Pete’s Future Just Got Less Exciting After That Ghosts Season 4 Finale Romance Twist

Review

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Ghosts season 4, episode 22, «The Devil Went Down to Woodstone.»Pete had a crush on Alberta for decades in Ghosts, but he never made a move, since his feelings seemed completely unreciprocated, but now that a romance has blossomed, it’s actually made his potential future less exciting. The romance has taken a while. There was a moment in Ghosts season 3, episode 5, “The Silent Partner,” when Pete temporarily removes the arrow from his neck, and Alberta realizes she is attracted to him. Still, the show focused on other romances between the ghosts in CBS’ Ghosts, like Hetty and Trevor. Alberta also had a short-lived romance in Ghosts season 3, episode 7, “The Polterguest” with a poltergeist bound to a Living.

When Pete discovered his ability to roam, he met Donna, a spirit in St. Lucia who would become his girlfriend in Ghosts season 4. Pete remained a loyal friend to Alberta, even being the one to push Sam to start a podcast to solve Alberta’s murder in season 2. The CBS series seemed to have dropped the Pete and Alberta attraction, but this changed in Ghosts season 4 when the Pete and Alberta romance was revived, and culminated with an unexpected reveal in the Ghosts season 4 finale.

Pete & Alberta's Unexpected Romance Explained

Alberta Confesses She Has Been Hiding Her Feelings Even From Herself In The Ghosts Season 4 Finale

Pete accidentally got high in Ghosts season 4, episode 20. Alberta was surprised that the straight-laced, rule-ing Pete would do drugs, but Hetty reminded her of all the uncharacteristic things Pete had done lately: punching Thor in the face in “Weekend From Hell,” discovering he was in the mafia, and having sexual adventures on his roaming travels. Alberta suddenly saw Pete as a bit of a bad boy, reawakening her attraction to him.

Alberta found Pete relaxing and listening to jazz, and they shared a charged moment. Alberta leaned in for a kiss, Pete facepalmed her to stop it — a move she pulled on him earlier in Ghosts. Pete confessed to Thor that he does have feelings for Alberta, but he could never cheat on his girlfriend Donna. This paves the way for the events of the Ghosts season 4 finale, which marks a new chapter in Pete and Alberta’s relationship.

Patience, the Puritanical spirit from the season 4 premiere, reappears in the season finale. The ghosts are tasked with keeping Patience occupied in the main home while Sam and Isaac celebrate their book launch in the restaurant. After Patience declares nothing feels devilish in the house, Hetty desperately blurts out Alberta’s secret that she has been having lustful thoughts about Pete ever since he rejected her kiss a few weeks ago. Hetty could have made something up, but she can’t help but meddle.

Patience declares that the way to rid Alberta of these impure thoughts is to declare them publicly, so she gathers the ghosts for Alberta’s confession. She vulnerably reveals that her thoughts didn’t start with the recent near-kiss, but perhaps Alberta always knew she had feelings for Pete, but didn’t deserve someone so good, so she kept him emotionally at arm’s length.

Pete sneaks into the back of the crowd and overhears Alberta profess that she wasn’t denying Pete, she was denying herself the type of man she deserves. But now she’s waited too long because he’s already in a relationship. Alberta sees Pete fleeing Woodstone Manor and assumes the worst. Pete doesn’t return for two days, and Alberta asks if they can forget what she said, but he explains he left to break up with Donna, consummating Pete’s new relationship with Alberta with a kiss.

Pete Would Be Inclined To Stay At Woodstone In Light Of His New Relationship In Ghosts Season 5

Pete Will Not Want To Roam If He Has To Leave Alberta Behind

Pete gave decades of unreciprocated loyalty to his wife Carol, not just in life, but also in death. Pete is such an empathetic, compassionate person that it’s heartbreaking to think his marriage to Carol wasn’t a happy one, even before he learned she had been cheating on him. In many ways, Pete has a more fulfilling afterlife than life — he lived as a travel agent who never got to travel (and was just a front for the mafia, which he didn’t even realize), but now as a spirit, he is unbounded to any property line.

I thought Pete had found happiness with Donna, who seems to genuinely like Pete for who he is and not who she wants him to be. However, his feelings for Alberta are clearly stronger, and Pete’s relationship with Alberta represents emotional fulfillment he never had in life. This means that although Pete has been braggadocious about his power to roam for all of Ghosts season 4, he will be far less inclined to leave Woodstone Manor now that he’s with Alberta.

While Sam and now Kyle can see Pete in Ghosts, most Livings cannot. Pete has the ability to roam, but it’s a uniquely lonely freedom. When he leaves Woodstone Manor, he is free, but he is alone, unable to communicate or interact with the world. It would be a disappointing twist if Pete voluntarily stops using his roaming power, choosing to stay home with Alberta and his chosen family.

Pete's Powers Are Too Cool To Not Be Regularly Utilized

Pete Has Used His Ability To Roam For Some Of Ghost Season 4's Best Storylines

Pete’s ability to roam makes him one of the most powerful and narratively versatile ghosts on Ghosts. Ghosts’ premise is inherently limiting from a creative production standpoint, with a fixed set and costuming. Pete’s power to travel helps break these creative boundaries, leading to some of the most compelling stories in Ghosts season 4.

«The Devil Went Down to Woodstone» is the season finale for Ghosts season 4, but the CBS sitcom has already been renewed for seasons 5 and 6.

Pete helped Thor get a resolution to why his Viking family abandoned him in Ghosts season 4, episode 11, “Thorapy 2: Abandonment Issues.” Pete also solves the murder his girlfriend Donna was falsely accused of in season 4, episode 19. If Pete chooses to roam less in Ghosts season 5 to spend more time at Woodstone Manor with Alberta, it risks shrinking the show’s canvas just when it’s proven how expansive and rich it can be. Losing this momentum would be a shame for Ghosts moving forward.

How Can Ghosts Give Pete's Powers Its Focus While He's In A Relationship With Alberta

Alberta’s Attraction To Pete Was Awakened By His New Confidence From Being A Roamer

Hopefully, being in a fulfilling relationship doesn’t mean Pete has to give up roaming. The show has already teased the potential of Sam and Pete using their individually unique and combined, possibly unprecedented power combination to solve cold cases across the world in Ghosts season 4, episode 19. Sam dismisses the idea, calling herself a homebody, but she is ignoring the creative potential this would unlock for her writing. Also, Pete’s not wrong when he points out its borderline selfish not to use their powers for a greater good.

Pete’s recent return from a trip to Chicago with Kyle in the Ghosts season 4 finale offers a lovely solution for a ghost who would have no one to talk to and a Living who says it’s hard to form relationships with other Livings while seeing ghosts: travel together. Alberta’s attraction to Pete is tied to how different he has been lately, more confident and a little less predictable, so maybe Alberta even encourages Pete to keep roaming.

Imagine a Valentine’s Day episode where Pete and Sam go on a quest to find a rare record of Alberta. Finding love doesn’t have to limit Pete’s arc — it can expand it. Let’s hope Alberta truly meant it when she confessed her feelings. After everything Pete’s been through, he deserves to find real love in Ghosts season 5.

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