Ghost Month – As this episode of Almost Paradise begins, Ernesto (Arthur Acuna) and Kai Mendoza (Samantha Richelle) visit Alex Walker to tell him that Ocampo got a tip from a contact at Interpol. They’ve had a spike in alerts from the Philippines. The word “Mactan” has popped up more than once. They thought he could get in touch with Lockhart and get information for them. Alex Walker (Christian Kane) is worried he’ll owe them a favor if he asks for one. Alex notices that the door is unlocked. He is shocked when Rita (Sophia Reola) pops up nearby and says she is trying to manifest a Ferrari for her dad.

Since it is Ghost Month, her friend Lim said you can offer the spirits what they wanted the most in their lives. Rita believes her dad is a restless, hungry ghost. Alex gives her money to buy construction paper. Ernesto explains that the hungry ghost is a Buddhist tradition. People who suffered violent or mysterious deaths are believed to manifest themselves as restless spirits. If you don’t follow certain rules, the ghosts can make things unsettling for you. Ernesto begins telling them about his sensei named Michael Batacan and how he saved his life after dying in a car accident. Alex says he is from Texas where they only believe in the three Gs, God, guns, and gas production.

Later, Kai and Alex go to the market to look for Ghost Month merchandise to sell at his gift shop. Kai says they’re friends and friends should do thinks for one another. If they know something they don’t, Kai thinks they need to be clued in. Kai shows Alex the remembrance wall for the dead. Alex asks about the rules for ghost month. Once Kai remembers them, she recites them for Alex who quickly shows her that he is a rule breaker. As he leaves, he checks the photo he just took of himself and Kai. He notices something in the background that resembles a ghost. Alex sees a man staring at him and seems concerned. He goes to the bar and gets a drink from the bartender, Cleo.

Alex suspects someone is behind him so he asks Cleo to discreetly check. The bartender tells him there is no one there. Later, Alex wakes from a nightmare in which he sees the same man. Kai tells Ike (Nonie Buencamino) about a two-week NBI training course that would require her to travel to Manila. Ike asks if they’ve made any progress with Walker on the Interpol alerts. He believes everyone has something they want. Ike says Kai will get what she wants when he gets what he wants. As they walk away, they find Alex working with a sketch artist to create a sketch of the man he has been seeing. After he tells Ernesto and Kai what happened, he says the sketch matches the guy.

They know who the guy is, but they won’t tell him unless he calls Lockhart. Alex is told that the guy’s name was Ivan Ramos. He was killed in an explosion at his factory a year ago. After an investigation, no foul play was discovered. They try to come up with a reasonable explanation for why Alex has been seeing Ivan (Mon Confiado). Lockhart (John Storey) gets a call from Alex who asks about Interpol alerts. Lockhart says there is always a storm brewing and the weather changes in a weekend. After the call, Alex says they should be happy because Lockhart just gave them tons of information. Alex says it is Friday and something is going down in Mactan this weekend.

It’ll involve a European buyer and contraband from China. Alex takes Ivan’s file to find out whether a dead man is following him around. Cecelia (Lisa Macuja) catches Alex near Ivan’s memorial and asks if knew him. She reveals that she is Ivan’s mother. Although she is positive he is dead, Cecelia still speaks to him. She argues that he is a hungry ghost because the explosion wasn’t an accident. Cecelia says Ivan’s new partner Joshua benefited the most from his death. Joshua seduced Ivan’s widow, Nina, not even a full year after he died. Alex agrees to come with her when she speaks to Ivan tonight. Later, Cecelia tells Alex that they need a trusted guide through the Afterworld. They’re going to use Shaman Evangeline (Aurora Yumul).

Cecelia says she is going to give Evangeline the best chance to summon Ivan’s spirit. Nina (Arci Munoz) is introduced to Alex who knew Ivan from Arizona State. They speak briefly before learning that Evangeline is ready for them. Evangeline tries to summon Ivan. Eventually, they hear Ivan’s voice through Evangeline. He says he is still troubled because he is roaming the unknown. When Cecelia tries to get information about his death, she is asked if it is possible to purchase a series of sessions. Alex believes the whole thing is a con. He quickly unveils the tricks Evangeline has used to convince them she summoned Ivan. Evangeline insists she isn’t a fraud.

She knows that Alex doesn’t know Ivan and only came because he saw him. She claims Ivan was wearing a red jacket when she saw him. He only said two words “the skull”. Once Alex leaves, Nina tells him that Cecelia left because she felt humiliated. She reveals that she has been seeing Ivan in her dreams recently. Nina believes Cecelia hates her for marrying Ivan’s business partner. She admits Joshua has been acting differently lately because he has been abrupt and secretive. Nina believes Ivan is trying to warn her from beyond. The next day, Alex makes Kai take him to RB Import Export. He believes something was overlooked and Joshua wanted the factory for himself.

Alex isn’t sure what “the skull” is supposed to mean. He argues that they need to exhume Ivan’s body. They watch as Joshua shakes hands with Sobek Kruskal who is one of the most notorious drug traffickers out of Eastern Europe. He is often referred to as “The Skull”. Alex has a nightmare in which he is buried by Ivan. He sees Joshua next to him just before he wakes up from the nightmare. Alex calls Nina to set up a meeting with her. At the police station, Ernesto tells other officers about Joshua Bautista and Sobek Kruskal. They want to catch them in route with the fentanyl shipment. Nina tells Alex that Joshua got worse last night and she is really scared.

Alex tells her about his dream before learning how she felt after Ivan died. If Nina is out of the way, the factory will belong entirely to Joshua. Alex thinks she should stay somewhere else just in case. He admits he is starting to care about her. That night, Alex, Ernesto, Kai, and others prepare to take down the shipment. Nina calls to tell Alex she is scared because Joshua made her go to the factory. Alex sneaks into the facility to try to help her. After beating up some men and grabbing a gun, he is confronted by Joshua who also has a gun. Alex has to shoot him when he raises his gun. Nina comes over and finds out what happened.

She pulls a gun on Alex and says men are so predictable. Alex learns that she arranged the explosion because he didn’t want to make real money and she has expensive tastes. Joshua lacked ambition. Nina tries to shoot him only to find that the gun is out of bullets. When Joshua stands up, Nina realizes that they set her up. Alex checks with Kai to see if she got all that. As she arrests the drug traffickers, she confirms that she did. Once things calm down, Joshua thanks Alex. He admits he was angry when Alex came to him earlier and made him see who Nina is. When Joshua asks how he knew he was innocent, Alex says Ivan talked to him. The nightmare convinced Alex that they both were in danger.

Ike speaks to the media about shutting down a sophisticated international drug trafficking operation. He also mentions that Kai has been selected to take part in the training program. Alex catches up with Rita and gives her an SUV. Alex burns joss money for his dad because he was always broke. Ivan visits Alex again and tells him he is lucky if his life is filled with people. Ivan says it is time to let go so he can see what is on the other side.

 

Almost Paradise Review

Ghost Month was an okay episode of Almost Paradise although the story isn’t very original. How many times has something like this been done? Being visited by someone dead isn’t anything new and it has likely been done better numerous times. Nevertheless, individuals who have enjoyed what Almost Paradise has offered so far this season will undoubtedly like Ghost Month because it was one of the better episodes this season.

Again, there were probably one too many twists at the end of the episode with the culprit switching from Joshua to Nina. Regardless, the episode felt more competent and the story was still interesting despite not being overly original. It scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Almost Paradise can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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