01x01 - Welcome Home

[bunniefuu]

[folk music playing]

[Vivi] No matter how far
we try to get away from our families...

no matter where we live,

no matter how differently we do things,

we all need to go back home for Christmas.

Our Christmas
is just like any other family's.

We eat, we drink,
we try to fool each other.

It's always been like that for us.

-[Lara] Did you remember everything?
-Mm-hm.

Tell me again.

Don't feed your mom after midnight,

your sister doesn't like garlic,

and your grandmother
likes to be called "sweetie."

That's not funny.

What could be so bad about them?

[Vivi] But this year,

everything would be different.

HOLIDAY SECRETS

[wind whistling]

Hello?

Grandma!

Ljubi?

Hello?

Vivi?

Hey!

Vivi...

What's wrong?

It's Eva.

She's dead.

[sobbing]

She wasn't sitting at the window.

She always sits at the window
when I come in,

-or does Twice Chi.
-Tai Chi.

She's never in bed, never!

[Lara] Hello!

Eva?

Ljubi?

We're here!

-They're probably upstairs.
-Yeah.

Come with me.

[footsteps approaching]

Vivi, you're already here!

[Moritz] Hello!

What's wrong?
How long has she been like that?

Ljubi found her like this.

She's not breathing anymore.

She's cold as stone.

Well, it is freezing in here.

I'll close the window.

-Don't close it!
-Don't close it!

[Vivi] What do we do now? We...

We can't just leave her
lying there like that.

Let's wait for Sonja first.

-Mom's coming?
-Of course.

[Ljubi sobs]

[folk music playing]

[Sonja] Vivi.

Hello, Mom.

[Ljubi sobbing]

Are those Eva's pearls?

Eva said I would get them.

The fur coat, too.

She just d*ed!

Well, I say we let
the young man do his job.

Mm?

Me?

What job?

You're from the funeral home?

Mom, this is my boyfriend.

Hi, I'm Moritz. Nice to meet you.

-You haven't called a doctor?
-Sonja, no hospital!

[Vivi] We have to call Hans.

Okay, okay.

I'm sorry, what was
your name again? Fritz?

No, that's Mauschitz!

Moritz, my name is Moritz.

[floor creaks]

[gasps]

Why are the windows closed?

There's no air in here!

Grandma!

You're not dead!

She's not dead.

Sonja!

Hi, Mom.

It's a miracle!

Would you like to sit down?

Hello, my name is Moritz.

Are you wearing Alma's necklace?

You know Alma doesn't like it
when you do things like that.

Go get Alma.

We're going to eat cake now.

Or better yet,
tell her we're going to drink schnapps.

-That'll get her to come!
-Grandma,

Alma's been dead for a long time now.

Fine, then I'll go make coffee.

["Jingle Bells" playing]

[Eva] Dammit.

Alma!

No, no, no.

Mom, please.

It's much too cold today.

Leave me alone. I'm leaving!

Mom, let me make you a coffee.

Your coffee is sh*t.

I want to go home.

I want to go to Berlin!

Mom, Berlin...

Berlin's that way, Mom.

That way!

You want to go to Berlin for Christmas,
is that it?

I don't give a sh*t about Christmas.

They know how to party in Berlin,
you know that?

There's always a party there.

Mom!

Hello! Good morning!

Merry Christmas!

I have your goose.

That's him.

He stole my piano, that's him!

Cut it out, Mom.
Please excuse her, Walter.

Your piano is gone?

No, it's been gone since .

It was the Gestapo, not Walter.

I'll never forget that fat face!

Call the police.

My aunt wanted to marry her dog.

She is now in a nice nursing home
in Hamburg.

-Okay, thank you, Walter.
-[woman] Hello!

Eva?

Yes.

I come for work.

We talked on the phone.

Oh, right. I'm just a bit...

This is my mother, Alma.

Hello there.

I'm Walter.

-Mom, come with me, please?
-No, he has my piano.

-Give me back my piano, you!
-Mom, Sonja's coming.

I can walk by myself.

You forgot that Sonja was coming,
didn't you?

Come with us.

Happy holidays!

Yeah.

I'll... I'll see you later.

I'm calling the police. They need to
go look for my piano at that guy's house.

Mother, you called the police
four times last week.

Three times.

You thought our neighbor
poisoned his wife.

Well, when did you see her last?

They don't believe you anymore.

I'm sorry, my mother is...

[exhales]

My mom has been very confused
for the last few months.

Rakia...

Homemade schnapps for Christmas.

None for me.

A little?

Brought it just for you.

It makes you... tell the truth.

[in Slovenian] Ai Živili.

-Ai Živili.
-Yes.

-How's Eva, Hans?
-She dozed off again.

I suspect she had a mild stroke.

Is she in pain?

I don't think so,
but I'll need to do an MRI.

At the hospital.

I'll call an ambulance.

-No way!
-God, no!

[Sonja] No hospitals, we promised her.

I cannot do that,
she needs to be under observation.

-What if she has another stroke?
-She does not want to leave home.

She was doing really well
the last few days.

She hasn't been anywhere
since Lara's graduation ceremony.

It's Christmas, Hans.

Okay, fine.

I'll come by later.

If anything happens,

call me right away, okay?

I mean it.

-See you later.
-Thank you.

[classical music playing]

[Vivi] More wine, anyone?

[Moritz] Oh, yes.

[clears throat]

I have something to say.

I haven't been in touch
these last few months, because...

I'm following the steps.

Where to?

Alcoholics Anonymous?

Yes, I haven't had a drink...

in weeks!

Mom, that's fantastic!

-Yeah.
-I'm so happy for you.

So, no toast?

Sure, of course!

I don't mind. Cheers!

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

Yeah, and...

I'm on step five now.

Step five means...

admitting to yourself and to others
that you've made mistakes, and...

asking for forgiveness.

Okay, that's it!

Wow, that feels great!

Well, then, cheers!

Cheers.

-Did she just ask for forgiveness?
-Don't be like that.

Yeah, we wanted...
We also wanted to say something.

Where do I go if Eva dies?

-Oh, Ljubi.
-Nobody needs me.

What am I supposed to do?
This is my home, too.

Hello... We wanted to say something, too.

We wanted to do that tomorrow.

Lara and I are engaged.

-[gasps]
-What?

That's great news!

Oh, my little one.

Well...

Congratulations, sweetie!

-Are you pregnant?
-Mm-mm.

Yeah, congrats!
A wedding is just the best.

-Were you married, too?
-God, no.

He asked me last week.

It's all very new.

-Nothing's been settled yet.
-We're going to get married in April,

at my parents' clubhouse.

At the clubhouse?

My parents own a tennis club.

It's the fifth-largest
in Northern Germany,

not far from here.

Next year,
I'll be taking over the club and then...

We will move close by.

You're moving back here?

Lara might already have a great job,

as a chemist at Hollman Farben.

At that paint factory
where we used to protest

because toxic wastewater
was k*lling the seals?

-That paint factory?
-It's not like that anymore.

I see. Okay, cool.

To you!

To my clever little girl.

[in Slovenian] Živili.

[Sonja] Vivi?

Where were you?

What kind of question is that?

At school.

The Christmas bazaar closes at : .
It's : now.

I helped clean up.

And you couldn't let me know?

-I don't have a cell phone.
-No one has a cell phone.

Everyone has a cell phone.

And they'll all get a brain tumor.

You get a brain tumor
from anything that's fun.

[Lara] X-rays cause cancer.

Scientists are not sure
about cell phone radiation.

That's what I read.

Did you really help clean up?

[Vivi] Yes.

She was with her friends
at the playground near the bank.

What a lousy little snitch you are.

Did you drink alcohol?

No!

[Lara] That girl whose underwear
is always showing

had a bottle of vodka with her.

Want me to b*at you up or what?

Your trip to Hamburg for New Year's
with your friend, it's canceled.

You can't do that!

Julia's dad knows someone
at the record company who wanted my demo.

-He'll have to listen to it later then.
-This is my only sh*t!

Don't be so dramatic.

What else am I supposed
to do way out here?

I want to get out, I want to make music!

[Sonja] Your turn, Vivi.

How are you? How's Berlin?

-Are you still working in that cafe?
-I got a record deal.

[Ljubi] A what? A recoil...

A record deal!

[Lara] Really?

You didn't tell me that!

Yeah, it's still really new.
The deal's just been finalized, and...

I already got a little advance.

That's so great, Vivi!

Thanks.

-What?
-Nothing.

I'm just surprised.

Surprised, why?

Well, that it still worked out.

Even though I'm not talented, right?

Never mind, Vivi, forget it. It's fine.

Of course you're talented. Come here.

[Vivi] Thanks.

[Lara] I found something.

Some of Mom's stuff is in here.

Wow!

-That's Mom when she was young.
-Let me see!

[Nick Drake's "Place to Be" playing]

[Lara] I found a letter.

♪ I never saw the truth
Hanging from the door ♪

From Peter, my dad!

[Peter] My dear Sonja.

I hope we have made it
when you read this letter.

I found a poem
that can describe my words better.

The others are the big, wide sea,

but you are the harbor.

♪ Gotta get up
Clean the place ♪

Anton!

We found a letter from Vivi's dad.

Seriously? Show me.

♪ And I was green
Greener than the hill

"The others are the big, wide sea,

but you are the harbor.

[Peter] So, believe me:
you may sleep easy,

I will always steer myself back to you.

You are the lighthouse.
The final destination.

You may sleep easy.

The others... they are but playful waves,

-but you are my harbor.
-[Anton] ...but you are my harbor."

Wow.

I think "waves" is a metaphor for sex.

For him, it was just sex
with other women is what I mean.

Well, what Peter meant.

Okay.

I don't know, but this is the only thing
I have from him.

Did he die?

Car accident,
when they were on tour in South America.

Mom was still pregnant.

He never once saw me.

He was a musician.
It's where I got my talent.

-Cool.
-My dad's a beekeeper.

That's why I like honey so much.

Mom was on a bee farm

with him for a few months...

[policeman ] Could you get back
on the path, please?

What?

This is a nature reserve.
You have to stay on the marked path.

It's because of the ring-billed gulls.
They breed in the grass.

Yeah? Do those damn ring-billed gulls

do that in f*cking December?

[policeman ] Is there a problem?

Vivi.

Anton, I...

I...

Weren't you in Kiel or something?

I'm back here now.

This is where I work,

the coast, too.

So, ring-billed gull offenses, too.

This is all a nature reserve now.
You have to stay on the path.

See you tomorrow.

[Vivi] I know why you don't want me
to be a musician.

Because of Dad,
since he was a musician, too.

That's it, isn't it?

[grunts]

Can't you just tell me something?

What was it like when I was little?

Okay,

forget it then. Good night.

Ljubica had put her underwear

in the freezer,

because it was so hot.

On the day I saw you for the first time.

Suddenly, your mom was standing there...

with you.

You had this little rattle
with a bell on it.

And...

real deep, bright eyes,

and a very serious face.

You were one year old.

You looked right through me...

Just like right now.

You didn't know Peter at all?

No.

It's as...

as if a part of me is missing.

You don't know what it's like.

Mom?

-Are you awake?
-[moans]

I had so much to tell you actually,
but I...

I don't even know
where I should start now.

This whole time, I've been thinking
about that Christmas when I...

when I brought Peter with me.

Do you remember?

[jazz music playing]

Sonja's coming later... my daughter.

Sonja's been studying law
since last summer.

She's always been so smart...

and brave.

Nothing like me.

[horn honks]

[Eva] There she is!

It's that fat face.
Now he wants to take my ukulele.

Don't open the door.

No one wants to take your ukulele, Mom.
It's Sonja.

Oh, okay. It's Hans.

I brought your tree.

-Are you staying for dinner, Hans?
-Yes.

Good evening, Alma.

f*ck off! I'm not falling for that crap.

This is our new foreigner.

Hans, this is Ljubica.

She'll be helping me around the house now.

And Ljubica, this is Hans. He lives
down the street and studies medicine.

Hans and Sonja have been friends
since they were kids.

-Mom!
-[Eva] Here she is!

Hello, Mom.

Hello, Sonja.

This is Peter.

Pleased to meet you.

Very much.

Good evening.

[Sonja & Alma singing]
♪ First, a little kiss, my dear... ♪

[Eva] Oh, God, it's all in French.

You've always wanted to learn French
and go to Paris.

As soon as you're in Paris,
you'll pick it up very quickly.

Yeah? Me? Thank you.

Maybe I will.

Thank you!

And you're studying law like Sonja?

Political science.

Sonja always wanted to become a lawyer.

When she was seven,
she took all of her puppets to court...

-What for?
-Drug possession!

Drug possession!

-Do you have dr*gs?
-No.

And then Sonja would always say

that she wanted to change the world.

I changed my major...

to political science, like Peter.

Why?

German laws are a prison.

Real changes have to be brought
about in a different way.

Protesters at nuclear power plants
are given prison sentences,

while the bosses make millions
scamming taxes off us.

Sonja...

The system has to be
overthrown in Germany.

This country needs a revolution.

Revolution...
What's that supposed to mean?

"Revolution is the w*r of liberty

against its enemies."

Robespierre.

Who are you?

Grandma, this is my boyfriend, Peter.

Him?

He's got sh*t on his shoe.

I can smell it.

-No.
-Yes,

-I can smell it.
-No.

Don't smoke at the table, Mother.

You'll have to excuse her. Please don't.

My mother's been through a lot.

It's okay, I understand.

-Mother.
-[Peter] My mother recently d*ed.

She was like an infant towards the end.

I think it's our destiny

to go back to the beginning.

Yes.

Anyway... to family.

-To family.
-To family.

To family.

[banging on ceiling]

[man] Eva, can you come help me?

Excuse me, please.

-I'll come with you to say hi.
-No, please don't.

Do it later, it's been a tough week.

-Yes?
-My pill.

Oh, right.

Someone opened the door.
There's a draft in the house.

Soni came with her boyfriend.

Peter's his name.

Here's your pill.

How am I supposed to take it
without water?

Oh, right. God.

It's fine, forget it.

I'll manage.

Olaf.

I read in an article

that psychological problems

can actually cause real physical pain.

So, it made me think...

maybe you'd want to speak with someone

who knows about these things?

I've had a piece of shrapnel stuck
in the back of my neck for years now...

Really, how stupid can you be?

There is no shrapnel.

Shut up!

Never mind.

I'll go back downstairs.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ljubica and good night.

-Yes.
-Good night.

-Good night.
-Sleep well.

Yes.

So, what do you think of him?

I'm...

Well, you have to like him.

-So, terrible.
-No.

He's very intelligent.

I didn't understand a thing
you were talking about.

Mom, I have something to tell you.

Peter and I are going to Colombia.

Mm-hm. For vacation?

Longer.

How long?

I see. And what about university
and all that?

We just want
to get out of Germany for a while.

Peter has friends down there.

Sonja...

Just come back here

if the city is too much
or you're not sure about your studies.

Spring will be here soon.

You always said spring by the sea
was your favorite time of year.

Mom, it's like a prison for me here.

Like prison, huh?

Hello, Dad.

So, like a prison?

I told you going
to a university wasn't for her,

but what do I know?

I'm just the sick idiot, right?

-A migraine isn't a disease.
-What?

-Sonja...
-You're only pretending to be sick.

-Shut your mouth!
-That way, nobody will wonder

why you haven't got your ass
out of bed for ten years.

Get over here, come here!

Can't get off my ass, is that it?

When will she grow up?

Oh, God.

[Eva] Lara, let's go, please.

[Vivi] Come on! I'm freezing my ass off.

Dreaming again?

[Lara] One of Vivi's classmates, Jenny,

her mom said
that Grandpa Olaf k*lled himself.

Your grandfather drowned.

The water was cold and he got a cramp.

The sea took him away.

[Eva] So, everything okay?

Jenny also said that Mom's in a cult,

and that's why we can't live with her.

Promise me

you won't listen to anything
this girl tells you ever again.

Promise me that.

Your mom loves you both very much.

You know that.

So, then why isn't she here?

You haven't said anything yet...

I mean,
about me doing the -step program.

What am I supposed to say?

Your opinion about it.

You don't need my blessing, do you?

No, but I thought you'd be happy
that I'm getting help.

You know, as long as you don't go to that
reiki master, it's all fine with me.

He wasn't all that bad.

He said I had a ghost in my knee.

Yeah, I know.

I'm tired.

I'm going to sleep up in the attic.
Good night.

I thought we could talk a bit more

to catch up on things.

We just did.

Yeah.

[all singing]

Very nice, Lara.

Mom!

I knew you'd come!

My darlings!

Okay, let me look at you.

I can't believe how tall you both are now.

This is new.

-I want one, too!
-We'll do it then.

Sweetie!

Hello, Mom!

Well, come here!

Sonja, we weren't sure you'd be coming.

Here I am.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

-Hello, Sonja!
-Hi, Ljubi!

I'd like to introduce you to someone.

This is Juliana, and this is my mother.

Hello, nice to meet you.

-And this is... Vivi and Lara.
-[in English] Hi.

-Hello.
-Hello.

I'm so happy you're all
finally meeting each other!

[Ljubi] Vivi, Lara, come,
let's get the food.

[folk music playing]

[inaudible dialogue]

[whispering] Vivi?

Yeah.

I'm here.

I can't die.

You're not dying, Grandma.

You all need...

to know something.

What do we need to know?

My secret.

What secret?

Grandma, what secret?

[Vivi] And that's the thing
about our family.

We're really only just starting
to get to know each other now.

[closing theme playing]