Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Ghosts season 4, episode 5, “A Star Is Dead”
SinceGhostsseason 4 has made Alberta’s power into something of a running joke in recent episodes, it was a surprise to see episode 5 waste a chance to utilize her unique skill.The ghost powers ofGhostsseason 4’sundead characters are complex, to say the least. Initially, it seemed as if the spirits of the Woodstone Mansion had relatively limited abilities that didn’t impact their plots too dramatically. Thor could mess with electricity and even accidentally burn down a gazebo, but Trevor and Alberta could only move tiny objects and hum audibly. These quirks were fun but hardly earth-shattering.
Frank’s Ghosts Season 4 Debut Emphasizes A Harsh Reality About Sam’s Powers
Although Ghosts season 4 did reunite Sam with her father, the hit CBS sitcom couldn’t hide how tragic Sam’s powers make her family relationships.
Then, season 3 revealed that Sass could enter other people’s dreams and Pete could leave the boundary of the mansion and travel anywhere on Earth. Things escalated further whenGhostsseason 4’s cast of charactersintroduced Mary Holland’s Patience to the mix.Ghostsseason 4’s new character Patiencecould make the walls of the mansion bleed, a power that left the rest of the ghosts terrified and in awe of her. Hetty was understandably desperate to find out her power after this, while Alberta was left defending her humming as it became a running joke.
Alberta’s Humming Power Could Have Helped Sam’s Ghosts Season 4 Story
Alberta Could Have Distracted Sam’s Competition
Among the other ghosts,Alberta’s humming power became a subject of mockery inGhostsseason 4. Since the former nightclub performer loved the spotlight, Alberta struggled with the idea that she had a less impressive power than most ghosts. However, after weeks of other ghosts mocking her ability and her defending it, Alberta missed a chance to utilize her ghost power in season 4, episode 5, “A Star Is Dead.” Alberta promised to help Sam overcome her stage fright and audition for a stage production of Cole Porter’sAnything Goes. As the audition approached, Alberta tried to secretly sabotage Sam’s competition.
Alberta could have hummed loud enough for Sam’s rival actor, but no one else, to hear as she auditioned.
Alberta asked Flower to walk through the other actor as she auditioned, thus getting her high and ruining her audition. However, Alberta could have hummed loud enough for Sam’s rival actor, but no one else, to hear as she auditioned, thus ruining her audition and allowing Sam to get the part. While “A Star is Dead” gave viewersSass’s bestGhostsseason 4 storylineso far, the episode missed a trick by passing this task on to Flower. Inevitably, the dimwitted Flower accidentally told Sam the plan before they could go through with it, causing her to storm off angrily.
Ghosts Using Alberta’s Powers Would Have Undercut Her & Sam’s Hard Work
To be fair, the episode needed Flower to blithely give away the plan to Sam, since this allowed Alberta to call it off and Sam to succeed on her own merits. Sam needed to feel like she was genuinely talented to win the part, thus justifying Flower’s role in the scheme. Admittedly, Alberta could have used her humming and Sam could have stopped her once she recognized Alberta’s plan. However, this would have required Sam to intervene in the middle of another actor’s audition, which would have been awkward and unprofessional. Thus,Ghostsseason 4 was better off ignoring Alberta’s power in this subplot.
