S02.E18: Alberta’s Descendant

[Daff]

12 hours ago, nora1992 said:

A phone call was received right before the singing started, so this episode was paused at that point.  It wasn’t the most gripping conversation, so my mind started to wander, to the point where I convinced myself that Alisha/Alicia was going to sing like I do: very bad.  Would it have been funnier if she couldn’t sing?    

Humor aside, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss such a lovely duet. I couldn’t help but think if they both sang for the podcast, wouldn’t some of Alberta’s voice be recorded too? After all, her humming is heard by “livings”.

[shapeshifter]

51 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

The only urgency was in Alberta being able to see Alicia reject him for herself rather than hearing about it through Sam the next time the two worked on a podcast together.

I thought Sam's "cod-blocking" was done with some consideration for Todd's feelings, albeit likely inspired by Sam's intentions to continue to work with Todd to produce podcasts.

• [SAM] Hey, Todd, I almost forgot, uh, how's your mom doing?
• [TODD] Uh, she's good. Thanks, Sam.
  ...
   
• [SAM] He lives with his mom.
  ...
   
• [ALICIA] So, you live with your mom?
  ...
   
• [SAM] Oh, it's pretty convenient for work, though, right?
  Because the museum is in her garage.
  ...
   
• Speaking of, why don't you show Alicia the tattoo of Alberta's face that you have? I-It covers, like, the majority of his back.
  ...
   
• By the way, uh, do you still have Alberta's toenail on display at the museum?
  ...
   
• [(LATER) ALICIA] He seems so normal on the podcast.
   
• [SAM (CHUCKLING)] Oh, he is a little eccentric.

Also, I think it is wrong to let someone stumble into an ill-suited relationship when you have information that would be most valuable to that person *before* they get involved and spend time with that person. 

[Daff]

41 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Isaac. I hope there's some follow-up where Isaac questions Nigel about his blackmail.

I think Hetty’s comment about the chessboard told Nigel that she now has the upper hand-Nigel would not want Isaac to know he tried to blackmail Hetty and Trev.

[shura]

34 minutes ago, PaulE said:

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I thought they were a bit mean to Todd. He was being pretty normal and knew his eccentricities would turn her off and they just blurted them all out. 

Yeah, I felt the same way.  He's not a bad person at all, just  a bit off the deep end, at least as far as Alberta is concerned (though I admit I can't get past the toenail thing).

A bit?  The guy is just this side of Misery.  She probably looked more normal than Todd until she met the object of her obsession.  I really hope Todd never succeeds at cloning Alberta.

27 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I thought there were a few missteps here and there in this episode. Hetty didn't outright expose Nigel's blackmail to the group, but her comments to him as he left the room should have given them that impression. We got no reaction from Isaac. I hope there's some follow-up where Isaac questions Nigel about his blackmail. Also, Trevor shares the TV room with Thor. We didn't get any reaction from Thor, how he felt about Nigel rooming with him.

We also didn't get any reaction from Alicia  learning that her great grandmother might have murdered Alberta.

Did Nigel have time to really room with Thor in the TV room?  If he just spent a part of the day there, then Thor probably didn't realize that NIgel was now his roommate and not just someone watching all those reality shows with him.  Hetty's remarks to Nigel may have been something that was supposed to be discreet and just between them, something the rest of the group did not really hear.  I admit, I didn't gasp at the great-grandma Reese reveal, but that's probably because I had never heard of her before.  Alicia probably should have been more shocked.

To add to the missteps, it was off for Pete not to know what kind of app Alicia and Jay were talking about, not after they all witnessed the Trevor-Bela romance.  And then to start explaining to Sam that dinner is the most romatic kind of date where people eat indoors etc.

[Phebemarie]

I think the writers have been reading comments on the forum which questioned why Thor's language hasn't evolved while Sass's has.  Pete is the voice of the people.

[Snow Apple]

One might be able to get past the toenail since superfans have brought strange stuff of their idols, but I don't know if Alicia can get past that tattoo. A small tattoo might be ok as a tribute, but Todd's is bigger than life.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Snow Apple

[CarpeFelis]

16 hours ago, Katy M said:

Ghosts can't get pregnant.  But, you raise a question of if they could would she give birth to a ghost or a living.

How would she give birth to a living? She doesn’t have a physical body!

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I was so worried that it would turn out that Alicia would turn out to be a terrible singer and that she had accidently been set up to fail, but thank god she can actually sing! I can understand why Alberta would want her descendant to stick with a more stable career, but it was so great when she and Alberta started singing together, how can you not root for her. 

So many great little moments, especially Pete questioning why Thor uses some words and not other words and wondering if he's just messing with them. "You know stereo and not car?" "I've heard you say leather!"

It might have been funnier if Alicia was a terrible singer, but I was also glad it turned out this way.

Since Sass seems to be bored a lot and he’s a smart guy, it would make sense for him to spend some time trying to help Thor improve his English. Lots of humor potential with Thor misusing words.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, Phebemarie said:

I think the writers have been reading comments on the forum which questioned why Thor's language hasn't evolved while Sass's has. 

I hope that they don't change Thor too much though.  I like his accent and enjoy hearing him talk about "landships" and such!  

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, Katy M said:

Ghosts can't get pregnant.  But, you raise a question of if they could would she give birth to a ghost or a living.

8 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

How would she give birth to a living? She doesn’t have a physical body!

Rosemary's Baby? LOL. (Note: I've never seen that movie.)
Since this is a show with real ghosts in clothes etc.:
If the show goes on long enough, I can imagine a plot in which Hetty does give birth to a (Surprise! Surprise!) living baby. Sam claims it as her own, which, since Hetty is her ancestor, genetically appears to be accurate. They might choose to claim she had a sperm donor if the baby looks nothing like any of Jay's family.

 

[Katy M]

23 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

How would she give birth to a living? She doesn’t have a physical body!

The baby would be born ghostly, but immediately turn living.  I don't know.

[greekmom]

3 hours ago, PaulE said:

I think Sass and Thor have the saddest stories of all the ghosts.  Thor spent half a millennium entirely alone (it's surprising he didn't go stark raving mad and become some sort of demon) and Sass had to watch his people being mistreated without being able to help or even warn them.  

We don't know for sure that Thor was alone for half a millennium.  There could have been other ghosts who have come and gone to the other side in that time. 

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I had to look up who played Alicia, I would have sworn she was related to Danielle Pinnock in real life. That was good casting. The singing was beautiful too.

That was excellent casting.  I also thought they were related in real life.

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, ChitChat said:

He had some short-lived happiness with dead car girl, so I'm hoping they can find a way to make Sass happy again, or at least not so bored!  

He could always become Trevor and Hetty's third. lol

This was a great ep. Others have already pointed out the highlights, Thor's vocab (he's totally messing with them, and I love the show for pointing it out), Alberta singing with Alicia (and I would not have been at all surprised if you told me the two actresses were related. That was amazing casting). 

I am one of those who is enjoying Trevor and Hetty's pairing so their story was a delight. I was happy to see Trevor push back a bit, because I think he is more smitten than Hetty, at least up till now, and I think his breaking it off but then still giving up his room has made her take things more seriously. Poor guy. It must be hard to be taken seriously with no pants on. 

I love the twist that Alberta's sister might have been involved in her death. I just love Alberta's murder mystery in general. It's a fun little ongoing storyline. 

The only thing I didn't like was having to wait so long for this episode to finally air! GRRRRRR I had to rewatch the past few eps just to get my fix. CBS is totally my dealer. They've got me hooked and then they go and withhold new eps? not cool man, not cool at all. I gotta get me some of that sweet, sweet Ghosts. (that took a turn). 

[Phebemarie]

8 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I hope that they don't change Thor too much though.  I like his accent and enjoy hearing him talk about "landships" and such!  

Oh, no, I don't think they'll have Thor change.  I've seen a lot of people wonder on the forums (and Facebook), why there's such a difference between Sass and Thor's language acquisition.   I think Pete's comments in last night's episode are the writers winking at us.  

Edited April 1, 2023 by Phebemarie
Unnecessary apostrophe

[Quickbeam]

On 3/30/2023 at 8:08 PM, ChitChat said:

After watching a rather depressing lead-in show (Young Sheldon), it's nice to be able to look forward to this funny show.   I'm surprised that Todd didn't leave after Sam outed his weirdness.  I'm glad that Hetty & Trevor called Nigel's bluff and outed themselves.  Jay was so cute with his enthusiasm about being on the Podcast.  I love this show!

My husband hates Young Sheldon so much we watch a blank screen *right up to* Ghosts airing. 
 

I loved this episode….Jay getting microphone fever, Trevor standing up for himself. Hetty having 100 weird archaic jargon terms for sex that no one understood. So glad the guest could actually sing. 

[Bruinsfan]

Thor clearly understands a lot about modern life based on his TV viewing. While his manner of speech might be pretty ingrained, I'm sure he could use more current vocabulary if he chose to.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I hope that they don't change Thor too much though.  I like his accent and enjoy hearing him talk about "landships" and such!  

3 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

Oh, no, I don't think they'll have Thor change.  I've seen a lot of people wonder on the forums (and Facebook), why there's such a difference between Sass and Thor's language acquisition.   I think Pete's comments in last night's episode are the writers winking at us.  

2 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Thor clearly understands a lot about modern life based on his TV viewing. While his manner of speech might be pretty ingrained, I'm sure he could use more current vocabulary if he chose to.

I can hear Thor's voice in my head explaining to Pete: "Landships more fun to say."
And then after a pause, Pete says: "Landships? Landships. Yes, I guess it is more fun."
And then the next time a car pulls up Pete can't wait to tell Sam that a "landship" is in the driveway.🤣

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by shapeshifter

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I loved this episode….Jay getting microphone fever, Trevor standing up for himself. Hetty having 100 weird archaic jargon terms for sex that no one understood. So glad the guest could actually sing.

And here are Hetty's words for what she and Trevor have been doing:

• amorous congress
• scrumping
• Playing a game of nug-a-nug
• Fadoodling

This may be the source the writers used: 
slate.com/human-interest/2014/08/29-historic-and-adorable-slang-terms-for-sex-such-as-fadoodling-and-dancing-the-paphian-jig.html
Note there are more terms.😉
And see also: thesimplethings.com/blog/etymology-scrumping

Over on the rebooted Law & Order board, we've been complaining that the writers aren't doing their homework. They could take lessons from the Ghosts writers. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by shapeshifter

[DrSpaceman73]

I think I'll start use fadoodling when my wife and I are in the mood

[Harvey]

On 3/31/2023 at 2:51 PM, ChitChat said:

I feel sorry for Sass.

 

22 hours ago, PaulE said:

I think Sass and Thor have the saddest stories of all the ghosts. 

+Sassapis doesn't even get to have a ghost power.

[Paloma]

16 hours ago, Browncoat said:

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I had to look up who played Alicia, I would have sworn she was related to Danielle Pinnock in real life. That was good casting. The singing was beautiful too.

That was excellent casting.  I also thought they were related in real life.

Same here. There was a facial resemblance and an even stronger resemblance in voice/speech style. The latter could have been an acting choice rather than the natural voice and speech style of the actress playing Alicia, but either way it was striking.

[Driad]

Sass would probably like to read more, but he can't turn pages.  Maybe Sam or Jay could set up an e-reader to go to a new page after a certain amount of time.

[Badsamaritan]

I'm convinced Thor talks that way on purpose. Like Sass loving drama, this is Thor's quirk after 1,000 years of being dead. I was completely sure when Pete said 'I've heard you say leather!' We might get a slip-up one day where he thinks he's alone, maybe listening to some hip-hop Jay has Alexa playing, and Thor gets caught dancing and singing the words exactly right. But then just goes back to his regular speech and acts like nothing happened. That would be fun. It could just be Sam that catches him and she doesn't tell the others. 

I bet Sass knows though. But just lets it go too, since they've been together so long. I wouldn't mind seeing flashbacks of their time when it was just the 2 of them. In fact, they could have a whole separate thing happening from the other ghosts that came about from their time as a duo. I'm really interested in how our little family ended up together, out of the other ghosts on the property and those who might have been there for a time but got sucked off before Sam and Jay showed up. 😁

[Mabinogia]

9 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

But just lets it go too, since they've been together so long. I wouldn't mind seeing flashbacks of their time when it was just the 2 of them.

I love when Thor calls Sass his oldest friend. They have known each other for centuries. I do think that a fun way to add more ghosts and ghost lore to the show without bloating the cast would be through flashbacks where they could show our older ghosts with others who have since been sucked off. 

I also hope we get to see each of our ghosts' death (ghost birth?) moments, how each of them handled becoming part of this little ghost family. 

[PaulE]

1 hour ago, Harvey said:

 

+Sassapis doesn't even get to have a ghost power.

Although it’s possible he eventually will, depending on the writers. 

[shapeshifter]

40 minutes ago, Paloma said:

an even stronger resemblance in voice/speech style

Danielle Pinnock was "Raised in Northern New Jersey." 
Ashley D. Kelley "was born and raised in Long Island, New York."
So at least they would be familiar with each other's speech patterns.

[PaulE]

20 hours ago, greekmom said:

We don't know for sure that Thor was alone for half a millennium.  There could have been other ghosts who have come and gone to the other side in that time. 

Right, I forgot about that. He’s never mentioned anyone but that doesn’t mean they weren’t around. If there were others, it’s likely they were Native Americans, and in that case maybe he learned enough Lenape to communicate with Sasappis when he finally showed up. Presumably at that point neither would have known English yet.

[iMonrey]

Despite my initial misgivings this episode did have a few gems. When Trevor says he knows a position Hetty likes she says "Meet me downstairs in five minutes." At first I thought "Wait, they're in the kitchen. That's the ground floor. Are they going down to the basement?" Then I remembered - there is a secret room down in the basement where they apparently have been hooking up. That's where Nigel found them when Nancy was taking him on a tour of the basement.

Jay was wearing a D&D dice t-shirt. Possibly promo for that dreadful looking D&D movie CBS was pushing but still a nice callback.

Trevor wants to role-play Splash, LOL.

I think Badsamaritan might be onto something WRT Thor. I can easily imagine some future episode where it's revealed he can speak  "normally" if he wants to and is just messing with everyone, just as Pete suspects.

Quote

I think Hetty’s comment about the chessboard told Nigel that she now has the upper hand-Nigel would not want Isaac to know he tried to blackmail Hetty and Trev.

Yes but Isaac surely heard what she said to Nigel about the chessboard, it wasn't a whisper and they were all sitting there listening to her. He'd obviously want to know what she was talking about.

Quote

Did Nigel have time to really room with Thor in the TV room?

Yes because Trevor was sleeping in the library.

Quote

One might be able to get past the toenail since superfans have brought strange stuff of their idols, but I don't know if Alicia can get past that tattoo. A small tattoo might be ok as a tribute, but Todd's is bigger than life.

Actually I think the toenail is the weirder thing. The tattoo is disturbing but I have seen way worse/weirder tattoos. Granted I'm not a big fan of tattoos anyway, but I've seen big ones that covered large parts of the body. It would be far more creepy if Alberta was alive but it's a tattoo of someone who has been dead for 100 years.

[Chit Chat]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

This may be the source the writers used: 

That list is hilarious.  The one that had me snort was #26: Have one's corn ground (1800).  I will never watch Little House on the Prairie in the same way again!!  I can picture Caroline (Ma) sauntering out to the barn asking Charles (Pa) to grind her corn.   ;)

[Silver-hyren]

Okay I’ll be honest there was a moment I wondered if Alicia and Alberta were played by the same actress and they used some Parent Trap/green screen magic to get both characters on screen together because they were so, so alike (bravo casting!).  So it didn’t surprise me that Alicia could sing (and sing well).

[Paloma]

4 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I wouldn't mind seeing flashbacks of their time when it was just the 2 of them. In fact, they could have a whole separate thing happening from the other ghosts that came about from their time as a duo.

I'd love to see all of that! Exploring how the ghosts met, learned to communicate, and became friends would be fascinating. I would expect Sam and Jay to be curious about this, so the writers should make a couple of episodes where Sam or Jay asks questions and the answers unfold in flashbacks (i.e., "ghost stories"--I'll show myself out).

[Chit Chat]

16 minutes ago, Paloma said:

I'd love to see all of that! Exploring how the ghosts met, learned to communicate, and became friends would be fascinating.

There are so many stories they to tell!  We need hourly episodes each week in order to answer all of our questions!

[seacliffsal]

For whatever reason, this episode really opened my eyes to how much the ghosts totally dominate Sam.  The interactions at the reception desk really exemplified this when Sam didn't even speak to Alicia for a while as she was too busy listening to Alberta. 

I was also struck by a shadow that Hetty cast in one of the rooms.  It was definitely a shadow and that took me out of the scene as I then had to question how a ghost could cast a shadow and in so doing, guests/visitors would totally be aware of something going on.

And, I agree with an above poster that the tattoo really isn't that weird of a deal-my own nephew has a huge tattoo of Hercules among other things, and I have seen several people with huge face tattoos on their thighs, etc.  At least Todd's tattoo is on his back and out of sight when he is dressed.  And, living at home at his age really isn't that unusual anymore (sigh).  So, as much as they make him out to be weird, he may be eccentric, but still seems like a nice, but eccentric person.  What's interesting is the amount of control Sam was allowing Alberta to have over a relative she just meet (and it is Sam allowing that because she did whatever Alberta wanted her to do).

[Mabinogia]

50 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

And, I agree with an above poster that the tattoo really isn't that weird of a deal-my own nephew has a huge tattoo of Hercules among other things, and I have seen several people with huge face tattoos on their thighs, etc. 

I don't think it's just that he has a tattoo of Alberta, many fans have tattoos of the celeb they adore. I think it's that it's a tattoo of Alicia's great aunt (I think that's the relationship?) who looks a lot like Alicia. If I were Alicia I'd be worried that Todd's interest was less about me and more about whose blood is running through my veins, like is Alicia just another bit of Alberta memorabilia to him? That's what makes it/him not a great catch for her, IMO. 

That said, I kinda sorta was rooting for them. I have no clue why. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Mabinogia

[Badsamaritan]

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I think it's that it's a tattoo of Alicia's great aunt (I think that's the relationship?) who looks a lot like Alicia If I were Alicia I'd be worried that Todd's interest was less about 1me and more about whose blood is running through my veins, like is Alicia just another bit of Alberta memorabilia to him? That's what makes it/him not a great catch for her, IMO. 

That said, I kinda sorta was rooting for them. I have no clue why. 

Wasn't there some dialog about him wanting to clone Alberta? Yeah, that's a deal breaker 😬

[Chit Chat]

11 hours ago, Harvey said:

Sassapis doesn't even get to have a ghost power.

I'm hoping that they'll discover that he does have some kind of power but was unaware of it all this time.   I still laugh whenever someone walks through Isaac and causes a stink.  He is so proper, and to have that particular ghost power/curse has to be a bit embarrassing!  

[Mabinogia]

40 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I'm hoping that they'll discover that he does have some kind of power but was unaware of it all this time. 

I can't remember if Sass has every been walked through. Who all has? Isaac has the stink bomb power lol, and Flower makes people high. Elias makes 'em horny. Have any of the others been walked through?

I know that Alberta can be heard, Thor manipulates electricity and Trevor can tough things. Do we know if the others can do things? 

Or is it, you can either do something, touching, electric, singing, OR have a walk through effect, stink, high, horny? 

Where are Jay's ghost notes when you need them?

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I can't remember if Sass has every been walked through. 

He was, yeah, in the pilot - he was talking about respecting the boundary between the living and the dead, and then Jay, I think, walked through him, and he was like, "Okay, let's get them out of here." :p. 

[Bruinsfan]

I rewatched yesterday and Isaac's puzzled reaction to "amorous congress" didn't feel right — it's a phrase I could easily see him using himself, and I can't imagine that he wouldn't understand the meaning, unlike the others. And Hetty had called for everyone's attention so it's not feasible that he could have missed hearing what she said at first. I wish Brandon had done a shocked gasp while everyone else looked confused.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I was also struck by a shadow that Hetty cast in one of the rooms.  It was definitely a shadow and that took me out of the scene as I then had to question how a ghost could cast a shadow and in so doing, guests/visitors would totally be aware of something going on.

Sometimes I'm distracted by the sound of their footsteps as they walk across the floor since there shouldn't be any sound. So I think there are little things the show isn't overly concerned about, like the occasional shadow.

[Driad]

If you were Sass (or the writers), what ghost power would Sass have?  He is curious, so he might like exceptionally sharp hearing to eavesdrop on conversations, but if he had that he would know it by now.  Probably ditto for becoming invisible even to the other ghosts.  If the writers decide Sass should have a ghost power, it will likely be something they can use more than once.

[Chit Chat]

45 minutes ago, Driad said:

If you were Sass (or the writers), what ghost power would Sass have? 

I've been wondering that too.  I wish there was some way he could interact with Jay while he's cooking.  Sass is so into food, so it would be nice if he had some kind of power other than being able to smell food, but I'm not very creative in coming up with something.  

 I wonder if the ghosts could absorb the aroma of the foods if they walked through a living when they were holding said food.  That would be nice for them.  

[PaulE]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

If you were Sass (or the writers), what ghost power would Sass have?  He is curious, so he might like exceptionally sharp hearing to eavesdrop on conversations, but if he had that he would know it by now.  Probably ditto for becoming invisible even to the other ghosts.  If the writers decide Sass should have a ghost power, it will likely be something they can use more than once.

Extra-sensitive hearing does actually make sense.  Doesn't the phrase "ear to the ground" come from the Native American practice of doing that in order to hear hoof beats or footsteps and determine if someone was approaching?  (Though I don't know if that was just a Native American thing.). fThey were so attuned to nature and lived so closely in it that they probably could hear and interpret natural sounds that others wouldn't necessarily have picked up.   Wouldn't it be nice if he could make out-of-season fruits and vegetables grow?  That would help Jay out as well as indulge his own interest in food and cooking.  But I guess that would be more magic than just a ghost power.

Sass isn't the only ghost without powers, right?  Hetty and Pete don't have any yet as far as we know, so maybe the writers will fill in the gaps for all three eventually.  

[ramurphy2005]

8 hours ago, PaulE said:

Sass isn't the only ghost without powers, right?  Hetty and Pete don't have any yet as far as we know, so maybe the writers will fill in the gaps for all three eventually.  

I thought Pete could look inside objects. Pete was able to see what was in Bela's purse, and that helped Sam convince Bela that Sam could see ghosts.   

[Bruinsfan]

I think that was just sticking his face into the purse and looking?

I don't think we've seen a power from Crash (though maybe being able to be in two places counts?), the basement ghosts, or the annoying attic girl either, have we?

[proserpina65]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:57 PM, seacliffsal said:

And, I agree with an above poster that the tattoo really isn't that weird of a deal-

For me, a full back tattoo of a real person is weird as hell and a dealbreaker.  To be fair, so is the toenail.

[Johannah]

I'd like Sas' power to have something to do with his storytelling, like...

 

Okay.  I got nothing.

[Chit Chat]

50 minutes ago, Johann said:

I'd like Sas' power to have something to do with his storytelling, like...

Maybe he could be telling a story and what should be sound effects come to life, i.e. "as we were wandering down the tree-lined path, the wind was especially melodic whistling through the trees" (cue the wind whistling sound effect!)  He could wave his hands like directing an orchestra as each sound effect comes to life!   

[PaulE]

15 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I think that was just sticking his face into the purse and looking?

I don't think we've seen a power from Crash (though maybe being able to be in two places counts?), the basement ghosts, or the annoying attic girl either, have we?

Also the Brits don't have any that we know of (unless Nigel's being able to get Baxter to stop playing that fife by ordering him to stand down counts as a power!).

[Neptune]