Hello, Brother
Trevor’s brother pays a visit to Woodstone Manor and demonstrates a massive flaw in Jay’s work as a businessman while giving a little more backstory into Trevor in the latest episode of Ghosts.
The episode features three very different stories running concurrently. Jeremy Leibowitz shows up at the place where his brother dies after being fired from the family business. Trevor finds a way to spend time with his little brother and tries to help Jeremy stay at the inn for free despite objections from Sam and Jay. Meanwhile, Pete and Carol rekindle their romance until sabotage from Sas and Thor leads to another epic Pete blowup. And Isaac learns about history that wasn’t discovered until after his death.
Trevor and Jeremy
The primary storyline has the most potential but still finds a way to be disappointing. Trevor’s brother, Jeremy, has acquired enough rewards points to live with Sam and Jay for free. While this excites Trevor who misses his baby brother (even though Jeremy is about 30 years older than Trevor was when he died). Trevor tries to help his brother every step of the way until he learns that Jeremy refused to take over the family business because he saw it as charity for a job that should’ve been Trevor’s. Trevor then uses his ghost powers and an old trick from their youth to help push Jeremy in a more successful direction.
This story really would’ve shined had it been allowed to breathe. While it’s common for Ghosts to have multiple storylines at a time, there’s usually one primary one that dominates the episode and a minor one that serves as window dressing. Had there not been a third storyline, this story would’ve been great. Instead, it feels weak because the episode tries to do too much.
Despite the complaints, Jon Glaser deserves praise for his portrayal of Trevor’s brother. Anyone who has ever seen Parks and Recreation knows that Glaser is at his best when playing a douchebag named Jeremy. I, personally, wish the name was different, but I will never complain about the guy who gave the world Jeremy Jamm.
Pete and Carol
I’m already over this storyline. Pete loved Carol and was loyal to her in life and death until he found out she cheated. She died on the property, and now he has to confront her. He gets the closure he needs, and then she pursues a relationship with him that clearly has him miserable. Then, the serial cheater cheats again, this time with Thor. The same Thor who not that long ago was distraught over Flower.
Carol was a fine guest star for a couple of Pete-centric episodes to help fill out his backstory. She was fine for a short story arc where she helps Pete grow as a character. But it’s time for her to leave. She’s only interesting in connection to Pete. There’s nothing she brings on her own to make the show better. Plus, this storyline took away from time that could’ve been spent building up Trevor and Jeremy better. This would’ve been a perfectly fine B storyline in many episodes, but this episode needed more focus on Trevor and less on Carol. Pete’s still great though.
Isaac Loves Dinosaurs
This is the best part of this episode. Captain Isaac Higgentoot, the Revolutionary War soldier who died before the birth of our country also died before the discovery of dinosaurs. This leads to him acting like a fangirl for fossils throughout the rest of the episode. His wide-eyed love of dinosaurs is on par with little boys when they learn about the creatures. It provides the best levity for a series that’s already steeped in it.
Isaac serves as a welcome distraction from the Pete and Carol storyline while also making sure to not cause any other issues for the Trevor and Jeremy storyline. This is how you write a B story, unfortunately, it got shafted to a C story for this episode.
Season Winding Down
Ghosts remains one of my favorite comedies on television and while I view this episode as a weaker entry, I still found it enjoyable as I watched and laughed with my family. Amazingly, there are only four episodes left in the season. It feels short, but that’s because it is. Ghosts was one of the many shows delayed due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. It doesn’t feel like we went as long without Ghosts, because CBS and Paramount Plus acquired the rights to Ghosts UK, allowing fans to see a different take on the same concept.
Still, the show returns in February and only has four more episodes left as season three only got a half season due to those strikes. It makes the show stronger in areas but weaker in others. I hope we get a resolution for Flower. I also hope we no longer have to worry about Carol once those four episodes air. Still, I believe this show will easily be renewed for a fourth season.
Check out Ghosts Thursdays on CBS and streaming Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2024
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