"He Needs A Little Bit Of Time": Ghosts Season 4 Episode 18 Ending Explained By Star Román Zaragoza
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ghosts season 4, episode 18.
Ghosts season 4 is currently airing Thursdays on CBS and has already been renewed for an additional two seasons. The show is a single-camera comedy about Samantha and Jay, a married couple who find their new mansion "inhabited by the many spirits of deceased residents who now call it home." Among them is Román Zaragoza's Sasappis, who has existed (in one form or another) for over 500 years.
Season 4, episode 18, "Smooching and Smushing" sees Sas finally find the romance he's been looking for with Joan, a ghost Pete brought back to the mansion. He goes on quite a journey before he can accept his true feelings, even facing a potential "smushing" to get to his former crush, Shiki. The installment ends on an uplifting note, with Sas and Joan sharing a kiss and Flower passionately shouting for them to have sex.
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ScreenRant interviews Román Zaragoza about the joy of giving Sasappis a meaningful love story, filming inside the ghost trap with Devan Chandler Long, and whether his character is ready to lose his virginity in Ghosts season 4.
Zaragoza Unpacks Sas' Feelings For Joan And Shiki
"He had to go on this journey with all of it, with Shiki, to get to a place where he feels ready."
ScreenRant: Sas hasn't had the best luck with romance in his 500+ years of life. How did you feel about having Joan as a new love interest for him?
Román Zaragoza: Firstly, Taylor Ortega is just amazing. Such an incredible actor to work with first and foremost. And then just for Sas to be able to have someone that truly wants him and challenges him and matches his energy—I think he's been waiting for this strong person to come into his life to be like, "No, you're good. You're great. I want to be with you." And it's like, "Whoa." It was almost intense for him to feel at first. And then he had to go on this journey with all of it, with Shiki, to get to a place where he feels ready.
What was it like to give Sas that moment of connection he may have never felt before?
Román Zaragoza: It's even interesting to be playing this character where, over the last four seasons, he's had these little glimpses of connection with Jessica, the car ghost. And to feel seen is such a big thing for anybody. And I think for someone who, for the last 500 years has been pining over someone who said "hi" to him 13 times, it was massive.
It was massive to feel that energy even on set—to feel like "Wow," and feeling seen. It was beautiful. I don't even know. I'm even lost for words for it. But it is a beautiful thing. And I think in addition to that, for me as a multicultural person of color, playing almost like a romantic lead for that moment on national TV is also a very big moment. And to have that moment of connection, it meant so much to me, and I don't take it lightly. And I think that's the beauty of representation.
Does Sas have genuine feelings for Shiki?
Román Zaragoza: It's so tough. I think about how so many people will romanticize and fantasize about things that aren't necessarily real, but in the moment, it feels so real. It's so hard to pull yourself out of it. And I think for Sas, that is what happened. He associates her with a time of his actual life. And so how can you even compare someone that is not from your tribe and your culture?
There are so many elements that he connected with her—at least in his head—connected with her on. Even though they only said "hi" thirteen times, there was something in his head where he was like, "No, this is right. This is who I need to be with." And I think he needed to break that, which is really hard for people to do. It took him a long time.
I think he was holding onto that for the last 500 years, so it took someone to really take him out of it. And I'm sure he's still going to work through that potentially over these next few years, but I feel very grateful that he's on this path of releasing that a little bit.
The Cast Never Considered The Ghost Trap As A Way Off The Property
"I've loved the idea of it that our amazing showrunners thought of because that was genius."
Were the ghosts right for wanting to prevent this by lying about Shiki's feelings?
Román Zaragoza: That's always so hard. That's such a hard question because if they were to have hid it, then he could have just moved on and things would've been fine. But I think hiding any truth would eventually disrupt friendships and relationships because there's always going to be hiding something.
And who knows if he would've been able to contact Shiki later? And to find that out later would've been even more devastating. So I think for him to be confronted with that, he had to go on this journey with all of this. I think it was inevitable, and I think it was meant to be. He went on that journey, and he figured it out.
Did you and the cast ever consider that the ghost trap could let you cross the property line?
Román Zaragoza: We never thought of it. I've loved the idea of it that our amazing showrunners thought of because that was genius. What if? There are all these questions of the ghost rules, and it's like, "Let's test it." But the scary part about it is, if you test it, and you are the tester, and it goes wrong, what does that mean? And I think that is what happened to Sas. He was willing to do it and then last minute was like, "Nevermind, I don't want to do this."
What is it like to act from inside the ghost trap? I'm imagining you're in a very small room, and you have to shout up at people.
Román Zaragoza: It's a really cool thing that they built. It's on one of our different sets, and it is a pretty confined space. And, of course, the top is open for the camera to come down, but especially with Devan, it was a little tight. It was a little tight. [Laughs]
The Ending Of Ghosts Season 4, Episode 18 Doesn't Mean Sas Is Ready To Lose His V-Card Just Yet
"He's been thinking about someone who said "hi" to him thirteen times in the last 500 years."
Joan comes back at the end of the episode, they kiss, and Flower shouts at them to have sex. Does this mean that Sas is ready to lose his 500+ year virginity, or are we starting slow?
Román Zaragoza: I think we're going to take it slow. It's a lot for him to do all at once. He's been thinking about someone who said "hi" to him thirteen times in the last 500 years. I feel like he needs a little bit of time. But to feel that connection with Joan was amazing and beautiful. I'm happy for him. It's really cute to think that I've been rooting for this guy for so long.
Will she be sticking around? Because she can...
Román Zaragoza: I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. She is a free spirit. She can roam, so who knows? But for Sas' sake, I hope she gets to stick around.
Is there anything else you can tease about Sas' storyline? We are approaching the season finale.
Román Zaragoza: Yeah, we are approaching the season finale. I don't want to give it away, but there's exciting stuff that's going to happen for Sas this year.
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About Ghosts Season 4 On CBS
Created By Joe Port And Joe Wiseman
Ghosts is a single-camera comedy about Samantha and Jay, a cheerful freelance journalist and up-and-coming chef from the city, respectively, who threw both caution and money to the wind when they decided to convert Woodstone Mansion, which Sam inherited, into a bed & breakfast – only to find it was inhabited by the many spirits of deceased residents who now call it home.
Check out our other Ghosts interviews, as well:
- Asher Grodman
- NYCC 2024
- Román Zaragoza
- SDCC 2024
Ghosts season 4 airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS and is available to stream next-day on Paramount+.
Ghosts is a comedy series about Samantha and Jay, who convert a country estate into a bed-and-breakfast. Unbeknownst to them, the house is inhabited by ghosts of former residents, visible only to Samantha. The show blends humor with supernatural elements as the couple navigates their unusual challenges.
- Network
- CBS
- Cast
- Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock, Richie Moriarty, Caroline Aaron, Tacey Adams, Toby Berner, Kimmy Choi, Lindsey Broad, Dallas Goldtooth, Sam Ashe Arnold, Odessa A'zion, Thomas Wilkinson Fullerton, Al Connors, Elizabeth Eveillard, Julius Cho, Christina Filippidis, Román Zaragoza, Lindura, Carolyn Taylor, Asher Grodman, Rebecca Wisocky, Sheila Carrasco, Devan Chandler Long
- Directors
- Christine Gernon, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Katie Locke O'Brien, Nick Wong, Jude Weng, Pete Chatmon, Richie Keen, Alex Hardcastle, Kimmy Gatewood, Matthew A. Cherry, Cortney Carrillo
- Writers
- Emily Schmidt, John Timothy, Lauren Bridges, Sophia Lear, Guy Endore-Kaiser, Rishi Chitkara, Julia Harter, Skander Halim, Zora Bikangaga
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Creator(s)
- Joe Port, Joe Wiseman
- Producers
- Alison Owen, Josh Malmuth, Angie Stephenson, Alison Carpenter, Jim Kontos, Trey Kollmer, John Blickstead, Mathew Baynton, Laurence Rickard, Kira Kalush, Debra Hayward, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Ben Willbond, Joe Wiseman, Joe Port, Irene Litinsky
- Seasons
- 5
- Streaming Service(s)
- MAX
