Ghosts Season 6 Episodes 1 and 2 Review: Séance and Sensibility

With Ghosts, absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It makes us a weeping mess on the floor.

To say the spooky sitcom was missed this fall is an understatement. Ghosts Season 6 Episodes 1 and 2, “Halloween 6: The Mirror,” isn’t just a stellar Halloween special; it’s double the proof that this show deserves to be on our TVs for the rest of eternity, if it so please.

Slipping back into the warm embrace of Woodstone’s flickering candlelight and worn sofas reminds us that this show is a second home — and we have been locked out far too long.

From the first moment the camera glides over the faded wallpaper and spooky decorations adorning the mantel of the fireplace, Ghosts is in its element.

It elevates the familiar sets and lulls us into a rhythm of soothing banter we’ve come to recognize as a language entirely unique to this show. This Halloween special spoils us rotten with a séance, an all-dudes Halloween party, and nods to traditional Victorian spiritualism.

It’s the equivalent of asking for a piece of candy and getting a full-sized chocolate bar.

Yet, with so much gothic nostalgia built into the comings and goings of this episode, we are also treated to entirely new corners of the ghost world.

The special two-part event looks to Hetty for help breathing new life into the holiday, and there’s no spirit better suited for the task.

Rebecca Wisocky has more than established that a Hetty-centric episode is already going to make history, but that does little to prepare us for this Hetty outing.

We get three new iconic looks for Hetty, we glimpse her relationship with Margaret through thrilling flashbacks, and we learn Tim Rozon is the slutty painter that commissioned that scandalous ankle portrait.

Every new tidbit of information feels like a crucial missing piece to Hetty’s life. After six seasons with this character, treading new ground feels impossible. Yet here we are.

Her time with Margaret is especially valuable as it unlocks a whole new realm of ghost lore involving mirrors. It also reveals a layer of emotional growth for the Woodstone sisters; a relationship that has been hinted at since Hetty mentioned Margaret in the first season.

Additionally, their Victorian upbringing complements the gothic vibes of the Halloween séance beautifully, with Ghosts giving merit to the old superstition that mirrors must be covered to ensure the spirit passes on.

An episode where Hetty snorts lines off a mirror as her sister dies could never be anything less than a banger.

Normally, when a show loses its beating heart, it also loses the will to live. Yet, when Ghosts was faced with the impossible task of shooting part of this season without Rose McIver, it made the best of a terrible situation by leaving her legacy in the hands of Utkarsh Ambudkar and Ben Feldman.

Somehow this move manages to still uphold the importance of Sam’s role. It also establishes that Jay being left to his own devices with Kyle, Bela, and Mark is the sitcom equivalent of a perfect storm.

Sam left children in charge of her ghost children, and the result is a level of mirror-breaking, Halloween curse-causing chaos that makes her time away a little less painful.

Plus it’s fascinating to see more of Jay and Bela’s dynamic as siblings, as well as the growing bromance between Jay and Kyle.

Watching the reluctant duo navigate a partnership that Sam and Jay long perfected is perhaps the best part. The two men haven’t learned to babysit the ghosts together in a seamless way. As a result, they often add a new layer of petty bickering to the scene.

You know it is truly an exceptional episode of Ghosts when there are just too many hilarious dynamics and jokes to praise. That’s what happens when an episode utilizes the ensemble with a sharpness that has not dulled with age.

Pairing Sas with Thor to hunt Margaret is especially good. Sas has several standout one-liners like the play on words with Pete’s DNS or “Do Not Seance” and his razor-sharp quip at Thor that, “Margaret’s not a school of cod, so maybe I should come.”

Flower is also exceptionally funny as she floats around the manor as an agent of chaos.

Finally, the long-running joke about Jay’s unhealthy obsession with Sonic turning into the lynch pin moment of the episode that saves Hetty is the cherry on top of this spooky shindig.

Ghosts, you never let a good callback go to waste, and for that we commend you!

This isn’t just one of the best outings Ghosts has delivered. It’s also proof that after six seasons, there are plenty of new tricks and treats up this show’s sleeve.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a hall-of-fame episode without a devastating cliff-hanger.

The cruel move to give us back Pete on the anniversary of his death, with the caveat that his ghost also reverts to the day he died, is diabolical. Even more so given the mirror’s ability to hold memories and the subsequent theory that the ghosts could be a collection of memories within Woodstone’s walls.

After an episode of watching Alberta fight to get her right-hand man back, it’s a gut-punch of a reveal. Alas, it also unlocks a whole new chapter of chaos and comedy for the sitcom this season.

No one knows how to terrify and delight us quite like Ghosts.

---

What did you think of this episode of Ghosts? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Ghosts returns for a two-episode special on Thursday, December 10 at 9/8c on CBS.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!