CBS’s Ghosts Is Brilliant—But Season 5 Must Finally Fix This One Infuriating Trope

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Although Ghosts season 4 was a fun outing in general, season 5 really needs to end the CBS sitcom’s unnecessary reliance on cliffhanger endings. The ghosts of CBS’s Ghosts are what keep viewers coming back every week, as the CBS sitcom crams a variety of characters from various historical eras under the same roof and watches the chaos that ensues. The show’s comedy is its main selling point, but Ghosts season 4’s finale proved that the sitcom has a dramatic edge too.

In a callback to a forgotten plot from season 4, episode 14, “Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle,” the finale ended with Jay revealing he had accidentally sold his soul to Hetty’s now-demonic ex-husband, Elias. Elias took the form of a human to pose as a publicist and, since the ghosts never told Sam about Elias’s plan, Jay unwittingly signed a Faustian bargain that promised his immortal soul in exchange for his restaurant’s success.

Ghosts Season 5 Can’t Have Yet Another Cliffhanger Ending

Season 4’s Twist Ending Felt Particularly Forced

Broadly speaking, the US version of Ghosts isn’t focused on finances as much as its British inspiration of the same name, but Jay’s worries about potential bankruptcy were a big part of the reason that he signed with Elias. The bargain initially appeared to pay off as his restaurant, Mahesh, earned great reviews and a regular customer base. One prominent food critic even asked to do a profile on Jay during Sam’s book launch at the restaurant, which was when Elias revealed himself and season 4, episode 22, “The Devil Went Down To Woodstone,” took a dark turn.

The twist that Jay inadvertently sold his soul to the devil deserved an episode of its own instead of a last-second revelation.

This plot was compelling and the twist was an interesting one, but Ghosts season 4’s finale kept an annoying sitcom trend alive with the episode’s pacing. Everything went well with Sam’s book launch, Alberta and Pete’s unlikely romantic reconciliation, and Patience’s antics in the Ghosts season 4 finale, only for Elias’s entire plan to suddenly be revealed in the last 5 minutes of the episode. The twist that Jay inadvertently sold his soul to the devil deserved an episode of its own instead of a last-second revelation, but the sitcom’s need for another annual cliffhanger ending derailed this.

Ghosts Doesn’t Need Its Cliffhanger Endings

Of course, the reality is that Ghosts season 4 didn’t need a cliffhanger ending at all. The sitcom is strong enough to bring back viewers consistently throughout the year without tawdry ratings grabs, and even more acclaimed shows have relied on A-list cameos and other cheap tricks more than CBS’ Ghosts or the original BBC sitcom ever did. As such, it is frustrating that every season of Ghosts includes a cliffhanger ending when this doesn’t add anything to the show and, more importantly, tends to compress otherwise interesting plots into shorter, more cramped runtimes.

For example, season 3 ended with Isaac calling off his marriage to Nigel at the last moment when Pete’s declaration of love for his new long-distance girlfriend caused him to have second thoughts. Isaac spent the first three seasons coming to terms with his sexuality, so it was a surprising twist when he realized he didn’t want to settle down after all, and the finale could have explored the emotional impact of this in more depth if it weren’t for its last-second twist. Instead, Isaac was kidnapped by Patience in a plot that was inevitably resolved in season 4’s premiere.

Ghosts Season 4’s Cliffhanger Ending Cheapened Its Story

Patience attacking Isaac was a fun jump scare, but season 3’s ending would have been better if Isaac and Nigel’s breakup had some room to breathe. Similarly, Jay’s predicament would have been a lot more worrying if it weren’t crammed into the last five minutes of the finale like an afterthought. Focusing on Patience’s hypocritical behavior in Ghosts more than Elias’s presence ensured that “The Devil Went Down To Woodstone” successfully threw viewers off the scent of its big twist, but this came at a cost.

Some of Ghosts season 4’s best storylines didn’t need big dramatic twists to work well, and a lot of these would have worked better as a season finale than Jay’s last-second predicament. Trevor meeting his granddaughter for the first time in episode 19, “Pinkus Returns,” and Alberta saving her great-grandniece’s marriage in episode 15, “The Bachelorette Party,” were both more moving and compelling than Jay’s plight, since these plot lines didn’t feel rushed or forced.

Although saving Jay’s soul in Ghosts season 5 will be an interesting plot in its own right, the sitcom doesn’t need to save its biggest twists until the last moment of each season

There were a lot of great moments season 4 could have ended on instead, with Pete’s touching goodbye to his daughter in episode 9, “A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 2,” being the best example. Although saving Jay’s soul in Ghosts season 5 will be an interesting plot in its own right, the sitcom doesn’t need to save its biggest twists until the last moment of each season. Doing so means that viewers are never left with the sense that all is well in the Woodstone Mansion, and this unecessary drama cheapens the show’s attempts at real poignancy.

Ghosts Season 5 Should Leave Its Characters In Peace

The CBS Sitcom Doesn’t Need Twist Endings To Bring Viewers Back

It’s not too much to ask that Ghosts season 5 doesn’t feature another cliffhanger finale after so many in a row. Ghosts doesn’t need to end each season with a show-shaking plot twist, especially when the big reveals from most Ghosts season finales are fake-outs anyway. Patience’s kidnapping of Isaac only lasted half an episode, season 2’s ghost that got pulled into the afterlife turned out not to be Flower after all, and season 4’s big twist is almost certainly not going to result in Jay actually getting sent to Hell for all eternity.

These twists erode the audience’s trust in the series and, since Ghosts doesn’t need big twists in the first place, this is a frustrating, unnecessary tendency. Jay is one of Ghosts’ most complex characters as he tries to balance supporting Sam with the frustrations of being unable to communicate with the ghosts himself. Utkarsh Ambudkar’s character has earned a more substantial character arc than the last-second revelation of season 4’s finale, so Ghosts season 5 must prioritize character-centric drama over twists that are momentarily fun but ultimately add nothing to the overarching story of the CBS sitcom.

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