Unlike last season, no spirit was “sucked off” into heaven during the May 8 “Ghost” Season 4 finale (now streaming on Paramount+).
But the episode featured a majorly hot spiritual development: Former Pinecone Trooper Pete Martino (Richie Moriarty), the ghost with the fatal archery arrow still stuck through his neck, finally hit the lip target with fellow spirit Alberta Haynes (Danielle Pinnock), the 1920s Prohibition-era jazz singer and poisoning victim.
Their long-awaited smooch was so otherworldly smoking that Alberta could only gasp, “Oh, my!”
“It’s a kiss that’s been a long time in the making,” says executive producer Joe Wiseman, who writes the CBS hit comedy with fellow executive producer Joe Port. “Pete has always had a thing for Alberta. And during past seasons, we’ve chipped away at Alberta’s reluctance about Pete. It finally pays off in the finale.”
Pete finally flexed his oboe-enhanced ‘lip strength’ in kissing Alberta
Pete and Alberta have shown hints of couple chemistry since the 2021 premiere of the CBS comedy. In Season 2, Alberta gently rebuffed Pete’s amorous advance. And in the April 20 episode, Pete gently denied Alberta due to his outside ghost girlfriend, Donna.
Yet Alberta has stayed in the game, attracted to Pete’s growing confidence (spurred by his newfound power of leaving the residence) and his scout shorts and knee-high socks wardrobe. So the power pucker finally prevails, despite Donna.
“Lip strength,” Pete says silkily, post-kiss, as Alberta swoons. “That’s from my oboe days.”
The latest ghost hookup is a big deal for haunted Woodstone Mansion, the family estate inherited by living ancestor Samantha (Rose McIver) and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar). Except for Pete, the ghosts from different eras who died on the grounds cannot leave – even if the love doesn’t work out.
“We have to put ourselves in the ghosts’ shoes,” says Port. “If you have tried to have a relationship with someone with whom you’ll be stuck forever in a house and it doesn’t work out, the stakes are very high. So we proceed cautiously when pairing people up.”
Here’s who’s paired up on “Ghosts”:
Joan helped Sasappis lose his 500-year-old virginity
Sasappis (Román Zaragoza), the Native American ghost from the 16th century and a member of the Lenape tribe, had been a reluctant virgin for 500 years until the season’s penultimate episode. Sass and new ghost Joan (Taylor Ortega), a 1940s screenwriter, tapped out the happy conclusion to that saga.
“We saw some kissing and then some disastrous foreplay,” says Port. “And then we left the rest of the imagination.”
Thorfinn and Flower are powering on in ‘Ghosts’
Stranded Viking Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long), the oldest spirit haunting the mansion, died from a lightning strike. Thorfinn was struck again by ghost love with free-spirited 1960s hippie Flower (Sheila Carrasco) in Season 2. Despite significant cultural and personality differences, the two are still going strong.
Hetty and pantsless Trevor are ‘not together’
Onetime robber baroness Henrietta “Hetty” Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocky), Sam’s ancestor, somehow got together with cocky and pantsless former Wall Street broker Trevor Lefkowitz (Asher Grodman) in Season 2. The paranormal relationship has had ups and downs since. “But they are not together,” says Port.
Nigel and Isaac had post-Revolutionary War love
They were avowed enemies of war: American Revolutionary War veteran Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones) and British officer Nigel Chessum (John Hartman) found unlikely love in Season 2. In the Season 3 finale, Isaac was unable to wed Nigel, leaving his would-be spouse at the altar. The duo has had to work to salvage a friendship.
What will happen to ‘Ghosts’ love?
There is a non-romantic Season 4 finale cliffhanger involving Jay. The aspiring restaurateur accidentally sells his soul to the devil for a PR blitz that includes a foodie magazine cover story – and the devil’s emissary, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), is trying to kill Jay to expedite the soul-collecting process.
Jay’s eternal fate, along with the growing love connections – including Alberta and Pete’s – will have to wait until Season 5 next fall. There is one sure thing. Despite the heat, the “Ghosts” hookups won’t get racier.
“That’s been suggested, but we’re never going to become ‘Cinemax After Dark’ or whatever,” says Port. “This is a CBS family show.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete and Alberta end ‘Ghosts’ Season 4 with a kiss: CBS show’s couples
