The Beating Heart in a Haunted House: Why Ghosts Season 5 Must Focus on Stronger Human Characters
The charm of CBS's Ghosts is undeniable, a delightful concoction of spectral antics, historical whimsy, and heartfelt found-family dynamics. We tune in for Isaac's revolutionary angst, Pete's scouting earnestness, Thorfinn's primal simplicity, and Alberta's glamorous sass. The mansion, bursting with anachronistic personalities, is the show's vibrant, ethereal playground. Yet, as we look towards a potential Season 5, the true longevity and deepening of this beloved comedy lie not just with its spectral inhabitants, but with the two living, breathing, and increasingly vital characters: Sam and Jay Arondekar. While the ghosts provide the spectacle, Sam and Jay are the beating heart of Woodstone, and Season 5 demands they move beyond being mere conduits for the supernatural and become protagonists with stronger, more independent narrative arcs.
Firstly, Sam and Jay are our anchors, our relatable entry point into the delightful absurdity of Woodstone Mansion. They are the audience surrogates, navigating the baffling, often inconvenient reality of sharing their home with a spectral community. In the initial seasons, their struggle to adapt to Sam's new ability and their entrepreneurial dreams for the B&B provided ample conflict and humor. However, as the novelty wears off, simply reacting to the latest ghostly dilemma risks rendering them passive. Season 5 needs to evolve their personal and professional lives in ways that generate conflict and growth independent of ghostly interference, even if the ghosts inevitably get involved. We've seen them settle into the chaos; now it's time for them to actively shape their world, pushing back against the spectral status quo and forging their own path, rather than merely responding to it.
Consider the narrative potential that lies in deepening their individual aspirations. Sam’s journey as a writer, initially catalyzed by her unique ability, has often felt secondary to the weekly ghost-centric plotlines. What if her writing career truly took off, leading to agents, deadlines, and the moral quandaries of writing about the dead without exploiting them? This opens doors for new human characters to interact with Sam, for professional pressures to conflict with her domestic life, and for the ghosts to offer genuine, often misguided, advice on the publishing world. Similarly, Jay, despite not seeing the ghosts, has consistently proven himself to be more than just "Sam's husband." His culinary dreams, his burgeoning podcast, and his unwavering support for Sam are pillars of the show. Season 5 could see his restaurant ambitions take a more concrete form, forcing him to navigate the complexities of running a business while living in a haunted house. These personal crusades provide rich, fertile ground for character development, allowing Sam and Jay to confront challenges that are uniquely theirs, rather than simply mediating the ghosts' squabbles.
Moreover, stronger human characters amplify the stakes for everyone. When Sam and Jay's dreams are truly on the line—whether it's financial stability, career success, or even their marriage facing external pressures—the ghosts' involvement becomes more meaningful. Their often-bumbling attempts to help, their occasional interference, or their poignant understanding of human struggle, all gain depth when tied to the tangible, high-stakes lives of their living counterparts. If Sam's book deal is jeopardized, or Jay's restaurant struggles, the emotional resonance extends beyond the immediate comedic moment and creates genuine investment from the audience. This isn't just about the ghosts reacting to Sam and Jay; it's about the ghosts being impacted by the success or failure of their "mansion-mates," making the found-family dynamic even more profound.
Finally, elevating Sam and Jay isn't about sidelining the ghosts; it's about enriching the entire tapestry of the show. Imagine the humor derived from Jay trying to secure a bank loan while the ghosts are actively sabotaging the appraisal, or Sam trying to impress a literary agent while a Civil War general is critiquing her prose. These scenarios leverage the show's core premise but place the humans' goals at the forefront, creating a more dynamic and less predictable comedic landscape. By giving Sam and Jay more agency and more complex, ongoing storylines, Ghosts can move beyond its initial premise and evolve into a series with multi-layered character arcs that sustain interest for years to come.
In essence, the ghosts are the magic, the spectacle, the fantastical element that drew us in. But Sam and Jay are the heart and soul, the grounding force that makes the extraordinary feel relatable. For Season 5, Ghosts must remember that while a haunted house is fascinating, it's the living, breathing inhabitants, with their dreams, struggles, and fierce love for one another (both living and dead), that truly make it a home worth visiting again and again. It's time for Sam and Jay to claim their rightful place as equally compelling protagonists, guiding us, and their spectral friends, into an even richer, more hilarious, and deeply human future.
