I love nothing more than a good character-centric episode, so color me impressed, shocked and entertained by Trevor's Body, a half-hour dedicated to the pantless ghost.
Trevor's parents staying at the B&B appears to be a bit far-fetched and forced at first, but having Trevor realize that his parents are no longer together is nothing short of brilliant. This realization sends him into an identity crisis on whether his death truly split his parents up, which brings him and Sam into a parent-trap ploy dedicated to bring Trevor's parents back together during their not-so-romantic stay at the B&B. It's also worth noting that Trevor's dad appears to be a much older version of Trevor himself, right down to the inappropriate flirting. Granted, the scheme to bring his parents together doesn't go as well as planned (*pretends to be shocked*), but at least we got to see Tara Reid.
Yes: Tara Reid! Let me preface this by saying that her entire appearance at Trevor's memorial service left me screaming, yelling, and crying all at once. That speech, which started off with a wild wholesale lighting ad, followed by the truth that she barely knew Trevor, and ending it with the reveal that Trevor's dad flirted with her makes this 15-second scene one of the most chaotic and memorable scenes this season. It's exactly the kind of ridiculous guest appearance that makes me love Ghosts so much, and I would be lying if I said I didn't burst into laughter at the prospect of Trevor trying to kill Tara Reid just so that he could spend the rest of the afterlife with her. What a storyline!
Speaking of crying, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the kitchen scene at the end of the episode. Despite knowing this was where we were headed (this show does have a tendacy for a format of making us laugh until it breaks our hearts in character-centric episodes, see: Pete's Wife from season 1), having Trevor hear his mother say that he was not the reason for them splitting up packs a huge emotional punch, for him, Sam and audiences alike. This is exceptionally huge for a character like Trevor who has always been hiding behind his stereotypical closed-off persona, constantly making jokes to avoid talking about his feelings. This is the type of character development that is not only needed, but incredibely welcome, and the tearjerking scene is perfectly topped with Trevor begging for a motherly hug, and I hope everyone watching had the biggest smile on their faces as Alberta offered to give him an honorary Mom hug. Awww!
The unexpected subplot centered around Isaac and Nigel had me genuinely concerned about the longevity of the couple. As it turns out, Nigel hooked up with his ex (in whatever capacity) during his and Isaac's Christmas break, which leaves Isaac desperate and sad. This does open up the show to more homosexual ghosts, to which I was ecstatic about, but the resolution to this is quite rushed and almost forgettable, unfortunately. No complaints, however, as Isaac and Nigel wrap up the episode with a reconciliation. I do hope the writers come up with more interesting and unique ways for our favorite ghost couple to discover things about each other in the future.
Overall, Trevor's Body packs a whole lot of comedy (Nigel's "we were on a restbed!" rivals Ross and Rachel's infamous fights), an incredible guest star (again, still reeling from Tara Reid's speech), and, as always, a fantastic emotional gut punch about divorce typically being about the parents and never about the kids. I do wish we go back to focus on the podcast and unveiling the big Alberta mystery sooner rather than later, but in the meantime I am more than happy with these character-centric additions. What a show.
