Ghosts Season 4 Episode 14 Review: Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle

Ghosts unravels a 250-year grudge with gasp-worthy storytelling.

Ghosts Season 4 Episode 14, “Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle,” is a cautionary tale of Isaac’s destructive beef with Hamilton told across a landscape of devilish visitors and doom-scrolling chefs.

It’s not the comedy’s finest hour, but Isaac doesn’t throw away his shot to make this reveal entertaining and educational.

We have waited a long time to understand why Isaac hates Hamilton. After all, his callous name-dropping of the Founding Father goes back to the pilot episode.

Jay’s insecurities about his nemesis’s restaurant prompt Isaac to divulge the tale and look at his grudge with new eyes as he progresses through the story. Isaac’s acknowledgment that his actions, not Hamilton’s, cost him the opportunity to sign the Declaration of Independence is a big step up in his development.

Ghosts’ Hamilton was absolutely a scummy dude worthy of Isaac’s disdain, but not at the cost of his position in history.

While that is a tough pill to swallow for the Captain, he comes away from this discussion with the gift of foresight and the knowledge from his friend Sas that Isaac’s “pursuit of happiness” did make its mark on America, even if he did not.

It’s an exploration of Isaac’s faults that expertly balances two personas: the ruffled politician and the seasoned Captain.

I am less enthusiastic about Elias’ attempt to recruit.

This storyline feels like a version of Ghosts the show has outgrown. The series has worked hard this season to move away from dividing and isolating the ensemble each episode, creating a less restrictive environment for these comedic performances to flourish.

Elias happens to corner the four ghosts who are not needed in the restaurant as a peanut gallery for Isaac’s story. Rarely does this group leave that room for a change of scenery, nor does anyone alert the others that Elias has returned.

It all feels very isolated, hindering the story from feeling urgent or perilous. There’s little concern that this storyline will amount to anyone going to hell because this casual b-storyline approach does not reflect the stakes.

Ultimately, Elias’ return should have been enough to shake the core of the entire mansion, and it needs to take up more space to be taken seriously.

That said, any time we see Matt Walsh play the mustachio villain is a delight, and at face value, his return is amusing.

Also, he brings up a point we have thought long and hard about since first falling in love with Thorfinn’s more violent jokes: how is this Viking not in hell? He killed so many people without remorse. 

Ghosts makes a valiant case for Thorfinn that his desire to connect with others on a human level and his guilt over killing a squirrel suggest he was a product of his time.

It’s a subtle hint that purgatory may be for those who rebelled in little ways against their nature throughout their life, like Trevor with his hero move and Thorfinn immediately embracing the Lenope in death when he wasn’t conditioned to hate them like the Danes.

It’s not a foolproof argument made in Thor’s defence, but as Ghosts continues to explore the softer sides of Thor, it will earn merit.

“Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle,” is a silly side quest with meaningful undertones and 

While it is odd that Elias Woodstone and Alexander Hamilton compete for space during the same episode, Ghosts cushions those concerns with a juicy cliffhanger.

The hell recruitment feels low-stakes but introduces crucial information that proves valuable later. Yes, we know no one would ever go to hell, but we didn’t suspect Elias of retaliating immediately by appearing before Jay as a scheming publicist.

That switch-up is much more on par with the calibre Ghosts has been operating at this season. It also blows the lid off the lore as a former ghost makes contact with the living as a demon.

As the great Chumbawamba would say, Ghosts gets knocked down, but it gets up again.

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

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