Editor’s Note: The below contains spoilers for Ghosts Season 3.

The Big Picture

• Patience, a Puritan ghost, abducts Isaac in the Ghosts Season 3 finale after he abandoned her in 1895.
• Alberta hints at Isaac's fate, while supernatural elements across the series tease a potential horror shift for Season 4.
• Incorporating horror for the next season of Ghosts can add depth, engage viewers, and create opportunities for character development.

It was another gasp-worthy cliffhanger on Thursday night’s Ghosts Season 3 finale! Following last season’s summer-long disbelief over one of Woodstone’s “main eight” ghosts getting “sucked off,” the Joe Port and Joe Wiseman series delivered one of the more shocking — and spooky, if you may — disappearances of the season. With the show finally landing on its feet following a topsy-turvy 10 episodes that left audiences on the fence, the Season 3 finale embraced an unexpected twist that opens the door for more in the series’ beloved lore. In the show’s final moments, which finds Isaac (played brilliantly by Brandon Scott Jones) in the basement with the cholera ghosts, the American militiaman gets pulled into the darkness by the estate’s feral and vengeful Puritan ghost, Patience. But why did Patience take him away? Who is she, and what does this all mean for Season 4? To answer that, we need to look back at one episode in particular.

Why Did Patience Abduct Isaac in the ‘Ghosts’ Season 3 Finale?

To understand why Patience abducts Isaac in the Season 3 finale, we have to look back at this season’s previous episode, “Holes Are Bad.” While the Woodstone bunch are trying their hardest to save Flower (Sheila Carrasco) from the well, Isaac and Sasappis (Román Zaragoza) reveal to the spirits how the two of them, along with Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) and Patience were once trapped in a hole and the only way to escape was to walk through the dirt. With the three Woodstone ghosts and Patience working together to get back to the manor’s basement, along the way Isaac sneezes and accidentally loses her hand, leaving her to an unknown fate.

The ghostly survivors admit they don’t know what became of her, but imagine she has become feral living underground alone since 1895, which, if you do the math, is 129 years! Oy vey. While audiences only get a tease about this in “Holes Are Bad,” two episodes later in the finale, “Isaac’s Wedding,” we find out from Flower that while she was calling for help in the well, she made a friend. Of course, it’s Patience! In her admission to Sam (Rose McIver) and her fellow spirit, Alberta (Danielle Pinnock), the ‘60s hippie ghost reveals Patience was “attracted by the sounds” of her screams and knows Isaac. In fact, she is “obsessed” with the American Revolutionary War captain and “only ever talks about him.” It’s at this moment, we get one of Alberta’s signature “shooketh” faces.

Alberta Hints at Isaac’s Next Chapter in the ‘Ghosts’ Season 3 Finale

Cut to the episode’s final scenes and a tragically failed wedding between Isaac and Nigel (John Hartman), and we’re in the basement with the cholera ghosts who have a gift for Captain Higgintoot. But before our favorite ghost goes missing, only a few of Woodstone’s spirits know what happened in those final moments. Earlier in the episode, the cholera ghosts, led by Nancy (Betsy Sodoro) are told they cannot come to the wedding. While this upsets them greatly and the cholera spirits attempt to get back at the upstairs ghosts, a dark figure emerges from the basement wall. Decked out in the most fashionable garb of the 1890s, the Puritan spirit has her head down while not much else can be seen. (It’s giving The Ring.) Her very appearance being shaded by the darkness says a lot about what her motives are leading to.

Fast-forward to the moment when Isaac comes down to visit the cholera ghosts, who reveal that though they are sorry he and Nigel broke up, they have a gift for him. As they are all suddenly looking around for Patience much to Isaac’s oblivion, he is suddenly yanked from behind into the shadows of the basement wall leading to the exterior of Woodstone’s grounds with a small, feminine voice saying, “God bless you!” as a quip to his sneeze that left her behind all those years ago. With the cholera ghosts left stunned, Nancy says no one should tell anyone upstairs what happened. Audiences will surely be gasping as loudly as Isaac, but it’s also a moment that is foreshadowed shortly after his breakup with Nigel in the living room. As all his friends tell him it’s OK, Alberta admits how his failed relationship is not the end of the world and, with everything they’ve all been through this year with relationships, “Death has some surprises for you yet!” The surprise is definitely one no one saw coming!

‘Ghosts’ Has the Potential to Lean Into Horror for Season 4

Knowing that Patience has lived on her own in the deep, dark soil of Woodstone’s grounds is enough for the series to dig deep into some more horror elements for Season 4. Sure, Ghosts is a comedy and horror might seem like the polar opposite of the CBS sitcom, but if done right, they can be intertwined to build toward tension and its eventual release. Both share common elements of suspense and absurdity, while also aligning most strongly with timing. The final scene where Isaac gets pulled back into the darkness by a vengeful ghost is the perfect blend of both elements, delivering a well-timed jump scare and a punchline from Nancy that softens the fright.

Ghosts has never had a problem mixing horror with comedy, but they’ve been light on it. With the arrival of Patience in Season 4 and expanding the Woodstone lore of soil ghosts who now exist, the series has the potential to subvert expectations for the audience to create surprise and impact. We’ve seen it a few times in the series — the best examples being the campy, slasher horror nightmare that took attic girl Stephanie’s (Odessa A’zion) life and even how Crash (Alex Boniello) can separate his decapitated head from his body. Introducing more horror elements has the potential to keep viewers engaged, but also increase the suspense from the world they live in.

In “Isaac’s Wedding,” the effects of Pete’s (Richie Moriarty) power let him leave the property and explore life outside Woodstone. But while in St. Lucia and meeting a sweet, Loni Anderson-looking babe, the Scoutmaster’s hand starts to disappear. In understanding the limits to his power, the further he is away from the mansion, parts of him vanish into oblivion — that is until he returns home and is back to his former self. This alone is a horror element not just for the audience, but for the characters too. In the episode, “The Traveling Agent,” he is forced to confront his fears and face challenging situations, like the dead Black Friday customers at the Target-looking department store and a violent gang of ghosts, whose leader was a butcher killed by a meat cleaver to the head.

We not only relate to Pete’s fears — it’s these kinds of details that can help explore darker themes and topics for sharpened depth in unpredictability. Think about it: They can walk through walls, but sit on couches? A hole to hell opened up in their living room? There is a lot more to explore, and incorporating more horror diversifies Ghosts' appeal to create more profound opportunities for character development and plots that continue to leave audiences gasping.

Ghosts is available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+.

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