Ghosts Season 4 Episode 18 Review: Smooching and Smushing

Ghosts Season 4 Episode 18, “Smooching and Smushing,” is the epitome of what makes this smooth-talking sitcom easy to adore.

This paranormal series offers incredibly emotional, precise match-making in the romance department while offering the vaguest explanations of its supernatural lore.

These ghosts are far more into smooching than the logistics of smushing, and that’s why we love them!

Ghosts understand the art of storytelling so well that the sitcom can’t help but show off when it has two storytellers at its disposal.

The episode cleverly has Joan use her scriptwriter expertise to break the fourth wall. She announces the third act as she re-enters the scene and hacks away at unnecessary speeches in favor of skipping to the big kiss.

It is exciting to think that Joan could be a conduit for Ghosts’ cheeky “if there was a camera, we’d be staring into it” moments.

And it is especially cool on an episode about sweeping Shiki off her feet, we don’t see her once. It’s as if she has always been an idea to Sas and not tangible.

Plus, starting Thorfinn off with such a silly de-masculating moment and spinning it into a full-circle hero move for the Sas-Thorfinn friendship is spectacular. Add in the genuine fear Yanus strikes with his deadly ghost-killing weapons, and many plot tools are working their magic here.

It’s fate that Sas and Joan (Jas?) confessed their undying love to each other on the same episode as a H-Money team-up because it allows us to measure their power against one of the show’s best pairings.

Here are two different but powerful dynamics able to dominate their storylines without overpowering the other. That’s thrilling!

Joan brings out the best in Sas, and Ghosts undoubtedly gives Román Zaragoza his best scenework to date with this romantic turn.

He navigates pettiness, confusion, and anger with a loveable teen angst that soars in the face of many rom-com tropes. From miscommunication to friends-to-lovers, Zaragoza weaves together a tapestry of emotional performances, and he is backed the entire way by an equally love-struck Taylor Ortega.

Their chemistry is electrifying, and the show can undoubtedly utilize these two scene-stealing actors in other dynamics while exploring this rich romance, which has the potential to be a cornerstone of the show’s aging premise.

Oh, Hetty and Trevor, our problematic favs.

The best aspect of H-Money is the idea that they don’t have to try to be better people together. They can be just as valuable to the show’s larger mission by holding a mirror up to each other’s ugliest tendencies — while offering companionship where there shouldn’t be any.

People aren’t typically turned on talking about scamming poor people, but that’s what makes this crazy couple so captivating.

While Isaac works on being a better person and Pete pushes himself outside his comfort zone, H-Money must be as selfish and diabolical as ever to serve the story. 

As such, it’s not about teaching them a valuable lesson about life in all its profoundness like the other ghosts. It’s just about knocking them down until they have only each other to stroke their egos. We see the vision, Ghosts, and we urge you to continue to shame them into each other’s embrace.

What’s better than a loveable, problematic couple? Story threads that are set up in one episode and circled back to in other episodes.

Ghosts has a death grip on the one-off sitcom format, and when it breaks from tradition, it can only be good for the story.

In previous episodes, we witnessed fabulous set-ups with Trevor and Hetty’s pact and Flower’s suspicion that the two were conspiring against the house. Now, we see the sweet payoff as H-Money picks a fight with her, only to get the capitalism playbook thrown back in their face with an epic mic drop.

Even in a high and disoriented state, Flower is still smarter than H-Money. This thought likely upsets them, possibly enough to comfort each other later.

The B-story pushes Hetty and Trevor closer, references Cinaphile Trevor’s obsession with The Cutting Edge, and reminds us that Flower is a former lawyer with wits you do not mess with. 

It’s an A+ storyline and a wonderful companion to Sas and Joan’s love story.

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

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