I remember the first time that I ever saw Kristoffer Polaha on a screen. He was starring in Life Unexpected on The CW. His trademark looks and the sweet and seductive voice made me stop in my tracks, and I remember thinking what a DILF. As I have gotten older, I have appreciated him aging like fine wine and his roles in movies onHallmark have been something that I have enjoyed. Just like Jonathan Bennett bringing him to the set of Finding Mr. Christmas to talk to the finalists was something I appreciated.
I feel like Polaha’s advice for the finalists was something that we can all appreciate. He let them all know that a Hallmark Hunk – their job was to make their leading lady feel supported. He spoke about his first Hallmark Channel movie, which was with Meghan Markle about six months before she met Prince Harry. Between him and Jonathan Bennett, crying and offering encouragement – I was having tears well up in my eyes within the first 10 minutes. The way that Bennett looks at all of these men with such pride, I can’t help but feel such overwhelming emotions.
THE TRAIN
And the feeling that this is about to get really good.
The men head to a train station, where they are going to have their final scene. It’s to be shot in three parts and edited together. Acting with Bennett and Melissa Peterman would be enough for me, but the three also had Kristoffer Polaha, and their leading lady would be Erin Krakow.
Now, I don’t like to be wrong, but when I am wrong, I do say that I am wrong. As we dive into this next part of the episode, I will say that I was wrong about one of these men. The final challenge has them filming with a director. They get one take, and then after the director’s notes, they get another one.
THE FIRST SCENE
The first scene – shot with Peterman – was them trying to get a ticket to Boston. I love a period piece moment, but I love Peterman even more. The three had to hold a scene against her, and that isn’t easy to do. She was also permitted to adlib and see who could adapt. Craig and Rustyn really rose to the challenge, but Angel just felt like he was not sure who his character truly was.
Angel needed to find a way to own the scene as he had so many times before. But the only person who seemed to do that for me was Craig. I have talked so much about Craig and how he should have gone. But for the first time this season, I am seeing why it is that the man just needed his moment.
And by moment, I mean a moment, not to be such a “dude-bro” and be the leading man that we’d all be able to drool over. He needed a moment where the viewer could really get lost in him as an actor.
WE’RE QUESTIONING ANGEL
I know that watching this Angel is giving everything, but he’s so empathetic that I honestly don’t see a difference in the character he’s playing here and anyone else he’s played. It pains me to say that because I do believe that Angel wants this more than anyone.
It just feels like he’s giving up in a way and not letting his confidence shine through.
The second part would be the men chasing down their lady love before she gets on the train. We get to see them dodging obstacles and interacting with Kristoffer Polaha and Jonathan, who are in the scene. Watching them be a little physical made me laugh, but also see Craig and his sports “bro” shine. Did I laugh when he ran towards a falling suitcase when if he ran straight, he would have just run past it? Yes, yes, I did. Both Craig and Rustyn convinced me that they were actually going to go get their girl. I couldn’t choose a winner for this stage, but I knew that Angel was going to be out of the running. How? Well, that would be because he looked in physical pain, as if someone was tugging and twisting, if you know what I mean.
Angel is such a good actor, but you can tell that his confidence was failing him here. He didn’t seem to have any. That was hard to watch, and even harder going into the third part, as Angel looked as if he was in physical pain. That was just hard to watch because he was trying so hard to show that he was in love.
It just didn’t translate.
RUSTYN WAS SHOOK
Rustyn, even his confidence was shook. He was making mistakes that he would not normally make. His second take – he did great, convincing anyone who was watching that he was in love. The issue? Well, it was that Craig – I actually felt something. I felt like I was watching someone in front of me falling in love. The way that he and Krakow fed off each other was just a beautiful moment. I bought them, falling in love.
When I am wrong, I say it. If you’ve read my thoughts on Finding Mr. Christmas, you know Craig hasn’t been my favorite. As a matter of fact, I really thought he was either a jerk or got a bad edit. It was this episode, where I got to see him act and really show emotion, that I was convinced that he just needed to open up and feel comfortable.
Craig won the title of Mr. Christmas, and I never thought I would be okay with that, but I was wrong. I feel like he’s got some redemption. I feel like he just got a bad edit at the beginning. Maybe he just had to find his confidence, and they were showing that over and over again. And as I said, when I’m wrong, I can say I’m wrong, and I was wrong about him.
Congratulations Craig.
