WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for His Three Daughters.
Elizabeth Olsen’s character in the Netflix family drama film His Three Daughters sings a few very specific songs to her father and sisters. The outstanding albeit small cast of His Three Daughters is led by Carrie Coon’s domineering Katie, Elizabeth Olsen’s eccentric Christina, and Lyonne’s rugged and down-to-earth Rachel. Olsen (Avengers: Infinity War, Love & Death) plays Christina, the youngest sister in His Three Daughters. Judged by her sisters for her anomalous personality and experimental past, Christina is the only one of them who does not live in New York and instead lives in the western part of the United States.
His Three Daughters was released on Netflix on September 20, 2024 following a two-week theatrical run in select theaters. The film originally premiered over a year ago at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2023. The film debuted with a near-perfect 99% Rotten Tomatoes score upon its Netflix release, a score that has slightly dropped to a very impressive 97%. As of the time of writing, His Three Daughters is the fourth most popular movie on Netflix at the end of its opening weekend on the streaming platform. At the end of His Three Daughters, Christina sings a traditional children’s song to her sisters after singing a classic track by the Grateful Dead to her father, Vincent.
His Three Daughters
is streaming now exclusively on Netflix.
Christina Sings “Scarlett Begonias” By Grateful Dead To Vincent
Katie and Rachel unfairly find her fandom of the jam band’s music odd
Christina is a big fan of the Grateful Dead, a legendary jam band with a storied history, but her sisters cast judgment on her fandom.
Christina sings the classic Grateful Dead song “Scarlett Begonias” to Vincent around the 44-minute mark in His Three Daughters. While the original soundtrack version from Grateful Dead’s 1974 album From the Mars Hotel or one of their many recorded live performances does not appear in the film, Olsen’s character sings the lyrics a cappella to Vincent as he lies in bed. This happens moments after Katie kicks Benjy out of their apartment and moments before Katie, Rachel, and Christina get into an explosive confrontation. Christina is a big fan of the Grateful Dead, a legendary jam band with a storied history, but her sisters cast judgment on her fandom.
It would make sense if Christina and Vincent shared a common connection through Grateful Dead’s music, which would add another layer of meaningful context to her song selection in the film. Ultimately, Katie says to her husband on the phone that she and Vincent hated that music, even though it is evident that Christina connects with it. Despite Katie’s apparent certainty that Vincent didn’t like the Grateful Dead’s music, she was known to speak about things quite confidently without having the full picture, as with Rachel and the situation with the apples. Perhaps Vincent liked the music. Otherwise, Christina was just sharing one of her favorite songs with her dad while she still could.
Christina Sings “Five Little Ducks” At The End Of His Three Daughters
Christina sings “Five Little Ducks” as a way to help bring her sisters together while also finding solace through singing like she had with Vincent.
Christina sings one other song a cappella in His Three Daughters, the traditional children’s rhyme “Five Little Ducks”. “Five Little Ducks” is a traditional children’s song that has been interpreted throughout the years in various languages. She sings this song to her sisters after Vincent has passed. It’s likely something she sings to her daughter, Mirabella, who is still in her toddler years. The sisters, shocked and devastated, all come together and sit on the living room couch as Olsen sings. The song continues as Katie and Christina leave the New York apartment, with Rachel humorously chiming in with her improvised lyrics at the end.
At this moment, Christina assumes a motherly role for her sisters, which is interesting since she is the youngest and knew her mother the least before she died. However, Christina is a mother herself of a young girl, which makes her the perfect one of the three sisters to assume that soothing responsibility. Rachel has no kids and says in the film that she doesn’t want them, while Katie’s view of motherhood has significantly shifted over the years as she constantly finds herself at odds with her teenage daughter. Christina sings “Five Little Ducks” as a way to help bring her sisters together while also finding solace through singing like she had with Vincent.
The Real Meaning Of The Songs Christina Sings In His Three Daughters
Katie learns to appreciate the effort that Christina’s singing represents
Christina clearly finds enjoyment through singing and believes that her singing also brings her family members comfort or joy. She is not a professional singer or anything like that but she sings like many mothers do to their children to both Vincent and later her older sisters. Katie believes that Christina is likely annoying Vincent with her singing as she is annoyed at the beginning of His Three Daughters, joking with her husband on the phone that it may kill her. Ultimately, whether Christina’s songs are comforting or not, Katie learns to put her judgments aside and embraces Christina as she sings the children’s song and appreciates the effort she is making.