A Shocking Twist, And A Ghost Is Gone

Ghosts has returned for a fifth season, and the premiere ‘Soul Custody’ comes with some major twists. One ghost is sucked off (which isn’t a bad thing, as Woodstone is getting more than a little crowded, at this point in the series), but much more surprising is that Jay’s demon deal is front and center, and gets an episode one resolution.

‘Soul Custody’ starts off with Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Sam (Rose McIver) in a panic about Jay’s deal with the demon Elias (Matt Walsh) – and the awareness that Jay could be killed and taken to Hell at any time. The ghosts are a little worried, but also, easily distracted by sing-a-longs, a moment that is a perfect representation of the show’s humor.

The bulk of the episode focuses on Jay’s fate, but there are some minor side stories happening at the same time – Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) and Pete (Richie Moriarty) are debating how to tell the rest of the ghosts about their relationship, and Patience (Mary Holland) is questioning her purpose, after an embarrassingly ineffective attempt at ‘smiting’ Elias.

Jay’s Big Bargain Is Wrapped Up Shockingly Quickly

Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic

The first big shock of the episode is that ‘Soul Custody’ wraps up Jay’s bargain with Elias completely, and the episode ends with Jay off the hook. Jay’s initial attempts to trap Elias in the ghost trap is an interesting angle, but eventually, he trades one soul for another, with Carol (Caroline Aaron) agreeing to go to Hell in Jay’s place.

This is a controversial choice for the show, as the huge build-up over most of season 4 suggested a longer payoff. It would have made sense for this to be a storyline that ran for multiple episodes, so such a quick resolution is almost a let-down. There were a lot of possibilities for Elias to become a recurring character, as he and Jay danced around their contract terms and Jay’s attempts to get out of them – and while there was a little bit of that this episode, it did feel slightly rushed.

Elias, however, still has the potential to return. His contract with Jay also stipulates publicist services (and excellent ones, judging by the podcast get this episode – although it’s unclear if Jay actually appears on the podcast, a significant omission for nit-pickers!), and he could return in that capacity. It’s more likely, though, that the podcast appearance and traded soul completely nullifies the agreement, and now Jay is on his own when it comes to making his restaurant a success.

That doesn’t mean Elias won’t come sneaking back to try and pilfer more souls, though! He is a phenomenal character, so far, and his interest in Alberta (alongside her relationship with Pete) feels like a storyline that isn’t finished yet.

Carol Being Sucked Off Drops Hints At What That Means – And Solves A Problem

The second major moment from the season premiere is, of course, Carol getting sucked off. She agrees to trade her soul for Jay’s (for, admittedly, pretty thin reasons), but after the deal is done, she is sucked straight out of the Hell portal and into the skies. It seems that her sacrifice was enough to save her – which is deeply frustrating for Patience, who almost made that choice, and Elias, who doesn’t get his soul.

In many ways, this is a boon for the series. Carol largely served her purpose, as her life and death became a way for the show to comment on the situation of Pete seeing his wife with someone new, and then having to deal with living with her all over again. She also played beautifully into the mob storyline last season, but at this point, she was crowding the manor, rather than adding to it.

This makes her exit a neat way to tie up some loose ends and make way for new ghosts (like the others in the dirt), but it also provides some interesting new information for the Ghosts lore. Up until now, it hasn’t been entirely confirmed what being sucked off means – and a previous episode referred to it as ‘the next stage of the afterlife’. There’s also been significant debate on if this can be moved along by something like completing ‘unfinished business’, although the ghost snail would seem to suggest otherwise – what unfinished business would a snail have?

However, the show has established the existence of Hell, and this episode having Carol sucked off from Hell directly, and as the result of a good deed, seems to solidify assumptions that being sucked off is a one-way ticket to Heaven. While this won’t change too much in practical terms, it does open the show up to all kinds of other supernatural beings. With a demon in play, angels seem like an obvious next choice…

What’s Next For Ghosts? Patience Will Be The Storyline Of The Season

With the Jay/Elias storyline wrapped up, the season seems like it will be focusing on Patience, which is an interesting choice. The other major question left at the end of the previous season was that of ‘The Others’ in the Dirt – presumably, all the ghosts who have become stuck in the dirt over the years, and something that Patience references. Patience is also a central part of this first episode, but the Others are not, which seems to be a hint that this is going to be a much slower burn.

Alberta and Pete will obviously also be navigating their new dynamic, but from the upcoming episode descriptions, it doesn’t seem that this will be a big focus (at least, not until something derails them!). Episode 2, ‘Viking Wedding’, will instead put Thor in the limelight(ning):

Sam and Jay try to impress their trendy city friends; a misplaced bookcase threatens Thor’s ability to deliver an important speech; Isaac rallies the ghosts to help the couple navigate a tough customer service ordeal.

Even more exciting, the upcoming 5th Halloween episode will finally see a payoff to the Mummy references, as the description officially sees that long-awaited ghost come into play:

Sam and Jay’s Halloween gets scary after they unintentionally release a mummy ghost.

This first episode may disappoint fans who wanted to see more of Elias and Jay, but it has all the great humor that Ghosts does best (Flower’s line to Patience after Carol is sucked off is a genuine laugh-out-loud moment), and it is still setting up a broader world, without overcrowding Woodstone. If the rest of the season follows suit, Ghosts Season 5 is going to be a whole lot of fun.

New episodes of Ghosts Season 5 airs on CBS every Thursday at 8:30pm ET.

Ghosts (US)

8/10

Release Date

October 7, 2021

Directors

Christine Gernon, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Katie Locke O’Brien, Nick Wong, Jude Weng, Pete Chatmon, Richie Keen, Alex Hardcastle, Kimmy Gatewood, Matthew A. Cherry, Cortney Carrillo

Writers

Emily Schmidt, John Timothy, Lauren Bridges, Sophia Lear, Guy Endore-Kaiser, Rishi Chitkara, Julia Harter, Skander Halim, Zora Bikangaga

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  Rose McIver

  Samantha Arondekar

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  Utkarsh Ambudkar

  Jay Arondekar