See All the Magical Photos from the ‘Ghosts’ Two-Part Holiday Episode

There’s no better holiday for Ghosts than Halloween.

On Ghosts Season 2 Episode 5, the ghost of Hetty’s past returned for one evening after Sam and some of the livings conducted a seance. Everyone knows that the veil between the two worlds thins on All Hallows’ Eve, so while the seance was uneventful for all the mortals, it was pure chaos on the other side. 

And honestly, good on Sam for keeping such a straight poker face when a portal opened up, the ghosts screamed in sheer terror, and Hetty’s archnemesis, Molly (Hannah May Rose), the main/adulterer who slept with her husband, arrived. 

The Hetty-centric episode wasn’t as serious or important as the one about Alberta—which remains the best and most important installment of the series—but there were some important matters about feminism lodged between some grade-A jokes and laughable moments. 

It all started when Jay decided to throw a last-minute Halloween party to impress June and Ally. They were going to Liam Neeson’s party but figured they could clear the slate from the whole tree debacle. 

Trevor and the other ghosts warned Sam that an impromptu Halloween party was a recipe for disaster as the holiday was super competitive, but Jay thought the idea of a party in a spooky mansion was awesome. 

Unfortunately, he was dead wrong. 

Despite Jay and Sam’s Stepbrothers-inspired costume, the party was a total bust, so they decided to conduct a seance, which was anti-climactic in the mortal realm but a real hoot in the ghost one.

Hetty despised Molly with the fire of a thousand burning sons, and she couldn’t believe that an adulterer made it to heaven (she couldn’t divulge more information about the perfect afterlife or she’d melt) while she was stuck in purgatory, but Hetty was truly dismissing all of her problematic characteristics, including being a cruel and vindictive boss to Molly, which Hetty naturally took as flattery.

Flower had a brilliant idea from her days in the cult—get the two women locked inside a room so that they could talk it out. But how do you keep two ghosts in a room when they can walk through any wall? The vault, duh.

It was actually a bit of a twisted idea to lock Hetty into the same vault where her husband perished with his mistress, the one Hetty said brought shame to the family.

“Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty’s Past” – A séance at Sam and Jay’s last-minute Halloween party conjures up a spirit from Hetty’s past. Also, Isaac worries Nigel will be turned off by his ghost power, on the CBS Original series GHOSTS, Thursday, Oct. 27 (8:31-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Pictured (L-R): John Hartman and Nigel Chessum, Brandon Scott Jones as Isaac and Richie Moriarty as Pete. Photo: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Since we are talking about Flower, the minute she pitched her good idea, Sam should’ve made sure to send a text to Jay to let him know the plan. As the only living in the mansion, so many things could go wrong… like getting locked in said vault. She really needs to be more careful. 

Flower’s drugged-up brain totally forgot that Sam was inside when she slammed the door shut, so no one living knew where Sam was, including Jay, who ran to Liam Neeson’s party with pickle Randy to get the ancient feather duster he loaned June and Ally as it was a key piece necessary to reverse the seance and send Molly back home before the clock struck midnight. She’s like Cinderella. 

Somehow, Sam was still able to focus on helping Hetty make amends with Molly, even while internally freaking out that she’d meet the same fate as Elias while locked in the vault. Hetty’s hatred for Molly was unwarranted; she was blaming the wrong person all these years. 

Molly admitted that she never wanted to sleep with Hetty’s husband, but she didn’t have a choice because he was a man in a position of power and she needed the job because she had a child to raise and her husband died in the mill… Hetty and Elias’ mill.

Sam informed the ladies that they were both Elias’ victims, stuck in a patriarchal world that pitted women against each other. And while Hetty can’t stand feminism, she couldn’t deny that Sam was right. Elias knew he could get away with it, so he did it, while Hetty needed to stay with him and marry him for a land deal. Hetty was mad at the wrong woman, and before you knew it, the two of them bonded over their mutual hate for the man. 

Meanwhile, the ghosts went above and beyond to communicate with Jay and send him a message so that he could save Sam. I love that while Sam was hyperventilating at the thought of death, Hetty informed her that it wouldn’t be the worst thing to be stuck in eternity together. And it’s not like much would change since she already sees the ghosts!

Thorfinn was able to flicker the lights and get Jay to the powder room, who then realized he needed to fog up the mirror so that Trevor could send him a message. Trevor’s message was a bit misleading, unfortunately, as he wrote “Sam Safe.”

That’s when Isaac stepped in and took one for the team, allowing Jay to walk through him and exposing that he’s the “Stinky Pete” instead of Pete, who he has been blaming the rancid smell on in hopes that Nigel wouldn’t be disgusted by him and break up with him. Pete is such a trooper for covering for his friend. 

Jay waltzed back into the powder room and saw the altered message—”Sam in Safe”—and bolted to her rescue.

Their reunion was sweet as they both attributed the situation to “ghost things,” and this was far better than the Halloween party they threw to impress the living people. It’s just unfortunate that Jay still can’t see the ghosts because honestly, it would be so much fun. 

“Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty’s Past” – A séance at Sam and Jay’s last-minute Halloween party conjures up a spirit from Hetty’s past. Also, Isaac worries Nigel will be turned off by his ghost power, on the CBS Original series GHOSTS, Thursday, Oct. 27 (8:31-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Pictured (L-R): Punkie Johnson as Ally, Carolyn Taylor as June, Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jay and Rose McIver as Samantha. Photo: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Nigel was a little disappointed that Isaac didn’t think he could trust him with a personal situation, which was a relief to Isaac, who then made Nigel feel self-conscious when he revealed he has webbed feet. The reason Isaac was so worried that Nigel would break up with him is that if the roles were reversed, Issac would probably allow this to sabotage his relationship.

Once Sam was safely out of the vault—and when I saw Jay walk in there and the two of them embrace, I kept screaming “get out” at the TV. I hate when scenes give me that much anxiety. Anyway, Sam and Jay conducted another seance to revere the effects of the first one, this time with the feather duster in hand, and Molly was on her way back to heaven. Hetty jumped onto her skirt and hung on for dear life, hoping that Molly would let her “ride” while she got “sucked off,” the running terminology joke for transitioning into the afterlife. She then called her closest ghost friends “peasants,” which proves she hasn’t really changed at all. 

Other noteworthy moments:

• Molly laughing that she gave Elias syphilis after Hetty proudly reveals she sent him to hell.
• Ruth Maid-er Ginsberg was a solid costume, even if Trevor claims feminism ruined the holiday. 
• The outdoor decor at the mansion was incredible!

What did you think of the Halloween episode? Did you enjoy the spooky vibe?