George appears in the entryway at last, and Frankie’s fear dissolves the moment she sees him. She runs to hug him, an unusually physical greeting that briefly makes him stiffen before he relaxes, and Frankie feels able to breathe again. George apologizes for not answering her calls, says his phone died over the Atlantic, and immediately asks if they can talk, but Nate steps in to greet him before that conversation can happen.

As Nate welcomes George warmly, Frankie instantly recognizes what Nate cannot: George is only pretending to be glad to see him. George confirms he is there as Frankie’s best man and says he would not have missed the wedding, and Frankie decides that his presence alone means things will be fine. Because Nate trusts Frankie and is not threatened by George, Frankie tells herself that once George spends more time with Nate, he will change his opinion.

George is then engulfed by the Gardiner family, who treat him like one of their own. Darwin and Moby tease him, Frankie’s mother fusses over his appearance, and Frankie learns that George was briefly home the previous month without telling her, which unsettles her because they once shared everything. When Moby mentions a Christmas “face-off,” Nate realizes there is history he does not understand, and George covers the real conflict by joking that he and Frankie were only arguing about holiday stuffing.

While George settles back into the family circle, Frankie reflects on the depth of their bond. She remembers protecting him as a child, sharing a Toronto apartment after high school, and supporting each other’s ambitions until George’s career as an environmental journalist carried him farther and farther away. Frankie also notes that something fundamentally changed after George returned from covering the wildfires three years earlier. By the end of the scene, George is once again folded naturally into her family, while Frankie returns to the table with Nate and Aurora urges her to eat.