In CBS’s Ghosts, the only thing Woodstone’s permanent residents love gossiping about more than the living is each other. Hetty, Trevor, Alberta, and Pete are peering out an upstairs window at Sassapis. It is November 28th, the day his girlfriend Joan said she would return. Everyone is convinced she won’t be returning as they believe Joan has moved on. Jay even complains that Sass is using his dream-walking power to pine over Joan.
The following morning, while Sass laments Joan’s newfound rejection, Bela comes in announcing her engagement to her boyfriend Eric. This announcement is made based on Bela piecing together small things Eric has done. Things like coming to visit, asking about her nails, and checking her ring size. Therefore, the excitement is somewhat premature. Almost as premature as Sam hinting that she would like to be the maid of honor. A request so uncomfortable it’s instantly rejected by Bela and remarked on by the ghosts.
Meanwhile, Pete and Isaac discuss how Isaac’s carpetbagging strategy in the basement is going. Isaac is miserable by the odd mannerisms and dull conversations held in the basement. While the process of trying to gain the trust of the boiler-obsessed ghosts is grueling, it is important to Isaac that he finally holds an elected office. Even one as meaningless as “ghost representative” aka “person who asks Sam for something.”
Not long after, Bela announces that the engagement is off. The engagement that never actually happened. Eric cancelled his trip because of work and explained he needed Bela’s ring size for his and hers bowling balls. Bela was “Sassapis-ed.” A term she used unknowingly in front of Sass to say she was experiencing romantic disappointment. After Bela sulks out of the room, Sam explains to everyone she is orchestrating a true surprise proposal with Eric. She has Eric call and pretend to cancel to give Bela the surprise proposal of her dreams.
However, Sass wasn’t present for the latter half of the conversation, prompting him to go into Bela’s dream to console her. They bond over shared disappointments in their partners. This culminates in them hooking up.
The morning after, Sass goes to Sam to explain what happened. He then learns about the real proposal and panics that he’s now a homewrecker. There’s a brief discussion about the moral ambiguity that technically, all this happened in a dream. None of the actions were real, at least on Bela’s end.
During the illicit actions of Bela and Sass, Isaac is caught in his own bed of lies. More accurately, he was caught lying on the couch. In an attempt to find some comfort, Isaac snuck out of the basement during the night and slept on the couch. But he was discovered by Nancy who deemed him as not a real basement ghost.
The basement ghosts confront Isaac with their decision regarding his eligibility as their representative in the coming election. They say that he can prove himself by participating in the basement fight club. Pete, who was acting as moral support for Isaac, reveals he is an avid fan of the fight club. Thus, Isaac is compelled to become a fighter.
Out at the restaurant, Bela is working when Sam, Jay, and the ghosts arrive. Sam and Jay let her know they are aware of the affair and there is no reason to feel guilty since it wasn’t technically real. However, Bela doesn’t feel remorse because of how hurt she was at Eric getting her hopes up. This revelation causes Sam to come clean about the proposal plan.
Bela is disgusted with herself for cheating on Eric. Especially since Sassapis was her “backup ghost.” Sam and Jay urge her not to say anything to Eric because it would just hurt him. At this, Eric bursts out of the dishwasher box having heard the entire story. The hurt of this is compounded by the fact that in order to hide in the box, Eric installed and programmed the new dishwasher. He’s a really good guy.
Understandably Eric is upset and needs space.
At fight club, Isaac is set against a large brute. Pete acts as a coach and encourages Isaac to get out there and fight. Unfortunately, this results in an instant knockout with Isaac coming out the loser. Isaac’s defeat, however, was his path to triumph. He gained the respect of the basement ghosts.
That night, Sass invades a rather dull Bob Ross-style dream to beg forgiveness. Eric reveals he doesn’t love the idea that Bela is so hung up on ghosts. But Sass points out that Eric is in the unique position of being alive and having the opportunity to seize what he wants. Sass can’t go after Joan but Eric can go after Bela. This forges understanding and forgiveness.
Siblings Jay and Bela have a heart-to-heart at the restaurant about Bela’s relationship. She is afraid of starting over and having to restructure her plans. Jay didn’t notice Bela mention anything about loving Eric or her desire for their shared future. From this, it’s understood Bela doesn’t love Eric. She’s settling because she’s scared of being alone or being behind in life. Bela needs to end things.
Ending things happens sooner than expected. Eric, trying another romantic gesture, was hiding again. He heard the whole conversation. This poor guy can’t catch a break. Even worse, he flew his parents out for the proposal. They were also hiding and heard the conversation.
Given Sam’s efforts to produce a meaningful engagement story for Bela, Jay realizes he should redo his proposal to Sam. The couple had a lackluster engagement story so Jay recreated the vacation to the Bahamas and showed Sam the beautiful yet comedic engagement he had planned for her. The touching display makes Sam thankful to be able to spend her life with Jay.
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