Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Ghosts season 4, episode 21, “Kyle.”

In Ghosts season 4, episode 21, “Kyle,” the sitcom uses a clever filmmaking trick to highlight just how much one of the show’s heroes is left on the periphery of its action. While the ghosts of CBS’s Ghosts might be the show’s true focus, the human characters are still fairly vital. If the inhabitants of the Woodstone Mansion are viewed like colleagues in a workplace sitcom, such as The Office or Abbott Elementary, Sam and Jay are their administrators, like Michael Scott or Principal Ava.

Since they still have bodies and can interact with the physical world, the human characters are vital to most of the show’s plots. Whether they are helping Stephanie in Ghosts season 4 episode 20 or intervening in Isaac and Nigel’s romance in season 3, Sam and Jay are the people who ensure the ghosts can do more than merely stand by and comment on the actions of their living counterparts. That said, one of them is much more suited to this role than the other.

Ghosts Season 4 Episode 21 Cut To Jay’s Perspective Mid-Scene

Since Jay can’t see, hear, or speak to the ghosts, he has a hard time staying up to date with their latest plans. While Ghosts season 4’s Nigel replacement might mean that the series isn’t short of intriguing new guest stars, the sitcom has never fixed this fundamental issue with Jay’s role in the show. In season 4, episode 21, “Kyle,” the arrival of the eponymous new characters highlighted this issue further. Kyle, like Sam, could see, hear, and communicate with the ghosts.

It wasn’t long before Jay became jealous of Kyle’s inevitable connection with Sam, but it is notable that this wasn’t based entirely on romantic jealousy. Cleverly, “Kyle” featured a scene from Jay’s perspective that highlighted how weird and isolating Jay’s experience of the ghosts is, and it was an unexpectedly poignant moment. While Sam and Kyle talked about ghosts and their shared obsession with the circumstances of their deaths, Jay interjected by noting that the mansion’s boundary containing the ghosts was strange, considering some of the ghosts predated the boundary itself.

Hetty then went to comment on this, but “Kyle” cut to Jay’s perspective as Sam and Kyle listened to her and Jay stood in silence. Sam, Kyle, and the ghosts then all shared a laugh, but Jay was left with no idea what they were talking about. Filming the scene from his perspective, without the ghosts in the shot, showed just how much Jay is left out of the jokes, the camaraderie, and the general conversation in the mansion.

Seeing Jay’s POV Emphasizes How Left Out He Really Is

Ghosts Season 4 Episode 21’s Story Highlights Jay’s Plight

While Trevor’s Ghosts power means he has a surprising amount of communication with Jay, this is almost always indirect. He changed Bela’s food order for their restaurant earlier in season 4 and bribed a food critic to give the same restaurant a good review a few episodes later, but Trevor rarely uses his powers to write Jay messages that would keep him in the loop. Sam is the only one who keeps Jay updated on the ghosts, and this often means he is behind on their latest antics.

In episode 17, “His Girl Shiki,” this reached its most frustrating point when Jay accidentally ruined Sass’s burgeoning relationship with Joan since no one had told him about their shared plan. Even in “Kyle,” Jay made an interesting point about ghosts who predate the house still being bound by its boundaries and no one even noticed as they were busy talking among themselves.

Can Ghosts Season 5 Finally Make Jay See The Spirits Permanently?

Jay Misses Out On Interacting With Most of the Cast

The obvious way around this issue would be for Jay to gain the ability to see the ghosts. Indeed, in season 4 episodes 8 and 9, “A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 1 and Part 2,” Jay did briefly get to see the ghosts and speak to them. However, it is tough to see how season 5 could give him this power again without straining credulity, even in a sitcom. Furthermore, the premise of Ghosts would have to change quite significantly if Jay were to start talking to the spirits, making this twist even harder to envision.

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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