Ghost Whisperer – S2E19 – Delia’s First Ghost
This. This was a fantastic episode. Comedy, drama, character backstory, character development…basically everything I love combined into one episode.
The main story is obviously the fact that Charlie is back…in ghost form anyway. Melinda realizes this after trying to help Ned, who thinks he is being haunted. Following the discovery that Charlie is back, the backstories for Ned and Delia get some fleshing out. Charlie was a bit of a workaholic when he was alive, and prior to the fire at his office, he did not spend as much time with his family as he could have. However, he loved his family more than anything. He and Ned used to build and fly model airplanes together, and he was building Ned a special model for his birthday that was unfortunately lost in the fire. Ned talking to his dad about how he was never very good at building but that he would try to be better was such a sweet scene. Ned has his moments where he just makes me want to give him a big hug. This was one of them. It sounds like Ned takes after his father quite a bit, as Charlie was apparently also a bit of a troublemaker as a kid. It was kind of interesting to have Charlie still attempting to discipline and advise his son by haunting the basement where Ned was playing tricks and also through his message, delivered through Melinda at the end.
Ned and Delia aren’t the only one’s feeling Charlie’s presence. Tim also finds himself under his watchful eye. For the first part of the episode I was kind of thinking Charlie was haunting Tim as he did the other men who tried to date Delia. However, after the flowerpot incident, it began to occur to me that maybe he was trying to help him win over Delia. I loved the way they tied in the fact that it was Tim who rescued Charlie from the fire, and that Charlie now sees him as someone who could protect Ned and Delia in his absence. I found it amusing that “Every Breath You Take” keeps playing as a way to get Tim’s attention. Fortunately, being that Jim has learned to recognize ghostly involvement, he is able to let Melinda know what is going on with Tim.
Now onto what was possibly the biggest revelation of the episode. Delia discovers Melinda’s gift. That was one of the most heart wrenching scenes of the entire series so far, second only to finding out that Andrea had died. Poor Melinda. I mean I’m glad that they took a realistic approach to Delia’s reaction, but geez. Harsh. I nearly started crying along with Melinda. This scene also plays in direct opposition to the scene in which Melinda reveals her gift to Andrea. Andrea and Delia have proven to be almost complete opposites in many respects. I have a feeling that Delia’s opposition to believing that Melinda really can see ghosts will come up again, maybe causing tension between the two. I don’t think that Delia will walk away from their friendship because of it though. Jim of course is there with comfort after this whole debacle. You have to think he probably feels a little bit bad considering he was the one encouraging Melinda to talk to Delia. I know, it had to happen eventually regardless of his input, but still.
Much of the comedy in this episode comes from Melinda’s naked ghost. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl who thinks Melinda is talking to her when she tells naked guy to put some clothes on. It was great when he is standing behind the jar of pickles, and then Jim proceeds to open the jar after the ghost leaves and she is basically like “No! Don’t do that.” I’m curious as to how Jim would have reacted to knowing that there was some naked guy haunting his wife. Fortunately, the ghost wasn’t vengeful, and after finding his pants, Melinda is able to deliver the engagement ring that he never got to give to his girlfriend.
Did anyone else notice all of the Jennifer Love Hewitt references in this episode? Muse Watson, who was the killer in JLH’s movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, is in the episode. Melinda also specifically mentions the movie by name when telling Delia and Ned what movies they are going to be watching while Delia is on her date. On top of this, I’m pretty sure that naked guy’s line about “having that dream where he’s naked” sounds very similar to the first line of JLH’s song Barenaked. Maybe the second one isn’t technically a reference, but that was what I thought of as soon as he said it.
Overall, like I said, this was a fantastic episode. They did so much to flush out further the relationships Ned and Delia had with Charlie. I was wrong in my last review about Romano, as he made no appearance this episode. I am curious as to who the red hooded figure, which I assume was a ghost, is. Possibly Romano related? I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.
Best Moment:
-As much as I hate the scene for Melinda’s sake, I think the scene where Delia discovers Melinda’s gift qualifies as a best scene for the sake of its impact on future episodes.
-Ned talking to his father about how they used to build planes together.
Best Quote(s):
Melinda: Are you Private Jackson Reynolds?
Naked Ghost: Yes! Yes I am, that’s me.
Melinda: Hallelujah, we have pants.
Melinda (to Jim): I don’t know who gave you the best husband handbook, but you’re really good at it.
This. This was a fantastic episode. Comedy, drama, character backstory, character development…basically everything I love combined into one episode.
The main story is obviously the fact that Charlie is back…in ghost form anyway. Melinda realizes this after trying to help Ned, who thinks he is being haunted. Following the discovery that Charlie is back, the backstories for Ned and Delia get some fleshing out. Charlie was a bit of a workaholic when he was alive, and prior to the fire at his office, he did not spend as much time with his family as he could have. However, he loved his family more than anything. He and Ned used to build and fly model airplanes together, and he was building Ned a special model for his birthday that was unfortunately lost in the fire. Ned talking to his dad about how he was never very good at building but that he would try to be better was such a sweet scene. Ned has his moments where he just makes me want to give him a big hug. This was one of them. It sounds like Ned takes after his father quite a bit, as Charlie was apparently also a bit of a troublemaker as a kid. It was kind of interesting to have Charlie still attempting to discipline and advise his son by haunting the basement where Ned was playing tricks and also through his message, delivered through Melinda at the end.
Ned and Delia aren’t the only one’s feeling Charlie’s presence. Tim also finds himself under his watchful eye. For the first part of the episode I was kind of thinking Charlie was haunting Tim as he did the other men who tried to date Delia. However, after the flowerpot incident, it began to occur to me that maybe he was trying to help him win over Delia. I loved the way they tied in the fact that it was Tim who rescued Charlie from the fire, and that Charlie now sees him as someone who could protect Ned and Delia in his absence. I found it amusing that “Every Breath You Take” keeps playing as a way to get Tim’s attention. Fortunately, being that Jim has learned to recognize ghostly involvement, he is able to let Melinda know what is going on with Tim.
Now onto what was possibly the biggest revelation of the episode. Delia discovers Melinda’s gift. That was one of the most heart wrenching scenes of the entire series so far, second only to finding out that Andrea had died. Poor Melinda. I mean I’m glad that they took a realistic approach to Delia’s reaction, but geez. Harsh. I nearly started crying along with Melinda. This scene also plays in direct opposition to the scene in which Melinda reveals her gift to Andrea. Andrea and Delia have proven to be almost complete opposites in many respects. I have a feeling that Delia’s opposition to believing that Melinda really can see ghosts will come up again, maybe causing tension between the two. I don’t think that Delia will walk away from their friendship because of it though. Jim of course is there with comfort after this whole debacle. You have to think he probably feels a little bit bad considering he was the one encouraging Melinda to talk to Delia. I know, it had to happen eventually regardless of his input, but still.
Much of the comedy in this episode comes from Melinda’s naked ghost. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl who thinks Melinda is talking to her when she tells naked guy to put some clothes on. It was great when he is standing behind the jar of pickles, and then Jim proceeds to open the jar after the ghost leaves and she is basically like “No! Don’t do that.” I’m curious as to how Jim would have reacted to knowing that there was some naked guy haunting his wife. Fortunately, the ghost wasn’t vengeful, and after finding his pants, Melinda is able to deliver the engagement ring that he never got to give to his girlfriend.
Did anyone else notice all of the Jennifer Love Hewitt references in this episode? Muse Watson, who was the killer in JLH’s movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, is in the episode. Melinda also specifically mentions the movie by name when telling Delia and Ned what movies they are going to be watching while Delia is on her date. On top of this, I’m pretty sure that naked guy’s line about “having that dream where he’s naked” sounds very similar to the first line of JLH’s song Barenaked. Maybe the second one isn’t technically a reference, but that was what I thought of as soon as he said it.
Overall, like I said, this was a fantastic episode. They did so much to flush out further the relationships Ned and Delia had with Charlie. I was wrong in my last review about Romano, as he made no appearance this episode. I am curious as to who the red hooded figure, which I assume was a ghost, is. Possibly Romano related? I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.
Best Moment:
-As much as I hate the scene for Melinda’s sake, I think the scene where Delia discovers Melinda’s gift qualifies as a best scene for the sake of its impact on future episodes.
-Ned talking to his father about how they used to build planes together.
Best Quote(s):
Melinda: Are you Private Jackson Reynolds?
Naked Ghost: Yes! Yes I am, that’s me.
Melinda: Hallelujah, we have pants.
Melinda (to Jim): I don’t know who gave you the best husband handbook, but you’re really good at it.