While CBS’s Ghosts relies heavily on the rules of the sitcom’s lore, the show has still managed to break these all-important rules numerous times throughout its five seasons. The ghosts of CBS’s Ghosts might be the sitcom’s true heroes, but all of their antics would be pointless if it weren’t for Rose McIver’s long-suffering Sam.
As the well-meaning protagonist of the series, Sam is the only one who can hear, see, and speak to the ghosts, and therefore, any communication between them and the rest of the house’s human inhabitants must go through her. At least, that is what the sitcom claims. In reality, Ghosts has broken these basic rules plenty of times.
Compared to its British inspiration of the same name, Ghosts plays fast and loose with its basic premise. In most episodes, Sam is the only one who can reliably speak to the ghosts, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule, and the following exceptions prove that it doesn’t even necessarily qualify as a general guideline.
Kyle Has The Same Ability As Sam To Talk To The Spirits
The most striking change to Ghosts’ premise came during the cold open of season 4, episode 21, “Kyle.” While on vacation in Montreal, Pete spoke to a mild-mannered diner patron named Kyle, only to do a double-take when he realized what this meant. Kyle is another living person who can see, speak to, and hear the ghosts.
Kyle spent the episode in the Woodstone Mansion communicating with the ghosts, and, although Sam and Jay struggled to trust him, it was clear that he wasn’t faking his interactions with the ghosts. Kyle’s season 5 return proved that his appearance wasn’t a one-off, either, meaning there may be even more characters who can speak to the dead.
Sass Communicates With The Living By Entering Their Dreams
In season 3, episode 2, “Man of Your Dreams,’ Sass finally found out what his ghost power was when he entered Jay’s dreams and tried to make him buy a pizza oven. This power has since been used repeatedly as Sass has visited Jay’s dreams, the dreams of Alberta’s great-great-grandniece, and Bela’s dreams in season 5.
As such, it is fair to say Sass is able to speak to humans, even though they may dismiss his visits as just their imagination. Sass’s powers aren’t quite equal to Sam’s ability, but they do allow him to speak to the living without using her as a medium. Furthermore, a few of the other ghosts can do the same.
Alberta Can Control Sam and Jay’s Alexa
Danielle Pinnock’s Alberta smiles and holds up a finger in GhostsImage via CBS
While Sass’s backstory was the last to be revealed by Ghosts, he learned about his power pretty early on. One character who learned about theirs even earlier was Alberta, who found out that humans could hear her hum and whistle since she used to be a professional lounge singer during her life.
As early as season 1, episode 17, “Attic Girl,” Alberta realized she could control Sam and Jay’s Alexa with her voice. It is not clear why the device picked up on her voice and not those of the other ghosts, but this means she could have used various apps to dictate text messages or emails to the living if she so desired.
Jay Meets The Ghosts When He’s Temporarily In Limbo With Them
So far, most of these examples have focused on times when the ghosts were able to communicate with the living through alternative means, with the exception of Kyle. However, there was also an instance of Sam’s partner, Jay, temporarily gaining the ability to speak to, see, and hear the ghosts.
In season 4’s Christmas special, Jay was electrocuted, and Pete possessed his body, leaving Sam’s love interest in limbo. Since this is where the ghosts reside, he was briefly able to speak with Alberta, Hetty, Thor, Sass, Isaac, Flower, and the rest of the ghosts while Pete commandeered his body for a personal errand.
Surprisingly, Jay’s interactions with the ghosts were fairly limited, as most of his time in limbo was spent trying to ensure that Pete’s escapades didn’t ruin Jay’s family Christma celebrations. Jay got a few fun moments with the group, but this wasn’t helped by the fact that the ghost he is closest to, Pete, was the only one absent.
Hetty Can Be Seen By The Living One Day of the Year
Rebecca Wisocky’s Hetty looking annoyed in Ghosts season 4
For the first few seasons of Ghosts, Hetty constantly repeated anti-Irish sentiments that were commonplace during her life. Her bigotry had a hilarious payoff when a DNA test proved that Hetty herself is Irish, much to her chagrin. To her credit, she soon began to embrace her heritage after years of besmirching her home country.
This seemingly allowed Hetty to discover her ghost power in season 4, episode 16, “St Hetty’s Day,” when Jay’s cousin Sunil visited the Woodstone Mansion. Hetty was able to speak to Sunil, and he could see her, proving that she is visible to humans, but only once a year on St. Patrick’s Day.
Admittedly, Hetty’s powers have limited use since they only last 24 hours and only come around once a year. However, this is still one of the most striking instances of Ghosts breaking the show’s own rules since, for St. Patrick’s Day, Hetty can talk to any human as easily as Sam can speak to any ghost.
Alberta Communicates With Her Great-Great-Grandniece By Humming
Image courtesy of Everett Collections
Only one episode earlier, Alberta’s Ghosts power came in handy in season 4, episode 15, “The Bachelorette Party,” and proved that she is almost capable of straight-up communicating with humans. When Alberta became convinced that her great-great-grandniece’s fiancé was cheating on her, she enlisted Sass’s help to warn her.
However, when Alberta realized she’d been mistaken, she resorted to humming the classic jazz standard “Ain’t Misbehavin’” to reassure her descendant that her partner had been faithful after all. The fact that her great-great-grandniece could both hear this and interpret the message proves that Alberta can effectively communicate with characters, provided they can decipher the songs she uses.
Judging by this example and her ability to control Sam and Jay’s Alexa, it might seem like Alberta has the most impressive ability to speak to humans among the ghosts. However, there is one character who is almost entirely able to communicate with humans, and their powers prove that Sam has never had a unique ability in the series.
Trevor Can Communicate With Living People Through Typing
Trevor can move small objects a short distance in Ghosts, and, at first, it seems like he has one of the least enviable powers among the residents of the Woodstone Mansion. However, once he learns about the modern Internet, Trevor soon realizes that he can live a shockingly full life with this one ability.
Not only does Trevor get a lucrative job in season 4 without even telling Sam and Jay, but he even manages to enlist their help in convincing his employers that he is present at a corporate retreat by getting Jay to fill in for him. However, this isn’t the biggest test of his powers.
When Trevor’s estranged daughter, Abbi, visits Woodstone, Trevor uses his powers to text her on Sam’s phone and almost alienates her forever in the process. Fortunately, Sam convinces Abbi to give her another chance, and Trevor ends up using his powers to directly communicate with his daughter in season 5.
Throughout season 5, Trevor gets closer to his daughter by utilizing his limited ability to communicate, thus proving that Sam is not the only one who can bridge the gap between the dead and the living. Although Alberta, Hetty, and Sass’s powers allow them to occasionally make limited contact with the living, this Ghosts hero can effectively communicate straight to them.
- 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
-
Rose McIver
Samantha Arondekar
-
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Jay Arondekar