S02.E09&E10: The Christmas Spirit (Ghostsmas) Parts 1&2

[kathyk24]

I love Sam I think she has to be more low key because all the ghosts have such strong personalities. I love the relationship between Sam and Jay they have the best marriage on tv.

[shapeshifter]

Cricket or grasshopper?
beginning at 15:38:

Apparently the "long antennae" make it a cricket: 
amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/orthoptera.html#:~:text=The main difference between a,hind legs against their wings.

Also: It looks like the prop people may have bleached it to make it look aged, and that maybe it was a darker, cricket-color before that?

Edited July 4, 2023 by shapeshifter

[PaulE]

Interesting what details you forget first time around. Rewatching these episodes tonight, I realized that when Isaac remarks to Sass that he assumes his men checked up on him regularly while he was dying, Sass answers in the affirmative but in a way that’s clearly meant to show that he’s lying.  Poor Isaac!  I guess he wasn’t as beloved an officer as he thought he was. Nothing seems to have worked out for him when he was alive.

[Annber03]

Yeah, the guy seemed to struggle a lot in terms of finding people to be with who genuinely cared about him and who he got on well with when he was alive :(. Which is what makes the whole thing about Beatrice coming to visit all the more poignant and sweet - if nothing else, I'm glad that he at least had her in his life. Obviously he couldn't love her in the way he felt she deserved, but I do love the idea that his marriage, as awkward as it was in so many ways, was at least to someone that he was genuinely fond of, and vice versa, that they did honestly care about each other. 

I also like that Sasappis was there that night. Both to witness that moment and let Isaac know about it, and also because I just like the general idea of these ghosts being there and ready to welcome a potential new member of the group into the fold. 

[PaulE]

20 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Obviously he couldn't love her in the way he felt she deserved, but I do love the idea that his marriage, as awkward as it was in so many ways, was at least to someone that he was genuinely fond of, and vice versa, that they did honestly care about each other. 

And he was also aware, sorry, and guilty that she had to be hurt because of a sham marriage that wouldn't have happened if society had allowed him to be who he really was.  I think that's significant because, as we've seen, Isaac can be quite self-absorbed at times, and this shows that he had a caring and sensitive side.  Sad that, even today, there are gay men who, because they're not allowed to accept themselves, enter into a heterosexual marriage thinking (or being convinced by others) that it'll straighten them out (pun intended!), and when it fails, the wife has to suffer, too.

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, PaulE said:

And he was also aware, sorry, and guilty that she had to be hurt because of a sham marriage that wouldn't have happened if society had allowed him to be who he really was.  I think that's significant because, as we've seen, Isaac can be quite self-absorbed at times, and this shows that he had a caring and sensitive side. 

YES. I love that, too, for the exact reason you note. All he cared about was her happiness and comfort, his own was a distant thought, if a thought at all. It's a significant bit of character growth and depth for him. 

[possibilities]

Being closeted absolutely makes it hard for anyone to know you and to form real relationships. It makes total sense to me that Isaac would have had trouble connecting with people in life, given the way he was living.

[Scarlett45]

11 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, the guy seemed to struggle a lot in terms of finding people to be with who genuinely cared about him and who he got on well with when he was alive :(. Which is what makes the whole thing about Beatrice coming to visit all the more poignant and sweet - if nothing else, I'm glad that he at least had her in his life. Obviously he couldn't love her in the way he felt she deserved, but I do love the idea that his marriage, as awkward as it was in so many ways, was at least to someone that he was genuinely fond of, and vice versa, that they did honestly care about each other. 

I also like that Sasappis was there that night. Both to witness that moment and let Isaac know about it, and also because I just like the general idea of these ghosts being there and ready to welcome a potential new member of the group into the fold. 

Yes. I am watching this summer via Paramount+, and I thought it was very sweet Issac was so concerned for his wife. And that Sasappis was waiting for him to cross over. I like that the ghosts have “joined the tribe” at different points in history and we have a perspective from each ghost’s death. 

[PaulE]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Being closeted absolutely makes it hard for anyone to know you and to form real relationships. It makes total sense to me that Isaac would have had trouble connecting with people in life, given the way he was living.

But also, he's got the sort of flamboyant personality that would immediately turn off certain types of people and make them suspicious (still happens today, unfortunately).  I see him constantly trying to fit in on their terms but being rejected, such as when he wanted to join the Masons but no one invited him and only wanted him essentially to act as a chauffeur for them.  That probably explains why he's a bit pompous and a bit of a show-off sometimes--he's overcompensating.  That's why I hope the writers keep his relationship with Nigel a solid one, even if they do squabble a lot--he deserves a little happiness and  fulfillment, even if he had to wait until he was dead to receive it.