S02.E05: Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past

[Check Sanity]

On 10/28/2022 at 1:36 PM, Trey said:

And Nigel does have webbed feet after all.

I kind of hope that gets revisited, because it would be nice to know Isaac accepts all of Nigel. Isaac and Hetty are the most finicky and judgemental of all the ghosts (which explains why they're besties). I think Isaac's insecurities are tied to that aspect of himself. Now that I think of it, I wonder how often the things he complains about others are also things he doesn't like/accept about himself. Guess I'll have to rewatch and/or keep note from here on.

I loved this episode so much. All of the callback/ongoing jokes, and that the majority of those gags worked as standalone jokes for new viewers, really tight writing.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Mark the Contractor's return this episode and dressed as the most adorable bee! In my head canon his son chose his costume to match his own.

Trevor and Sas's reactions to Molly, ha! Especially after Molly says she'd like to go back to the place where "everything's perfect all the time", Trevor's face falls in disappointment but Sas is so smitten he mumbles out loud "You're perfect". Hehe. Flower's tendency for non sequiturs due to spacing out and losing the plot continues to supply gems: "Don't worry Molly. We're gonna find your dog." Ha!

Also, I quite liked the unsuspected quirkiness of Randy "the pickler" who rollerblades to parties he invites himself to and considers Jay his best friend now. I'm actually surprised Jay isn't somewhat appreciative of Randy's specialty, from a chef standpoint. Sure, he may be above Jay's threshold of 40, but I don't think age is that big of a deal with adult friendships. I'm curious what Randy's favourite sport is, you'd think maybe football, but it's probably another left field thing like snowshoeing or curling. I'm not sure why common Canadian winter sports *feel* right as guesses. They do film in Canada and may be inspired by it, so I may end up not that far off should Randy return.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Check Sanity said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Mark the Contractor's return this episode and dressed as the most adorable bee! In my head canon his son chose his costume to match his own.

Oh, yes! Mark (Tristan D. Lalla) was an adorable bee. 
If this show were on Disney+ like She-Hulk and had a full half hour or more per episode, I imagine they would have shown Mark dropping off his son (also dressed as a bee, or maybe some clover) at home after trick or treating, before heading out to the Woodstone. Maybe he'd give his wife a peck on the cheek before leaving and they'd have a cute exchange about "doing some pollinating" later that evening. 


 

1 hour ago, Check Sanity said:

Also, I quite liked the unsuspected quirkiness of Randy "the pickler" who rollerblades to parties he invites himself to and considers Jay his best friend now. I'm actually surprised Jay isn't somewhat appreciative of Randy's specialty, from a chef standpoint. Sure, he may be above Jay's threshold of 40, but I don't think age is that big of a deal with adult friendships. I'm curious what Randy's favourite sport is, you'd think maybe football, but it's probably another left field thing like snowshoeing or curling. I'm not sure why common Canadian winter sports *feel* right as guesses. They do film in Canada and may be inspired by it, so I may end up not that far off should Randy return.

Yes, Randy The Pickler was a great addition. 
This show does an excellent job of introducing side characters.

[eel21788]

On 10/27/2022 at 7:18 PM, Sakura12 said:

It is progress for Hetty to like one Irish person. 

She has grown so much in the last year and a half. I wonder why she still can't get sucked off.

She couldn't have done something really heinous, or she would have gone down either with or before Elias.

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

She has grown so much in the last year and a half. I wonder why she still can't get sucked off.

She couldn't have done something really heinous, or she would have gone down either with or before Elias.

The dialog indicated Hetty still has room for personal growth:

• It is amazing, you know. That the one Irish person I truly took the time to get to know is also the only decent one.
• I'm not sure that's the right takeaway here.
• It's progress, let her have it.

[KarenX]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

She has grown so much in the last year and a half. I wonder why she still can't get sucked off.

She couldn't have done something really heinous, or she would have gone down either with or before Elias.

She’s so agitated about it. I feel bad for her, but maybe you have to find true peace anywhere before you can get sucked off.

Or maybe she still thinks she’s better than everyone and just deserves to be in a better place. I don’t want to read too much Good Place into it but she is kind of Eleanor.

[DanaK]

3 hours ago, Check Sanity said:

Trevor and Sas's reactions to Molly, ha! Especially after Molly says she'd like to go back to the place where "everything's perfect all the time", Trevor's face falls in disappointment but Sas is so smitten he mumbles out loud "You're perfect". Hehe. Flower's tendency for non sequiturs due to spacing out and losing the plot continues to supply gems: "Don't worry Molly. We're gonna find your dog." Ha!

There’s not been much comment on Molly’s sparse description of Heaven. She describes it as perfect but says she’ll melt if she says more, which is interesting

[Skooma]

9 hours ago, Check Sanity said:

Also, I quite liked the unsuspected quirkiness of Randy "the pickler" who rollerblades to parties he invites himself to and considers Jay his best friend now. I'm actually surprised Jay isn't somewhat appreciative of Randy's specialty, from a chef standpoint. Sure, he may be above Jay's threshold of 40, but I don't think age is that big of a deal with adult friendships. I'm curious what Randy's favourite sport is, you'd think maybe football, but it's probably another left field thing like snowshoeing or curling. I'm not sure why common Canadian winter sports *feel* right as guesses. They do film in Canada and may be inspired by it, so I may end up not that far off should Randy return.

Well it obviously has to be Pickleball.  Maybe Randy will even claim to have invented what has become in real life the fastest growing sport in the country.

7 hours ago, eel21788 said:

(re: Hetty) She has grown so much in the last year and a half. I wonder why she still can't get sucked off.

It is a hit TV show and you don't ever "suck off" main and highly popular cast members like Hetty from same.  Maybe years and years and years from now when the show concludes in the final episode.  But never before that.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Skooma

[Check Sanity]

9 hours ago, DanaK said:

There’s not been much comment on Molly’s sparse description of Heaven. She describes it as perfect but says she’ll melt if she says more, which is interesting

Oh yes, very intriguing that bit. How did she learn about the melting? Also, the fact that's a possibility even when you've been sucked off. As well as the newly learned tidbit that one can be pulled out from "up there", that doesn't seem too peaceful. Alternatively, I imagine the same could be done with someone that's "down there", which adds another way besides flashbacks to see Elias again. That could come in handy with solving Alberta's murder too.

5 hours ago, Skooma said:

Well it obviously has to be Pickleball.  Maybe Randy will even claim to have invented what has become in real life the fastest growing sport in the country.

Ha! I did briefly consider that, but Randy seems like more of an outdoorsy type. Something about pickleball requiring a court and having been introduced by the WASPy neighbours made me skip past the thought.

Oh! Something I forgot to mention before, how much did Randy hear of the second seance and Sam talking to the ghosts? I think he and Thorfinn would get along swimmingly, imagine all fish and pickled food combo's they could come up with/list off!

Edited October 30, 2022 by Check Sanity
Clarification and grammar

[Browncoat]

What happens in Heaven, stays in Heaven!

[possibilities]

I like artisanal pickles, but Randy was so fixated on them that he couldn't talk about anything else. The show seems to think it's funny to have Jay and Sam embarrass themselves and to have no friends.

[iMonrey]

Quote

It is a hit TV show and you don't ever "suck off" main and highly popular cast members like Hetty from same.  Maybe years and years and years from now when the show concludes in the final episode.  But never before that.

Yes, I can see a series finale where all the ghosts are finally sucked off (hee). It would be strange if they all went at the same time but maybe Sam and Jay will discover there is something inside the house that's actually holding them there and once it's removed or destroyed they're all free to move on. That would be a nice ending for them.

Sam's mom needed closure to move on but I would think at least some of the Woodstone ghosts would have had enough closure at some point, like Thor after his Viking funeral. Although Hetty did say she's seen ghosts get sucked off once or twice so apparently it does happen on the property or she wouldn't have been able to see it.

[Sakura12]

We don't know what closure is for the ghosts. Thor's may want to know why he was left behind so his funeral was not his unfinished business. 

There were more ghosts in the house before, since they've all seen someone get sucked off. For me unless the actor wants to leave I'm not ready to say goodbye to any of them yet. It might be better for it to be the series finale. 

[SmithW6079]

15 hours ago, eel21788 said:

She couldn't have done something really heinous, or she would have gone down either with or before Elias

She was a member of the robber baron class. Her destiny is either Hell or be doomed to walk the Earth forever.

[Mabinogia]

15 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

She was a member of the robber baron class. Her destiny is either Hell or be doomed to walk the Earth forever.

It would be interesting if, deep down she knows she won't really going up, so she is subconsciously fighting against getting sucked off.

Maybe it's not so much about getting closure as it is about becoming the person you were meant to be. Hetty is the way she is because of the time she was born in but deep down she's better than that world allowed her to be. Trevor had to pretend to be a "frat boy d-bag" to fit in with his peers but we've seen that he has a sweet side. Isaac lived in a time where his true love was considered wrong but now he can finally admit his feelings and even act on them. Thor came from a world where feelings were considered weak and now he is learning to express them. Alberta wanted to be recognized for her talent but lived at a time where how she looked overrode her vocal talents. Oooh, I wonder if she can be recorded and they could release a ghostly album for her. She'll become a sensation via social media, this mystery artist no one has ever seen in person but whose voice is often described as "haunting" which I think would tickle the ghosts or possibly piss them off because of the stereotype of haunted being spooky. lol Flower probably just needs to sober up before they let her into Heaven. lol

Sorry, I'm rambling. All that was a long-winded way of saying that despite their saying they want to get sucked off, perhaps our ghosts aren't, deep in their subconceous, exactly ready to leave this world or their little family. 

[chitowngirl]

Sucking off the spirit to the afterlife is a great device and I’m glad they introduced it early. If an actor wants/needs to leave the role, it’s there ready for them. If they would have written it in as a way for an actor to leave, it would seem contrived.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

It would be interesting if, deep down she knows she won't really going up, so she is subconsciously fighting against getting sucked off.

Maybe it's not so much about getting closure as it is about becoming the person you were meant to be. Hetty is the way she is because of the time she was born in but deep down she's better than that world allowed her to be. Trevor had to pretend to be a "frat boy d-bag" to fit in with his peers but we've seen that he has a sweet side. Isaac lived in a time where his true love was considered wrong but now he can finally admit his feelings and even act on them. Thor came from a world where feelings were considered weak and now he is learning to express them. Alberta wanted to be recognized for her talent but lived at a time where how she looked overrode her vocal talents. Oooh, I wonder if she can be recorded and they could release a ghostly album for her. She'll become a sensation via social media, this mystery artist no one has ever seen in person but whose voice is often described as "haunting" which I think would tickle the ghosts or possibly piss them off because of the stereotype of haunted being spooky. lol Flower probably just needs to sober up before they let her into Heaven. lol

Sorry, I'm rambling. All that was a long-winded way of saying that despite their saying they want to get sucked off, perhaps our ghosts aren't, deep in their subconceous, exactly ready to leave this world or their little family. 

Not rambling! Great post!
 

Maybe Hetty couldn't go with Molly because she hasn't accepted all Irish (and other Others) yet.

I kind of love that Molly did get to go "up there" even though she gave syphilis to Elias.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I kind of love that Molly did get to go "up there" even though she gave syphilis to Elias.

I mean, he did kinda deserve it...

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I kind of love that Molly did get to go "up there" even though she gave syphilis to Elias.

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I mean, he did kinda deserve it...

It's probably why she got sucked off instead of having gone down lol

[iMonrey]

Quote

We don't know what closure is for the ghosts. Thor's may want to know why he was left behind so his funeral was not his unfinished business.

I have a sneaking suspicion Thor DOES know why he was left behind. The promo spots for next week indicate a Thor-centric episode, so maybe we're about to find out.

[Skooma]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Sam's mom needed closure to move on but I would think at least some of the Woodstone ghosts would have had enough closure at some point, like Thor after his Viking funeral. Although Hetty did say she's seen ghosts get sucked off once or twice so apparently it does happen on the property or she wouldn't have been able to see it.

We saw someone "sucked off" in the pilot.  The older lady that Sam inherits the manor house from.  The ghosts were at the foot of her bed watching her die then poor Issac is just starting his "welcome" speech to her when she looks down at the end of the bed with a bit of disgust and quickly goes up through the ceiling.

[NoReally]

I love that "sucked off" has become our standard term for a ghost's "ascension."  Hee. 😄

[Neptune]

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 10/30/2022 at 2:57 PM, chitowngirl said:

Sucking off the spirit to the afterlife is a great device and I’m glad they introduced it early. If an actor wants/needs to leave the role, it’s there ready for them. If they would have written it in as a way for an actor to leave, it would seem contrived.

Being Human has a similar device for ghosts-a door, I believe.  In the show, a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost are roommates, and there is some similarity with regard to ghost lore.  It is a much more serious show than Ghosts, and I highly recommend it, if you can find it. It's also a remake of a British series. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Paloma]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:08 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Being Human has a similar device for ghosts-a door, I believe.  In the show, a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost are roommates, and there is some similarity with regard to ghost lore.  It is a much more serious show than Ghosts, and I highly recommend it, if you can find it. It's also a remake of a British series. 

I haven't seen the US remake, but I loved the original--it was both funny and touching. 

Back to this show, one thing that bothered me is that, even though Sam framed it in an intellectual way as the "power dynamic," it could be argued that Elias raped (not seduced) Molly. Presumably it wasn't violent, but if Molly felt that she had no choice but to go along with it, she didn't really consent. At "best" it was a Me Too situation, but that can be considered rape in some real-life cases. Of course, framing it as rape would bring down the mood in a comedy, and I understand why the writers didn't want to go there. But the explanation that Sam gave left a bit of a bad taste. 

[TV Anonymous]

If Sam was afraid of getting out of oxygen, why did she not extinguish the candles in the vault? Besides, who maintained and lit the candles?

[Mabinogia]

5 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Besides, who maintained and lit the candles?

Ghost candles, they died lit so they can't be unlit. lol

[Silly Angel]

I really want to know which cheese Liam Neeson had.