Ghosts Season 5 Episode 19 Review: Gate-gate

Ghosts Season 5 Episode 19, “Gate-gate,”  throws Sam and Jay into the world of dirty politics with a descriptively delicious outing.

The Mayor Tad storyline continues to be a boon to this season’s late-stage successes. For its third and seemingly final act, Tad’s presence draws the show into the ugly underbelly of local politics.

It feels right to close out a multi-episode arc (something Ghosts should do so much more of!) with another adventure outside the walls of Woodstone and a rare glance at the quirky townsfolk.

Frankly, these people have no right to call Sam a weirdo for speaking to herself in public. The politicians are committing tax fraud and filming their filthy orgies. All while asylum escapees and restaurant receipt pokers murder people. Speaking to ghosts is the least of the sins happening outside Woodstone’s front gates.

That said, thank the ghosts that the locals are so freaky. It makes this episode ten times more entertaining as Sam and Jay carry out their blackmail-heavy errands.

The callback to the Farnsbys’ infamous swinger group is a wonderfully weird excuse to blackmail someone. The additional callback to the time Jay broke into the Farnsbys’ house and accidentally watched their sex tape is also excellent.

Ghosts is doing an impressive job of expanding on its lore through fun tie-ins and Easter eggs like this.

We may not have Stephanie or the Farnsbys this season, but that doesn’t mean their legacy can’t still impact this show.

Tad and the horny seniors of this town are making sure their presence is felt, and that goes further for the story than introducing new conflict with no previous ties to these characters.

Even Pete’s illegal deck gets a shout-out. Plus, throw in the fact that the next episode is circling back to Sas and Thorfinn’s favorite reality show, It’s Getting Hot in Here, and it feels like Ghosts is circling through its greatest hits.

These trips down memory lane, coupled with the multi-episode storyline, suggest the sitcom is regaining its stride and shrugging off the need to reinvent itself.

The new settings and characters are more than enough to elevate this episode.

It’s the same relationships and dilemmas present in a different context. After all, this isn’t the first time Sam has been caught talking to a dead restaurant worker. But the overly chatty waitress is an adorable distraction, and this time Sam has Pete and Joan as her ghost entourage to keep the fans away.

Meanwhile, Jay’s quest to acquire porn from the neighbors and use it to extort a politician is effortlessly bizarre and fun.

Jay’s reluctant desire to blackmail another man is hilarious to watch play out, with Joan and Pete providing commentary in real time like two peanut-gallery muppets.

Ghosts is at its best when these characters are committing crimes, and I continue to stand by that statement.

Not only do Sam and Jay thrive in the chaos of Tad’s political world, but Isaac also has one of his best episodes of the season.

Isaac doesn’t always get storylines that cut deep into his character’s true desires so much as his selfish tenancies. To see him find camaraderie and comfort in his time with the basement ghosts and then assume he has to give that up out of status is fascinating.

Isaac gives up his new friends because they are perceived as “below him,” and Hetty even encourages Isaac with tales of her mother’s struggle to let go of her days in the asylum. It’s so wonderfully tone deaf and telling of how oblivious these older ghosts can be to their ways. Yet refreshingly, Isaac doesn’t side with the oblivious and selfish nature for once.

Hetty doesn’t recognize that the asylum might have given her mother elements of liberation she desired as a woman trapped by expectations. The same goes for Isaac, who unknowingly let the basement ghosts break down his biases with their simple way of living.

His pure joy at learning he can spend time with both the upstairs and downstairs ghosts seems like a simple conclusion. However, this is an epiphany years in the making for Isaac.

So much of this episode gets it right. The format is strong; the overarching storylines are meaningful. Little details, as simple as the ghosts dramatically hugging the stove every time someone passes by them in the kitchen, provide a visual buffet of delights.

And yet, there is one issue that seems to be more prominent than ever — recap dialogue!

The art of aggressively recapping past events in every piece of dialogue is beginning to chip away at Ghosts’ spirit. It’s nothing new for the series or for sitcoms in general. It has, however, become far more prominent this season and to the point that the unwanted exposition is actively hurting the show every week.

There’s no depth to this writing tactic. It seems bizarre that any show would adapt to cater to hollow storytelling for passive viewers who can’t be bothered to give TV shows their full attention.

The recap dialogue is at its worst during this episode, summarizing what’s happening right in front of us and what happened in the previous episode without providing any comedic substance.

Ghosts proves in every fiber of this outing that it’s better than that.

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

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