"The Owl"
After a nine-month hiatus, the hit comedy Ghosts returns to CBS and Paramount Plus. The humans of Woodstone Manor learn which of their ghost friends has left them, and each of the ghosts experiences a new form of grief.
One of the best paranormal comedies on television returned as season three of Ghosts returned on CBS. Season two ended on the cliffhanger of one of the ghosts being “sucked off” (yes, that’s what they call it on the show). The season three premiere started with our human guides trying to determine which ghost has moved on from Woodstone Manor. The revelation leads to hijinks that have ramifications for the season premiere episode and sets up storylines for the rest of the season.
Flower Moves On
After a hilarious head count that involves Jay looking for ghosts he can’t see, fears about Isaac and Nigel, as well as hope that it was a lesser seen basement or attic ghost, it is revealed that Flower, the hippie ghost, has been “sucked off” or ascended to Heaven. A bear mauled Flower to death on the property while she was in a drug induced state leading to her being very loving but very forgetful in her afterlife.
Most of the main ghosts were struggling with losing Flower, but none was hit harder than Thorfin, a Viking ghost who started a relationship with the hippie in season two. Her peace and love attitude was constantly in contrast with his war and pillaging lifestyle that created lots of humor for the series creators from which to draw.
The rest of the episode was spent with Sam realizing how much the ghosts have become a part of her life and how much she is going to miss Flower. Meanwhile, Thorfin learns of reincarnation and believes an owl that has taken up residence in Sam and Jay’s barn is now Flower. Sam and Jay need to relocate the owl, so the barn can be turned into a restaurant for Jay to practice his culinary skills. Thorfin doesn’t want the owl moved and threatens to burn the barn down with his electricity ghost powers if the humans don’t listen to him.
Eventually, a memorial is held for Flower, and all the ghosts and Sam talk about how they will miss her. This includes the cholera ghosts who live in the basement as they said Flower treated them the best of any of the upstairs ghosts.
Why Flower was the right choice.
There was a lot of speculation from fans of Ghosts about who would be “sucked off.” The season two finale aired in May 2023. Writers and actors' strikes forced the series premiere, which would normally have aired in September, to be delayed to February. Nine months is a long time to form head canons, and the decision to remove Flower led to some backlash online. Granted, removing almost any of the main ghosts would have resulted in some form of backlash.
The producers conducted an interview with Variety where they discussed the decision to remove Flower from the core group. They believed she provided them the best option for evolving storylines. I must say, I believe them to be correct.
While Flower’s relationship with Thorfin was a constant laugh factory for the show in season two, that would eventually turn into diminishing returns. Either they would’ve had to break up or one of them would have had to leave anyway. I believe the showrunners could’ve gotten through this season with some great laughs, but that would’ve been the end of their relationship and it’s better to separate them too early rather than too late. Devan Chandler Jones killed it in this episode with his grief over Flower’s loss and his affection for an owl he believed to be her spirit.
The creators could’ve chosen either a basement ghost, the attic ghost or Crash, a 1950s greaser ghost who was decapitated and is more of recurring character than most of the main cast. One of them would have made for an entertaining episode, but there really wouldn’t have been any long lasting ramifications that could evolve the show. Series like this can flounder and die on the vine if they don’t advance storylines properly. Choosing Flower gave them somebody to get an entire season, or maybe more, of storylines from rather than just one episode.
Flower also creates some of the most passionate responses from fans. It has to be someone the fans care about. From the main cast, there are a few that could advance some storylines but fans wouldn’t miss. They haven’t reached Nikki and Paolo levels from Lost, but many fans wouldn’t be sad if they left. Flower was among the most popular characters, so her loss will be felt by fans just as much as the ghosts and humans on the show. My wife was voicing her displeasure at the decision as soon as she learned it was Flower. She’s come around to accepting it can help the show if done right, but she’s still not happy Flower won’t be a regular cast member anymore. I was convinced it would be a bait and switch, and Flower would be found wandering the grounds in one of her drug-induced stupors after everyone had said their “goodbyes.” While that could’ve worked, I’m glad they didn’t do that as her former presence weighing over everyone means some good for the future of the show.
Conclusion
Like many other fans, I’m going to miss Flower because she was a top three ghost for me (right behind Pete and Thorfin). Still, I’m excited to see how her leaving affects many of the other ghosts. There’s already hints that we will learn Sass’s ghost power and we will learn how one of the other ghosts died. The season started with a bang, and I’m truly excited to see what they will do going forward.
Check out Ghosts Thursdays on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.
I never thought I'd ask this, but are you mad that Flower got "sucked off?"
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Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2024
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