Ghosts Season 3 Episode 7 Review: The Polterguest

Woodstone’s honeymoon suite is booked and busy with Lamorne Morris in town.

Ghosts Season 3 Episode 7, “The Polterguest,” celebrates the New Girl alum’s poltergeist with an outing that clings to the romantic — the kinks, the icks, and the sacred grinding traditions of college students.

It’s a sexually-charged, swoon-worthy joyride that hints at Isaac and Nigel’s upcoming nuptials while exploring the ever-expanding ghost lore and Alberta’s equally elusive dating history.

Ghosts is at its best when its being its weird, wonderful self.

Saul’s cartoonish, clingy energy fits perfectly into a high-octane episode like this, and you got to love how they one-up “sucked off” with the “jerked off” term for poltergeists.

Jay’s right; this is one sexual innuendo too far.

Sadly, the one episode that cannot shake its nature is these guest-star one-offs. They never have the conviction to suggest anything that happens matters beyond this outing.

“The Polterguest” is no different. Alberta’s time with Saul is fleeting; we know that from the jump. The episode does its best to make it worth our time and give Alberta a show-stopping performance, but it can never eclipse that low-stakes nature.

However, attaching Saul to Jay intensifies things and adds even more of that infectiously weird energy we love. Now, Ghosts must crack the code and find a way to help these guest-star outings leave a lasting impression on the season.

Love at First Fright

It’s so great to see Alberta getting to explore her sexual desires with a new love interest and enjoy herself so much that she wants to move past a one-night fling.

It is even better to delve into her issues with romantic intimacy and better understand why, even with her dream guy, she struggles to embrace a long-term relationship.

Her emotional rollercoaster is comically downplayed with Saul’s clinger persona, justifying the swift breakup but not undervaluing Alberta’s feelings. It’s a combination of comedy and sincerity that Ghosts Season 3 Episode 6, “Hello, Brother,” lacked.

It is hard to say where this revelation will leave Alberta moving forward in her romantic life, but this episode is a solid springboard to jump into the deep end of that conversation.

This low-stakes storyline brings Alberta joy; sometimes, that’s all these fleeting guest-star episodes need to do to thrive.

Nigel’s Stag Do

This bizarre and brilliant bachelor party storyline would be nothing without Nigel’s triumphs. This proves yet again that Nigel needs to spend more time with the other ghosts (after he and Isaac spend time together, of course).

This short scene is the linchpin of the episode’s success.

Trevor’s describing a lap dance as something that happens when someone is “putting themselves through college,” followed by Jenkins grinding up against Nigel to sexual flute music, is the perfect use of this show’s premise.

As for Jenkin’s unhinged delivery of the line, “I’m making my way through university,” — it lives somewhere beyond perfection.

Even when Trevor gives his silly definition of a lap dance, he keeps it non-gendered. Ghosts continues to write inclusive jokes that can go the mile with the entire ensemble. This comedy isn’t going to stereotype gender roles or assume anyone’s sexual history, including Trevor.

Isaac’s Bachelor Party

We learn a lot about our ghosts through sexual context during this explorative outing.

But now I want to talk about Isaac and his dinosaurs. One tool all sitcoms should utilize more is continuity. Let those small character revelations carry over into other episodes. If there was ever a storyline that needed to continue, Ghosts is brilliant for recognizing it has to be the dinosaur fixation.

When Isaac confessed he wanted a dinosaur-themed wedding, I gasped so loud. Isaac may be dead, but his love for dinosaurs lives on.

Everything about their infiltration of this strip show elevates the material. Sam hiring a stripper to give a ghost a lap dance is already amazing, but that stripper being into dinosaurs — now that’s going the extra mile!

Deniz Akdeniz must have a recurring role after that masterclass clicking!

From the dinosaur plushy watching over his party to Isaac fantasizing about the lap dance long after, everything about this new chapter for the captain just clicks.

—

What did you think of this episode of Ghosts? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Ghosts airs Thursdays at 8:30c/7:30c on CBS.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!