Ghosts – Smooching and Smushing

By: Gladys Luna

Sasappis (Román Zaragoza) finds out that he is still attached to his old feelings for Shiki (Crystle Lightning), a Lenape woman with whom he had been in love with since they both were alive and has recently discovered that she is also interested in him. With the encouragement of Joan (Taylor Ortega) – his almost new lover – he is determined to find a way to meet with her but since he is unable to go beyond the Mansion’s boundaries, he plans to use the broken ghost trap that is at the basement and see if he can actually be reunited with his lover. 

Looking visibly lovesick and worried, Sas longs for Shiki while expressing his concerns to the other ghosts Pete (Richie Moriarty), Alberta (Danielle Pinnock), Trevor (Asher Grodman), Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) and Nigel (John Hartman). Alberta and Trevor mock of him thinking that he is being way too dramatic over someone he had only interacted with for five seconds but he does not care for it. Soon, Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) join them and he tells them his plans on fixing the ghost trap and crossing the boundaries as well as he asks for their assistance to accomplish it. As it is expected, the couple agrees to it but without giving any promises away. 

Later, they all go to the basement and each of them offer a possible way to fix the old thing but nothing seems to be of use until Flower (Sheila Carrasco) sheds some light as she masterfully explains the actual way to fix the trap leaving everyone else dumbfounded. Next, Flower and Trevor are hanging out at the tv room while he is intending to buy the original ice skates that actress Moira Kelly used on a film called The Cutting Edge, even though he is all excited about it, Flower wastes no time in expressing that he should try to do something good with all of his money since he is the only one with a job there. She offers some suggestions such as donating to a charity and pivoting from being capitalist pig but he is certain that she only speaks like that because she does not have any money to spend. 

Later on, everyone gathers again at the living room listening to Sas dramatically speaking about his spiritual connection to Shiki and how he feels that the opportunity to meet with her is running out of his hands with every passing second. Joan has now joined them and seems to agree with the others about him being exaggerated but he is still not willing to listen to anyone else. Sometime after, Jay is focused counting some stack of money while Hetty and Trevor watch him wondering what he is going to use it for. Soon, they learn that Jay has been saving money to buy a camera and the other two consider it to be such a waste. In that moment, Hetty gets an idea about how they can instead use the money to give an “educational lesson” to Flower and see if she can practice what she preaches so, they decide to take Jay’s money and hide it on a place where Flower is very likely to find it and indeed, she does but unlike what the pair expected, she uses it to buy meaningful gifts for everyone else, Jay included. And in a bold move, she outbids Trevor’s offer on the ice skates and then offers him for sale at a doubled price. 

Back to the basement, all of the ghosts are there watching Sas filled with desperation for crossing the barrier and see Shiki. Although the others are very insistent that he should wait for the trap to be fully repaired he does not listen and before he does something he might regret, Thor (Devan Chandler Long) rushes and prevents him from crossing the broken trap something that brings some sense to the ghost and also makes him grateful to the Viking for having saved him. Later, Sas is back at the Mansion looking deflated for his almost deranged act of love. Joan sits next to him and tries to make him come to his senses saying that he has been chasing the “ghost” of an idea of how things might turn out between him and Shiki based only in brief interactions between them and suggests that there might be other opportunities he might be missing – referring to her – right before his face and this time, Sas appears to understand what she means. Finally, he takes Joan’s hand and gathers the necessary courage to kiss her while the other ghosts look at them in awe. Flower claps in excitement and motivates them to go find some “spiritual connection.” Alberta and Pete congratulate them and when Trevor asks him about Shiki, Sas pretends not to remember who she is anymore.