Ghosts Season 2 Episode 22 Review: The Heir

Ghosts rarely breaks form once it gets in a groove, and this finale has no problem coasting on that momentum as it closes out another stellar season.

Ghosts Season 2 Episode 22, “The Heir,” is the ending we have come to expect from the comedy at its best. There are gut-clutching one-liners, lovely relationship developments for the ghosts, and a lot of heart.

Woodstone started as a rickety haunted house, and now it is a stable, reliable roof over our heads in this time of TV uncertainty.

For all its ongoing successes, we assume Ghosts came out of the gate a fully formed hit-comedy, and for the most part, it did.

But when you look back at last year’s season finale, Ghosts Season 1 Episode 18, “Farnsby & B,” you would be startled to see how this show has matured and grown into something even better.

“Farnsby & B” arguably made for a much weaker season conclusion, introducing a last-minute pickleball game that didn’t quite align with the severity of Jay and Sam losing their B&B venture.

Returning to last season’s mediocre conflict is a gamble, but it is a risk that pays off as this latest attempt to dethrone Sam invites richer intrigue and shock into the mix with a fake Woostone heir.

Sam came about her inheritance peculiarly. So, it is downright sinister for Ghosts to challenge her legitimacy the moment the couple finds their footing. The tactic successfully knocks the audience off kilter too.

The ploy even utilizes P.J. Byrne’s lawyer from the pilot episode. It’s a magnificent use of a callback because we have no reason not to trust the man that handed over the keys to Sam.

But we have every reason to believe Jessie Ennis’ Kelsey is up to no good, given her killer instincts on Mythic Quest, which makes this guest casting all the more brilliant.

The reveal that Sam’s estate lawyer planned to sell the mansion to a hotel chain brings the B&B full circle and opens the mansion up to even more realtor schemes moving forward.

With this conclusion cashing in on good conflict, everything else falls effortlessly into place.

The Happy Couple

And thank ghost, it does because Isaac and Nigel couldn’t be more ready to face this next chapter in their afterlife together.

This season’s greatest strength has been the couple’s blossoming relationship, and its greatest weakness has been their lack of PDA. So Ghosts said, “Fine, you want them to hold hands? Here’s an engagement,” and you have to appreciate the over-correction.

Truthfully, the engagement scene does just as much to shift the dynamics of the house as the final cliffhanger does.

It also shows this sitcom is willing to double down on essential throughlines as it enriches Isaac’s brave undertones. To hear him brag to Nigel that he can use the homophobic card to get what he wants is hilarious and demonstrates how far the captain has come to speak about his sexuality so casually.

If that’s not enough to send any gasper into a good cry-fest, Nigel’s little speech about having a piece of Isaac’s metal embedded in his heart forever has to be the most twisted love declaration ever uttered. This show is so weird; I love it.

Ghosts waves off these triumphs with self-humility, but it has delivered the kind of love story that makes your heart flutter, and that’s no easy feat.

A Cunning Cliffhanger

Ghosts, do you think the purpose of a cliffhanger is to push your viewers over the side of a metaphorical cliff? Because these weekly twists feel increasingly volatile.

But as painful as the final beats of this finale are, I would be hard-pressed to see this sitcom orchestrate a better twist — this is one manipulative masterpiece!

There is no better way to celebrate the end of the sophomore year than by evoking this premise’s most significant power move. One that shakes up the house dynamics and keeps us engaged with the show through the summer hiatus.

It is a plot choice that will haunt us like the very inhabitants of Woodstone, regardless of the outcome’s success.

This is another example of Ghosts taking a concept from last season and elevating it to ghostly new heights.

Instead of a head injury, we have a loss we do not know the severity of. Of course, the stakes of this outcome are higher, but the enticing lure of the unknown works all the same.

Arguably, this season finale goes over so well because it proceeds with its day like always but ups the severity of every interaction.

We see this in Alberta and Hetty’s quick resolution to a riff that should take decades to heal. Despite Alberta’s rushed forgiveness, introducing a ghost justice system (appropriately named Ghost Court) and the threat of severe consequences for Hetty help sell the apology.

Checking Out of Woodstone

At every opportunity, this finale demonstrates how the season has elevated its material, gliding through the rooms of Woodstone with more purpose and clarity than ever before.

The raunchy field trip to visit David Woodstone so he can detail the coffee pot incident that left him shooting blanks certainly sweetens the goodbye.

Ultimately, the finale’s clashing conflicts are held together by the glue of this series — Sam and Jay.

McIver and Ambudkar’s final scene taps into a genuine sincerity as Sam declares the ghosts have replaced her ache for a family. Her monologue is followed by a bright light and a joke that perfectly sums up Jay’s season — “I hope it’s Trevor.”

This is a show with a near-perfect two-season run, and if time is what it takes to ensure the writers responsible for that excellence are rewarded, we will wait patiently to reserve our next stay at Woodstone Mansion.

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What did you think of the Season 2 finale of Ghosts? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The first two seasons of Ghosts are available to stream on Paramount Plus.

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