While Ghosts season 4’s character changes have largely made the CBS sitcom stronger, one main character’s devolution is pretty frustrating in episode 6. The ghosts of CBS’s Ghosts might not be alive, but that doesn’t mean that their character arcs remain static. On the contrary, the show’s ghosts grew and changed a lot in the show’s first three seasons. Sass opened up and began collaborating with Sam after initially acting as a sardonic outside observer, while Isaac confronted his sexual orientation and began a relationship with Nigel. Admittedly, season 3’s finale saw this relationship end in tears.
However, Isaac made amends with Nigel early in season 4 and the pair are back on good terms. Similarly, Sass’s Ghosts season 4 story proved the character still has more growth to look forward to, as dating the girl from Jay’s dreams showed that he was trying to put himself out there. Ghosts season 4’s hiatus held up the progress of its characters somewhat, but this wasn’t the main issue standing in the way of their growth. When season 4, episode 6, “The Primary Source,” aired, it became clear that one character’s devolution was the real problem.
Sam Mistaking Humans For Ghosts Derails Ghosts Season 4 Episode 6
Sam Accidentally Reveals Her Plan Thanks To This Mistake
Ghosts season 4’s Sam somehow can’t tell humans from ghosts now, which makes her character seem a lot goofier than ever before. Sam has always been somewhat klutzy and ditzy in a lovable way, but the extent of her silliness was amped up in “The Primary Source” when she twice assumed that living people were ghosts while speaking to them. While this might have worked as a throwaway gag, the recurring bit strained credulity when the twist had a major impact on the plot of “The Primary Source.”
Sam initially mistook a Civil War reenactor for a ghost when she, Pete, and Jay went to a historical site to unearth Isaac’s old diary. This was a solid gag, but the revelation that Sam didn’t notice his Nike sneakers or energy drink strained credulity. However, Sam brought Isaac’s Ghosts season 4 story to a halt a few scenes later when, thanks to his colorless smock, she mistook her publisher’s evaluator of historical documents for a plague ghost. This silly twist resulted in Sam almost losing her book deal and eventually revising the historical non-fiction book into a trashy YA novel.
Sam’s Unlikely Cluelessness Betrays Her Character
Rose McIver’s Ghosts Heroine Is Typically Sharp
The problem with this twist is that Sam was smart and quick-thinking in earlier seasons of Ghosts or, at the very least, not so markedly clueless. Sam mistaking not one, but two real people for ghosts in the course of a single day made it tough to believe that she could go through her normal life without constantly making this mistake. The only two new characters that Sam encounters in “The Primary Source” are both living people who she mistakes for ghosts, which seems like it will soon become a major problem for her.
If Sam was incapable of telling ghosts from people, this issue would almost certainly have arisen earlier.
Although Ghosts season 4’s break meant that it was a few weeks since viewers last saw Rose McIver’s character, it is fair to say that she didn’t have this problem earlier in season 4. The preceding episode, “A Star Is Dead,” saw Sam welcome dozens of actors and stagehands into the Woodstone Mansion to host an amateur theater company’s production of Anything Goes. If Sam was incapable of telling ghosts from people, this issue would almost certainly have arisen earlier when actors were dressed in period costumes. Season 4, episode 3, “Halloween IV: The Witch,” had a similar issue.
Ghosts Season 4’s Isaac Book Plot Had Other Issues
The Entire Storyline Felt Rushed And Poorly Thought Through
In “Halloween IV: The Witch,” Sam and Jay opened their home to the public as they had a huge yard sale. Again, Sam’s inability to tell ghosts and people apart only comes up when it is convenient, as it seems unlikely that she would have made it through this event without making the same mistake. Moreover, there were bigger issues with Isaac’s storyline from “The Primary Source,” that held the episode back from greatness. The episode left many questions unanswered, such as why Sam agreed to write Isaac’s memoir, and why the episode’s misadventure happened at all, given its ending.
Rather than focusing on Ghosts season 3’s missing character Flower, “The Primary Source” was yet another episode that centered on Isaac. Not only was he the main focus of season 3’s overarching story, but the events of “The Primary Source” left his circumstances largely unchanged. When the episode began, his memoir was soon to be published and, when it ended, his memoir was soon to be fictionalized and published. This made the Ghosts outing feel pointless even before Sam’s character devolution came into play.
