The grainy, timecode-stamped footage flickers on the screen. It’s the Cooper living room, but… wrong. The lighting is harsh, the set looks cheaper, and the laugh track is absent. The scene plays out a familiar premise from Season 1: George Sr. has had a bad day at the high school football field, and Mary is trying to cheer him up.

He places the tape in a labeled Ziploc bag and writes: DO NOT WATCH. CONTAINS UNNECESSARY TRUTH.

“I’m not sure,” he says softly. “I think I just watched the director’s cut of our Christmas.”