‘Ghosts’ Star Brandon Scott Jones on Isaac’s Fashionable Rivalry With Alexander Hamilton

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Ghosts Season 4 Episode 14, “Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle.”]

Ghosts delivers on some long-teased Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) lore as the latest installment, “Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle,” unveils the origin of his rivalry with none other than Alexander Hamilton (Nat Faxon).

When Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) complains about a rival chef and wants to outdo them, Isaac relays to Sam (Rose McIver) that Jay shouldn’t let a rivalry get the best of him as he knows from personal experience that the consequences aren’t worth it. But what were the consequences in Isaac’s rivalry with Hamilton?

Sharing the tale, Isaac reveals that it all began when he went to pick up a ruffle before meeting with other revolutionaries to discuss the Declaration of Independence. It turns out the ruffle he reserved wasn’t available anymore and that Hamilton had seemingly taken it for himself.

This meant Isaac was forced to find an alternative that was anything but fashionable. When Isaac noticed Hamilton’s ruffle at the gathering, he couldn’t help but call the man out, asking if he took the one he’d reserved at the store. Hamilton dodged Isaac and gaslit him for the majority of the evening.

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

When it came time to begin finalizing the draft of the Declaration of Independence, Isaac’s insistence in getting Hamilton to admit his wrongdoing led to a series of events in which he accidentally damaged the document. His actions led to his dismissal from the meeting and the loss of a chance to eventually sign the historical document.

While sharing his tale though, Isaac’s words catch Pete’s (Richie Moriarty) ear, and the scout spirit asks Isaac if he’s ever read the Declaration of Independence himself. It turns out he hadn’t, and in the process, he learns that his use of the words “pursuit of happiness” were used in the final draft. This means that, although Isaac may not have signed it, he left his mark on the historic document with that turn of phrase.

It’s a touching revelation, but one with its drawbacks as Jones tells TV Insider, “Had [Isaac] not messed this up for himself, his words would probably be all over that place if he was able to just let his petty stuff go. I think that’s kind of wild.” Additionally, the star notes that he sees Isaac as a bit of an unreliable narrator, noting Isaac’s “a little bit of a history revisionist, wherein the noble and virtuous effort of trying to make Jay feel better, I could see Isaac maybe embellishing some details here and there that maybe make him look a little bit better.”

While that’s Jones’ opinion and not canonical to the episode itself, it makes sense. After all, did Hamilton really shut the door on Isaac’s face after slyly revealing he did steal the reserved ruffle? In the script he does, but it is a detail that feels fashioned by Isaac.

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

Although Isaac may have had beef with Hamilton, Jones was excited to go toe-to-toe with Faxon when he learned about the episode and storyline. “When I found out Nat Faxon was going to do it, I was very thrilled because I’ve been a fan of his,” Jones gushes. “He’s such an amazing actor, obviously an amazing writer — an Oscar winner — but I had never met him, and I had so many people reach out to me and be like, ‘You’re going to love him. He’s amazing. He’s great.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, cool.’ So he had a pretty big reputation to live up to when he came, and he just really exceeded all of that.”

So, while the rivalry may be reserved for the screen, it was all fun and games behind the scenes, especially when it came to the ridiculous ruffle Isaac had to wear at the gathering. “We had multiple fittings for this ruffle because we knew it had to be cumbersome. We knew it had to be this thing that felt enormous, but you didn’t want it to go so cartoony that it would be ridiculous,” Jones says.

“We ultimately started to get specific with it and added some wiring so that when he would push it down, it would spring back up,” Jones says of the design. “And it was a really fun process to work on something for the character that was comedic, that wasn’t necessarily a written line of dialogue, it was just a piece that he was wearing.”

Jones gives props to costume designer Carmen Alie: “She did such a great job piecing that together and making it a custom ruffle, if you can believe it.”

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In many ways, Isaac’s story revolves around his being shut out of exclusive opportunities and feeling excluded by his peers. And we’ve seen that impact continue in his afterlife as he requested a ghost table be reserved for him and Woodstone’s other spirits at the B&B’s restaurant Mahesh. “He’s sensing an opportunity to make things the way he wants to make them,” says Jones. “Coming out later in life and expressing his feelings for somebody… it’s almost like it took him dying and 250 years to start to live.”

As for whether we’ll see any more history between Isaac and Hamilton, only time will tell. For now, we’re a little caught up on the final minutes of the episode teasing Elias’ (Matt Walsh) turn as a demon who is trying to get Jay to sign a contract. Will that mean something moving forward? Jones teases, “I love that we don’t know exactly what this meeting is and what the result of that meeting is. I definitely know that will come back into play in a big way as the season moves towards its finale.”

Consider us intrigued! Don’t miss Ghosts as Season 4 continues on CBS, and let us know what you thought of Isaac’s story with Alexander Hamilton in the comments section, below.

Ghosts, Season 4, Thursdays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS