The following contains spoilers for Ghosts Season 5, Episode 2, “Viking Wedding,” which aired on Thursday, October 23, on CBS.
Ghosts finally reversed an awkward trend in Season 5, which is excellent for Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), but could be bad for the series in general. The supernatural sitcom had a devilish start, as Jay tried to finesse his way out of a deal he made with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), an emissary of the devil. After Pete’s (Richie Moriarty) undead ex-wife, Carol (Caroline Aaron), sacrificed herself to save Jay’s soul, which ultimately allowed her to get sucked off, things have cooled down a bit at Woodstone.
In Ghosts Season 5, Episode 2, Sam and Jay experience a nice change of pace. Their trendy friends from the city rent out Farnsby’s house next door, and the Arondekars jump at the opportunity to fraternize with the living. However, after the Farnsby’s guests rearrange one of their spare rooms, moving a bookcase in front of the window, Sam and Jay get caught up in another debacle with the undead. Thor (Devan Chandler Long) persuades Sam to coerce her friends to move the furniture, putting Sam in another awkward position.
Sam Finally Chooses Herself In Ghosts Season 5, Episode 2, “Viking Wedding”
Ghosts – The ghosts surround Jay who is laying on Sam’s lap on the couch.Image via CBS
In “Viking Wedding,” the ghosts put Sam in another position where she has to choose between them and herself. Sam traditionally puts the ghosts’ needs above her own, oftentimes costing her everyday moments with other living people. However, Sam finally chooses herself in Ghosts Season 5. Wanting to impress their friends and not rock the boat so they can get invited on one of their prestigious “couples trips,” Sam doesn’t push her friends to move the bookcase, which would have compromised the impression she was making.
It’s subversive that Sam finally chose herself, especially considering that Thor was yelling in her ear at dinner, pressing her to push the subject further. Fortunately, Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) was also present, influencing Sam and offering her advice on maintaining her composure during the interaction. Therefore, rather than making herself look odd, pushing her friends to move the furniture in their rented home, Sam dropped the subject. The moment was a genuine relief for audiences, who had seen Sam make a fool of herself repeatedly.
While Sam and Jay appease the ghosts, it’s all part of the fun; at some point, Sam needs to maintain connections in the real world as well. Unfortunately, due to their last interaction, which was also influenced by the ghosts, Sam and Jay’s friends from the city believe that they are mentally unstable. That said, Sam maintaining her composure is a huge win for her, since her goal was to reconnect with their friends by making a better impression. After a couple of years, Sam could more easily balance seeing the dead around the living.
Sam And Jay Have Traditionally Prioritized The Ghosts
Sam is wearing a pumpkin costume and standing next to Carol who has on cat ears. They talk to two guests.Image via CBS
While Sam not pressing her friends on an odd topic may not seem like a big deal, Sam has traditionally prioritized the ghosts. Oftentimes, something the ghosts want conflicts with what Sam and Jay want, and the Arondekars end up throwing in the towel and folding into what their undead counterparts need. The trend can be frustrating because it has put Sam and Jay in an uncomfortable position throughout dozens of Ghosts episodes, and all the more so because the Woodstone ghosts have already lived one life, and, at times, rob Sam and Jay of theirs.
While there are countless instances where Sam and Jay compromise on their own best-laid plans to appease the ghosts, the most noteworthy example is perhaps the previous episode, Ghosts Season 5’s premiere, when Jay almost died because the gang didn’t want to sacrifice Carol, so they could eviscerate Elias Woodstone, which would have saved Jay’s life. It made for a great story that even Jay cared about Carol, but in reality, if it came down to choosing between a human life and an undead one, it would be no contest.
Of course, the gimmicks that Sam and Jay get into while helping their undead friends are all part of the humor of Ghosts, but at some point, the Arondekars need to choose themselves every once in a while, even just for the sake of believability. Moreover, Sam owes it to Jay to prioritize their life sometimes, since her husband doesn’t benefit from seeing the spirits at Woodstone like she does. That’s all part of the reasoning that it was such a relief to see Sam choose herself for once, despite Thorfinn’s emotional pleas down to the final hour.
Thor wanted Sam and Jay to move the bookcase because it covered the window, where he planned to watch his son, Bjorn (Christian Jadah), marry the ghost next door. The Viking made a heartfelt plea to Sam, and, as a sap for happy endings, Sam typically caves, with these requests working like a charm. However, Sam flips the script. While Sam and Jay end up moving the bookcase anyway, since their friends reveal they’re making a trip to the city, and it gives the Arondekars an opening, Sam didn’t compromise her needs for Thor’s.
What Sam’s Development Means For Ghosts Season 5 And The Series’ Future
The cast of Ghosts posing for the cameraImage via BBC
While it may seem like an insignificant shift, Sam flipping the script could signal the beginning of the end for the supernatural hit sitcom. The CBS series is based on a BBC show of the same name, which concluded in 2023. Taking inspiration from its British counterpart, CBS Ghosts drew on many aspects of BBC Ghosts, with many of its early storylines and ghost stories overlapping directly. Therefore, it’s not a stretch to think that the American version would take another note from across the pond, specifically BBC Ghosts’ ending.
In the final season of the British show, Jay and Sam’s counterparts, Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) and Allison Cooper (Charlotte Ritchie), finally decide to leave the Button House, which is their version of Woodstone Mansion. After living with the ghosts for five seasons and putting their own needs on the back burner, Mike and Allison say goodbye to the spirits and embark on a life without them in the finale, which is actually the ghosts’ idea. They see that Mike and Allison have new priorities with a baby on the way, and want to be helpful for once.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that CBS Ghosts would take a similar off-ramp. It’s also not hard to imagine a story where, after years of living with the dead, Sam and Jay opt for a change of pace, perhaps living in a house that isn’t haunted. In BBC Ghosts, Mike and Allison search for a property that doesn’t have any lingering spirits, and the Arondekars choosing their living friends could be the first step in separating from the ghosts. Sam once made it her mission to help the undead move on, but she, too, may have to move on from the shenanigans one day.
Release Date
October 7, 2021
Directors
Christine Gernon, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Katie Locke O’Brien, Nick Wong, Jude Weng, Pete Chatmon, Richie Keen, Alex Hardcastle, Kimmy Gatewood, Matthew A. Cherry, Cortney Carrillo
Writers
Emily Schmidt, John Timothy, Lauren Bridges, Sophia Lear, Guy Endore-Kaiser, Rishi Chitkara, Julia Harter, Skander Halim, Zora Bikangaga
Rose McIver
Samantha Arondekar
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Jay Arondekar