‘Ghosts’ Bosses Break Down Sam’s Holiday Possession and Introduction of the Others

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Ghosts Season 5 Episodes 9 & 10, “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol.”]

Ghosts is keeping up with its penchant for honoring classic pop culture in its latest holiday episode, “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” which takes elements of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol to take Sam (Rose McIver) on a journey to understand the role Woodstone’s ghosts have had in her life, as well as put into perspective her equal impact on them.

“It seemed like [a perfect opportunity] to do our version of it,” co-showrunner Joe Wiseman shared of the pop culture influence over this year’s Ghostmas event. “We had a ghost whose name was Carol (Caroline Aaron), and it seemed like we had our title right there.”

“We look forward to doing the two-part Christmas episode every year, and so we always want to make them big and fun,” he adds. “And it seemed like time to do an episode that was reflective about how our characters have all affected each other and affected Sam and Jay.”

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

Over the hour-long event, Sam is invited to be a featured guest on a national broadcast to promote her book as a potential Christmas gift idea. But as she prepares for the occasion, Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) decides he wants to gift his girlfriend, Flower (Sheila Carrasco), with the opportunity to possess a body so she can satisfy her longstanding munchies.

Things go sideways, though, when Flower occupies Sam’s body after Thorfinn manipulates electricity in Woodstone’s holiday village display. When she uses Sam’s body to test out drugs from the kitchen staff at Mahesh, Sam gets so high she messes up her interview as Flower takes over her body.

Once she reclaims it, Sam yells at the ghosts and expresses regret for having been able to see them at all. When Sam awakens the next morning, after wishing she had never been able to see the ghosts, she is given the opportunity to see what her life at Woodstone would be like without that ability, while also seeing what the ghosts would be up to without her.

All of their existences were seemingly miserable, with rifts between Sam and Jay, and ghosts carrying on in an inauthentic way, most notably with Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) and Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) gearing up for nuptials. Sam was guided along by Carol (Caroline Aaron), who fulfilled that angel archetype.

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

“I was very excited to find a way to bring Caroline Aaron back,” gushes co-showrunner Joe Port. “She’s a legend, and we love her. So we were sad to see her go. We wanted her sacrifice at the beginning of the season to be one that hurt a little to make it significant,” he adds in reference ot Carol being “sucked off” earlier this season. “So it was nice to be able to bring her back.”

In the end, Sam learns that her experience was mostly a dream, an effect of the drugs Flower tested while possessing her. Ultimately, she’s able to do her interview (with guest star Larry Wilmore) and celebrate the holidays in peace, having seen the mutual impact she and the ghosts have had on one another.

“One nice thing I like is that it was a way to demonstrate that a lot of the ghosts have come a long way and have really been enriched by the lessons they’ve learned since Sam and Jay moved in and she got the power,” Wiseman notes.

As for selecting Sam as the possession victim once again, it was an easy choice for “the Joes” as stars often refer to the showrunners. As Port points out, McIver had previously done a lot of mimicry on iZombie. “It’s such a weapon to have somebody who’s that good of an actor and can bring that ability,” he gushes.

Related

'Ghost' Star Breaks Down Alberta's Secret Past as Esther Greene

Outside of Sam’s storyline with most of the ghosts, Trevor (Asher Grodman) found himself commiserating over his lack of Christmas spirit because of being Jewish alongside Quaker, Patience (Mary Holland). Ultimately, the pair ended up kissing, leading to what Port calls “one of the weirdest scenes we’ve had in the history of the series thus far.”

But despite Patience’s initial regret for the kiss, she begins to think it through and suggests she and Trevor explore their connection more, introducing him to the long-teased “Others,” she’s supposedly met in the dirt.

“When we come back… We are going to meet the ‘Others,'” Wiseman promises. “We’re basically going to pick up where the previous episode left off, and that was part of our decision to meet the ‘Others.'” Ghosts will take an extended break over the winter, returning in late February post-Winter Olympics, giving fans plenty of time to ponder the identities behind these new ghosts. Until then, let us know what you thought of the reveal, and don’t miss Ghosts when Season 5 continues in the new year.

Ghosts, Season 5, Returning Thursday, February 26, 2026, 8:30/7:30c, CBS