Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Ghosts season 4, episode 1, "Patience"

While ghosts of CBS’s Ghosts provide the hit sitcom with some of its most compelling plots, so it is always exciting when a new spirit is added to the show’s growing lineup. Season 2 introduced Thor’s son Bjorn, while season 3 hinted at the presence of Patience, a Puritan who became trapped in the dirt near the mansion when Sass, Thor, and Isaac accidentally left her behind during their daring escape.

Mary Holland’s Patience ed Ghosts season 4’s new character Patience was evidently always intense, but years trapped alone in the dirt only made Holland’s character more unhinged by the time she kidnapped Isaac in the season 3 finale. However, her backstory makes her unexpectedly sympathetic.

The Secret Reason Ghosts' Patience Uses "Patience" As A Catchphrase

Mary Holland’s Puritan Uses Her Catchphrase While Waiting On Answers

When Patience dragged Isaac through the basement wall and kept him hostage, he noticed that her isolation had resulted in her developing an unsettling new catchphrase. She now blurted out “Patience!” at unexpected intervals, creeping out an already-worried Isaac. When Patience kidnapped Sass as well, the pair agreed that this was evidence of her faltering sanity. However, there is another, sadder explanation for this choice of catchphrase, and “Patience” hints at this secret meaning throughout the episode. The Puritan may keep saying “Patience!” because she spent over a hundred years waiting for someone to rescue her from the dirt.

She yells “Patience!” when her fellow ghost returns to the dirt to rescue her and later when she is waiting on Alberta to answer a question.

While Ghosts season 4’s new character Patience is creepy, she is also somewhat sympathetic and her catchphrase proves this. She yells “Patience!” when her fellow ghost returns to the dirt to rescue her and later, when she is waiting for Alberta to answer a question. Since she also blurts the line out while interrogating Isaac earlier in the episode, it is fair to guess that Patience may be yelling out “Patience!” to remind herself to wait for answers, since it has been decades since she spoke to anyone. This makes her plight pretty tragic and highlights her humanity.

What Patience's Catchphrase In Ghosts Says About Her Character

Patience Was Rejected Long Before She Became Trapped In The Dirt

Even before Patience got stuck beneath the Woodstone B&B thanks to Isaac’s ill-timed sneeze, she was already rejected by society during her life. She was kicked out of her Puritan colony and then got stuck underground when the ghosts inadvertently left her behind, so it makes sense that she now has a hard time holding a conversation. Although Ghosts actor Richie Moriarty told TVLine that Patience’s “Intense” ghost powers were creepy, the character isn’t all bad. Her catchphrase highlights just how sad her story has been so far, and proves the Ghosts ing star may just need a friend.

New episodes of Ghosts air Thursdays at 8:30 on CBS.

Source: TVLine