It must be said that this episode did not have the finality that a lot of people had hoped for or expected. No ghosts get sucked off, the basic premise hasn't fundamentally changed, and the show could conceivably continue exactly as before.
However, that view misses a lot of smaller shifts that have taken place, and this episode does a really good job at bringing things full circle, with lots of references back to the very first episode of season 1, but showing how much has changed. In the beginning, the ghosts teamed up to scare Alison out of the house. Now they're working on Operation Be Really Nice to make her stay.
I love the fact that Alison finds out about Julian pushing her out of the window. That had been just hanging there unsaid throughout the whole show, and the scene when she finds out is incredibly dramatic. But it also shows how strong this found family has become, that despite learning that Julian literally tried to murder her, she still can't leave them.
I'm also still pinching myself that they ended the entire show with such a breezy little joke about the Captain being openly gay. His journey to accepting himself has been handled so sensitively over the five seasons, and although part of me wanted to see more of an overt reaction from the other ghosts to his coming out, it's in keeping with the show to do it in such an understated way. Seeing him finally comfortable, not needing to correct himself or worry about getting funny looks from the others, was very gratifying.
There's one more Christmas special remaining and they may still decide to go out with a bang and kill off/suck off some characters. Personally though, I'm sure they won't, as the show has always been a comedy suffused with warmth and friendship, and the writers have never lost sight of that.
However, that view misses a lot of smaller shifts that have taken place, and this episode does a really good job at bringing things full circle, with lots of references back to the very first episode of season 1, but showing how much has changed. In the beginning, the ghosts teamed up to scare Alison out of the house. Now they're working on Operation Be Really Nice to make her stay.
I love the fact that Alison finds out about Julian pushing her out of the window. That had been just hanging there unsaid throughout the whole show, and the scene when she finds out is incredibly dramatic. But it also shows how strong this found family has become, that despite learning that Julian literally tried to murder her, she still can't leave them.
I'm also still pinching myself that they ended the entire show with such a breezy little joke about the Captain being openly gay. His journey to accepting himself has been handled so sensitively over the five seasons, and although part of me wanted to see more of an overt reaction from the other ghosts to his coming out, it's in keeping with the show to do it in such an understated way. Seeing him finally comfortable, not needing to correct himself or worry about getting funny looks from the others, was very gratifying.
There's one more Christmas special remaining and they may still decide to go out with a bang and kill off/suck off some characters. Personally though, I'm sure they won't, as the show has always been a comedy suffused with warmth and friendship, and the writers have never lost sight of that.