Well, you do you. Don't be long.

- Could one of those firms take you on as an intern?

An unpaid intern? I can't do that.

It's such a catch-22. It-- In order to be an architect,

-you've to already have a job as one, and-- -You know what?

- Something will come up, it always does when you want it.

-Kirb! Can you-- -Wait for the guitar solo?

- Did you start the pasta? - Liz was doing that.

- Liz! - Busy!

Sorry, honey, hold on to that. Well, actually,

will you grate the cheese? Liz!

- That pasta is calling your name!

"Hi, pasta here! Paging Liz!"

- ...homework to do! -Okay, you're gonna have to finish it after.

What about that parachute book I sent you? Did you read that?

Yes. It was written so long ago, it wasn't helpful.

-Do we have bourbon for the stake? -Liquor cabinet.

What about the school? Can the school get you leads?

-Yeah, I tried, but it's different post-grad. -Oh, shoot, basil.

Oh, honey, hold that thought!

-Nice piece, huh? -Yeah.

So, where are we?

-Here. Yeah. -Hmm.

People always forget about the east side.

These are all the railways circa 1904.

- Wow! So you can take a train here.

I wish. The passenger routes ended about 1982.

-You're from Chicago, right? -Mm-hmm!

Have you taken the Southwest Chief to, uh, LA yet?

No, I haven't actually.

-Never? Oh! -No.

That's one of the best trips in the world. You must.

- All right. - Kirby!

Duty calls. Coming!

You give that guy one inch and he'll talk to you all day about railways.

Oh, no, I-- I love seeing how people decorate their homes.

So, are you ready to learn about Ben's deepest, darkest secrets?

-What? -Secrets?

Oh, so, when I first met Evan's brothers,

-they had so much dirt on him. -Who's Evan?

My boyfriend, Ben.

Did you not watch my--

Whatever. He is perfect. Mm.

So, what are Ben's secrets?

-Okay, hey, come on. -Oh, so he's obsessed

-with architecture. -Okay, yes, I'm aware of that.

Okay, but that's not even the half of it. One year,

for his yearbook picture...

-...he dressed up as Frank Lloyd Wright! -Jeez.

-What? You did? Oh! -Yeah, well, I had the,

-the blueprints, the patterns, and the necktie. It was-- -Oh, stop!

-You need to show me this picture. Yes. -No, wait. Hold on.

Stop acting so embarrassed. It's kind of a humble brag.

- He loves it. - Liz, did you set the table?

That is Gordon's job!

We don't have time for that.

Okay, I can help.

She's nice.

-I'm sure Evan is nice to meet too. -He is!

- Why? Are they just not...? - Well, time's changed, things change.

- Okay, do you have all we need? - -Oh, here.

Oh, Mom, this looks so good!

- Nobody's saying grace or anything. - -All right.

- We're good? - Smells good.

Hey. You Cassie?

-Hi, yes! Um, you must be Gordon. -Yeah. Pleasure.

-What's up, buds? -Hey.

Okay. Welcome, everyone.

Thank you for making the trip home.

And a special welcome to Cassie.

- Oh, thank you! - To Cassie. Welcome.

- Yay! Yay! - Thank you, guys.

I'm just so happy to be here.

And how long are you here for?

- Um, seven nights. So, until the 29th, Friday. - Mm-hmm.

-And the wedding is Thursday? -Mm!

- I love weddings. -Have you ever been to a wedding?

No, but that Mormon couple that I went to high school with,

they just got married. They posted so many pictures. Mom, they are so precious.

-People post so many engagement photos. -On Facebook?

- Who uses Facebook anymore? - -I do.

-I use it for the marketplace. -Instagram now.

Liz, do you think you'll hang out with any of your friends

-while you're home? -No! I mean, I'll probably

run into somebody in town or something. It's always the wrong person.

Never happens to me.

Shocker. I wonder why.

-So, how did you two meet? -Mm!

-He told us. -I know, Kirby, but I wanna hear it from Cassie.

Okay, sure. Um, we were both in grad school,

and we had no classes together,

but, um, you know, two months later, we were...

-...at this place in LA and, um-- Yes. -The Long Haul.

- Um, which is this bar in K-Town,

it has, you know, dancing and an outdoor seating area and just, you know,

-space-- -And y-- you never see anyone you know in LA. So, it was,

- like, immediately exciting. - Mm!

- And Cassie, are you also-- - So then, did he, like,

- ask you out after that or like-- -Yeah. - So,

we talked a lot and then, uh, exchanged numbers--

- And we went out for drinks that week and, uh...

- Yeah, it was, it was really great. - -Yeah.

It was really refreshing to, um...

...you know, meet someone that way.

- What way? - Not on an app.

Oh. Did you guys read that article about dating apps?

-Uh, no. What article was that? -Oh, wait, no, it was a TikTok.