This is understandable considering how large the sitcom’s ensemble cast is. There are plenty of main characters in Ghosts, and this is without even getting into the show’s growing stable of recurring human guest stars. Unlike its original British inspiration, the BBC’s Ghosts, the CBS series has been steadily adding new ghosts to the show’s roster as each season has continued. As such, some season 4 guest stars inevitably received less screen time than they deserved. That said, one particular instance was notably bad.
Sass and Joan’s Ghosts Season 4 Romance Ended Abruptly
The Couple’s Time Together Ended With Sass Announcing He Lost His Virginity
Sass and Joan’s romance was a highlight of Ghosts season 4 until its ending, a letdown that cheapened the drama and romance of the preceding episodes. After multiple episodes where Sass debated over trying to romance his lifelong crush, Shiki, or pursuing a relationship with the Hollywood screenwriter Joan, he finally realized it was Joan that he loved. Joan and Sass hooked up, and the ghosts were finally able to retire their never-ending jokes about his centuries of virginity.
However, while Sass’s Ghosts season 4 role was otherwise strong, the ending of this subplot left a bad taste in my mouth. After so much focus devoted to Joan and Sass’s flirting and so much screen time spent humanizing the quick-witted, genial Joan, it was weird that the storyline ended the moment they had sex and, moreover, ended with Sass celebrating this achievement with his friends while Joan was presumably alone in the next room.
Given how sensitive Sass has always been, it was a little strange and jarring to see him prioritize telling everyone about his romantic achievements over spending more time with Joan. Indeed, by the very next episode, Joan’s absence was hand waved when Sass simply said she had gone somewhere else for a while. Obviously, saving Jay’s soul from Elias will be Ghosts season 5’s number one priority, but I’d like to see the show provide Taylor Ortega’s promising newcomer with a more substantial role than Sass’s one-time fling.
Sass and Joan’s Ghosts Season 4 Relationship Deserved Better
The Couple’s Courtship Was About More Than Just Sex
Although Sass did desperately want to lose his virginity, a big part of the reason that this unromantic conclusion felt so strikingly strange was that Sass and Joan’s relationship was about more than sex. The pair had great chemistry and Joan was the reason Sass got over Shiki, not just because he developed a crush on her, but because Joan actively helped him to see that his priorities had changed in the hundreds of years since his death and he was a different person now.
Considering how much screen time Ghosts season 4’s Patience received, it is striking that Joan was so swiftly forgotten once she slept with Sass.
Sass and Joan have a lot of potential as a couple, and Joan has plentiful potential as a new addition to the Woodstone mansion. Considering how much screen time Ghosts season 4’s Patience received even though she was never going to become a permanent member of the main cast, it is striking that Joan was so swiftly forgotten once she slept with Sass.
Ghosts Season 5 Must Bring Back Joan and Sass’s Story
The Couple Deserves More Focus In Ghosts Season 5
This setup is rife with potential conflict and drama, but Sass and Joan are both sardonic, mature, and more laidback than most of the ghosts. This means their relationship could be genuinely interesting as two characters who have often been relegated to supporting roles work out how to navigate relationships of their own. One of Ghosts’ most frustrating sitcom tropes is its reliance on cliffhanger endings, but these wouldn’t need to be so commonplace if the show spent more time fleshing out characters like Joan and Sass.
One Ghosts Season 4 Story Doesn’t Bode Well For Sass and Joan
Pete’s Off-Location Relationship Didn’t Last
When Pete met Donna in season 3, he seemed to be just as in love with this new guest star as Sass is with Joan. Isaac even called off his wedding to Nigel specifically because he wanted the sort of love Pete and Donna shared. However, Ghosts season 4 forgot about Pete and Donna almost entirely. First, the sitcom revealed that Donna was seemingly a serial killer and Pete ghosted her for weeks on end, with the character going unmentioned between episodes 4 and 19.
Donna was only beginning to show promise as a character when the sitcom dropped her, and Joan may soon suffer the same fate in season 5.
