S03.E09: The Travelling Agent

[possibilities]

Have Isaac and Nigel had sex yet? There was a whole thing about Isaac being nervous about kissing, and since then I don't think we've had any references to intimacy of any kind.

 

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

Have Isaac and Nigel had sex yet? There was a whole thing about Isaac being nervous about kissing, and since then I don't think we've had any references to intimacy of any kind.

The general indication seems to be that they have not taken that step yet, no. Which is why I think that moment with Isaac at his bachelor party a few episodes back was so significant, I think his thinking about the stripper as he did wasn't about him looking elsewhere so much as it was indicating that he's about to have his own little awakening regarding sex and physical intimacy, the way Hetty did last season. I feel like that moment set the stage for a storyline down the line where they do finally address that topic.

And I feel like that might partly explain some of Isaac's nervousness about his upcoming wedding. He and Beatrice slept in separate rooms when they were married, after all, and now he's going to be sharing a room with Nigel, and there was talk this episode about their honeymoon. So I imagine he's probably thinking about all the typical expectations and plans that come with getting married, and the wedding night and the honeymoon, and since he doesn't have the kind of experience Nigel does in this arena, well...

Edited April 28 by Annber03

[Skooma]

On 4/26/2024 at 2:23 PM, Quickbeam said:

My husband asked why we are not seeing more of Sam. “The actor is pregnant so they are hiding her behind a desk, a laundry basket, in bed….”. He had no idea.

I wouldn't have known she was pregnant either without reading this site.

On 4/26/2024 at 7:24 PM, possibilities said:

I'm still waiting for the water heater noise to lead to some kind of revelation. It's been mentioned in multiple episodes. But it might also just be an old water heater that's noisy.

True that.  Water heaters make noises like that all the time and yeah especially older ones.

On 4/26/2024 at 9:04 PM, Lugal said:

Which brings up the question: What the hell happened in that DealMart?

Many many Black Friday sales.  Also like that it was suppose to be WalMart obviously but for legal reasons it became DealMart.  I avoid WalMart like the plague.  The small handful of times I had to go there I got lost immediately since they lay it out to make it hard to find the entrance again so you buy more items.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

Some of the ghosts at the mall could have also suffered some sort of health emergency.  I think if that many people were killed in a shopping stampede, they'd raze the store.  

Yes. And not just Black Friday incidents…

I counted about 16 DealMart ghosts in total (including the 2 Pete was chatting with) at about the 10:20 mark at cbs.com/shows/video/_ee_DK__exHiqYuBxraNVcgSrvD7urUr. 

There is (I kid you not) a blackfridaydeathcount.com
which tallies just 17 deaths through 2021, but then includes another 5 "Honorable Mentions" deaths at the bottom of the page.

Skimming this Quora page suggests some more possibilities: 
quora.com/How-many-people-die-in-Walmart-each-year

So, not a big exaggeration in this episode, especially for a comedy. 

And now I'm even more convinced of my upthread theory:

Quote

…the people who died during Black Friday Sales…are still ghosts because they [are/]were obsessed with getting the reduced-priced, almost-out-of-stock, discontinued items…So they don't want any more ghosts to compete with.
They were just scaring Pete away with the ripping-you-apart trash talk.
They probably got the idea from slasher movies they've seen in the TV area of the store.

(forums.primetimer.com/topic/145599-s03e09-the-travelling-agent/#comment-8352253)

 

I'd like to see Pete go back to DealMart with Sam next season to confront the ringleaders and help them see that there is no need to scare off newcomers. Maybe the other DealMart ghosts will gather to listen and there will be a few sucked off.

I wonder if the ghost with an axe/cleaver in his head was a freak accident, or if maybe it's a halloween prop he was trying on when he choked to death on some pringles while laughing at himself in a mirror in the fitting room.

[chaifan]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'd like to see Pete go back to DealMart with Sam next season to confront the ringleaders and help them see that there is no need to scare off newcomers. Maybe the other DealMart ghosts will gather to listen and there will be a few sucked off.

The only glitch with that is that those ghosts only come out after the lights have been turned off.  So Sam would have to somehow hide herself in the store after it closes.  And then she wouldn't be able to get out until morning.  But I think it would be fun for Pete to mediate that situation. 

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, chaifan said:

The only glitch with that is that those ghosts only come out after the lights have been turned off.  So Sam would have to somehow hide herself in the store after it closes.  And then she wouldn't be able to get out until morning.  But I think it would be fun for Pete to mediate that situation. 

And maybe Pete could negotiate the night ghosts coming out during the day?

[iMonrey]

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

This felt rushed, and that was a ridiculous number of modern-day ghosts in the store since they've established the overwhelming majority of people who die do not become ghosts, so to have that many ghosts in one place would require a shit ton of people to have died there, but it was still enjoyable. 

I agree the episode felt rushed, but I have no problem with the number of DealMart ghosts. We don't know what was there before it was a DealMart. Could have been an Urgent Care or something. Or some of them might have been involved in the construction of the store and died in construction accidents.

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm still annoyed how they've retconned her into such a one-dimensional person

I have to push back on this notion that Carol has been "retconned." Carol had only appeared in two episodes prior to dying - "Pete's Wife" (S1) and "Ghost Father of the Bride" (S2). We also saw a young Carol in a flashback in "Dumb Deaths." In each instance she was portrayed as a pushy harridan and we know she was unfaithful. That's really about the only thing the show had established about her. It's only now that we're getting to see what she's like when you're around her all the time.

[PaulE]

10 hours ago, Annber03 said:

And I feel like that might partly explain some of Isaac's nervousness about his upcoming wedding. He and Beatrice slept in separate rooms when they were married, after all, and now he's going to be sharing a room with Nigel, and there was talk this episode about their honeymoon. So I imagine he's probably thinking about all the typical expectations and plans that come with getting married, and the wedding night and the honeymoon, and since he doesn't have the kind of experience Nigel does in this arena, well...

Good point.  We know from his dream about Beatrice that there wasn't any sex in the marriage, so I suppose it wasn't ever consummated in the legal sense.  He might well have died a virgin, because he just doesn't strike me as the type who'd be able to manage it with a woman, even if he tried fantasizing about men while trying.  He certainly couldn't manage ghost sex with Hetty.

When you think of it, we also don't really know how experienced Nigel is.  We know about his affairs with Jenkins but that doesn't necessarily mean they went all the way.  Probably when he was alive and living on his father's estate--if that's what his life was like--he'd have had flings with the occasional footman or stable boy, and if he went away to one of the public schools such as Eton or Harrow, it's likely he and some of his schoolmates would have done some "experimenting," since that sort of thing was known to go on in those places.  We're only guessing, but given that he's always been more confident than Isaac about his sexuality, I'm inclined to agree that he's probably had at least a little more experience than Isaac.  He's definitely more together in terms of their relationship, and that confidence might also be scaring Isaac a bit--he could be afraid he won't live up to Nigel's expectations.

8 hours ago, Skooma said:

I avoid WalMart like the plague.  The small handful of times I had to go there I got lost immediately since they lay it out to make it hard to find the entrance again so you buy more items.

And then on top of that they stock all those little items by the registers hoping you'll add some to your cart while you're waiting on line so that you spend even more money.  I mind the out-of-control capitalism less than their assumption that we're too dense to know what they're up to.

[possibilities]

If Pete and Sam go to DealMart at night, Sam can wait in the car while Pete does his thing indoors.

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, PaulE said:

Good point.  We know from his dream about Beatrice that there wasn't any sex in the marriage, so I suppose it wasn't ever consummated in the legal sense.  He might well have died a virgin, because he just doesn't strike me as the type who'd be able to manage it with a woman, even if he tried fantasizing about men while trying.  He certainly couldn't manage ghost sex with Hetty.

When you think of it, we also don't really know how experienced Nigel is.  We know about his affairs with Jenkins but that doesn't necessarily mean they went all the way.  Probably when he was alive and living on his father's estate--if that's what his life was like--he'd have had flings with the occasional footman or stable boy, and if he went away to one of the public schools such as Eton or Harrow, it's likely he and some of his schoolmates would have done some "experimenting," since that sort of thing was known to go on in those places.  We're only guessing, but given that he's always been more confident than Isaac about his sexuality, I'm inclined to agree that he's probably had at least a little more experience than Isaac.  He's definitely more together in terms of their relationship, and that confidence might also be scaring Isaac a bit--he could be afraid he won't live up to Nigel's expectations.

That last part. Exactly. I think that's long been a big issue with Isaac in regards to his relationship with Nigel, he wants so badly for this relationship to go right, but he's also always so afraid of doing something that will screw it up. He was scared to tell Nigel about his ghost power 'cause he thought Nigel wouldn't want to be with him anymore. He was so incredibly nervous about simply kissing him, so if that was freaking him out, just imagine how much more anxious he'd be about any other kind of intimacy. A big concern for him in the Christmas episode was that he'd trapped Beatrice in a marriage in which she wasn't happy, and I think he's worrying about similar things with Nigel, just for different reasons. He's worried he won't be able to make him happy, either, which ties into your thing of him being afraid he won't live up to Nigel's expectations. 

So in that sense, all his hesitation throughout their history together makes a lot of sense...but of course, it's also that hesitancy that often tends to actulaly cause more trouble for him and Nigel than simply addressing and confronting his anxieties head on does/would. But I do think, if and when he does finally address this topic with Nigel, he'll be far more pleasantly surprised by how it all plays out than he imagines. 

I also like your theory that Nigel may not be nearly as experienced as Isaac might believe him to be. I agree with your analysis of the kind of experience he likely does have, and I definitely agree that he's far more comfortable with himself in general  than Isaac clearly is, but yeah, it would be interesting, and a bit of a relief, for Isaac to learn that Nigel might still have a few things to learn as well, thus allowing them the chance to explore that sort of thing together :). 

Edited April 28 by Annber03

[tennisgurl]

Holy shit Deal Mart is a scary place. I kind of love the idea of there being some creepy ghosts out there, it makes the antics of the regular ghosts even funnier. That place must have one hell of a Black Friday sale...

Next time I end up wondering the aisles of Target for 20 extra minutes, I'm blaming ghosts. 

Sure Sam clearly should have been the one to take Pete out on his field trip, but he and Jay are buddies, of course Jay wants to be the one to take him out. Oh Jay, he tries so hard to keep up with everything. 

I wonder if Pete could ever figure out how to take other ghosts off the property with him? Thor would love Deal Mart after dark. Certainly more than he's going to love this train wreck of a throuple, Alberta is totally right about this being a train wreck. 

"Describe a bus."

Edited April 29 by tennisgurl

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Thor would love Deal Mart after dark.

I would like Pete returning to DealMart with Thor as his wingman/bodyguard. 
Pete's purpose would be to convince the DealMart gang that he's just visiting and doesn't want to get first dibs on the latest Tickle Me Elmo or whatever. 
But comedy would ensue when Pete realizes he might not have to escape the DealMart After Dark gang, but he does have to keep Thor from tearing them to pieces.
In the end they'd all be passing kleenex during a heartbreaking Hallmark movie on the biggest TV in the store, which Thor would be able to tune-in with his electrical ghost power.

[proserpina65]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:02 PM, ams1001 said:

"My ghost power is making people forget what they're looking for when they come into an aisle." Well, that explains so much. Target is haunted.

Hell, my house is hunted by a ghost like that.  "Why did I come to the kitchen???"

 

[shapeshifter]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:02 PM, ams1001 said:

"My ghost power is making people forget what they're looking for when they come into an aisle." Well, that explains so much. Target is haunted.

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Hell, my house is hunted by a ghost like that.  "Why did I come to the kitchen???"

And totally explains why when I go back out of the room (away from the Amnesia/Distraction Ghost) I immediately remember what I went there for.

 

[Chalby]

On 4/25/2024 at 6:11 PM, Annber03 said:

So torn about next week, 'cause on the one hand I'm so excited to see what hapepns in that episode, but on the other hand, last episode of the season :(. But yeah. Very, very curious and anxious to see how that plays out. 

I am with you as I love Ghosts (both the UK and the US versions). And when they are off air for their season break, I go crazy trying to find something equally as entertaining.

So people if you find another show/series that's just as fun, let me know. 

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Holy shit Deal Mart is a scary place. I kind of love the idea of there being some creepy ghosts out there, it makes the antics of the regular ghosts even funnier. That place must have one hell of a Black Friday sale...

Being from out West, I immediately thought of Costco. As well as how many times I've come for 1 item and left with 20 items. I'm often wandering the aisles of Costco or waiting forever in some hideous line.

[Chalby]

On 4/27/2024 at 5:30 PM, shapeshifter said:

About Carol — It's been so long since we've seen her that I may be wrong about this:
Didn't Carol seem a little over-the-top ditzy when she came to the costume party before she died? Would it be believable to fanwank that she had the beginning of Alzheimer's when she died, so she's literally not the same person we met in the previous season?
It's a little grim for a comedy, but not for this show.

I just remember Carol being loud and bossy. I did get a laugh at the efforts the ghosts were willing to do, just to taste a candy from her purse.

On 4/26/2024 at 10:46 AM, Natalie68 said:

Well, this could explain the horror story I watched on Youtube about the crazy list of rules for a night security person at a store.  😂

Now you've peaked my interest...

[Chalby]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:20 AM, shura said:

Nancy was crushing it. "Totally. I can't read, but same page."  "If you cut me, do I not bleed? I mean, no, none of us do, but you know what I mean."  "Cost Thor how? - You'll see. You'll see... (leaves, comes back) I actually need to go this way."  And the clincher at the end, "I also slept with Pete's widow carol. - Me too."

I find I will laugh at and admire different characters depending on the episode, but I love Nancy's character ALL the time. She has hilarious lines and her delivery is always spot on. Even Thor and her side-coupling made sense. She must always stay in this series.

[Chalby]

On 4/25/2024 at 7:07 PM, Chit Chat said:

🤣on't recall them saying what happened to them, just that they like to fight. 

I understood that the night ghosts just like coming out every evening looking for newbie ghosts so they can rip them apart and watch them grow back together again. I guess that's what people were doing during violent, major sales... trying to rip each other apart?

On 4/25/2024 at 7:07 PM, Chit Chat said:

I agree, but they probably assumed that Pete would stay by Jay's side. What could go wrong? 🤣

I understood it's difficult going in public for Sam because she can never immediately recognize if people are alive or ghosts. 

I remember the pilot (or second episode) when Sam went to the doctor to ask why she was seeing things, and the doctor Who reassured her it was normal, and ended up being a ghost! I was sucked in thinking he was a regular guy, as well.

That's when I got hooked on this series.

[Chalby]

I despise my posts being merged, especially if I'm discussing specific events that aren't related.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Chalby said:

I despise my posts being merged, especially if I'm discussing specific events that aren't related.

You can just edit the first post, copy-cutting out the part out that you wanted in a separate post, and then edit the "I despise…" post, selecting all and pasting.

I've done that a few times.

[kathyk2]

3 hours ago, Chalby said:

I find I will laugh at and admire different characters depending on the episode, but I love Nancy's character ALL the time. She has hilarious lines and her delivery is always spot on. Even Thor and her side-coupling made sense. She must always stay in this series.

Nancy is hilarious unlike Carol who is boring. I'm waiting for her to reconcile with Pete so she'll leave. 

[Katy M]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:28 PM, PaulE said:

'm also wondering how Pete will find his family on St. Lucia.  Even if Sam was able to tell him the name of the resort they were staying at, how would he know how to get there?  

He can ask for directions😀  Does he know what flight he is coming back on so Jay (preferably with Sam) can pick him up?  And, i really hope Sam lied and is not going to send a check.  Pete is not going to take up a seat or add any extra weight to the plane.  Would he be affected by turbulence?  What would happen if he gets thrown out of the plane over the ocean?  

[Paloma]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:30 PM, shapeshifter said:

Didn't Carol seem a little over-the-top ditzy when she came to the costume party before she died? Would it be believable to fanwank that she had the beginning of Alzheimer's when she died, so she's literally not the same person we met in the previous season?

I did notice that she seemed a bit ditzy at the costume party, but it seemed more like "yenta" behavior (Yiddish word, I think, for someone is a gossip or busybody) than like possible dementia. I'm not sure if her behavior at the party was inconsistent with what we saw when she was first introduced--I'd have to rewatch that episode.

[iMonrey]

16 hours ago, Chalby said:

I understood that the night ghosts just like coming out every evening looking for newbie ghosts so they can rip them apart and watch them grow back together again. I guess that's what people were doing during violent, major sales... trying to rip each other apart?

The lady with the big TV was the only one we know for sure was trampled to death in a Black Friday sale. We don't know how the other ghosts died. The butcher apparently worked in the meat department as he was wearing a DealMart apron. The others? Who knows. As I posted earlier, we don't know what was there before the DealMart.

However, assuming at least some of them were involved in a stampede, if they were that aggressive and inconsiderate in life, it stands to reason they'd be horrible people as ghosts too.

[questionfear]

1 hour ago, Paloma said:

I did notice that she seemed a bit ditzy at the costume party, but it seemed more like "yenta" behavior (Yiddish word, I think, for someone is a gossip or busybody) than like possible dementia. I'm not sure if her behavior at the party was inconsistent with what we saw when she was first introduced--I'd have to rewatch that episode.

Carol was also complaining about her podiatry meds-maybe we can always headcanon that any odd behavior was due to the meds impacting her mental state. Sometimes meds can make people act weird/out of character, and now carol's stuck like that. 

[PaulE]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The lady with the big TV was the only one we know for sure was trampled to death in a Black Friday sale.

You know, it just struck me that she didn't look as if she'd been trampled.  Wouldn't you expect a lot of bruises and maybe a broken nose or something?  I'm thinking that if you were trampled badly enough to die, you'd look at least a little messed up.

[chitowngirl]

Maybe she suffocated? However she died-bonus points for not letting go of the TV!

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, PaulE said:

You know, it just struck me that she didn't look as if she'd been trampled.  Wouldn't you expect a lot of bruises and maybe a broken nose or something?  I'm thinking that if you were trampled badly enough to die, you'd look at least a little messed up.

Yeah I assumed she suffocated like @chitowngirl - but to be fair, neither Flower nor Stephanie looks much worse for wear after being mauled by a bear or attacked by a chainsaw murderer. I wonder if the spirit is released the moment death is certain rather than the moment one is clinically dead. Although that wasn't the case for Pete, whose death we actually saw. 

[PaulE]

52 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Yeah I assumed she suffocated like @chitowngirl - but to be fair, neither Flower nor Stephanie looks much worse for wear after being mauled by a bear or attacked by a chainsaw murderer. I wonder if the spirit is released the moment death is certain rather than the moment one is clinically dead. Although that wasn't the case for Pete, whose death we actually saw. 

But remember the reference to Flat Maria—she’d been stampeded by a herd of cattle and, so Isaac said and hence her nickname, as a ghost she definitely looked as if she’d been. Maybe we just have to add it to the list of ghost inconsistencies.

Edited April 30 by PaulE

[possibilities]

I fanwank it was a head injury-- she died from the effects of her head banging on the floor-- an internal head injury can be fatal but not look so bad on the outside. Or maybe the someone crushed her ribs and it punctured her lung or heart and that killed her. Again, not so bloody. Or she was knocked down, passed out, had a heart attack.

So many ways to die!

[Badsamaritan]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:24 PM, possibilities said:

I'm still waiting for the water heater noise to lead to some kind of revelation. It's been mentioned in multiple episodes. But it might also just be an old water heater that's noisy.

I bet it's Patience, the underground feral ghost. She found her way to the house but is now lost in the pipes somehow. 😁

[Chit Chat]

22 hours ago, PaulE said:

You know, it just struck me that she didn't look as if she'd been trampled.  Wouldn't you expect a lot of bruises and maybe a broken nose or something?

The big TV box protected her from the actual marks from their shoes, and she suffocated under the weight of it all.  That's a bad way to go!  

[christie]

On 4/30/2024 at 7:31 PM, iMonrey said:

The lady with the big TV was the only one we know for sure was trampled to death in a Black Friday sale. We don't know how the other ghosts died. 

Wasn't the amnesia ghost also trampled to death? Didn't one of them say that they were trampled to death during the black Friday sale in 2005 and that they were both arguing over the tv and the lady got it? 

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, christie said:

Wasn't the amnesia ghost also trampled to death? Didn't one of them say that they were trampled to death during the black Friday sale in 2005 and that they were both arguing over the tv and the lady got it? 

That sounds right!  I remember her sounding sarcastic when she said that she got the TV!  That was a terrible price to pay for it.  I avoid big stores on Black Friday in case of some freak stampede!

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, christie said:

Wasn't the amnesia ghost also trampled to death?…

I always think about that when I see his shattered eyeglass lens. That would drive me insane.

 

2 hours ago, christie said:

…Didn't one of them say that they were trampled to death during the black Friday sale in 2005 and that they were both arguing over the tv and the lady got it? 

12 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

That sounds right!  I remember her sounding sarcastic when she said that she got the TV!  That was a terrible price to pay for it.

Both ironic and fitting, but a terrible overkill for a ghost.

[iMonrey]

5 hours ago, christie said:

Wasn't the amnesia ghost also trampled to death? Didn't one of them say that they were trampled to death during the black Friday sale in 2005 and that they were both arguing over the tv and the lady got it? 

Yes. Mike said "we." And he had a boot print on his shirt! LOL. And I think most of the other store ghosts were trampled. Two of them were holding a box together and a third had something under her arm.

I also love that Sass got all excited about where Pete could go - like Pizza Hut or Dominos. But does he have something against Little Caesars? After all, their slogan is Pizza Pizza. 

Edited May 2 by iMonrey

[Ilovepie]

On 4/25/2024 at 7:05 PM, SoMuchTV said:

I do question that Pete had never heard of the guys on the street signs (Barack Obama and a sports person I’m drawing a blank on, sorry!) - surely during all their tv watching, someone would have opted for news, and sports. But I’ll give them a pass since it was otherwise a fun episode. 

Yes - it makes no sense - some of the ghosts have lost their accents, some have them, some pick up modern phrasing and slang and some don't. Just like ghost rules, it's whatever rules the writers make. I guess their history knowledge is also spotty, but Isaac not being able to remember what a bus is was funny. "That's a firetruck!"

For a basement ghost, that Nancy sure gets around!

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Ilovepie said:

Yes - it makes no sense - some of the ghosts have lost their accents, some have them, some pick up modern phrasing and slang and some don't. Just like ghost rules, it's whatever rules the writers make.

Ghosts are like people, some are more aware of the world around them (Sass) some are only concerned with what affects them directly (Isaac) or peaks their interest (also Isaac but this time re: dinosaurs) and some just like to screw with people (Thor and his land ships). One thing this show does really well is gives each character their own personality and quirks. Some pay attention to the news while others just like reality TV etc. 

It is a show, though, so obviously it's not going to use real world rules and logic if breaking those rules and logic makes things funnier. Since the show doesn't have a strict rulebook, we don't even know if all the ghosts are stuck here for the same reason. Their "ghost powers" are likewise unique to each of them. Thor and Isaacs seem to be connected to how they died while Sass and Pete's seem to have more to do with who they were. I personally like that it's not one size fits all explanations. Makes things more interesting for me. 

[Rocknrollzombie]

The deal mart ghosts dam, would totally love the back story on them. Especially since last year I watched Eli Roth thanksgiving and the opening to that movie was a Black Friday death stampede sequence, the wife of the one of the characters  gets her hair caught in the wheel of a cart while she was on the ground during the chaos of the stampede and her scalp gets ripped off. (Anyone who loves horror, give the movie a watch it is good)

Edited May 12 by Rocknrollzombie

[proserpina65]

On 4/30/2024 at 7:41 PM, PaulE said:

But remember the reference to Flat Maria—she’d been stampeded by a herd of cattle and, so Isaac said and hence her nickname, as a ghost she definitely looked as if she’d been. Maybe we just have to add it to the list of ghost inconsistencies.

Many people who die in human-based stampedes suffocate before crush injuries happen.  Now getting trampled by cattle is a whole nother story, or so I've been lead to believe by various Western movies.