Ghosts Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Patience

Boo-yah! Ghosts haunting homecoming wraps us in the warmth of its cozy, gothic embrace once again.

Ghosts Season 4 Episode 1, “Patience,” sees the ghosts put aside their differences to save one of their own from a feral Puritan woman. Even in death, their shared desire for human connection allows this antagonistic episode to prevail.

And, when the dirt settles, it becomes clear the standouts of this Season 4 premiere are the supporting spirits.

Supporting Guest-Spirits

In this hour of need, we witness how valuable the show’s secondary spirits have become in developing new material and fleshing out every cobwebbed corner of Woodstone.

Seeing Betsy Sodaro’s Nancy fully integrated into the upstairs crew is a thrilling victory. From immediately giving herself up in Isaac’s disappearance to accidentally orchestrating Sas’ kidnapping, she can only fail upwards.

Best of all, Ghosts hints at further development for the other basement dwellers.

The running joke that there’s a different show happening below the floorboards twinkles with potential as the basement ghosts hilariously reveal their long to see Nancy and Stuart act on the sexual tension between them.

Then there’s Nigel, freshly raw from his breakup with Isaac. Ghosts can’t ignore the devastating breakup entirely, but it can still utilize Nigel in other ways during Isaac’s absence.

Nigel referring to Isaac as “the marksman that pierced my heart for the second time” is easily a highlight of the episode. We want justice for Nigel, but we will accept his rich melodrama in the meantime.

Ultimately, the use of Nigel and Nancy to move the plot forward as the rest of the ghosts prioritize Patience keeps this episode from stumbling blindly through the dirt. When Trevor includes the basement ghosts in his plan without hesitation, it shows promise for unity between the groups.

While the kidnappings make meaningful discussions about this development difficult, the ghosts joining hands to rescue Isaac highlight the magic at the core of this premise.

We can only hope Ghosts revisits the dynamics between these two groups, establishing new conflicts between the upstairs and downstairs ghosts the same way it did with Sam and the ghosts in the first season.

These once-supporting players could be the key to digging Ghosts out of any future holes it may encounter.

Patience is a Virtue

Speaking of standouts, Patience is a hoot — for Higgintoot and us!

Mary Holland plays the line between looney and lonely with a fast-paced precision, switching up on Isaac and us with a skilled set of hilariously unhinged physicality and unsettling third-person references.

As a plot tool, her character is the perfect excuse to bring everyone together. Plus, it is no easy feat for an antagonist to make Isaac reckon with becoming a better person. Her presence jump-starts this season’s potential with a wonderfully creepy and zany aura.

The idea that she was “too severe” for her Puritan community strikes a glorious balance between laughable and unnerving. Additionally, I hope, for all our sakes, that her threat of starting her own Puritan commune did not pan out.

Patience is easily the most difficult guest to step through Woodstone’s doors yet. Here’s hoping she extends her stay.

Seasoned Experts

Unfortunately, season premieres can be the most challenging episodes to execute. They require a ton of heavy lifting in such a short time frame.

This Ghosts season opener is particularly demanding, given how much new story it has to acknowledge while doing damage control after that polarizing Season 3 finale.

It’s no easy storytelling feat to introduce a feral Purtan ghost while navigating the fallout of a heartbreaking wedding breakup. 

Viewing these premieres as baseline episodes for the season’s potential is easier. Premieres are not necessarily gunning to be the best, most “balls-to-the-wall” entertaining episodes. They’re installments that help establish the bar for excellence moving forward.

“Patience” gives us lots to work with while exposing the wounds the show is still nursing from its shortened season.

Alas, Ghosts is aging. It’s senior year, and the same tricks might not impress us as they did in the olden days.

Every show in its fourth year must overcome the issue of reinventing itself without changing what people love most about it. The chicken leg joke involving Trevor’s exposed thighs is an excellent example of that struggle.

While we love watching these spirits roast each other, we have seen them do it enough to expect quality-grade burns — like Thorfinn’s iconic: “Your hat small and ugly like Trevor’s legs. Two for one, boom!” 

Using one long-running joke to help prop up a newer joke is clever. Trevor’s skinny legs don’t necessarily have the depth to go the distance simply because they rehash the same formula as the “Alberta’s hat” joke.

We want some things to stay the same, but we don’t necessarily want to hear the same joke repeatedly.

A Haunting Homecoming

I genuinely love Ghosts’ refusal to let a good joke die.

The patterns of familiarity woven into the very tapestries on its walls make Woodstone a memorable stay. Whether Pete reminds us he can leave the property or Jay stresses how little he picks up on context clues, this comedy’s charms continue to haunt us.

It is also great to see someone new like Patience challenge the group’s selfish tendencies. While her morals are rigid, they could be what keeps Isaac from dodging crucial character development.

We will need patience as Ghosts finds its groove, but rest assured, the best is yet to come.

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What did you think of the Season 4 premiere of Ghosts? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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