When everyone gets snowed in at the Tipton, Cody starts to think his parents might get back together, and an interesting couple arrives.
Zack and Cody are watching the snow fall with Esteban, who loves the sight, when Mr. Moseby gets everyone's attention for the hotel's lighting.
As a special addition, this year the outside of the hotel has also been decorated; Arwen steps forward to get the switch as a band begins playing. Moseby begins a speech about Christmas, but when the impatient London interrupts, he speeds up the band and rushes through a short statement. Arwen turns on a fantastic display, and confirms to Zack that he used about 1 million lights. Cody notices one isn't lit and screws it in as Arwen steps forward, horrified, as it puts them into overload and causes a power outage throughout the city. As Zack later tries to squeeze a suitcase shut, Cody tries to convince Carey to come snowboarding with them and their dad, rather than on a sunny vacation. He says he just wants them to be a family, but she says they are, simply on two vacations, and she corrects Zack that she's going to Mexico, not the Caribbean. Their dad arrives just as they wonder where he is, and he accidentally pelts Carey in the butt with a snowball. He apologizes, but after he turns his back to hug the boys, she pulls out her own snowball and lands it on his head. Down in the lobby, Moseby fails to deal with two guests, and Maddie asks if he's gotten his employee Secret Santa yet. He hasn't, but hopes he gets himself again, as the previous year he got himself a wristwatch. Moseby is frustrated to get someone else, and Maddie reveals her family doesn't ever get her anything good; one year she got a flashlight, and the next she got batteries for the flashlight. He points out that she could get lucky if London got her, but as she walks away, we see she actually has two bowls of names to choose from, and one only has hers. London excitedly takes a name from the bowl, and though she won't say who she got, she immediately asks what Maddie's birthstone is before leaving.
Later, Esteban comes into the hotel covered in snow; Moseby suggests he warm his hands under his armpits, which makes him giggle.
Maddie is shocked to see London still in the hotel, and when the heiress points out the blizzard outside, Maddie reminds her that she could simply send someone. London of course chooses Esteban, who doesn't want to go and isn't dressed for the weather, but this only infuriates Maddie, and she tackles him. Moseby suggests that London make something special for her gift recipient, showing an embroidered handkerchief his grandma made him. He says that many celebrities have taken up handicrafts, but London simply confuses this word for "handicapped." As he goes to leave, Moseby bumps into Arwen, who reveals they're out of heating oil and the delivery trucks can't get through just before the heat goes out. Moseby tells Arwen to go fire up the original furnace, Old Betsy, and the maintenance man gets some kindling right then when he trips over a couch, breaking a table. The Martins come down and when Esteban tells them the limo can't possibly get them to the airport, Moseby orders him to check with the driver, offering a free ride. Zack is surprised, but it's obvious Moseby simply wants them gone. Esteban tries to go outside, but as soon as he gets through the door, he comes back in frozen. The Martins go back upstairs, where Carey and Kurt agree to get along for the boys, but the twins see their following hug and are shocked. Cody says this means they still like each other, and though Zack is skeptical, his brother says he's seen this sort of thing happen in movies. Zack says it would take a miracle to get them back together, and that the closest Cody will get to that is the time he accidentally spent more on his gift to Cody than the latter did for him. Cody firmly believes that he can make the miracle happen.
Back down in the lobby, Moseby is passing out blankets when a couple comes in, and though no rooms are available, he allows the pregnant woman and her husband to stay in the lobby.
Arwen reveals they ran out of things to burn in the furnace, and is overjoyed to the point of singing when Moseby tells him to burn the old furniture they have in back. Meanwhile, Carey Martin is pretending to sunbathe while Kurt tells the boys about playing guitar, saying you just sit there and look cool as you look at the crowd. When Carey says this is how he got her, Cody asks for details, and she says she was trying to look at the drummer and Kurt got in the way. Moseby enters to ask Carey if she'll perform, since the singer he hired can't make it; Cody convinces her after suggesting she and Kurt could do it together and the latter agrees if she says yes. Cody takes this as a sign that they'll soon be together again, as he's seen it happen on tv, but Zack still thinks his brother is delusional. Downstairs, Maddie is excited when London arrives with her gift, but when she tears it open, she finds what she at first believes to be a blanket. It turns out it's a sweater London knitted, and she simply forgot to make a neck hole, accidentally making three sleeves, but she says it'll keep Maddie's face warm. London is surprised when Maddie starts whining she wanted a car, saying she put a lot of effort into the gift. Maddie says it looks like she made it with her feet, and when London points out that she always calls her superficial, Maddie is annoyed she became "deep" at Christmas, and London stomps off, plugging her ears. Carey and Kurt get a round of applause for their beautiful version of "Silent Night," and Cody is ecstatic, interpreting his mother's words as meaning something about Kurt. Zack bursts his bubble, however, by pointing out Kurt staring at another woman, so Cody confronts his dad, who is shocked to learn what his son believes. Kurt pulls up a seat and explains that he and Carey are not getting back together, so Cody storms out, and Zack soon follows. In the lobby, Moseby leads the couple from before to the elevator to take them to the lounge, but is distracted when an overzealous Arwen tries to chainsaw the front desk. The woman's husband steps out of the elevator to get their bags, and after Zack and Cody step in, the doors close. The woman suddenly starts screaming in pain, and the power flickers, leaving them stuck, as she realizes her water has broken. The episode comes to a close as Zack and Cody try to deal with their situation and those in the lobby try to get them out.
This is another one that I'd honestly forgotten about for a bit but was glad to revisit for the jokes and the feelings.
As opposed to my previous Donald Duck post, this episode is certainly about Christmas, even taking place on Christmas Eve. Getting stuck somewhere for Christmas is another common basis for a story, and having a group of people get stuck at the Tipton is an interesting way to go. Obviously the hotel is luxurious, but they do still have limitations, shown when the heat goes out and later takes a dive again when Arwen runs out of tinder. Speaking of Arwen, I'd also forgotten how funny particular parts of the show could be, especially with the hotel's maintenance man. Along with being hyper about Christmas coming, Arwen gets to have the time of his life when Moseby gives him permission to chop up the old furniture. When he runs out of that, he even tries to destroy the front desk, scaring the crap out of a group of guests when he rises with a chainsaw. Esteban gets some entertaining odd moments as well, being the only one to repeatedly go outside and always coming back an Esteban-sicle. Some of the visuals can be enough to make you laugh in this episode, like the strange sweater London makes Maddie, or Carey's planned vacation. Similar to the family in Home Alone taking a trip to Florida in the second film, Carey, unlike the boys, wants to go somewhere warm for Christmas. It certainly makes for a strange visual when we see Kurt teaching the boys about guitar while their mom "sunbathes" in their room in a bikini on Christmas Eve. London's sweater for Maddie is quite a little abomination, with three sleeves rather than a neck hole, and the third arm so long it looks like an elephant's trunk. Sadly, we never get to see Maddie's trickery with the bowls get revealed, but her annoyance when her plan backfires is enjoyable. At the same time that all these silly things, the episode also has rather tender moments with Cody, and later with Mary. Unlike Zack, who seems to have fully accepted that his parents aren't getting back together, Cody just wants them to be a family for Christmas. It's obviously hard for him to not have him dad around for them to have a typical happy family, and he wishes his parents could get remarried. It's safe to say that plenty of kids in the world feel like this when their parents get divorced, as they wonder why their parents can't just be together. Seeing people like Mary and her husband Joseph (we'll get to that later) be happy together only reinforces the pain Cody's feeling. Even if he had previously accepted their situation before, as one could expect, seeing and misunderstanding moments like his parents hugging would be something to spark what hope he still had for a return to a typical family. Once he knows what's going on, Kurt does his best to break the truth to Cody gently, but it's difficult to explain to a kid why they don't get a normal childhood. Though we don't see much of Mary and Joseph, they're pretty integral to the final moments of the episode and helping the characters reach happy conclusions. Getting back to the names, it's obvious that the couple and their child are a reference to the birth of Jesus. The characters actually point out the coincidence themselves, so it's quite easy to point out how a pregnant woman named Mary finds herself at an "inn" where there isn't any room for her. It seems rather on-the-nose, but at the same time, it's not just an exact copy of the original story. Unlike the biblical Mary and Joseph, this couple was not merely turned away; Moseby was apologetic about lacking rooms and even offered them space elsewhere. The elevators also allow for the modern trope of characters getting stuck and being freed just after something important, with Zack, Cody, and Mary all helplessly stuck as she goes into labor. They're not stuck for long, but the introduction of a brand new family is a beautiful sight and an important one for how Cody is feeling. While I may have forgotten about this episode as the years have gone by, I was glad to rediscover it and got both some comedy and emotions from it.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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