Ghosts Review: D&D (Season 1 Episode 8)

Jay wrangles the undead residents of the house into a D&D campaign, and in return, Ghosts campaigns for one of the season’s best installments yet. 

Ghosts Season 1 Episode 8, “D&D,” is playing to win with a smorgasbord of scathing betrayals and ghost geek-outs. There are forbidden romances, a second revolutionary war in the foyer, and so many dead people shenanigans that violate Jay’s privacy. 

This sitcom is determined to reinvent itself each episode, refusing to let the walls of this ginormous mansion settle just yet. And who are we to blame this show for refusing to settle down? Clearly, experimenting with the formula is working for Ghosts.

Before we go any further, there’s some severe deja vu to address here.

It’s no secret that iZombie fans have been watching this series closely, willing this Rose McIver-led sitcom to fill the undead morgue assistant hole left in our lives. And Ghosts has graciously eased the pain of our loss by embracing many of the same loveable elements.

I admire the skill it demonstrates within the paranormal comedy genre and how it lends itself to Liv Moore’s legacy. This show doesn’t need fluke comparisons to prove itself worthy of that.

Yet, here is Ghosts playing to one of iZombie‘s most significant episodes, “Twenty-Sided, Die,” with its undead D&D storyline. The game forces Sam to be a conduit for Pete to play, just as a dead man’s brain influences Liv during her D&D tirade.

It’s impossible to miss Liv’s Seattle morgue when McIver and her trusty typecasting continue to ensure these paranormal game nights live up to their potential.

In its infinite wisdom, Ghosts knew it could swivel this chaos into three solid storylines if it got the boys back together. Thus, Pete, Trevor, and Sas are reunited with Jay.

By revisiting this fratboy dynamic through D&D, the series builds on its most rewarding friendship. Something about men from different centuries finding a way to bond over fantasy role-play games is so endearing to watch.

The piece-de-resistance comes when Sas enlists Trevor’s help communicating with Jay using shower steam. It’s criminal how loud I laughed when the scene cut to a half-naked Jay reading “she lied” in serial killer scrawl on the bathroom mirror.

These snitching ghosts are the best thing to ever happen to sitcom television!

There is so much loveable content to unpack here and unpack again because the ghosts keep using the mirror to talk to Jay despite him begging them to leave when he’s showering. It’s a reluctant friendship with many hardships, but Jay is trying, and this show is better off for his patience.

The dynamic is rewarding, too, because it forces Sam to be the reluctant translator for these bro-fests, and when backed into a corner, this girl lashes out in downright savage ways.

Sam is undoubtedly making a play for our new favorite with these cold-blooded pursuits. I sound like a broken record when I say every person on this show is petty, but Sam is on another level, and my respect for her grows with each betrayal.

That uglier side of this comedy has been nothing but a masterpiece in the capable hands of this show.

Ghosts‘ cruelness compliments the bubblier humor so well, inducing gasping as Sam lies to Pete’s face, knowing he can’t defend himself and later matching that as the ghosts hilariously snitch to Jay in the shower.

The undead residents often bring out the worst in Sam, and I’m in love with the idea of a sitcom where the nice girl next door is slowly driven to diabolical villainy by a bunch of gossiping ghosts. Poor Jay is out here playing tabletop games while the rest of the house plays the Game of Thrones.

Ghosts presents us with a toxic environment richer than any workplace comedy.

It is an environment where Sam and the spirits can be on their worst behaviors, but when it comes down to it, they will drop their grudges in a heartbeat to make up and watch TV together.

There’s no better example of this than Isaac and Nigel. In just a handful of scenes, the two soldiers cobble together a steamy, closeted romance of forbidden love and devastating secrets. It is by far this show’s most accomplished character study yet.

There’s no doubt Isaac killed Nigel, what with how he’s waving that rifle around in the cold open. Still, it’s hilarious to see the episode double down on the gay elephant in the room to conceal the much messier truth looming.

Isaac’s “Back to the closet” line is a series highlight.

I cannot get over how clever Ghosts is at incorporating American history into this show. Because British soldiers would have died on the land, and of course, Sas would have a massive issue with Trevor thinking America deserved that land in the first place.

The visual where Sam tells Jay the British and American soldiers are arguing in her foyer, and the scene cuts away to an empty entryway is impeccably timed per usual. The visual of red coats stumbling out of a garden shed is worth a few laughs.

With lore so rich and such defined characters, I find myself laughing in anticipation of the coming jokes because, while the show’s formula is unpredictable, its top-tier comedy is inevitable.

Now bring Thorfinn back, you petty heathens!

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Ghosts airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS.

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