S02.E11: The Perfect Assistant

[Neptune]

"The Perfect Assistant" - Sam and Jay are thrilled when they find a highly qualified assistant for the B&B - however, their new employee comes with some surprising baggage. Also, Thorfinn tries to help his son, Bjorn, deal with a bully

[seasons]

Did I miss the reason why there were several weeks without new episodes ?( Besides Thanksgiving week.)

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, seasons said:

Did I miss the reason why there were several weeks without new episodes ?( Besides Thanksgiving week.)

I think it's a combination of sporting events and holidays.
There are 52 weeks in a year and anywhere from 6-20 episodes for most shows, so they try to avoid times when viewers will be otherwise engaged.🤷🏻‍♀️
It makes keeping my spreadsheet updated a chore.🙃 
I have to remember that this👇 (under Thursday) means this Thursday Ghosts in on at 8:30, next Thursday (December 15) it's on at 8 and 8:30, and then it comes back at 8:30 on January 15.

So, yeah, I don't think their scheduling is very smart.

Edited December 4, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Neptune]

 

[Neptune]

 

[Neptune]

 

[Neptune]

 

[Neptune]

 

[Chit Chat]

The glass sticking out of the new ghost's forehead is going to be hard to watch!  Glass wounds, in particular, ick me out.  

[AnimeMania]

Mike Lane (Freddie)
Nichole Sakura (Jessica)
Christian Jadah (Bjorn)
Lindsey Broad (Judy)
Rachelle Glait (Mrs. Greenstein)

[Annber03]

"That's what uncles do. They give you advice and buy you weed and stare too long at your friends."

Oh, Flower... I also loved Isaac's reaction to the fact that "bitches" and "bastard" are now terms of endearment :p.

But aw, Judy's Bjorn's bully? Not cool, Judy. It was sweet of Pete to try and help, and use his own experience to give some advice. Thank goodness Thor saw things his way in the end. 

(So Thor likes watching "Housewives" shows, too, eh :p? I'd love to hear his commentary on those shows.)

As for the main story, would've been kind of fun if they spent a little more time on the possibility/tension of Freddie being a killer, but since he looks to be staying around for a while now, I'm curious to see how they'll deal with that, and how he'll settle into the goings-ons at the B&B. And how long will it be before he finds out Sam can see and talk to ghosts? I liked how the ghosts were upset about the idea of Sam not having time for them anymore. They really are like children :p. 

Sasappis' crush on Jessica is cute, too, and I'm also interested to see where that goes :). I love that they have a love of food in common, hee. And I share in Jay's fascination about the various new things to learn about how ghosts move about :D. 

[Snow Apple]

If Freddie sticks around, it will be nice for Jay to have a live person to hang out with and talk to. But I still want him and Pete to stay besties.

Even though the car ghost lied, I feel sorry for her being trapped within a few inches of the car. She can't even walk around the entire property like the other ghosts. I can understand her wanting to travel and not stuck in the same spot for eight hours a day when Freddie is working.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Snow Apple

[ItCouldBeWorse]

14 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

As for the main story, would've been kind of fun if they spent a little more time on the possibility/tension of Freddie being a killer,

I would have asked Jessica where her body was buried, and then tried to do something with that information. (Reminiscent of Trevor's plight.)

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

2 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I would have asked Jessica where her body was buried, and then tried to do something with that information. (Reminiscent of Trevor's plight.)

Her body being dumped in the woods was part of the lie. She hit a telephone pole, most likely her body was recovered and buried/cremated by her next of kin. 

I’m bummed. I thought I was getting a full Sas romance, that was barely a flirtation. 

[shura]

“That… was not communicated clearly.”  No, it really was not.  I was just as surprised as Hetty when Sam stated that she was totally anticipating having more time for the ghosts with Freddy around.  Great phrase though, I need to start using it.  Hetty has a way of phrasing things really well.

Sam and Jay really are not good business people.  You don’t need to spend money to buy fifty burritos to contact the guy you somehow contacted before to invite him for an interview.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:28 PM, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Her body being dumped in the woods was part of the lie. She hit a telephone pole, most likely her body was recovered and buried/cremated by her next of kin. 

I know.  But when they thought she was telling the truth about the hit-and-run, instead of just firing Freddie, Sam and Jay should have thought about asking Jessica where her body was so they could attempt to get her justice.  It couldn't have been that long ago.  At least they could have tried to provide closure to her family.  It seemed out of character for them to have ignored that possibility.

Edited January 8, 2023 by ItCouldBeWorse

[phalange]

Like Jay, I love learning new ghost rules. Being a car ghost means you’re able to go anywhere, but being confined to within a few feet of the car would be a definite drawback. Not cool that Jessica lied about Freddie, but I laughed at Sam and Jay ordering a million burritos so they could apologize to Freddie and rehire him. 

Of course Pete is into improve lol. It’s sweet that he’s Uncle Pete to Bjorn and gave him advice about dealing with his bully and that Thor came around in the end. Thor didn’t have much of a chance to be a father 1,000 years ago so he’s got some stuff to learn. 

[Starchild]

I like Freddie, he's charming, hope he sticks around.

What happens to a car ghost when the car finally falls apart for good? Are auto scrapyards full of ghosts just standing around next to the compacted husks?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 minutes ago, Starchild said:

What happens to a car ghost when the car finally falls apart for good? Are auto scrapyards full of ghosts just standing around next to the compacted husks?

What would happen if the car was taken apart?  Or if the door was taken off the B & B, the car was driven inside, and then disassembled?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

Even though the car ghost lied, I feel sorry for her being trapped within a few inches of the car. She can't even walk around the entire property like the other ghosts. I can understand her wanting to travel and not stuck in the same spot for eight hours a day when Freddie is working.

45 minutes ago, phalange said:

Being a car ghost means you’re able to go anywhere, but being confined to within a few feet of the car would be a definite drawback.

Maybe Sam and Jay will buy Freddie's car so the Car Ghost can go places more often? 
Or maybe someone else buys the car if she's not going to be a semi-regular character. 
But having her stuck with Freddie's car works well for a recurring character.
What happens if/when the car gets destroyed? Maybe that's a way Car Ghosts get "sucked off" if they haven't already.

[zoey1996]

1 hour ago, shura said:

Sam and Jay really are not good business people.  You don’t need to spend money to buy fifty burritos to contact the guy you somehow contacted before to invite him for an interview.

Sam & Jay tried to call Freddie, but he wouldn't answer their calls/texts. Thus getting food delivered on the chance that he would be their delivery guy.

 

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

I’m bummed. I thought I was getting a full Sas romance, that was barely a flirtation. 

Given Freddie looks to be staying around for at least a little while longer, I'm guessing future episodes are going to explore the Sasappis/Jessica thing a little more fully as a result. I hope so :). 

[shura]

1 minute ago, zoey1996 said:

Sam & Jay tried to call Freddie, but he wouldn't answer their calls/texts. Thus getting food delivered on the chance that he would be their delivery guy.

 

Ah, okay. That was not communicated clearly either. Strange though, he accepted their apologies and the offer to come back in person but it didn’t work via text?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

33 minutes ago, shura said:

Ah, okay. That was not communicated clearly either. Strange though, he accepted their apologies and the offer to come back in person but it didn’t work via text?

When he came in person, he was able to see all the burritos.

[KarenX]

Thor Improv was killing me. Pete really does know how to do everything!

Is the horse/buggy to the left of the framed picture in the opening credits new, for Jessica?

Maybe Sam and Jay can have Freddy run errands to unusual and interesting locations, for Jessica’s benefit.

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I can understand her wanting to travel and not stuck in the same spot for eight hours a day when Freddie is working.

On the other hand, she'll now have other ghosts to talk to.  Trading off travel for company.  The ghosts can probably get Sam to bring food outside once in a while for her to smell.

 

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

What happens if/when the car gets destroyed? Maybe that's a way Car Ghosts get "sucked off" if they haven't already.

She'll be stuck at the junkyard where it was compacted.

[shapeshifter]

30 minutes ago, Katy M said:

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

What happens if/when the car gets destroyed? 

She'll be stuck at the junkyard where it was compacted

There must be a lot of ghosts in wrecking yards!

[chaifan]

I think a new ghost rule could be that car ghosts don't have to stay with the entire car.  A part of the car would do, like if someone took the knob off the stereo, Jessica could stick with that person. 

I wish her radius was more than a few feet.   If it were 10-20 feet, and the above rule worked, they could dismantle the car, spread it around the manor, and Jessica would have the run of the place.

 

[shapeshifter]

If the car gets parked at the Farnsbys’, she can meet Baby Bjorn and the 50s housewife.

[shura]

8 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

When he came in person, he was able to see all the burritos.

Right, the comical, yet aromatic, mountain of burritos. That would probably melt my heart too.

Why are Sam and Jay still broke?  If they are, can they afford to hire an assistant?  And I guess Freddie lied a bit in his interview when he said he wanted to learn from the best, since he knows that this is not exactly the Grand Budapest hotel and he can't learn how to run a successful (at least in the profit sense) B&B here.  He is just there for the paycheck.

[chaifan]

New thought...  If Jessica crashed into a pole and died of a head wound, how are the keys on her/in her pocket?  Wouldn't they still be in the ignition and be part of the car? 

OK, I guess I shouldn't overthink this... 

I really like Nicole Sakura, so I hope the character sticks around for a while.  Her tipsy to Flower's high has a lot of potential there.  And I love that Sas has a crush on her. 

[theredhead77]

42 minutes ago, chaifan said:

how are the keys on her/in her pocket? 

I didn't catch the make/model of the car but newer cars with push button start don't need the key in the ignition to run.

[ShelleySue]

23 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

how are the keys on her/in her pocket? 

I didn't catch the make/model of the car but newer cars with push button start don't need the key in the ignition to run.

My car key is  somewhere in the bottom of my purse. I can't remember the last time I saw it. My car is nine years old.

I wonder if we are going to be seeing Jessica regularly or if she's going to be like prom girl in the attic.

[Daff]

“What has happened to the lexicon!?”   Indeed.

[tennisgurl]

Much like Jay, I am always so excited to get new bits of ghost lore! So if a ghost died in a vehicle, they stay traveling around in that vehicle, which does allow for the ghost to travel around the way that ghosts bound to buildings cant, but it also means that they are stuck in a small space alone, which is a pretty big draw back. I hope this means that Sam and Jay take a vacation to the beach soon, I bet there are repurposed boats with tons of ghosts! 

Not nice that Jessica lied about Freddie, but Nicole Sakura is just so much fun that I cant be too mad. I guess now that Freddie is staying around so is she, which I'm sure Sass is thrilled about. They can really bond over their love of food smelling. Watch that headwound when you kiss! I like Freddie, I'm glad he's sticking around. I wonder if/when he will find out about the ghosts? 

Nice seeing Bjorn! Thor getting parenting advice from Pete, and being insecure about his parenting because he never got to be a father before, was a really nice subplot. 

"Sam and Jay found their third!" 

[Chit Chat]

40 minutes ago, Daff said:

“What has happened to the lexicon!?”   Indeed.

My thoughts, exactly!!  I loathe hearing the word "bitch" thrown around by women as some kind of friendly hello.  YMMV.  

11 hours ago, shura said:

Ah, okay. That was not communicated clearly either. Strange though, he accepted their apologies and the offer to come back in person but it didn’t work via text?

One of the ghosts explained it.  They probably didn't offer him his job back via text.  They wanted to talk to him in person.  He was touched that they ordered that many burritos on the off chance that he'd be delivering them.  

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

And I share in Jay's fascination about the various new things to learn about how ghosts move about :

It's fun to watch the ghosts' reactions when they learn something new about other ghosts too!  That's one thing I like about this show.  They don't try to explain everything.  Sometimes the ghosts will say something like 'we don't know how this works either.'   It's the little surprises about what ghosts can and can't do that help make this show fun!

 

[iMonrey]

This was a good one! I love the running gag of Thor and Bjorn yelling at each other from the windows. Then when Thor caught Pete giving Bjorn advice, Pete tried to assure him he wasn't trying to take Thor's place, while Bjorn was yelling "So to be clear you're telling me to ignore father's advice and do what you say?"

I've loved Nichole Sakura since Shameless and Superstore, so I'm happy to see her here and glad she'll be sticking around for at least awhile (even though it makes zero sense for Sam and Jay to hire an assistant this early). But the thought of being a car ghost is horrifying. I might start having nightmares about that.

Quote

Thor Improv was killing me. Pete really does know how to do everything!

What's weird is that in the UK version of this show, Pete's counterpart (Pat) tried to teach the ghosts to do improv. They haven't done that here, yet this episode made reference to it as though they had. I wonder if there was a cut scene, or if this was just a nod to the UK show.

Quote

Is the horse/buggy to the left of the framed picture in the opening credits new, for Jessica?

I think that's a reference to Isaac's flashback episode where he bragged about having a large carriage, and then Ben Franklin asked him to move a desk in it.

I only just realized they changed most of the props to be easter eggs for this season's episodes, like replacing the book with donut holes, and I assume the dagger is a reference to Thor's flashback to baby Bjorn. The portrait on the wall has been changed to the tree from the tree episode.

Edited January 6, 2023 by iMonrey

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

When he came in person, he was able to see all the burritos.

Yes, he was able to see how much effort they put in to trying to reach him and apologize.

[HurricaneVal]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

"Sam and Jay found their third!"

I admit, I snort-laughed at this.

I'm not as fond of the new car-ghost as the rest of you seem to be.  I like the actress fine, but her backstory is troubling.  Sure, she lied to cover up her culpability in her own death to make her new ghostie friends like her more, but making up the whole story about Freddie hiding her body in the woods took it from innocently diverting attention away from her guilt and into maliciously maligning the character of her driver.  I also have to think that a car vs. pole accident violent enough to have killed the driver would total that car and thus be far too expensive to repair for the resale market.  This show is usually a little better at having the improbable logic hang together than that.

I do like the idea of car ghosts, boat ghosts, etc.  That allows for the introduction of "ghost of the week" via B&B guests.  Of necessity, they'll all be more modern ghosts, so we'll miss opportunities for historical figures, or people from the house ghosts' pasts.  Unless, the writers pull out some pretzel logic and ghosts can be attached to things rather than just locations, and antiques bought at yard sales and auctions can have ghosts attached, if the feelings were strong enough.  Being attached to the car, rather than the roadside where the pole Jessica hit was located seems to open that door a little. 

[Chit Chat]

7 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Sure, she lied to cover up her culpability in her own death to make her new ghostie friends like her more, but making up the whole story about Freddie hiding her body in the woods took it from innocently diverting attention away from her guilt and into maliciously maligning the character of her driver. 

She's still tipsy, so I don't think she was completely coherent when coming up with her story.  It was a rather dark turn though!

[shura]

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

 I also have to think that a car vs. pole accident violent enough to have killed the driver would total that car and thus be far too expensive to repair for the resale market.  This show is usually a little better at having the improbable logic hang together than that.

I was thinking the same thing, but then again, maybe the car didn’t hit the pole hard enough to even deploy airbags and save the drunk person not wearing her seatbelt.  Makes me wonder about used cars though.  Btw, another place Sam could go to to trawl for new ghosts - used car dealerships. Maybe they can open one if the B&B doesn’t work out.

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Unless, the writers pull out some pretzel logic and ghosts can be attached to things rather than just locations, and antiques bought at yard sales and auctions can have ghosts attached, if the feelings were strong enough.

Like Alladdin’s genie?

5 hours ago, Daff said:

“What has happened to the lexicon!?”   Indeed.

Oh, the line was even better - “What has become of the lexicon?”  So dignified, so Isaac. A mini-masterpiece.

[Chit Chat]

6 minutes ago, shura said:

So dignified, so Isaac. A mini-masterpiece.

I'm really loving Isaac's character.  Brandon Scott Jones plays him to perfection! 

It's fun to see these characters through the lens of their time.  Like Hetty.  Some of the stuff she says is not alright (child labor being okay), but you've got to look at it the way they saw it.  That doesn't make certain things okay, but when one understands the "norms" of a certain time in history, it helps to understand the mindset of the people that lived at that time.  

[iMonrey]

I just realized there was no follow-up to Trevor and Hetty's hook-up.

I laughed when they ran into the kitchen where Jay and Freddie were, and Alberta yells "He's (Freddie) got a knife!" and Flower yells (just as alarmed) "And Jay's got a spoon!" 

[Annber03]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

I really like Nicole Sakura, so I hope the character sticks around for a while.  Her tipsy to Flower's high has a lot of potential there. 

Oh, lord, this NEEDS to happen now :D. I want to see that scene. It'd be great for Flower to hang out with someone who might be able to communicate on her level. 

7 hours ago, ChitChat said:

It's fun to watch the ghosts' reactions when they learn something new about other ghosts too!  That's one thing I like about this show.  They don't try to explain everything.  Sometimes the ghosts will say something like 'we don't know how this works either.'   It's the little surprises about what ghosts can and can't do that help make this show fun!

I love that detail, too. Especially with the older ghosts, who've been around for centuries and seen so much already. It's nice to know that even they can still be surprised by new aspects of being a ghost. 

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I'm really loving Isaac's character.  Brandon Scott Jones plays him to perfection! 

I love him, too :). The bravado and intellect and snark mixed with the more vulnerable moments - all those contrasts make his character so entertaining. 

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

"Sam and Jay found their third!" 

I don't know what made me laugh more, that comment or Alberta's reaction to it :p. 

[KarenX]

3 hours ago, shura said:

 

6 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

 I also have to think that a car vs. pole accident violent enough to have killed the driver would total that car and thus be far too expensive to repair for the resale market.  This show is usually a little better at having the improbable logic hang together than that.

Expand  

I was thinking the same thing, but then again, maybe the car didn’t hit the pole hard enough to even deploy airbags and save the drunk person not wearing her seatbelt.

 

As long as we are fanwanking…

I’d have liked it more if Freddy had innocently driven by the scene of the accident and hit the new ghost with his car as Jessica was still milling around the scene of her accident. He sort of scooped her up and trapped her, or else she decided to stay for the food.

That way, Freddy is not driving around a structurally unsound accident car.

She could still have car alarm power even without the fob. Thor has electricity power and electricity hadn’t even been harnessed yet when he died. 

Edited January 7, 2023 by KarenX

[kav]

7 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I'm really loving Isaac's character.  Brandon Scott Jones plays him to perfection! 

It's fun to see these characters through the lens of their time.  Like Hetty.  Some of the stuff she says is not alright (child labor being okay), but you've got to look at it the way they saw it.  That doesn't make certain things okay, but when one understands the "norms" of a certain time in history, it helps to understand the mindset of the people that lived at that time.  

Thats something that could be used in a classroom in helping to teach understanding history from the lenses and thought of people from that time in history.  Come on history teachers, use Ghosts in your curriculum!

 

Also, this episode show that there are ghosts from Isaac's time and the 1800s who died in wagon and other vehicle accidents are attached to what?

Edited January 7, 2023 by kav

[Skooma]

20 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I'm really loving Isaac's character.  Brandon Scott Jones plays him to perfection! 

It's fun to see these characters through the lens of their time.  Like Hetty.  Some of the stuff she says is not alright (child labor being okay), but you've got to look at it the way they saw it.  That doesn't make certain things okay, but when one understands the "norms" of a certain time in history, it helps to understand the mindset of the people that lived at that time.  

Well said.  And people of the future will say similar stuff about our time too no doubt.  We are no different in that regard.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Skooma

[possibilities]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:19 PM, Snow Apple said:

I can understand her wanting to travel and not stuck in the same spot for eight hours a day when Freddie is working.

I have a feeling she and Sas together will make the car time a lot more fun than it was when she had to stay there by herself.

 

 

 

[Cress]

14 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I just realized there was no follow-up to Trevor and Hetty's hook-up.

Yeah I didn't realize either. I wonder if that was a one-time hook up or if they are going to keep carrying on in secret?

Funny episode.

On 1/6/2023 at 7:38 AM, shura said:

And I guess Freddie lied a bit in his interview when he said he wanted to learn from the best, since he knows that this is not exactly the Grand Budapest hotel and he can't learn how to run a successful (at least in the profit sense) B&B here.  He is just there for the paycheck.

I don't think it's just the paycheck for Freddie. I think he is excited about working in hospitality; he knows so much stuff and updated their computer system. But I think he was tired of just being a delivery driver, and was trying to actually get a job in his career aspirations. He knows they're not "the best" but he was trying to flatter them so he can get his foot in the door at an entry-level position. This could be his stepping stone to becoming a manager later, or doing his own B&B in the future.

[shapeshifter]

On 1/6/2023 at 8:38 AM, shura said:

And I guess Freddie lied a bit in his interview when he said he wanted to learn from the best, since he knows that this is not exactly the Grand Budapest hotel and he can't learn how to run a successful (at least in the profit sense) B&B here.  He is just there for the paycheck.

11 minutes ago, Cress said:

I don't think it's just the paycheck for Freddie. I think he is excited about working in hospitality; he knows so much stuff and updated their computer system. But I think he was tired of just being a delivery driver, and was trying to actually get a job in his career aspirations. He knows they're not "the best" but he was trying to flatter them so he can get his foot in the door at an entry-level position. This could be his stepping stone to becoming a manager later, or doing his own B&B in the future.

Yes, and:

• [JAY] Look, you seem very qualified, and no offense... mainly to us...But why do you want this job?

• [FREDDIE] Well, I'm from the area, and I moved back recently to be near family.
  And it's always been my dream to have my own B & B, so I thought why not learn from the best?

• [GHOSTS SCORNFULLY CHUCKLING] The best?
  What fool would buy this malarkey?
  The best. That's... ( laughs) Wow.

• [FREDDIE] Look, I read that rave about you guys in Sipprlast month.
  You're doing something right here at Woodstone, and I just want to be a part of that.