Ghosts Season 4 Made a Huge Mistake With Rose McIver's Sam

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Ghosts, season 4, episode 6, “The Primary Source”

While Ghosts season 4's character changes made the CBS sitcom stronger, the return of a main character is quite frustrating in episode 6. The CBS Ghosts Ghosts they may not be alive, but that doesn't mean their character arcs remain static. On the contrary, the show's ghosts have grown and changed a lot over the show's first three seasons. Sass opened up and began collaborating with Sam after initially acting as a sarcastic outside observer, while Isaac confronted his sexual orientation and began a relationship with Nigel. Admittedly, the season 3 finale saw this relationship end in tears.

However, Isaac made up with Nigel at the start of season 4 and the two are back on good terms. Likewise, Sass Ghosts Season 4's story proved that the character still has more growth ahead of him, as dating the girl of Jay's dreams showed that he was trying to put himself out there. Ghosts Season 4's hiatus slowed the characters' progress a little, but that wasn't the main problem that hindered their growth. When Season 4 Episode 6, “The Primary Source,” aired, it became clear that returning a character was the real issue.

Sam Mistaking Humans for Ghosts Derails Ghosts Season 4 Episode 6

Sam accidentally reveals his plan thanks to this mistake

Ghosts Season 4 Sam somehow can't tell humans from ghosts now, which makes her character seem much sillier than ever. Sam has always been somewhat clumsy and stupid in a lovable way, but the extent of her foolishness increased in “The Prime Source” when she twice assumed that living people were ghosts while talking to them. While this may have worked as a throwaway joke, the infrequent reoccurrence strained credulity as the twist had a major impact on the plot of “The Primary Source.”

Sam initially mistook a Civil War reenactor for a ghost when she, Pete and Jay went to a historic site to dig up Isaac's old diary. This was a solid joke, but the revelation that Sam didn't notice his Nike sneakers or his energy drink strained credulity. However, Sam brought Isaac's Ghosts season 4's story was cut short a few scenes later when, thanks to her colorless apron, she mistook her publisher's historical documents appraiser for a plague ghost. This silly turn of events resulted in Sam nearly losing his book contract and eventually revising the historical non-fiction book into a trashy YA novel.

Sam's unlikely cluelessness betrays his character

Rose McIver's Ghost Heroine Is Typically Sharp

The problem with this twist is that Sam was smart and thought quickly in previous seasons of Ghosts or at least not so clearly ignorant. Sam mistaking not one but two real people for ghosts in the course of a single day made it hard to believe she could live her normal life without constantly making that mistake. The only two new characters Sam encounters in “The Primary Source” are living people she mistakes for ghosts, which looks like it will soon become a big problem for her.

Although Ghosts The season 4 break meant it's been a few weeks since viewers last saw Rose McIver's character, it's fair to say she didn't have this problem at the start of season 4. The previous episode, “A Star Is Dead,” saw Sam welcome dozens of actors and stagehands at Woodstone Mansion to host an amateur theater company's production of Anything goes. If Sam was unable to tell ghosts from people, this problem would almost certainly have arisen earlier, when the actors were dressed in period costumes. Season 4 Episode 3, “Halloween IV: The Witch,” had a similar problem.

Ghosts Season 4's Book Isaac Plot Had Other Problems

The entire plot felt rushed and poorly thought out.

In “Halloween IV: The Witch,” Sam and Jay opened their home to the public during a huge garage sale. AgainSam's inability to distinguish ghosts from people only arises when it's convenientfor it seems unlikely that she would have survived this event without making the same mistake. Additionally, there were larger problems with Isaac's storyline in “The Primary Source” that held the episode back from achieving greatness. The episode left many questions unanswered, such as why Sam agreed to write Isaac's memoir and why the episode's misadventure happened, given its ending.

Instead of focusing Ghosts Season 3's missing character Flower, “The Primary Source” was yet another Isaac-centric episode. Not only was he the main focus of Season 3's overarching story, but the events of “The Primary Source” left his circumstances largely unchanged. When the episode began, her memoir would soon be published, and when it ended, her memoir would soon be fictionalized and published. This made Ghosts The ride feels pointless even before Sam's character return comes into play.