Overview:
It's a very special Journeyman Christmas this week as Dan saves the paper from a round of devastating layoffs and finds some measure of closure with his father in the process.

A bit of a switch this week as we open with Livia at home in the past (1948), getting ready for her own Christmas Eve celebration. Surprisingly, we discover that she has a boyfriend; a boyfriend who apparently has no idea about her time traveling. A dropped locket--with Mr. 1948's picture in it--and an ill timed return trip home to the past blows the lid off her secret, and Dan discovers he's not the only one who's moved on romantically.

Dan journeys back to 1979 this week and finds himself--along with Livia--at the paper's office Christmas party. We learn that this is something of a pivotal night for both Dan and the paper, being both the night Dan's father, Frank Vasser, leaves his family for good as well as the night Merrit Ambaucher, the paper's owner in the past, dies leaving the reins to his son, Dennis. It's Dennis, (not) coincidently, who orders the layoffs in 2007.

In the present, Katie is working to pull off a holiday Christmas concert for the neighborhood while entertaining her mother-in-law, a normally awkward situation amplified by the largely unspoken Dan-Jack-Katie love triangle. As she struggles to hold everything together alone--Dan spending most of the afternoon in 1979--we learn that the incident with Aeden Bennett has left Katie with more than a little anxiety.

We also discover that Theresa (Jack's doctor girlfriend) is pregnant. She seems conflicted by the news, in no small part due to her experience so far with Dan and his seemingly schizophrenic behavior. After a few tense discussions, she decides to trust Jack when he promises her there is nothing to worry about, and rejoins the party, taking a tentative step toward becoming a full-fledged member of the Vasser clan.

In the end, Dan is able to gain enough information from the past to coerce Dennis Ambaucher into rethinking his layoff plans in the present, saving the paper just in time for an eggnog toast. And while Dan fails to convince his father to stick it out with his family, he at least convinces the man to say goodbye to his children before he disappears forever.

Thoughts:
It would seem to me that Frank just disappearing one night--on Christmas Eve of all nights--would be a life defining event for both Dan and Jack. Dan significantly altering the events of that night should have some effect on both brothers. However, nothing seemed really changed by the end of the episode. Dan asks Jack about that night--and it would seem from Jack's response that his kid brother constantly bugged him about it growing up--so we know that something did change. I wonder if we'll see some effects of this in the coming weeks. I would expect at least a few major life choices to be different--which would interesting if Dan is somehow now removed (immune?) from them.

A subtle moment that I think we'll see again was Frank snapping a quick picture of Dan in 1979. Dan didn't seem to consider the implications at all (indeed, he had more pressing concerns at the time) but something tells me we'll be seeing that picture later in the season--perhaps in a scene where Dan and Jack meet up with Frank in the present.

I really liked how Dan could just directly ask for Jack's help this week. It was nice to see him on the team, and Dan not have to use some social engineering skills to get the information he needed. Although, I wonder if they had a conversation about Livia at any point? Perhaps Jack doesn't understand all the details yet, but it seems to me that knowing Livia is still alive--not to mention hanging out with Dan in the past--would be of considerable interest to him.

I thought an interesting point in this episode was that Livia had no idea if things became resolved or not in the end. She is whisked back to the past when things are looking grim for the mission, and Dan does most of his "putting right what once went wrong" in the present. This seemed to resonate with me especially as she (almost begrudgingly) accepted Henry's engagement ring, highlighting just how isolated she really is from Dan.

When Livia bumps into past Dennis and he makes his first drunken pass at her, I was really hoping we were seeing 1979 Hugh and he was going to play a role in the "putting right what once went wrong" task. It seems like the writers have been working him in a little more in the past few episodes, increasing his likeability. For me, at least, it's been working.

Great Moments:

• "Maybe we just can't be with other people." I loved this scene with Dan and Livia in 1979 just after he discovers Henry's picture in her locket. It was a nice moment of facing the truth about each other amongst all their pragmatic acceptance; especially coupled with the opening scene of Livia looking longingly at Dan's picture as she got ready for Henry.
  
• Dennis' father chewing him out in front of everyone was so great, especially since we already knew him to be an evil bastard in the future. Despite what we think of Dennis, though, I couldn't help but note that Dan and Jack aren't the only ones here with daddy issues.
  
• Frank seeking advice from Dan on the most tactful way to run off on your family seemed particularly poignant. I loved Dan's barely controlled disgust and frustration as he struggled to make some productive change without going too far.
  
• As harsh as it was, I really enjoyed the scene where Dan's mother calls Katie out on why things are awkward between them. ("Old doesn't mean deaf.") I think they took a fairly typical holiday cliché and brought it someplace believable and relevant. And then the one sided pep-talk (with Dan's mother not quite understanding just how well timed and needed her advice was) she gives to Katie later in the episode really added to the exchange.
  
• I loved Hugh pouring a drink for Dan as he tells him that he's laid off. How can you not love a boss like that?