Warning: Major Spoilers for The Santa Clauses Episode 5 Below!The Santa Clauses has completely changed The Santa Clause franchise with the reveals in its fifth episode. The Disney+ mini-series The Santa Clauses begins with Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) on what seems to be a routine Christmas Eve delivering toys, only for him to discover his magic as St. Nick is weakening. This leads Scott to determine that his time as Santa has run its course, with Scott recruiting tech businessman Simon Choski (Kal Penn) to replace him as Santa. However, Scott's abdication of being Santa does not go as he expects.

In The Santa Clauses episode five, titled "Chapter Five: Across the Yule-Verse," the retired Santa Claus receives a surprise visit from his former elf Bernard (David Krumholtz) and an even more surprising visit from the Santa who initially slipped off Scott's roof. Scott also learns the truth about how he became Kris Kringle — the past Santa's fall was planned the whole time, and far from being a random Santa successor encouraged by his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), Scott Calvin was chosen to become the new Santa.

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How The Disney+ Sequel Show Retconned The Santa Clause

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When Bernard arrives and brings Scott into the Yule-verse in The Santa Clauses, he and the past Santa (who reveals he was the 17th St. Nick) take Scott on a Christmas Carol-like trip through the past. This includes a flashback of a very young Scott Calvin (Liam Seja) meeting Santa on Christmas Eve, with Santa confident the pure-hearted Scott will make the world a better place before wiping Scott's memory of their meeting.

After introducing Scott to his 16 Santa predecessors, Scott learns that he has decided to retire too early, erroneously believing that he could no longer spread joy throughout the world after being on the job for too long. Instead, Scott's weakened magic was simply the result of the diminished Christmas spirit in the world that Scott needed to help restore. Unfortunately, the issue has become even more pressing, with Simon making some ill-advised decisions as Santa (such as trying to make Christmas an everyday event) that threaten to inadvertently wipe out the Christmas spirit around the world.

Why Scott Was The First Human Santa In The Santa Clause Franchise

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As Santa and Bernard explain to Scott, the benevolence of St. Nicholas of Myra – the first Santa Claus – led to magic and ethereal beings coming into existence to continue spreading the Christmas spirit St. Nick inspired. They also reveal that each new Santa is chosen for the specific needs of different time periods. In his case, the 17th Santa was working through the Great Depression and into the modern age when technology was effectively becoming a new magic. This led Santa to determine that a human familiar with modern technology and other norms would be the best choice to succeed him.

Santa believed that Scott, as a human Santa, would be able to raise his family at the North Pole, with Scott then passing his magic on to his children. By doing this, the succession of future Santas would no longer be up, as the 17th Santa puts it, "a bunch of pompous ethereals." After Charlie turns down the Santa Claus job, Scott is skeptical that Cal (Austin Kane) and Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick) have taken on any magical powers, but Santa and Benard assure Scott that they have.

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Bernard's Plan In The Santa Clause Franchise Explained

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Bernard created the various Santa Clauses themselves to act as guidelines for Scott. Bernard also makes clear he was much more skeptical from the start about Santa's plan and that he fully expected Scott to fail as Santa. This makes clauses like "the Mrs. Clause" and "The Escape Clause" much easier to understand. Rather than being new Santa rules to spring out of nowhere, they were tested by Bernard to determine if a human like Scott could truly carry Santa's magic. After decades of Scott spreading happiness as Santa Claus, Bernard also commends Scott for defying his skepticism and becoming "the best Santa I ever saw."

By revealing Scott Calvin's place in the lineage of Santas, The Santa Clauses places his entire journey in a whole new light. The elves' apparent lack of concern over the previous Santa's demise is far easier to understand, as they were all in on the plot under Bernard's leadership. Moreover, it is also clearer than ever that Scott Calvin was far more than an ordinary man, but one with the heart of Santa Claus his entire life.

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