Miracles - E11

The Ghost
First Aired: Friday December 12, 2003 (Canada)

There are strange things going on at a small insurance agency in New Jersey, so Paul and Alva go to investigate. What they find leads back to the death of a young man who is the son of the owner.

The episode begins with showing a man in an office where strange things start to happen, the culmination of which is the carving of the words "I'm Back" on his desk. Back in Boston, Paul goes to see Poppi after getting an MRI to make sure there are no problems with his head. Even though Poppi says Paul can come back to the congregation, Paul refuses and asks from Poppi's blessing to stay at his new job with Alva. Poppi can't give this. Evelyn, out with Mattie for the day, asks Alva to bring her and Paul's check to the park. After Alva confronts Paul about the MRI, he tells him they have a case in New Jersey. Upon arriving, they find out that the workers at the insurance agency have been noticing strange things. The boss of the agency hasn't noticed anything, or so he says. Still suspicious, Alva sends Paul to question the young woman. Paul finds out that she had dated the owners son who had died the previous year from Menengitis. Paul tries to question the man's wife, but she is offended by Paul's questions. Later that night, though, she calls Paul to discuss her son and how her husband never showed his grief. Paul goes to visit the man at the office and sees the furniture on the ceiling. The man tells Paul he believes his son has come back to see him. Paul is still unconvinced and after reviewing the security tapes, which the young woman provides, he hypothesis with Alva that he is doing everything himself. Arriving downtown at the office, it looks like the "ghost" is destorying the place. However, when Paul and Alva get into the manager's office, nothing is happening besides the man listening to music. They take the man to their motel room, show him the tapes, and tell him their belief. He becomes enraged and he starts acting out mentally. He comes to the realization that it was him, he contends with his grief, and goes back to his wife. Back in Boston, Poppi does finally give Paul his blessing.

I think this was a decent enough episode; nothing particularly compelling or that pushes the overall story further expect the little bit about the MRI and about Poppi near the beginning and the end. Paul and Alva just seemed to be going through the motions of the investigation with neither being really affected. I think what kept this episode afloat was the acting, since the story we a bit predicable. Overall, a bit of a let down.

Score: 7.1 / 10