S01.E17: Attic Girl

[emma675]

5 hours ago, basil said:

Hetty wasn't trapped. She aggressively possessed Jay. 

I don't think this is true. She wasn't even trying to possess Jay, she was standing behind him when he got electrocuted and he was thrown on top of her. And Isaac told the story of how he accidentally possessed a workman years earlier and it took an exorcism to get them separated and back into their own bodies (or I guess, "bodies" in Isaac's case since he's a ghost). Luckily, they now know the ghost barrier/property line can remove a ghost from a person instead of needing a priest.

[enduringforce]

4 hours ago, madmax said:

Good episode, but neither Sam nor Jay went into the attic since they bought the place?

Yes, Jay went to the atic for something in episode two. When Sam chased 'Arrow Guy' out of the bathroom with a toilet plunger and she asked where he was and he said 'the attic'. But even in this episode she did not wake up until Jay dumped a box over, so perhaps when he was up there before he just did not make enough noise to wake her up.

[enduringforce]

33 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Hetty wasn't trapped. She aggressively possessed Jay. 

No, she was not aggressive at all at first because she was just enjoying his body to be able to taste food and physically be able to do things again. Yes she did try to get his body to leave the premises and go to Paris but she did appologize for that. She really did enjoy being able to taste food again as all the ghosts seem to lament that one part of being a ghost.

[Annber03]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Digressing to the Alexa plot point:
Just based on my own observations, I think prejudice against the Irish may have waned a bit in the US with JFK's assassination in 1963 and his subsequent enshrinement in the American psyche as a beloved icon. Maybe now that Alberta can talk to Alexa, Alberta and Hetty will discover The History Channel and PBS, and Hetty will become a JFK fan, heh.

But I don't think JFK would be Isaac's type. 
Although I expect Isaac would also be a fan of historical documentaries on TV -- to a point. And speaking of prejudices: Not sure what Isaac would think of Ken Burns' Stonewall Uprising documentary. Maybe bring out the Kleenex?
With Alexa and Alberta and TV, there are a lot of potential expositionary short cuts for the ghosts to gain awareness of historical events outside their lifetimes.

Oh, my god, this NEEDS to be an episode now, or something that happens over the course of various episodes :D. I would love to see the ghosts learning about all the other historical events that have happened since they died, and get their thoughts on it all. 

5 hours ago, chaifan said:

I liked the Stephanie/Trevor bits.  Here's my take on Trevor:  He'd been keeping up a dude-bro image until the pants episode.  I think when Sam & Jay first moved in he genuinely had the hots for Sam, but was also just being bro-ish about it.  I think that's progressed to being just a crush, and that's what we saw in this episode with her coming down the stairs.  Stephanie is not his type, so he uses the "you're 16" excuse to brush her off.

This. Sam is attractive, so it makes sense Trevor would be drawn to her on that level, but yeah, I think ultimately it's an innocent little crush :). I think the poor guy's just lonely deep down and longing for his own love. Especially now he's seeing all the other ghosts finding romance in the afterlife. Maybe he needs to be like Sasappis, who likes that girl at that bank, and expand his horizons outside the property

Someone on another site also pointed out that Trevor was known as the one doing the pursuing, so to be on the receiving end of that for a change may have thrown him a bit, too. I do agree that part of it is that Stephanie's not his type, too, though. Given his interest in Sam, as well as Jay's sister Bela, I think we have an idea of the kinds of women he would tend to go for. Now to see if there's a ghost lady out there who might fit the qualities he's looking for :D. 

[kathyk24]

9 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

You're probably correct because the Irish were treated horribly in general. But wouldn't it be funny if Hetty's issue is because an Irish person wronged her? Maybe her friend caused her death (gasp)?! Her violence towards all people and things Irish seem personal; she's not just merely turning up her nose.

I think Hetty doesn't like the Irish because Elias cheated on her with Irish maids. I thought it was strange that Hetty said Stephanie was 53 years they never mention the ghosts actual ages. It made sense that Trevor wasn't interested in her he's almost twice her age.

[lilabennet]

I wonder if we'll ever find out what happened to Stephanie's prom date.  My guess:  He's still alive.  He (very sensibly) stayed in the car and started it up to drive away, but Stephanie was so terrified that she got out and ran which led to her death.

I really love Isaac and Hetty's relationship.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, lilabennet said:

I wonder if we'll ever find out what happened to Stephanie's prom date.  My guess:  He's still alive.  He (very sensibly) stayed in the car and started it up to drive away, but Stephanie was so terrified that she got out and ran which led to her death.

If Stephanie saw her date driving away as the chainsaw killer attacked her, that would explain why she's so mean.

[Stats Queen]

4 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I think Hetty doesn't like the Irish because Elias cheated on her with Irish maids. I thought it was strange that Hetty said Stephanie was 53 years they never mention the ghosts actual ages. It made sense that Trevor wasn't interested in her he's almost twice her age.

He is, but they were born in the same year😀

He was an adult when he died. She was a 1980s mean girl caught in a slasher movie on her way to her prom 😂

[AheadofStraight]

Loved Stephanie's dress! The only thing that would've been better is if her shoes were dyed to match the dress. (I say that as someone who attended a prom in 87, 88 and 89. 🤣🤣) 

[North of Eden]

When SUPERSTORE went off the air I figured I was done with sit-coms as I felt it was the only one worth watching with its great ensamble of lovable and wacky characters and then enter GHOSTS. This show is consistently funny and it's got heart too I love it.

So many great moments in this episode but my favorite was a blink and you miss it. When Thor is happily proclaiming they are going to leave Attic Girl alone for the night, Flower is practically glued to him and is giving him this look that she is totally into him and then there was the dance later...nice to keep developing that storyline in small ways.

[CrazyDog]

I hate that this wasn't my favorite episode. It's mainly because I really dislike the mean girl actress. I saw her in Fam as well, and it didn't help.

Something about Sam or Rose McIver just seemed off too, and not just because of her sad prom storyline. The ghosts kind of calling her pushy was a little harsh, after all she does for them.

I still absolutely adore the show, this just won't be an episode I rewatch. 

Season finale already? :(

[basil]

12 hours ago, emma675 said:

I don't think this is true. She wasn't even trying to possess Jay, she was standing behind him when he got electrocuted and he was thrown on top of her. And Isaac told the story of how he accidentally possessed a workman years earlier and it took an exorcism to get them separated and back into their own bodies (or I guess, "bodies" in Isaac's case since he's a ghost). Luckily, they now know the ghost barrier/property line can remove a ghost from a person instead of needing a priest.

 

12 hours ago, enduringforce said:

No, she was not aggressive at all at first because she was just enjoying his body to be able to taste food and physically be able to do things again.

Key phrase "at first"

[AD35]

Would the "Chainsaw Madonna" really not be aware of the actual Madonna back in 1987? I can understand not being into her music, but not be aware of her existence at all.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, AD35 said:

Would the "Chainsaw Madonna" really not be aware of the actual Madonna back in 1987? I can understand not being into her music, but not be aware of her existence at all.

She knew about Madonna.  Saying I don't know about Madonna didn't mean she didn't know about her, but that she wasn't quite Madonna.

[The Crazed Spruce]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

She knew about Madonna.  Saying I don't know about Madonna didn't mean she didn't know about her, but that she wasn't quite Madonna.

Struck me more as "false" modesty. Like she was thinking, "Yeah, I'm hot as Madonna, but I don't want to just say that...."

[Katy M]

23 minutes ago, The Crazed Spruce said:

Struck me more as "false" modesty. Like she was thinking, "Yeah, I'm hot as Madonna, but I don't want to just say that...."

Right.  Exactly.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think Hetty doesn't like the Irish because Elias cheated on her with Irish maids. 

No, it's just a running gag because of the era she's from. That era being signs on shops that said "No Irish." 

That said, I thought it was kind of a continuity error to have her go apeshit over the U2 poster simply because they're Irish. In the Robber Baron episode, she tells Elias "and I've learned from Sam that the Irish are people too, apparently." (Although Sasappis then says to Thor "She says it, but I don't think she believes it.")

Quote

Something about Sam or Rose McIver just seemed off too, and not just because of her sad prom storyline. 

I'm not sure I buy that she was a high school nerd who got picked on by mean girls. That's kind of a trope in and of itself. She's simply too pretty, IMO.

Quote

I wonder if we'll ever find out what happened to Stephanie's prom date.  My guess:  He's still alive.  He (very sensibly) stayed in the car and started it up to drive away, but Stephanie was so terrified that she got out and ran which led to her death.

They were parked right inside the gate, so it's possible they both ran and Stephanie wasn't fast enough. He might have been killed outside the gate. Or he may not have become a ghost.

[HurricaneVal]

Oooh.....  Or in a future episode the prom date could be a guest at the B&B, maybe with his wife on their honeymoon and casually drop to Sam or Jay about how he can't believe he's come there, since he had such a horrible experience at the estate in high school when he and his prom date encountered a chainsaw killer.  But his new wife insisted, so what can you do?  Hilarity ensues when Sam and Jay realize prom date's stay coincides with Stephanie's waking day, and Stephanie goes on a rampage of rage at her surviving ex.  Extra points if her ghost power is something weird, but not annoying, but she keeps doing it to him because that's the only way she can interact with him.

BONUS points if Chainsaw Killer escapes the asylum that same day, but nobody but Stephanie realizes that slightly strange but apparently harmless old man who wandered in is a psycho killer.

[krankydoodle]

I know Flower isn't a favorite for a lot of people, but I loved the moment during the confrontation when she tried to back up Hetty by accusing Stephanie of stealing their money. Rebecca Wisocky's reaction in the background is gold.

And I didn't notice until rewatching that in addition to piling bread into it, the mean girls also decorated Sam's locker with things like pictures of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, a poodle, and a mime 😆

[The Crazed Spruce]

10 minutes ago, krankydoodle said:

And I didn't notice until rewatching that in addition to piling bread into it, the mean girls also decorated Sam's locker with things like pictures of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, a poodle, and a mime 😆

Sam was seriously into France at the time. Those pictures could've already been in there.

[krankydoodle]

I checked the earlier flashback scene because I thought that was all a bit much (even for someone who wore a beret) and her locker wasn't decorated before prom.

[eel21788]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:59 AM, madmax said:

Good episode, but neither Sam nor Jay went into the attic since they bought the place? 

On 4/15/2022 at 10:06 AM, iMonrey said:

Her bed was hidden behind a pile of boxes, it's entirely possible Sam was up there and didn't look behind them. Jay, of course, would not have been able to see her anyway.

 

It's possible that Sam put the box of blankets and other things they're storing up there before she was able to see the ghosts.

[eel21788]

On 4/14/2022 at 7:44 PM, Sakura12 said:

Is there a garage ghost or is that where Crash the headless ghost is. 

He can't see where he is going. I think he just keeps wandering around all the time.

[eel21788]

On 4/14/2022 at 11:33 PM, kathyk24 said:

Alberta was the star of this episode I loved her using the Alexa.

This is what immediately came to my mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJR_GSA7nPM

[eel21788]

On 4/15/2022 at 7:53 AM, chaifan said:

 And for getting a guest in a week . . . 

Does anyone else think the guest might die and become a new ghost?

[possibilities]

The other guest they had (Alberta's fan) got severely injured. The next (the wedding couple) left in a huff and cancelled their reservations due to shenanigans. If the next guest dies, I think it will be a running gag for the show and/or a string of bad press that kills the potential for them to actually open the B&B for regular business.

They will have to develop a business plan based on attracting a niche clientele of very gloomy people.

ETA: there was also the ex-bro of Trevor's former life, who was haunted and extorted for revenge when he came to look at their antique-for-sale.

Edited April 17, 2022 by possibilities

[eel21788]

On 4/15/2022 at 10:06 AM, iMonrey said:

I loved how Stephanie was killed in the classic 1980s slasher movie trope.

They've given most of the ghosts implausible deaths. Maybe as to prevent today's highly sensitive people from being offended?

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, eel21788 said:

They've given most of the ghosts implausible deaths. Maybe as to prevent today's highly sensitive people from being offended?

Dysentery in the Revolutionary War and a drug OD in 2000 aren't very implausible.  And Alberta being poisoned certainly isn't out there.  An arrow through the neck is, but that's really the only one that that we know about.

[iMonrey]

Quote

And I didn't notice until rewatching that in addition to piling bread into it, the mean girls also decorated Sam's locker with things like pictures of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, a poodle, and a mime

And the fake boyfriend's name was Pierre LaCroix. I mean, that's about as fake-French as you can get. 

I wonder why Stephanie's date chose Woodstone Manor as the place to park and make out. It seems like it would have had to be a known spot for doing that - you don't just pull into someone's driveway at random and park. Maybe all the neighborhood kids knew the owners were out of town or something, although why would the gates have been left open? We know someone was living there before Sam and Jay inherited the place.

[eel21788]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

Dysentery in the Revolutionary War and a drug OD in 2000 aren't very implausible.  And Alberta being poisoned certainly isn't out there.  An arrow through the neck is, but that's really the only one that that we know about.

Do you think there is anyone today who would say, "I can't watch this show because I had someone close to me die of cholera, and it makes me too sad to think about it?" Ditto for a chainsaw and a beheading.

Also, Trevor is supposed to have died when "his heart exploded." How many people do you know who have that listed as "cause of death" on their death certificates?

Flower being mauled by a bear also is something that doesn't happen very regularly.

Although murders happen all too frequently, poisoning isn't a very common method of killing someone in today's society, either.

I rest my case.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I wonder why Stephanie's date chose Woodstone Manor as the place to park and make out. It seems like it would have had to be a known spot for doing that - you don't just pull into someone's driveway at random and park. Maybe all the neighborhood kids knew the owners were out of town or something, although why would the gates have been left open? We know someone was living there before Sam and Jay inherited the place.

Oooo. Interesting. Especially since Stephanie and Trevor and Trevor's bros would have all been approximately the same age. 
Maybe part of Trevor's aversion to Stephanie is because she was the girl in a local high school who was killed by a crazed serial killer with a chainsaw, 
and,
maybe Trevor's bro who was Hetty's relative was also Stephanie's date!
Her date seemed like he could have been one of those womanizing types who Trevor has pretended to be.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Do you think there is anyone today who would say, "I can't watch this show because I had someone close to me die of cholera, and it makes me too sad to think about it?" Ditto for a chainsaw and a beheading.

Also, Trevor is supposed to have died when "his heart exploded." How many people do you know who have that listed as "cause of death" on their death certificates?

Flower being mauled by a bear also is something that doesn't happen very regularly.

Although murders happen all too frequently, poisoning isn't a very common method of killing someone in today's society, either.

I rest my case.

Thor was struck by Lightning. Who knows what happened to Sass.

[HurricaneVal]

Sass doesn't have any physical manifestation of his cause if death, but for some reason I'm vaguely recalling exposure is associated with a death.  Maybe that was Thorfinn who survived the lightning strike, but not the abandonment by the rest of his crew?

[TV Anonymous]

The way the characters in this episode, particularly Sam the self-proclaimed Francophile, pronounced the last name Lacroix as "le-croy" drove me nuts.

[gatopretoNYC]

15 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

The way the characters in this episode, particularly Sam the self-proclaimed Francophile, pronounced the last name Lacroix as "le-croy" drove me nuts.

 

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

The way the characters in this episode, particularly Sam the self-proclaimed Francophile, pronounced the last name Lacroix as "le-croy" drove me nuts.

I'm pretty sure that was part of the gag.  That as a high school "Francophile" she knew nothing about France or the language, but thought she did and that she was oh so cool about it.  She said the name first, then everyone else just repeated how she pronounced it. 

 

[kathyk24]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:43 PM, possibilities said:

The other guest they had (Alberta's fan) got severely injured. The next (the wedding couple) left in a huff and cancelled their reservations due to shenanigans. If the next guest dies, I think it will be a running gag for the show and/or a string of bad press that kills the potential for them to actually open the B&B for regular business.

They will have to develop a business plan based on attracting a niche clientele of very gloomy people.

ETA: there was also the ex-bro of Trevor's former life, who was haunted and extorted for revenge when he came to look at their antique-for-sale.

I hope that Sam and Jay are able to make the B&B a success. It's a tired trope that blue collar people can never get ahead. It would be fun to see the ghosts interact with the guests.

[Johannah]

I think it's totally reasonable that Trevor just thinks Stephanie is too young - still a teenager.  I remember a vampire movie where a little girl was turned into a vampire and couldn't get anyone to have sex with her, even though, having been 'dead'  for many years, her brain had matured to an adult (and apparently there were no pedophiles around)..  I always felt sad for her being trapped in that body.

 

But then,  I've been fascinated by Trevor for awhile now and have been watching him in background shots and I think he really is a good guy..  I have a bit of a crush on him.

 

[shapeshifter]

On 4/15/2022 at 5:28 PM, kathyk24 said:

I thought it was strange that Hetty said Stephanie was 53 years they never mention the ghosts actual ages. It made sense that Trevor wasn't interested in her he's almost twice her age.

So. Assuming Stephanie was 18 when she got chain-sawed to death, that would make it 35 years ago.
And since Stephanie only wakes up once every year, she's only 35 days past that event. 

[HurricaneVal]

Not to mention her odious personality.  Trevor might not be attracted to that.  And who could blame him?

[Driad]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

And since Stephanie only wakes up once every year, she's only 35 days past that event. 

Did they really say that when she wakes up, she is only awake for one day?  I don't remember hearing that part.  One day a year is plenty for those who have to deal with her, though.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Did they really say that when she wakes up, she is only awake for one day? 

Yeah. That's why Sam decided to throw the prom for her even though she was such jerk (that's the least objectionable word I could think of to describe her). Sam didn't want Stephanie to be all alone on her one night to be awake this year.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

One day a year is plenty for those who have to deal with her, though.

I think the real question is: now that she was awakened a month early, will she still sleep until May next year or is her new day to be awake always going to fall in April now?

(This question is coming from someone with a circadian rhythm disorder)

[proserpina65]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:36 AM, kwnyc said:

What the hell was her reasoning for being a Mean Girl?

She reminded me of the mean girls I knew in high school in the early 80s.  There wasn't a reason for them being mean, they just were.  I think that's the case here as well.

 

[Johannah]

I got the impression she was only awake for a day because she was a teenager and apparently they sleep all the time.  Will her brain mature (albeit only one day per year) where she starts staying awake longer and/or have shorter sleep intervals?

Do we know the name of her date and remember the names of the couple to check in next week (Joel?)?  I think worst-date-ever got away and is checking in to the B&B to maybe face his regrets for leaving her or something.

And exactly where did the chainsaw guy find a workable chainsaw so soon from escaping the institute?  I would think people would lock them up and he could take a while finding one.  Axe murderer I could imagine finding one quickly in a rural area...

I just watch for fun and don't really care about these things, but they are fun to fanwank.

[eel21788]

48 minutes ago, Johann said:

Do we know the name of her date and remember the names of the couple to check in next week (Joel?)?  I think worst-date-ever got away and is checking in to the B&B to maybe face his regrets for leaving her or something.

That could possibly get Stephanie sucked off or go down depending on how much of a mean girl she was when she was a living.

[chitowngirl]

I do admit that by introducing the sucking off tradition early in the series is a great way for an actor to leave the show without just dropping that into an episode as a new plot point.

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, Johann said:

And exactly where did the chainsaw guy find a workable chainsaw so soon from escaping the institute?  I would think people would lock them up and he could take a while finding one.  Axe murderer I could imagine finding one quickly in a rural area...

I'm sure he planned his escape with a buddy on the outside who met him with a chainsaw.  Perhaps Stephanie's date. He set her up.

[The Crazed Spruce]

11 hours ago, Johann said:

And exactly where did the chainsaw guy find a workable chainsaw so soon from escaping the institute?  I would think people would lock them up and he could take a while finding one.  Axe murderer I could imagine finding one quickly in a rural area...

Small-town hardware stores back in the 80s had incredibly fragile windows. Just sayin'.

[mojito]

On 4/15/2022 at 10:04 AM, tennisgurl said:

Aww Jay asking Sam to prom was so sweet, and he looked great in that tux. The two of them are so cute, I continue to love how Jay just rolls with all of the hijinks that go on.

I thought Jay looked striking in that tux, too!

On 4/15/2022 at 7:18 AM, shapeshifter said:

Just based on my own observations, I think prejudice against the Irish may have waned a bit in the US with JFK's assassination in 1963 and his subsequent enshrinement in the American psyche as a beloved icon.

To me, it seemed the bigotry of the Irish waned long before then. NYC and Boston had plenty of Irish people in the police force many years before, plus plenty of Irish politicians. Once the Italians and Jews starting flocking into the northeast in the 1920s, the Irish lost their place at the bottom rung. By the 1930s in NYC, (even) an Italian got to be mayor for a few terms into the 40s. I'd say for sure, the Irish were off the hook by then. For Kennedy, the big pause was because he was Catholic. Would America be governed by the Vatican? Just an opinion.

On 4/15/2022 at 7:56 AM, basil said:

Hetty wasn't trapped. She aggressively possessed Jay.

I thought Jay was shocked and fell back onto Hetty.