Ghosts Season 5 Episode 5 Review: T-Daddy

Trevor’s crash course in fatherhood takes a sincere turn on the latest Ghosts.

Ghosts Season 5 Episode 5, “T-Daddy,” teaches the girl-dad a valuable lesson about living life to the fullest, and sacrificing our beliefs so our loved ones can do the same.

From Sam’s side-quests to Hetty’s fashionable flashbacks to an adorable new dynamic between Abby and her ghost dad (GD for short), the latest family affair under Woodstone’s roof is a success.

We are always asking Ghosts to give Rose McIver her flowers, but a Porsche works too!

Honestly, we are long overdue for more Sam-centric storylines that dive into her character, as well as celebrate her for all she does. Her new life in the fast lane couldn’t have come at a better time after putting herself on the line to reunite Trevor and his daughter.

Just seeing Sam do something for herself without the ghosts interfering with her joy is refreshing. She decides to go all in on the Porsche without a care for what anyone else thinks.

Watching Sam get more and more invested in the Porsche lifestyle every time we revisit her is such a delightful side quest. And her accidentally starting an uprising at Jay’s restaurant is such a slay.

This episode is a healthy reminder to give McIver more elevated and comedic material, because she eats it up!

It’s also fantastic to see Ghosts introduce the Porsche to play up a joke about Trevor having “sitting-car money” while Jay and Sam are flat broke.

Even better, the car quickly turns into a whole storyline for Sam as she takes the wheel. And as a direct result, the car becomes a source of conflict for Jay.

What starts as a small joke builds into a full-on labor strike with Hetty flashbacks. That is how you excel at sitcom storytelling.

Not only does this outing overlap storylines throughout, but it also lets the storylines affect one another. It’s far more effective than having a ghost walk into the wrong room after a day spent on the other side of the mansion.

By borrowing Trevor’s car, Sam starts a domino effect of unfortunate events for Jay. That is the type of conflict we would kill to see more of moving forward.

You know what else we would kill for? A new Hetty Woodstone look. And boy, do we get a good one with these new flashbacks.

It never ceases to amaze us what the costume department does with her signature Victorian style. The outfits themselves are worth just as much as any dialogue or development, because Hetty’s style is as much her personality as anything else.

That said, finally seeing how she did swindle and abuse her child workers is all in great fun. Hetty, you truly were the worst!

Alas, it does feel like this union storyline and her flashbacks are overshadowed by the Trevor and Abby of it all. Ghosts would benefit from teasing worker unrest and saving Hetty and Jay’s shared connection as bosses for a full episode run.

That look deserves a whole storyline, frankly. And by look, we of course mean Jay’s rhinestone butt pants.

Ghosts is great at simplifying emotional subjects into a few elegant beats.

The aftermath of Hetty’s death day, when she reveals to Isaac and Sam how she passed, comes to mind. The spirit of that excellent scene is very much present in Trevor’s moment of reckoning as a parent.

As he grumbles about Abby choosing her passion over what he wants for her, Trevor receives pushback that expertly unveils the scorned child standing before him.

Sam, with her previous mother issues, does most of the heavy lifting as she reminds Trevor that no child will admire a parent for crushing their dreams.

Aberta is the success story, showing how support from her father gave her the nerve to chase her dreams. But it is Isaac who brings this scene home with effortless comedic delivery, as he mentions his father forcing him to marry a woman.

That is the show’s sweet spot — the generational threads that connect trauma across centuries of humanity.

Despite hundreds of years between them, Sam and Isaac still fell prey to a harmful parenting notion. But they are brave enough to step in and stop Trevor from making the same mistake, ending that cycle for Abby.

Hopefully, a lesson like this falls on willing ears at home as well. So many of us have experienced Abby’s disappointment when Trevor revealed his disdain for her passion. So many of us have also experienced the highs of earning a parent’s support.

By drawing from real experiences, Trevor’s ghost-dad storyline breaks down the supernatural veil and touches on a storyline that is affectionately human.

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

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