Previously on Ghosts: Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) hire Abby Pinkus (Gideon Adlon) to work as a waitress at Mahesh. Unsurprisingly, her presence results in several awkward requests from Trevor (Asher Grodman), eager to capitalize on the opportunity to get to know his daughter. And because Sam has so little ability to tell a ghost no, it quickly becomes easier to just tell Abby the truth about her dad’s active afterlife.
Isaac, meanwhile, sees his latest electoral ambitions crumble after the short-lived genius of a totally sober Flower (Sheila Carrasco). Only when Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) suggests a strategic move to the basement does a new (likely unpleasant) path forward appear.
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Ghost Politics:
This episode starts pretty much exactly where the last episode ended: Isaac is groveling at the feet of the basement ghosts in his last-ditch effort to achieve some form of elected office. Of course, much like those carpetbaggers Alberta mentioned in the last episode, Isaac struggles to adapt to the cultural idiosyncrasies of his new chosen home.
Isaac’s stay in the basement has only lasted two days so far (he seems to intimate that it’s already felt like weeks), but an election for Ghost Representative is the perfect kind of fun nonsense that this show does so well. We already got a debate between Flower and Isaac, so it will be interesting to see how Creepy Dirk responds to such an interloper moving in on his territory. I’m sure they’ll soon find an equal parts civilized and absurd manner to choose their nominee. Knowing this show’s penchant for sexually-charged puns, a caucus of some sort would seem appropriate.
Ghost Paternalism:
In this week’s A-story, Abby Pinkus returns for her second consecutive episode, and Trevor is still understandably thrilled at the chance to know his daughter in any capacity. He’s so eager, in fact, that he immediately decides to go big or go home by offering her a free Porsche — a gift he can conveniently afford through his remote-work income. Abby rejects it just as quickly, calling it a “douchy” car. (For the record, if someone offers you a free Porsche, you take it first, and if you think it’s “douchy,” sell it later. That’s just common sense.)
Determined to impress her anyway, Trevor pivots to an even grander gesture: promising to fund her college tuition for what he believes will be a finance degree. When Abby reveals her real plan is to study poetry in France, his enthusiasm fades, and he understandably seeks to change her mind by offering Bela (Punam Patel) as a cautionary tale. This is where Sam steps in, and though she doesn’t do so quite as awkwardly here because of Abby’s knowledge of the ghosts, I’m still not convinced she should have intervened.
Trevor’s goal isn’t malicious; he’s trying to nudge Abby toward a degree with practical value. And wouldn’t it make more sense for Abby to hear Bela’s unfiltered cautionary tales firsthand, without Sam inserting herself? If Trevor had been plotting something more directly manipulative, sure, Sam’s bulldozing of his plan might feel warranted. But here, his motives are unusually grounded and even noble, making her involvement feel more counterproductive than helpful. If Abby was still intent on that poetry degree after Bela’s tales, at least she would be making a more informed decision.
By far, the best part of the A-story is Sam’s newfound obsession with the Porsche. For good reason, most episodes of this series focus on Sam doing something purely motivated out of a need to help the ghosts, so it’s really nice to see her actually doing something for herself for a change! Sure, it changed her entire personality, but I think she should have kept it! Next to acting as a butler for the ghosts, it seems like the closest thing she’s found to a passion.
Living Politics:
An unfortunate side effect of Trevor’s attempt at gift-giving is that the employees of Mahesh believe Sam and Jay are cutting them out of a substantial sum of money. While the kitchen crew struggle to make ends meet, they see Sam driving a Porsche (which doesn’t belong to her) and Jay wearing jeans with diamonds (they’re plastic, and they actually don’t belong to him either).
In spite of Sam and Jay’s legitimately limited funds, the bad optics lead the laborers to initiate a minor strike, which a) inspires Flower to cheer for drugs and b) gives Hetty nightmarish flashbacks to her days fighting the children labor leaders. After consulting with Hetty, Sam and Jay are eventually able to diffuse the conflict by granting their employees meaningless titles like “Vice President of Chips,” an idea that certainly feels more manipulative than anything Trevor was attempting!
Rating: 8.4/10 – This episode didn’t match up to last week’s big reveal, but there were good laughs to enjoy nonetheless. I really wish they had kept the Porsche!
Other Notes:
– Do you think Sam was right to interrupt Trevor’s attempt to educate his daughter about the potential problems with her plan? Let me know in the comments!
– Shoutout to SpoilerTV commenter “DV” for reminding me last week that Bela’s boyfriend Eric (Andrew Leeds), who briefly became a ghost in Season 2, also knows about the ghosts!
Best Quotes:
Creepy Dirk: “Don’t talk while we’re waiting for the gurgle.”
Other Basement Ghost: “It’s very rude.”
Hetty: “Yes. Embrace the opulence. Feel the Woodstone coursing through your veins.”
Flower: “This is great. She’s following in your capitalist pig footsteps.”
Pete: “Why were you revving it so much?”
Sam: “Because the big dog’s gotta eat.”
Flower: “Trevor, don’t worry, your daughter’s gonna have some of the best sex of her life in France.”
Sam: “I don’t think I should get any more involved.”
Jay: “Take that, put it on a post-it, jam it on your mirror. That’s the new house motto.”
Flower: “In Germany, they call threesomes uberbangs.”
Isaac: “Why does ice cream always feature so prominently in Neal’s sexual ploys?”
Hetty: “Three pennies?! That’s outrageous! Do you think we’re made of money?”
Alberta: “Remember in 2006 when you noticed that stain on my dress, and you called me ‘Al-dirta?'”
Trevor: “You ended getting murdered.”
Alberta (with ultimate sass): “Later… It was good for a while.”
Sam: “They say you can’t outrun your problems… (puts on shades), but I’m gonna try!”
Isaac: “Ben Franklin gave half of Paris gonorrhea.”