Ghosts Season 5 Christmas Episode: Sam’s Life Without Powers

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Warning! Spoilers ahead for Ghosts season 5, “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol.”

Most long-running sitcoms balance character development with keeping characters relatable through their flaws. But Ghosts has a unique problem: if the ghosts change too much, they disappear. This explains why the spirits haven’t changed much over five seasons, though it doesn’t explain why the main character, Sam, doesn’t seem to be progressing in a compelling way.

Sam is caught between the world of the living and the spirit world, which is difficult for Jay to watch. He can’t help because Sam is constantly being called upon by the ghosts at Woodstone Manor.

Fans often wonder if Sam’s life is improved or worsened by her ability to see ghosts, but it’s a pointless debate – the show wouldn’t exist without it. However, the Christmas episode of Ghosts season 5 explores what Sam’s life would be like if she hadn’t developed those powers in the first place.

Ghosts Shows How The Spirits Impacted Sam’s Life For The Better

“Christmas Carol” Shows Sam Her Alternative Life Without Powers

Photo: CBS via CBS Entertainment.

The fifth season of Ghosts features a Christmas episode that’s both fun and deeply thoughtful, drawing inspiration from classics like A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life. The show fully embraces the spirit of the holidays and its supernatural themes, using a “what if” storyline to delve into different possibilities for Sam’s life.

Okay, so the latest episode, “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” really starts with me feeling for Sam. Honestly, it’s getting to the point where even though the ghosts at Woodstone Manor mean well, they just keep messing up her life – both at work and personally! I was right there with her when she wished she’d never even started seeing ghosts in the first place. It’s so relatable!

That night, Carol returned to visit Sam for the first time since disappearing at the start of season 5. She showed Sam a different version of reality – one where Sam’s wish had come true. In this alternate world, Sam’s life was much better. Without the ghosts constantly around, her bed and breakfast was thriving, and she had a much more active social life.

However, removing the supernatural elements has consequences: Jay never makes the move to Hudson Valley, which creates problems in their marriage, and a different version of Sam is being deceived online by Trevor. By the end of the episode, the original Sam understands that the excitement and humor brought by the ghosts are actually essential to the life she loves.

Realizing how her wish had gone wrong, she desperately wanted things to go back to normal, and miraculously, she woke up to find her life restored. True to the style of the show Ghosts, the spirits’ meddling, while causing trouble, actually helped Sam find happiness in the end, demonstrating the show’s central theme of finding balance between chaos and genuine connection.

Are The Woodstone Manor Ghosts Worth The Headache For Sam?

The Christmas Episode Says Yes, But I’m Not Convinced

Photo: CBS via CBS Entertainment.

Sam has always been somewhat bothered by the ghosts at Woodstone Manor, but the recent holiday episode, “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” really highlights that tension. Earlier this season, Jay confronted the ghosts for pressuring his wife, and this episode continues to explore that idea – that the spirits are taking advantage of her.

Sam has to face the fact that spirits, no matter their motives, always throw her life and relationships into chaos. The episode uses the Christmas setting to hint that Sam will realize she appreciates her life just as it was and ultimately wants to restore it to how it used to be.

However, the story doesn’t quite delve into the deeper emotional impact, choosing instead to highlight the funny and frightening experience of being deceived by Trevor in this other version of events. Even though Sam ultimately makes a different choice at the end, it doesn’t undo the reasons why she initially wanted to lose her abilities.

This highlights just how much Sam helps the ghosts. It’s not simply about her doing things for them, like baking to stimulate their senses, but the significant impact she has on their lives after death. Without Sam, major events wouldn’t happen: Isaac would never come to terms with his sexuality, Flower would remain stuck in the well, Pete and Alberta wouldn’t fall in love, and Thor would never find out about his son’s presence nearby.

This episode clearly shows that Sam has actually improved the ghosts’ lives. While fans often believe the ghosts make things harder for Sam – and they often do – the show doesn’t quite explain why Sam has to deal with so much trouble.

The appearance of ghosts overshadows Sam’s successful bed and breakfast and her active social life, leaving me unconvinced that reversing her wish was the best decision for her.

Ghosts Needs To Find A Happy Medium For Sam & The Spirits

Sam Prioritizes The Spirits At Her Personal & Financial Well-Being

Photo: CBS via CBS Entertainment.

Sam doesn’t have to completely shut out the spirits, nor does she have to do everything they ask. This episode shows that even though the spirits have complicated her life, they can sometimes actually help her, hinting that she and the spirits could find a way to coexist more peacefully.

The spirits don’t really understand how important Sam’s experience is. Most of them think it was just a hallucination caused by drugs, and because of this, they aren’t learning to appreciate things or take accountability. Despite this, things are improving: when Flower takes over Sam’s body right before a big interview, the other spirits actually work together to help Sam get back in control.

The show typically throws Sam and Jay into embarrassing situations – many great Ghosts episodes prove that. But in this episode, the ghosts actually help her out. It makes me think Sam can finally balance her life with her ghostly friends and still have her own experiences.

The show needs to further develop the relationships between the ghosts and Sam. If it doesn’t, the important lessons from the recent holiday episode won’t feel genuine. Ghosts has demonstrated it can still grow and tell compelling stories, proving that humor and emotional depth can coexist with Sam having a real impact on the plot.

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2025-12-22 19:00