Turns out the woman that Sasappis wants is actually right in front of him.
During Thursday’s Ghosts, Sas went ahead with his potentially deadly plan to get to Shiki by going in the ghost trap, even though crossing the Woodstone property in the box could smush him to death.
While he thought he was still hung up on Shiki, Sas was starting to really vibe with 1940s screenwriter ghost Joan (played by Welcome to Flatch’s Taylor Ortega), and unbeknownst to him, she was also really into him. But Sas overheard Joan improvising her big declaratory speech with Pete and mistook it as Joan confessing that she was falling for Pete. So Sas gave Joan the cold shoulder and went in the ghost trap, with the hope of seeing Shiki.
When Pete got wind of the misunderstanding, Thor jumped into the box with Sas and used his power to zap them out before it was too late. Thankfully, a jilted Joan also returned to Woodstone to put Sas in his place, but instead, she declared that he should kiss her already — and so he did!
Below, Román Zaragoza talks Sas’ unexpected love triangle and why he pitched the idea that his character should be a virgin (which he might not be for much longer).
TVLINE | Sas didn’t just get a new love interest. He found himself in the middle of a love triangle! What was your reaction to all of that?
Man, like, reading that at first, I was incredibly excited. It’s funny to think about being, like, in a love triangle with a character that has very much struggled with love. It surprised me, and it surprised him. It’s a scary thing to happen when you haven’t had a lot of experience, because you have to make decisions, and you got a lot of people’s feelings to take into consideration. So it was a very learning experience for him.
TVLINE | In the end, why is Joan the right one for him versus Shiki?
Wow, that’s a tough question. For one thing, I think that Joan and Sasappis actually have real chemistry. Shiki and Sas, we haven’t really seen if they actually have chemistry. We don’t fully know. Potentially, you could take the time and see if they really do and everything, but…everything that he’s built up in his head is never going to be what he wants. [Sas and Joan] have good chemistry, and she’s lovely, and they’re really sweet, and so, we’ll see what happens. We just got to take one day at a time and see if it’s the right fit.
TVLINE | With Thor’s help, he gets out of the ghost trap box before he actually has a chance to talk to Shiki. They didn’t ever get a scene together. Do you feel like they still need some closure?
That’s a good question. Like, closure’s such an interesting thing, because sometimes you build it up in your head, and you’re like, “If I get this one thing, then I’ll feel great,” and in reality, that’s not how life works. And I think he’s built up this romanticization of it for so long that anything is not going to be what he wants and needs. If anything, it might just confuse him even more, versus there’s an amazing person right in front of him that’s saying that she wants him, and he likes her. That’s real. Be there, and work through what you’re going through with this other person on your own. Like, you can figure that out. But who knows if he’ll ever have a moment with Shiki to kind of hash things out.
TVLINE | So what’s next for him and Joan? Are they pursuing a relationship?
We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know. She could leave at any time, or she could stay. I can’t spoil too much, but I’m rooting for him.
TVLINE | It’s very convenient that she doesn’t need to roam as much as Pete does. Opens up some possibilities.
Exactly. It’s an exciting thing to think that she could be there not indefinitely, but she can be there for a good amount of time, and then potentially go back, and then come back. So I think it’s a best-case scenario for Sas. It’s exactly what he’s been trying to have.
TVLINE | Are Sas’ days as a virgin numbered? Or at the very least, are his ghost pals going to stop teasing him about it?
They’re not going to stop teasing him about it, but who knows? Who knows when and if that ever happens? I think he needs to take it slow. It’s been a very big buildup, so, hopefully, he gets there with her. We’ll see.
TVLINE | When they revealed that he was a virgin, did that surprise you?
The showrunners, Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, we talked about it, and I was like, “I think he should be a virgin,” and they were so down. But I think they were hesitant because they didn’t want me to think that was, like, weird or anything. Like, I think they were worried about me as an actor, and about making Sas a virgin, and I was like, “No, I think that’s cool. It’d be great, it’d be fun to play that,” and they had been building that up for years, that he’s just struggled so much with love. Like, why not make him a virgin? Why not make him someone who’s actually incredibly inexperienced? And that gift that they ended up giving me and Sas, it helps with a bigger arc and a bigger place to go. If someone is so far this way [points to one side], they have to get all the way over there [points to other side], and I’m very grateful that I got to play that. It’s really fun.
TVLINE | I have to confess: I loved Sas and Jessica, the car ghost. Did you wish that had lasted longer?
You know, selfishly, because I love Nichole Sakura, just to be able to act with her more, that would be so much fun. But I don’t know if she was right for him. I think she is a little bit more of a free spirit. I just think they were a little bit on different wavelengths. But she was the catalyst to get him out of his shell a little bit, so Sas owes a lot to Jessica.
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