Object

Donna's Christmas List

A small, informal holiday gift list written by Donna — a folded or torn slip of paper, inked in hurried pen strokes and handled in the bullpen. In the canonical scene (S1E10 'In Excelsis Deo'), Donna passes it to Josh; he flips it over, reads the terse entries, then pinches and crumples the note out of sight. The paper's intimate, domestic tone and its creased/balled condition after Josh's handling mark it as a personal prop that catalyzes a playful beat and an ensuing ethical/confrontational moment.

3 appearances

Purpose

To convey Donna's personal Christmas gift suggestions to Josh as a light, informal prompt.

Significance

Functions as a prop catalyst: it opens a playful, flirtatious domestic beat and then precipitates Josh's clandestine, evasive reaction, helping pivot the scene from levity to an ethical confrontation with Leo and revealing character tensions.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S1E10 · In Excelsis Deo

Holiday Banter to Ethical Standoff

Donna's small handwritten Christmas list functions as the intimate prop that opens the scene's domestic register; its transfer to Josh, his private crumpling, and final disposal visually register his divided attention and escalating dishonesty.

Before: In Donna's possession, neatly folded, carried to Josh as a playful, earnest token.

After: Crumpled and discarded into Josh's bullpen wastebasket, hidden from Donna and used to symbolize Josh's emotional withdrawal.

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S1E10 · In Excelsis Deo

Leo Rejects a Preemptive Strike and Reframes the Crisis

Donna's small gift list is given to Josh as a token of intimacy and domestic normalcy; Josh later crumples it and disposes of it, a private gesture that signals avoidance and his shift into crisis mode.

Before: Clean, folded scrap of paper in Donna's hand being handed to Josh as a gift suggestion list.

After: Crumpled and deposited in Josh's bullpen wastebasket, hidden from view, symbolic of Josh's compartmentalization.

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S1E10 · In Excelsis Deo

Donna Confronts Josh About Leo — The Wait-and-See Moment

The Christmas list is briefly invoked as a joking deflection by Josh, allowing him to downplay Donna's seriousness. The list operates narratively as a small, domestic detail that interrupts tension and highlights Josh's use of humor to avoid emotional accountability.

Before: Mentioned in passing as something Donna wrote and expects attention to; not physically interacted with in the scene.

After: Unchanged materially; remains a private, domestic artifact referenced to lighten the tone but ultimately ignored as the conversation turns grave.

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