A holiday display goes wanting, sending Kevin scurrying to find out who is responsible. Tom and Christine run into trouble at a hospital and on the road. Kevin retrieves a surprise detainee from a neighboring police station, and receives unexpected visitors at home. The Guilty Remnant put its stamp on the holiday season.
The episode starts with the "creation" of the Baby Jesus doll and it ends when the same doll is throw away by Kevin.
In the exact moment Kevin curses God, his car has problems and he risks his life.
While arresting Patti and the GRs even though they were not illegal, Kevin says that "it's our word against their one". The GRs doesn't talk, so they don't pronunce words.
Matt replace the Baby Jesus doll with a much more realistic one.
Trivia[]
It has been theorized, but never confirmed, that the initials in the episode’s title stand for “Baby Jesus” and the “Antichrist,” with the latter referring to Christine’s baby.
This is the shortest episode of the series, at 50:36.
Kevin mentions that the dance is a fundraiser for the new library. It is revealed in "Solace for Tired Feet" why the town needs a new library.
On the divorce filing, Kevin’s address is listed as 6 Vanderonck St. Mapleton is said to be in Westchester County.
In the original conception of this episode, Tom Henney, the soldier Tom and Christine encounter, was featured much more heavily. After the episode was shot and cut together, Damon Lindelof realized they had “made a huge storytelling mistake” in focusing too much on a one-off guest character at this point in the series. Production halted for two weeks as the writers scripted a new storyline for Tom and Christine, which was then shot by director Carl Franklin, as the episode’s previous director Lesli Linka Glatter had left the series due to her commitment on the Showtime series Homeland.[1]
The official episode synopsis says, “Kevin deals with [...] a detainee from another police station at work [...],” which never happens in the episode, perhaps implying another deleted subplot.
Book to Show[]
Kevin says the dance is a fundraiser for the new library. At one point in the book, it is mentioned that Laurie helped plan the “spring library benefit.”
Patti’s note, “There is no family,” is consistent with the G.R.’s creed “that the post-Rapture world demanded a new way of living, free from the old, discredited forms—no more marriage, no more families, no more consumerism, no more politics, no more conventional religion, no more mindless entertainment. Those days were done. All that remained for humanity was to hunker down and await the inevitable.”
Kevin aggressively wanting to arrest the G.R. departs from the book, where Kevin (as mayor) makes it a point to avoid direct confrontation.
Tom and Christine never go near Texas in the book. They hide out in Tom’s San Francisco residence until he is given the task of transporting her to Boston, where Wayne’s “sympathetic friends” the Falks shelter and take care of her until the Miracle Child arrives. They hitchhike and camp from San Francisco to Denver, then take the bus.
The intimation that Christine’s baby is the Antichrist is an invention of the show. The Antichrist is referenced in the book when Mark Henning, the soldier Tom and Christine encounter, says everyone in his small Nebraska community believed the Departure was the End Times, and that he and his brother enlisted in order to fight the armies of the Antichrist as foretold in the Book of Revelation.
Kevin asking if Tom is still in San Francisco references where Tom is living at the beginning of the novel, training new teachers to run Special Someone Meditation Workshops for Wayne’s Healing Hug Movement.
The purpose of the Barefoot People’s bullseye comes from the book (“So the Creator will recognize us,” according to Tom in the novel).
Christine being pregnant with Wayne’s child comes from the book.
In the book, the Frosts do not hang out with Jill until the closing moments of the novel, although they try to get her to join them multiple times. On the show, in contrast, they seem to have become regular members of Jill and Aimee’s social circle.
As in the Pilot, Max’s characterization is much more abrasive than in the novel, where he is described as a “sweet, smart guy” who is sympathetic to Jill. The show’s characterization is closer to the book character Jason Waldron.
Aimee defending Kevin to Jill is something she does repeatedly in the book.
At this point in the book, Tom’s faith in Wayne is “pretty much shot to hell,” and he only sticks with Christine because he likes her, although he sometimes “just for fun” entertains the remote possibility that Wayne’s prophecies are true and Tom will be remembered in thousands of years. On the show, in contrast, he seems much more ambivalent toward Wayne, seemingly wanting to believe despite his doubts.
Laurie and Meg’s visit to Kevin conflates events from the book’s eleventh chapter, “The Balzer Method,” and the fifteenth chapter, “At the Grapefruit”:
In the former chapter, Laurie and Meg visit on Christmas Day, tasked with visiting their loved ones to “do what they could to disrupt the cozy rhythms and rituals of the holiday” (they visit Meg’s fiancé Gary before Kevin). On the show, the visit takes place a little before Christmas Day. In contrast to the show, the book’s Meg is not permitted to speak. In the book this is the first time Kevin meets Meg, whereas on the show he has met her before. The show’s adaptation begins similarly to the book, with Kevin inviting them to sit in the living room, although the dialogue is mostly different aside from generalities (as in the show, Kevin offers them coffee, and says, “I’m your husband,” when expressing mild frustration with Laurie’s refusal to speak). In the book, the encounter is relatively pleasant (as it begins in the show), and Laurie, overcome seeing her husband and former house, nearly weakens and speaks while Meg is in the bathroom. Making things awkward, Nora (whom Kevin has been ghosting for over a month) calls in the midst of the visit and spontaneously invites Kevin on a trip to Florida. The book plays up the comedy of Laurie and Meg being desperately hungry, but unable to eat unless Kevin puts food directly in front of them, while Kevin remains oblivious to their dilemma; after Nora’s call, he finally gives them food, whereas on the show he immediately gives them cookies which they never touch. Jill coming home and encountering Laurie is an invention of the show; in the book, Kevin calls Jill and leaves her a message, and later chases after Laurie and Meg after they leave to give Laurie Jill’s gift. Laurie and Meg opening the gift under a streetlight comes from the book; in the book they each light a cigarette with the lighter, and Laurie cries. In the novel, the lighter is a red plastic Bic disposable with the message written in Wite-Out. The message in the show is the same as the book, but the lighter is upgraded to an engraved Zippo. Laurie dropping the lighter into a storm drain comes directly from the book.
Laurie gives Kevin the envelope containing the divorce papers later in the book, on Valentine’s Day, in the parking lot of the Pamplemousse restaurant, after Nora has just abandoned him at dinner without explanation. In the book, there is a clear financial incentive in Patti telling Laurie to get the papers signed, as Kevin is wealthy in the book (having sold his lucrative family chain of liquor stores), and the money will be Laurie’s contribution to the Remnant; she holds off giving Kevin the papers for several weeks, feeling guilty about asking Kevin and Jill for a handout after turning her back on them. In the book, in contrast to the show, Meg again does not speak, and Laurie does not have any message for Kevin. She simply holds the envelope out and gives him a look that says, “You know what it is.” Kevin is much more confrontational in the show. In the book, Laurie breaks her vow of silence, saying, “I’m sorry. I wish there was some other way.”
In the book, Tom is Kevin’s genetic child. Tom having a different father is an invention of the show.
Kevin says Laurie has not talked to him for six months, placing her joining the G.R. in June. In the book, she walked out on him around April (six months before Heroes’ Day).
Tom and Christine posing as Barefoot People to escape notice comes from the book, although in the book they adopt this cover before ever embarking on their road trip, whereas on the show it is a more spontaneous development. In the novel, Tom’s bullseye is maroon and gold (the Mapleton High colors), whereas Christine’s is initially blue and orange. On the show, they both have red, white and blue bullseyes (each the inverse of the other).
The photo of Tom on Kevin's shoulders is reminiscent of Kevin's memory in the chapter "At the Grapefruit": "the sudden memory of an easy weight on his shoulders, Tom perched up there like a king on a throne, gazing down upon the world, one delicate hand resting on top of his father's head, the heels of his Velcro-fastened sneakers knocking softly against Kevin's chest as they walked."
The baby doll being left on the Garveys’ doorstep foreshadows the ending of the novel.
Tom and Christine’s encounter with a soldier about to be deployed to Yemen comes from the eighth chapter of the book, “Dirtbags.” In the book, the soldier’s name is Mark Henning, changed to Tom Henney on the show. In the book, Tom and Christine never give their real names to Henning; he only calls Tom by the nickname Pigpen, and they tell him Christine’s name is Jennifer. The encounter occurs two days before Thanksgiving in the book, and Henning is on his way to see his family; the date is moved closer to Christmas on the show. Henney is also given a Southern accent, in contrast to the book character who is from Nebraska. In the book, they first encounter Henning in the bus terminal in Denver, then ride the bus to Omaha with him. In the show, as in the book, Tom sits across the aisle from Christine on the bus; in the book, which emphasizes the repressed sexual dynamic between the two much more than the show, the reason is that he “knew it would be pure insomniac torture, sitting right next to her for twelve hours, his eyes wide open, her knee just inches from his own.” As in the show, Tom awakens to find the soldier sitting next to Christine talking about Yemen, although in the book it is nighttime, the soldier shares a pint of Jim Beam with Tom, and he appears much more troubled (claiming that he is “going through some bad shit” and needs somebody to talk to). In the book, Tom and Henning have a lengthy conversation after Christine falls asleep. The accident, and the Loved Ones figures, are inventions of the show. In the book, after speaking to Tom, Henning decides to go AWOL and hitchhikes to San Francisco, joining the Barefoot People to lead a life of pleasure.
Kevin’s encounter with Nora leaning against a locker adapts part of the book’s seventh chapter, “Get a Room.” In the book, the town’s dance is a “November adult mixer” presented by the “Mapleton Means Fun” initiative, not a Christmas-themed event, and it is held in the Hawthorne Middle School cafeteria rather than the high school gym. In the book, Nora attends the dance with her sister Karen to “make a public statement” that she is okay after Matt published his article about Doug’s affair. The book includes an unplanned encounter at the dance between Nora and Kylie Mannheim, Doug’s paramour; in the book, Nora is slumped against the locker in the aftermath of questioning Kylie on the details of the affair, and Kevin goes specifically to check on Nora after several people express concern. The dialogue on the show is mostly different from the book aside from generalities (e.g., Nora saying she is taking a break from dancing), but the tone of the scene is similar. In the book, Kevin sits down beside Nora, and they subsequently go back into the cafeteria and dance with each other until the lights come on. The show makes the encounter much more fleeting.
In the book, Nora met Doug in college, not high school.
The G.R.’s plan to break into houses and steal photos is an invention of the show, and a more overtly criminal act than anything they openly do in the book. In the book, it is mentioned that the G.R. rarely trespass on private property (as demonstrated on the show, particularly in this episode when they stand just at the edge of the school property).
Laurie’s moment of weakness trying to retrieve the lighter is an invention of the show.
Music[]
"I'm Not the One" by the Black Keys (opening montage of doll factory)
"Joy to the World" by the Staple Singers (playing in the Amarillo community center before Christine is attacked)
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Dick Haymes (in the Garveys' house when Kevin carries the ornament box)
"Jingle Bell Beat" by Keith Mansfield (toy store when Kevin looks for the doll)
"All These Lights" by the Grouch & Eligh (the Frosts sing along while driving)
"Silent Night" (sung by Jill's friends when she is about to give Baby Jesus a Viking funeral)
"Little Boy Blue" by Big Walter Horton (Kevin listens to this in the car when he almost hits a dog)
"She Remembers" by Max Richter (Kevin looks at photos in Tom's room; Laurie drops the lighter down the storm drain)
"I Don't Want No Bloodstains" by Smokey Hogg, Lowell Fulson, John Williams, and John Lee Hooker (Kevin listens to this in the car at the end of the episode)
"I Must See Jesus for Myself" by Lil Greenwood (end credits)
Goofs[]
While the man who attacks Christine is credited as “Crazy Bearded German Man” and the subtitles say he speaks in German, he is actually speaking Greek.
The divorce papers list the year as 2011, but this episode takes place in 2014.
