Ghosts Season 4, Episode 5 Review: ‘A Star Is Dead’

Ghosts Season 4, Episode 5, “A Star Is Dead” Spoilers Ahead

This week, Ghosts rightfully shines a light on Rose McIver and Sam’s lifelong dreams with a wholesome episode that’s as hilarious as it is wild. With the events in the episode, we also get another delicate reminder of how lovely it is that the ghosts get to live vicariously through Sam and Jay, and this time, Alberta glows right alongside her.

When a local theatre group needs the Woodstone Mansion to host their musical production of Anything Goes, Sam gets a second chance to audition for the role of Reno Sweeney. Still haunted by her failed one in the past due to stage fright, Alberta trains her to a point of success. Elsewhere, Sas falls for another actor and tries to date her through Jay’s dreams. In other words, Sas briefly dates Jay.

Rose McIver Glistens in Ghosts Season 4, Episode 5

Rose McIver is such a delight in the series that with a large ensemble, it’s sometimes hard to single out how remarkable her performances are. (And they always are.) As a character, Sam is full of nuance and range, so any time we get more details about her, it automatically results in the show’s most wholesome narratives. The ghosts continue to be her second chance for everything, and in the same way that she gets a shining moment to go to prom again, today she gets to live her dream and become insufferable. She’s earned it. I’m just as proud as Alberta is. 

One of the turning points for Sam’s character throughout her journey is the detail that people in her life haven’t believed in her the way she has in them. It’s what we see with her mother, her father, and friends in the past. And as much as Jay’s faith in her is a refreshing detail that continues to make their relationship admirable, it’s not enough. 

Sam needed to believe in herself, but she also needed Alberta’s complete faith in her, too. So when she learns that Alberta wanted to sabotage Marissa’s audition, it’s natural that she’d run. And McIver is so fantastic at that moment as she makes Sam feel so young and defeated. Further, it also makes complete sense that Alberta would be trying to live vicariously through Sam in this role. That’s what the dynamics at Woodstone Mansion are ultimately about at the end of the day—give and take. 

There’s ultimately something incredibly beautiful about Sam not only getting the role but Alberta singing alongside her for a beat. It’s a moment to have both Rose McIver and Danielle Pinnock leap off our screens with their voices to also highlight the superb chemistry between every cast member. Liz Alexander’s screenplay features a hearty balance between wild hijinks and emotional moments, and Kabir Akhtar’s directing highlights the intimacy of the small place. Ghosts Season 4, Episode 5, “A Star Is Dead,” goes straight for the heart with a tender chapter that continues to play on this idea that it’s never too late. And again, in light of how things are shaping out in the world, I’ll take wholesome narratives like this any day. 

Stray Thoughts

• We’re going to find out Hetty’s power this season. I could feel it. 
• “I’m not dating Jay.” 😂 “Oh my God, I’m dating Jay.”
• Pete is gonna find Sas a girl, and I’m so here for it.
• “That’s my wife!” Jay remains the most supportive, and it’s so wholesome.
• “She’s insufferable. I’m so proud.”
• It’s so cute how Trevor pretends to be interested in other women when we know he has (one) wife, and that he’d say how high if she told him to jump.

Now streaming on Paramount Plus: What are your thoughts on Ghosts Season 4, Episode 5, “A Star Is Dead?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Photo: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.