Most of the time, the CBS comedy, Ghosts, is a silly barrel of laughs. Even though the series revolves around death and the afterlife, the focus is typically on laughter rather than tragedy. However, it seems as though the writers have also decided in more recent episodes to throw in a few heartwrenching storylines to break up all the zany hijinks. This inclusion of sorrowful plot points allows the series to become much more than just a straightforward sitcom and helps the show feel similar to real life (which is a beautiful blend of both light and dark).
Of course, each of the ghosts has some sadness in their backstories (they are dead, after all), and all of the spirits have at least one bittersweet aspect to their histories. Sasappis (Román Zaragoza) is a virgin who longs for love, Trevor (Asher Grodman) worries that he has left no lasting impact on the world before he died, and Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) was murdered before her singing career could lead to fame. Up until this season, Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) held the mantle for the saddest storyline, when it is revealed in Season 3 that she actually killed herself (instead of perishing from a cocaine overdose like she had told everyone). But now, in Season 4, the series has dropped another piece of sad ghost lore.
Thor might now be in the running for saddest ghost story (until someone else gets an episode devoted to their trauma), but there are plenty of areas that the Ghosts writers can explore if they want to dive even deeper into Thor’s story. Thor now has a relationship with his long-lost son, Bjorn (Christian Jadah), but they can only yell to each other from upstairs windows on the adjoining properties. Perhaps the series will finally allow father and son to reunite in some way, so that Thor’s story can become a little less tragic. There’s also his budding relationship with Flower (Sheila Carrasco), which is just begging for more attention in a future episode. By digging deeper into who Thor is as a person, instead of just portraying him as a stereotypical Viking pillager, Ghosts can continue to walk the line between comedy and a hint of heartache.
