The third season of Ghosts has been a time of change for the spirits and livings of Woodstone Manor, so it’s only natural for it to end with one of the biggest changes any person can ever make, alive or dead: holy matrimony. (Although, just how “holy” are ghosts themselves, really?)
“Isaac’s Wedding” technically lives up to its title, even though Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) ultimately doesn’t end up going through with the actual matrimony part. That Isaac even makes it to the altar—to eventually say “I don’t”—is still a big step for the character, especially considering how deeply closeted the 18th-century ghost was when the series began. It would have been so easy for Isaac to have said “I do” to Nigel (John Hartman), especially as the two Woodstone ghosts who were seemingly destined for each other: star-crossed gay soldiers from the Revolutionary War, able to be together forever in the afterlife. After decades upon decades of denying who he really was, Ghosts makes clear that Isaac ultimately still has a lot of time to discover what he wants. It’s not like he’ll be getting sucked off anytime soon.
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While “Isaac Wedding’s” goes on without a hitch—to Hetty’s (Rebecca Wisocky) disappointment as wedding planner and Alberta’s (Danielle Pinnock) excitement that she still gets to sing “At Last” better than Etta James—the episode still serves as a major turning point for the Woodstone ghosts.
The previous few Ghosts episodes set the stage for everything that goes down here. After all, Isaac’s cold feet started with his bachelor party, after experiencing the majesty of a lap dance from a living Australian stripper (and dinosaur aficionado) named Chris (Deniz Akdeniz). Chris returns here as the wedding DJ, perfectly ready to play a set for an empty room, no questions asked—just like he asked no questions when he was hired to dance for an empty chair—after Isaac is already dreaming about him.
A close call with death almost gives Isaac his dream man right then and there, just before his wedding. But Chris’ presence is mostly symbolic; as even Trevor (Asher Grodman), the surprising voice of reason in this episode, points out, Chris is on another plane of existence. He might seem perfect for Isaac, especially when he reveals he’s a history buff who’s also not a fan of Alexander Hamilton, but he’s not a reality for him.
A Big Cliffhanger Changes ‘Ghosts’ Without Killing Its Charms
As his fellow ghosts prepare for the wedding, Pete (Richie Moriarty) is all the way in St. Lucia, thanks to his newly discovered ghost power, the ability to freely travel away from the property in which he died. (In life, he was a travel agent who never traveled. ) From there, he meets the ghost of his dreams (and a spitting image of Loni Anderson, which really clinches it for him), Donna, who was killed by the force of a falling 1980s cellphone. For once, Pete gets the girl.
In a way, it’s felt like this season has really kicked Pete while he’s been down, adding his cheating wife Carol (Caroline Aaron) to the land of the unliving (and to the hilariously upsetting body count at Woodstone)—especially as the show has leaned into Carol being a truly terrible, selfish person. But then the finale reveals the catch with Pete’s ghost power: He has to return to Woodstone after a certain amount of time, otherwise he will completely disappear. He compares the situation to the photo of Marty’s family in Back to the Future, and he’s not wrong.
Pete gets his groove back during his time with Donna, but when given the choice between living out what little time he could have left in tropical bliss with her or returning home to safety, there really is no choice. The thing is, when Pete does choose Woodstone, it’s no longer because of a fear of the unknown or stepping outside his comfort zone: It’s because he loves all of his Woodstone friends, and if he’s going to have any last moments on Earth, he wants it to be with them.
