Ghosts Review: The Christmas Spirit, Part One & The Christmas Spirit, Part Two
Justin Carreiro
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'Tis the season for holiday hijinks at Woodstone Manor!
Sam wants to create her own rom-com holiday movie, but the ghosts have other plans on Ghosts Season 2 Episode 9 and Ghosts Season 2 Episode 10. Prepare yourselves for the most daring possession plot and Bela's latest dating mishap.
It's an hour-long episode dripping with holiday nostalgia and cheeky fun.
"The Christmas Spirit, Part One" and "The Christmas Spirit, Part Two" felt like two complete parts of one story.
This holiday tale isn't a case of two episodes being slapped together due to a schedule decision. Or two episodes airing back-to-back to rush through the production.
Both parts fit together nicely to tell a heartwarming holiday story set at Woodstone Manor. You couldn't have one part without the other; both were needed to fill out the story to give it a complete resolution.
I'd imagine this is what it would feel like if Ghosts had hour-long episodes instead of only being a half-hour. Based on this change, the show should try this style again.
Maybe another holiday special or something spooky for Halloween?!
Sam's obsession with the holidays made total sense. She loves love stories and anything festive she can do to add cheer to people's lives.
Her bread and butter would be decorating around the house and watching holiday rom-com movies.
Damn, this cookie good.
Thorfinn
On the other hand, Thorfinn hating the holidays came as a surprise. I would've guessed that he would've been accustomed to the holidays by now since he's one of the oldest ghosts around, but he is stubborn and does hold a grudge.
Sam and Thorfinn's polarizing sides made them great counterparts to play off of in this story. We have the person who loves Christmas the most being possessed by the person who hates it the most.
The holiday movie writes itself here!
Sam getting possessed by Thorfinn was hilarious from start to finish. Did anyone else laugh whenever Rose McIver, who plays Sam, tried to act like Thorfinn?
For anyone else who watched iZombie, it brought back so many memories of her playing these different characters and roles. Rose McIver did a great job embodying Thorfinn; she's so underappreciated for her comedic timing.
Trevor: What the hell, Sam?! You don’t have to fix her up right in front of my face.
Sam: You’re right, Trevor. That was insensitive of me. It’s just that he seems like a nice guy and you don’t have a body!
Thorfinn, Sasappis, and Hetty had a blast using Sam's body to the fullest. You almost wanted to join in on their fun. Using Alexa to order frozen pizzas and giving Hetty access to hot wood-chopping TikToks may seem small in the grand scheme, but the jokes hit plenty hard for these characters.
And as the day went on, it was shocking that neither Jay nor Bela noticed that Sam was possessed.
Thorfinn wasn't subtle in the least; his deep voice gave him away quickly. Though, we probably need to remember Ghosts Season 2 Episode 8; Jay isn't the quickest to notice details or changes. He would've missed the glaring red flags here.
Thorfinn eventually discovering his love for the holidays was sweet.
Sure, it felt like a cheesy Hallmark or Netflix holiday movie, but that's the vibe "The Christmas Spirit, Part One" and "The Christmas Spirit, Part Two" wanted to get across. This hour was Ghosts' holiday moment.
Specifically, the scene when Thorfinn finds out that Sam and Jay bought each of the ghosts a gift was new levels of touching. This scene was the classic holiday trope where Thorfinn learned "the true meaning of Christmas."
Of course, Sam and Jay would get them gifts; they care about the ghosts and treat them like a family. The music, "Sam's" face when they saw the gift box, and the reveal of the glass ship bottle made it one of Ghosts' most beautifully sweet moments yet.
Speaking of sweetness, were you happy that Isaac and Nigel finally kissed?
It took forever to get them to this moment. After all the flirtation, walks, and dating dilemmas, it's nice to have them move forward in a positive direction.
Alberta: So, y’all haven’t kiss yet? At all?!
Isaac: That is correct.
Flower: Isaac, it’s been months. I would’ve slept with him and his bass player by now.
Though, it was surprising that they hadn't kissed yet.
Isaac and Nigel made a lot of progress by revealing their feelings for each other and committing to the relationship. But their first kiss felt like something they should've done by now, even with delays in defining the relationship.
The pacing was much slower than we realized. Sometimes that can be a good thing to let the couple grow naturally, but there also needs to be some movement. We can't have the development take forever.
Hopefully, Isaac overcoming his guilt of lying to his wife Beatrice will be a good first step.
If that guilt held him back from kissing Nigel, then his conquering it should help him push things forward. Nothing is holding him back now that he's processed things.
And the flashback to Isaac's final moments with Beatrice was a nice reassurance for any lingering questions.
The ghosts should dig into their memory banks sooner than later. Sasappis saved the day here, but he could've dropped the truth bomb much sooner. Many ghosts' problems seem to be solved when someone remembers eavesdropping on something as a ghost.
Elsewhere at Woodstone Manor, Jay's sister Bela, Eric, and Trevor played with fire during their possession plan.
The series has only had a few possessions so far, so there's no telling how good or bad the next one could be. Sam and Jay can only help so much if something were to go wrong. And their electrocutions/possessions have luckily avoided any problems.
In this case, Eric nearly died after electrocuting himself on the wall light. If it weren't for Thorfinn's powers, we would've had a new ghost running around the manor.
The group needs to learn from this misfire and never try this again. Possessions are hilarious and cause lots of drama, but they came close to ruining the holidays and taking a life. The 24-hour dating plan was not worth it.
And Bela needs to acknowledge that she has bad taste in dating experiences.
Trevor is literally dead and emotionally/physically unavailable. She may have liked their connection, but nothing would ever happen between them. The plan would've only made her want him more since he was unavailable.
I’m not asking you to have a perfect marriage. I’m asking you not to sleep with a ghost on Christmas in my house!
Jay
Let's hope that her new flirtation with Eric works out. She now sees him in a new light, and sometimes a small step can be the first step to something great. And we won't know yet if their chemistry works in a romantic relationship.
Granted, she'll probably still underappreciate what Eric does for her, but anything could happen. Maybe he'll still be the "bad boy" she's into?
Miracles can happen during the holidays.
Last Thoughts From Woodstone Manor:
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Hetty and Trevor?! It's so scandalous. It was only a matter of time before the two most hot-and-bothered ghosts finally got together.
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The heckler at the train station is probably confused about what is happening at Jay's mansion after hearing their conversation.
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No one will ever let Pete forget that Alberta facepalmed him over the kiss. It's the rejection that keeps on giving.
- Hetty's lust for shirtless men chopping wood needs to become a Valentine's Day episode or a romance novel.
Now, over to you, Ghosts fans.
What did you think of "The Christmas Spirit, Part One" and "The Christmas Spirit, Part Two"?
Will the other ghosts find out about Hetty and Trevor's kiss? What gifts do you think Sam and Jay got the other spirits? Do you believe Bela and Eric will last?
If you missed the latest episodes of Ghosts, you can watch Ghosts online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments below.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
