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S04.E18: Smooching and Smushing

Neptune

By Neptune
in Ghosts (US)

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ams1001

ams1001

"It's a ghost trap from Latvia and he's a chef with an all-in-one screwdriver; I'm not loving our odds."

Did we think Sass and Joan were meant to be?

-Do you think I'm a selfish, capitalist pig?
-Of course, it's one of your only redeeming qualities.

Narwhal is delicious with hollandaise? 😂

So I guess we won't find out if the trap transport works...

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Annber03

Annber03

2 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

So I guess we won't find out if the trap transport works...

I dunno, that line about how the trap can now hold one hundred ghosts sounded like foredhadowing for something... I feel like this isn't the last we'll see of that thing. 

My favorite line from tonight: "We burned lots of things in the '60s. Bras, draft cards...Governor Reagan's Cadillac." I LOVED how Fower got back at Hetty and Trevor with thier little scheme, that was priceless (..er..no pun intended :p). I also loved Trevor wanting to bid on the skates - the way he said "foot fetish freaks" was especially funny. 

As for the main story, awwwww, Sasappis and Joan are gonna give it a go! I wonder what this means for him and Shiki, if they ever will get a chance to actually see and interact with each other again. I liked how they played on the rom com "overhearing/misunderstanding" trope, and LOL at Sam not relaizing she's the friend butting in at the most inopportune moment when Sasappis and Joan were really connecting :D. 

I also loved Thor going all out to help save Sasappis and get him out of the trap. "Thor have your front, too. And top. And bottom." "..okay..." Thor's whole running joke about proteciting one's backside was fun. 

That was cute. 

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shura

shura

Wow, Thor!  He actually understands how electric appliances work and that shorting them will stop that, instead of just, you know, yelling at the lightbulb.  And the “potential laser beam ricochet”?  Bravo, my Viking friend!

Not crazy about a Three’s Company-style misunderstanding, but okay.  I like Joan and she gets to stay, it seems.  I hope she would write it better than that though.

Now, how is watching meercats on TV fundamentally better than watching ants in real life?

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ams1001

ams1001

16 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I dunno, that line about how the trap can now hold one hundred ghosts sounded like foredhadowing for something... I feel like this isn't the last we'll see of that thing. 

I thought maybe Thor destroyed the trap with his electricity. But I guess we don't know for sure. Maybe the repair guy will have to come back.

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phalange

phalange

Aw, Sas and Joan are cute together, so I’m glad it worked out. A whole miscommunication plot where they think the other doesn’t actually like them is very rom-com-y.

Maybe Sam and Jay will get the ghost trap fixed again, but I think the ghosts are too nervous about getting smooshed to try to use it to cross the ghost boundary now. But I’m sure it won’t be the last we see of the ghost trap. 

Flower beating Hetty and Trevor at their own game was hilarious. She isn’t dumb, just stoned most of the time. I also liked the running joke about her not being sure narwhals are actually real. 

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ItCouldBeWorse

ItCouldBeWorse

(edited)
3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I dunno, that line about how the trap can now hold one hundred ghosts sounded like foreshadowing for something... I feel like this isn't the last we'll see of that thing. 

100%. I thought all the ghosts were going to be pulled in (where they really would be smushed.)

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I liked how they played on the rom com "overhearing/misunderstanding" trope

3 hours ago, shura said:

Not crazy about a Three’s Company-style misunderstanding, but okay.  I like Joan and she gets to stay, it seems.  I hope she would write it better than that though.

I despise the "misunderstood overheard conversation" trope, and actually cringed when Pete suggested Joan practice her conversation with him.  Thank goodness it was resolved in the same episode.

Why was Sam inconveniently absent at the same time that Jay went for the dry cleaner's ticket, so that the true situation couldn't be explained to her?

I hope Shiki isn't in the room when Jay enters with the ghost trap and announces that he is releasing Sas, who desperately wants to be with her.

2 hours ago, phalange said:

Flower beating Hetty and Trevor at their own game was hilarious. She isn’t dumb, just stoned most of the time.

She did attend law school!

 

Edited by ItCouldBeWorse
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Bastet

Bastet

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Did we think Sass and Joan were meant to be?

No, as they've managed to find a couple with even less romantic/sexual chemistry than Thor and Flower, a feat I did not find achievable.

I found this episode rather resoundingly blah.  There were a few funny lines, and I did like Flower being one of the few people who wasn't stupid and/or awful and thus turning the tables on Trevor and Hetty, but this was not their best effort.

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Neptune

Neptune

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https://tvline.com/interviews/ghosts-recap-season-4-episode-18-sasappis-joan-virginity-1235430392/

TVLINE | In the end, why is Joan the right one for him versus Shiki?
Wow, that’s a tough question. For one thing, I think that Joan and Sasappis actually have real chemistry. Shiki and Sas, we haven’t really seen if they actually have chemistry. We don’t fully know. Potentially, you could take the time and see if they really do and everything, but…everything that he’s built up in his head is never going to be what he wants. [Sas and Joan] have good chemistry, and she’s lovely, and they’re really sweet, and so, we’ll see what happens. We just got to take one day at a time and see if it’s the right fit.

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Orcinus orca

Orcinus orca

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

No, as they've managed to find a couple with even less romantic/sexual chemistry than Thor and Flower, a feat I did not find achievable.

I don't think they could have come up with a less suitable couple if they tried.  I think Shiki is gorgeous and Sass already has a thing for her. I was really hoping that the ghost trap idea was a viable way to not only get them together but give the other ghosts a chance to travel outside the boundary as well.

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Chit Chat

Chit Chat

1 hour ago, Neptune said:

Potentially, you could take the time and see if they really do and everything, but…everything that he’s built up in his head is never going to be what he wants.

As much as I wanted to see Sass & Shiki together, it would probably weigh the show down if they're constantly toting Sass around to see her.  It wouldn't be realistic to ask Sam and/or Jay to play chauffer to him.  Also, there's only so many times they can go into the building where Shiki is without raising suspicion as to why they would be there so frequently, unless she can leave the building & meet them in the parking lot. 

It's kind of sad that Sass may never know if Shiki really was the love of his life, but the logistics of it aren't feasible. 

5 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

There also is a middle ground between capitalism and charity.

I cringed at Flower's comment to Trevor of being a "capitalist pig."  Between her constant 'threesome's comments' and that one, her character is starting to annoy me.  I'm surprised that she actually remembered for longer than 5 minutes that Trevor gave her the money! Hetty & Trevor need to stop planning things like this.  They're way too obvious!  

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kathyk2

kathyk2

2 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

As much as I wanted to see Sass & Shiki together, it would probably weigh the show down if they're constantly toting Sass around to see her.  It wouldn't be realistic to ask Sam and/or Jay to play chauffer to him.  Also, there's only so many times they can go into the building where Shiki is without raising suspicion as to why they would be there so frequently, unless she can leave the building & meet them in the parking lot. 

It's kind of sad that Sass may never know if Shiki really was the love of his life, but the logistics of it aren't feasible. 

I cringed at Flower's comment to Trevor of being a "capitalist pig."  Between her constant 'threesome's comments' and that one, her character is starting to annoy me.  I'm surprised that she actually remembered for longer than 5 minutes that Trevor gave her the money! Hetty & Trevor need to stop planning things like this.  They're way too obvious!  

I think the writers don't know what to do with her. I didn't think what Trevor and Hetty did was that bad.  I did like the call back to the Cutting Edge.

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chaifan

chaifan

2 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

As much as I wanted to see Sass & Shiki together, it would probably weigh the show down if they're constantly toting Sass around to see her.  It wouldn't be realistic to ask Sam and/or Jay to play chauffer to him.  Also, there's only so many times they can go into the building where Shiki is without raising suspicion as to why they would be there so frequently, unless she can leave the building & meet them in the parking lot. 

I agree.  I was hoping there would be a flaw in the plan, somehow, that made the ghost trap not a viable option, just for this reason.  

I like Joan, but I'm wondering what the exit plan is.  We don't need any more "regulars".  I suppose she can start to feel a little itchy being in one place for too long, go off and travel, and come back as she likes.  Or maybe the car ghost returns and there's a love triangle!  

 

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iMonrey

iMonrey

(edited)
10 hours ago, Bastet said:

I found this episode rather resoundingly blah.  There were a few funny lines, and I did like Flower being one of the few people who wasn't stupid and/or awful and thus turning the tables on Trevor and Hetty, but this was not their best effort.

Agreed. I've found this season to be pretty hit-or-miss, overall.

The character of Joan just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Where and how did Pete find her, and what did he tell her to make her want to come back to Woodstone and meet Sass? One of the ghosts said she lived (sic) in LA, did Pete meet her in LA? Why was she still hanging around this week after Sass made it clear he was determined to hook up with Shiki? None of this felt fleshed out enough.

I did like Janis the repairman, and I wanted to know if the ghost gun would actually work. Not that I want to see any of the "regulars" disappear but it might have been funny if Carol or Crash were walking by and got zapped away. I wouldn't really miss either of them.

I don't know if we'll ever find out if the ghost trap would work as a method of crossing the ghost boundary. I think the most likely scenario is they get ejected back onto the property, just like when they are possessing a living and try to cross the border. It's a similar situation in that in both cases they do not seem to be capable of getting out on their own, and trying to cross the border sort of filters them out when they're inside something. 

Also, why didn't Thor try to short circuit the ghost trap the first time he was trapped in there?

Edited by iMonrey
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chaifan

chaifan

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Not that I want to see any of the "regulars" disappear but it might have been funny if Carol or Crash were walking by and got zapped away. I wouldn't really miss either of them.

I think in the final season, they should have Janis come back and do exactly this.  Crash or Carol or one of the secondary ghosts is in the path, and we see that ghost get sucked off.  (Janis sees nothing, but is convinced his ghost gun works and has eliminated the ghost.)  The remaining ghosts then realize that they have an "out", and maybe in the last 1/2 of the season we see one or two decide that they're ready to move on and they call back Janis and the gun. 

 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

I did like Flower being one of the few people who wasn't stupid and/or awful and thus turning the tables on Trevor and Hetty

10 hours ago, Harvey said:

I don't have it in me to care about Sass's dating life or this Joan woman, but the Flower storyline was really good. 👾

15 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

She did attend law school!

Yes. I loved Flower's take-down lines to Trevor and Hetty, even though they seemed uncharacteristic. But all of the ghosts seem to have split personalities over the course of the series.

 

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

That's the Flower I most enjoy, the one who's spacy but also smart and has funny things to say other than jokes about orgies, bands, and Sass's virginity. It was pretty great watching her get one over on Trevor and Hetty, she went to law school after all. I enjoyed her never being fully sure about whether or not narwhals exist but wanting to save them regardless.

I like Sass and Joan, they're quite cute together, they both enjoy storytelling and snark, but I wish we had gotten some closure with Shiki, it feels like the story isn't over yet. The overhearing misunderstanding was lame, but in a plot that is clearly riffing on classic romcoms I can let it slide. 

I am glad that they brought the ghost trap back, but it raises a lot of questions that we didn't really get answers to, I would like to know if it really is possible for the ghosts to ride in the ghost trap and leave the property, but that might change up the shows premise too much. I also get that it was needed more for the sake of drama, but it felt contrived that Sam didn't join Jay in the car to drop Sass off, how would jay even know for sure that he left Sass in a place where he could see Shiki? He cant see them. 

I really laughed at the ghosts watching Jay mess around with the ghost trap. "He doesn't know what any of those words mean". 

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Muriel

Muriel

I was pretty disappointed with this episode. They didn’t show Sass with Shiki, and how the ghost trap would work on the boundary - both advertised.

And we get a romance with Joan, who has been there whole one episode, yay! Opposed to Shiki, where the romance has been hinted and build upon ever since season one I think.

Also the whole inexperience thing of Sass, what is their problem? So he died unmarried. I think they should get over it. 
 

Thinking that I will maybe stop watching.

 

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Annber03

Annber03

1 hour ago, Muriel said:

And we get a romance with Joan, who has been there whole one episode, yay! Opposed to Shiki, where the romance has been hinted and build upon ever since season one I think.

I think that's the whole point of this storyline, though? Maybe we'll learn that there's a reason Sasappis is jumping into this relationship so quicky, or that there's more to Joan than meets the eye, or something of that sort. Given this storyilne is happening so close to the season finale, it feels to me like it's building to some twist of some sort. 

Quote

Also the whole inexperience thing of Sass, what is their problem? So he died unmarried. I think they should get over it. 

They don't care that he never marreid, they're just focused on the fact he's been a virgin all this time. But again, though, I think that's the whoe point, we're supposed to think they're making a big to do over nothing and that Sasappis will learn to be comfortable with that part of himself, and get the others to chill out about it, too. 

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chaifan

chaifan

5 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

But would that be the same as being sucked off?

 

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I'm afraid the show would be seeming to promote suicide, though, if they did that. 

Yes, it would be getting sucked off, but at the time of your choosing.  When you're ready to go.  I'm going to insert a comment about The Good Place, in a spoiler tag, just in case someone hasn't seen the ending:

Spoiler

It's like the ending of The Good Place, where people can decide when they've had enough of the afterlife and can decide to "go through the gate".  An ever lasting afterlife in the Good Place seemed like a good idea, but people got bored and atrophied.  How Thor is still sane after 1,000 in the same place is beyond me.  Maybe he'd like to move on at this point.

No, it wouldn't be like suicide, since **they're already dead***.  They're stuck in limbo, most have expressed good feelings at the thought of being sucked off, and they're waiting for it.  

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PaulE

PaulE

19 hours ago, Bastet said:

I found this episode rather resoundingly blah.  There were a few funny lines, and I did like Flower being one of the few people who wasn't stupid and/or awful and thus turning the tables on Trevor and Hetty, but this was not their best effort.

I agree.  And I still think Sass and Joan would work better as friends, but maybe I'll change my mind if the relationship develops.  In some ways, she's the worldly older woman who can help Sass become a little more sophisticated--despite his snark, he's pretty green because, I suppose, his early death prevented him from having many life experiences.  Whether he'll hold her interest for long is another story.  

Flower is probably my least favorite main ghost but I'm glad she at least had a little more to do in this episode other than making spacy remarks.  I sometimes wonder if it might not be very challenging for Sheila Carrasco to play a character like that.  I'd enjoy seeing some other dimensions of Flower more often.

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iMonrey

iMonrey

9 hours ago, Weavertoo said:

I thought they were going to bring back the ghost snail to test the ghost trap's ability to transport ghosts through the boundary.  A sacrificial snail.

Ghost Snail got sucked off. Very slowly.

This was better on rewatch. When Janis pulled out the ghost gun, Thor hid behind Alberta, Sass stepping in front of Joan, and Isaac ran out of the room. Then at the end when they were trying to save Sass, Isaac suggested Thor and Alberta overload the trap by getting sucked into it while he stood by and shouted encouragement. LOL.

Also, Sass said he couldn't believe he thought Joan could fall for Pete, he feels so stupid. Pete: "Feels like there was a nicer way to say that."

I still don't think the Joan character is very well fleshed out and we need more backstory on her.

Also, I hope they don't leave us hanging on what happened when Jay got to the newspaper office and tried to release Sass for Shiki.

They could still test the ghost trap. Someone just needs to volunteer to go into it and Sam could walk very slowly across the border while the ghost says what's happening. If they're starting to get smooshed she can just walk it back.

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Dimity

Dimity

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also, I hope they don't leave us hanging on what happened when Jay got to the newspaper office and tried to release Sass for Shiki.

I wonder what they expected Jay to do.  He would have had no way of knowing if it worked and if it did when Sass would want to return.  Did I miss it or did they explain  why Sam wasn't along?

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chaifan

chaifan

15 hours ago, PaulE said:

In some ways, she's the worldly older woman who can help Sass become a little more sophisticated--despite his snark, he's pretty green because, I suppose, his early death prevented him from having many life experiences.  Whether he'll hold her interest for long is another story.  

He died at a younger living age, but he's been a ghost for 500 years compared to her 80-ish ghost years.  I think that more than balances things out.  He's got 500 years of stories to tell, I'm sure he can hold her interest if he tries.

 

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Bastet

Bastet

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also, I hope they don't leave us hanging on what happened when Jay got to the newspaper office and tried to release Sass for Shiki.

Hopefully Sam called and told him to turn around and come back home.  That whole thing was stupid, with her not going, because Jay can't see Shiki, or explain, so what was he going to do -- just walk into the office, put some strange contraption down, and hope Shiki found it?  And what would happen if she did, since she can't push the button to let Sass out?

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Katy M

Katy M

On 4/10/2025 at 11:14 PM, ams1001 said:

Kinda dumb for him to go alone. How would he even know if she's in the room?

Plus, what if the trap smushed him, but didn't destroy him and he was screaming to be let out.  Jay wouldn't hear that either.  Or if Sass got ejected at the border, he's going to bother to go with an empty trap.  how would he know if Shiki rejected Sass immediately and he now needs to go back home?

I understand the writers needed Sam to not be around so that Thor could have his hero moment.  But, it was completely contrived.

On 4/11/2025 at 8:53 AM, Chit Chat said:

As much as I wanted to see Sass & Shiki together, it would probably weigh the show down if they're constantly toting Sass around to see her.  It wouldn't be realistic to ask Sam and/or Jay to play chauffer to him.  Also, there's only so many times they can go into the building where Shiki is without raising suspicion as to why they would be there so frequently, unless she can leave the building & meet them in the parking lot. 

Shiki could get in the trap and move in with everyone else.  Maybe if you cheat the boundary you can stay away forever.  Parachute guy hasn't come back.

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chaifan

chaifan

5 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I understand the writers needed Sam to not be around so that Thor could have his hero moment.  But, it was completely contrived.

I always wonder what is going on in the writer's room for things like this.  Is there one writer who is flailing their arms about going "come on, guys.  Jay can't take the ghost trap to Shiki alone because he won't be able to find Shiki.  We need to come up with something better."  And everyone else is all like, "Calm down.  It's a sitcom about ghosts.  We don't have to make sense of it.  And it's 3:00 on Friday and we all want to go to happy hour."  And the guy who writes for Flower just sits there and says, "Who's Jay?"

 

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possibilities

possibilities

I like Joan's personality, but it's hard for me to overcome my reflexive reaction to her manner of speaking, which comes across ridiculous and fake to me. I know it's a deliberate choice to highlight her era, but it comes across ridiculous and fake to me in movies where it was the norm, also. So I kind of wish they'd given her a diffierent characterization.

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