Ghosted Season 1 Episode 5 Review: The Machine
Yana Grebenyuk
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Not a lot can happen and yet it feels like real progress has been made. Or at least that is what both Max and Leroy led everyone to believe while they were working on their new case.
On Ghosted Season 1 Episode 5, Max and Leroy had to figure out how a man at the country club wasn't aging. This meant they had to go undercover and that ended up bringing topics to the surface that neither of them expected.
Also, Annie joined in on the undercover fun and got to share a moment with Max that got me wondering.
Max had a shake up of a time during the mission, much like he did during Ghosted Season 1 Episode 4.
That time around it was more about his role in the filed, and now he seems to be struggling more with his personal life. Neither are looking all the great right now but his wife disappearing on him like she did was a lot to handle.
It could be easy for Max to move on a bit after he had to confront the fact that his marriage is far from stable right now. In fact it could even be healthy for him to take a step back when his efforts have clearly ended badly for him.
But the mystery behind his wife's disappearance and behavior is too intense not to explore, so I'm just waiting for her to show up when Max least expects it.
Chances are that he might move on, with Annie even, and will then come face to face with Claire again because he is still trying to piece together what happened to her.
For now though it would be great to see Max feeling more like himself, especially since he is thriving at the Bureau but still trying to fit into all the new areas in his life.
You were an unpaid child gardener.
Leroy
Leroy had less to deal with this time around, and instead got to have fun in a new role while undercover.
He did get lost in it a little when he brought Claire into it, but him saying sorry to Max was a genuine moment that might have cemented their relationship even more for me.
These two are still figuring out what it means to work together and to be friends with someone who was thrown into the exact same situation.
They don't know what the boundaries are for the other person, so mistakes do happen and it is how they deal with them as a team that matters.
By Leroy saying sorry there was a door that opened up for Max to feel like he could share what he is going through. He did exactly that and I'm excited what it might mean for their partnership going forward.
But there is plenty of talk about Max's personal life and I don't feel like we have explored the life we saw Leroy lead before he joined the Bureau.
Leroy opened up about a past relationship, but it was through his interactions with his partner's son that we saw a brand new side of Leroy. Hopefully going forward there will be more of that there because it doesn't feel right for it suddenly not to hold the same weight as it did in Ghosted Season 1 Episode 2.
I'm not going to be serving clubs, I'm going to be serving club sandwiches.
Max
Annie had a smaller part to play this time but yet it was entertaining and funny. How does one make sure that Annie is part of more field work in the future? I'm asking for a friend.
And really it makes sense that Max may not be ready for a relationship yet and Annie might still have a boyfriend, but now that Leroy drew our attention to those two it is like you can't look away.
Annie pointing out that Max wasn't wearing his ring clued us in and looked like it was the push that Max needed to accept that his marriage might be done.
Going forward Annie could be the person that Max shares some of that information with, but I will happily accept them being awkward around each other instead.
The missions and the workplace environment gets that much more interesting when those two can't grasp how they should be interacting with one another.
I just noticed that you don't have on your wedding ring.
Annie
The mission was slower in this episode and it wasn't as captivating. Not every adventure could be at the top of the list, especially when it feels like it is just following a simple path to being solved.
The relationships that were explored outside of the case won my attention more than the not aging country club member could anyway.
Perhaps because the mythology behind this mystery wasn't as out there as the outbreak in the Bureau or the alien activity, it just couldn't last as the scene stealing story.
The mythology can't always be the most important part because monsters of the week can find themselves underwhelming sometimes when considering the audience.
A lot was explored though when it came to Max and Leroy and especially Max's view of his own life outside of these missions that he signed up for when he thought it would help him find his wife.
That struggle can hold extremely well while we wait for another alien to come their way.
We've all seen Benjamin Button.
Leroy
What were your thoughts on the episode? Are you still expecting to see Max's wife come back or are we swiftly moving on alongisde Max? Does this mean Max and Annie have a chance? What are you hoping to see more or less of? What paranormal activity would you like the team to investigate next? Let us know what you think below.
And don't forget that you can watch Ghosted online, right here on TV Fanatic.
Yana Grebenyuk was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2021.
