'Ghosts' Star Brandon Scott Jones Teases Isaac's 'Unfinished Business' in 'D&D' Episode (Exclusive)

11/18/2021 02:00 pm EST

In an all-new episode of Ghosts, the hit freshman sitcom finds some more spirited activity taking place in the house with a few ghosts coming out of the woodwork — or in this case, the shed behind the haunted home Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) share. In the episode "D&D" airing Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, Sam discovers the spirits of three British soldiers living in one of her estate's sheds. Soon enough, the flamboyant Revolutionary War veteran Isaac — played by Brandon Scott Jones — comes face to face with a British soldier, from whom he has been keeping a big secret. With the two sharing a complicated history and Isaac still not moving on, Jones tells PopCulture.com this is just the beginning of his character's "unfinished business" through a heartwarming, cleverly written coming out story.

"I really feel that Isaac is somebody who had an idea of who he wanted to be. I think not just as a statesman who wanted to be one of the founding fathers of this country. But he was always just on the sideline of history and so forth. I think he says at one point he is literally a footnote in history," Jones told PopCulture. "I think it's him also being the person he wanted to be and knowing that there was a world, which he would've been the perfect person that somebody would've written books about and it would've been amazing, and it could have been the absolute greatest life somebody could have had."

Believing that Isaac not confronting his own identity is a significant obstacle to his moving on, Jones says it's a progression for the soldier, who had big dreams but tragically died of dysentery two weeks after the siege of Fort Ticonderoga. "I think he's slowly coming to terms with [himself]. You can't keep running from who you actually are," he said. "I hope that ultimately is his journey — that he gets to find out who he is, and maybe that's a chance for him to move on."

With Jones's character being an inspired take from the BBC version's approach to a soldier hesitant to come out, the Maryland native admits he enjoyed the concept around the cultural paths each show chose. "Two things that just sort of like drew me to the show in general and which were just the idea of being trapped to get other, which I think is something that we've all sort of felt. Then B, the idea of having unfinished business. I think that's such a fun starting point for a character," he said. "Especially even when that character doesn't know what his unfinished business is. I think when that happens, you get a chance to sort of lean into all, but maybe lesser, enjoyable qualities of a character and find what makes that fun."

Jones recalls when he first got the part, it was revealed to him that Isaac was a "very long-winded, very pompous and so forth" kind of character. "I was like, well, perfect. I love playing those high-status characters that no one else seems to think should be high status," he said. "For me, it was just about not only playing off of what's the material we've been given. But also finding your own dynamic within the rest of the cast as well. I feel like most of the work happened once we were all together."

As Ghosts explores many of the characters' backstories, one thing that has been evident is how Isaac has not come face-to-face with an individual from the LGBTQ community in Sam and Jay's house. When asked how Isaac could react to seeing a gay or lesbian individual or couple being so free, Jones admits his character might be in a "mixture of awe and jealousy" over the revelation. "It's really interesting not to get too off-topic or too deep on it, but I grew up and didn't come out until I was like late in my teens, early twenties and the way I just did this project with a bunch of younger actors from a younger generation and the way they approach sexuality, the way I listen to them talk about acceptance and things like that — feels so much more progressive than what it was, especially when I was a teen," he said. "We're not even that far apart in age, but I think there's a little bit of a jealousy where I'm like, wow, this is what society could have been if I was younger or what I could have been if the world was like this."

Admitting that's what his character would most certainly be feeling if a situation like that came about, he teases it would have its exceptions, though. "I think he would also want to dip his toe in depending on who that is," he laughed. "But I know for him, I think a hundred percent he needs to be shown it's okay. Then he'll maybe start making his own moves."

Ghosts airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. Those interested in seeing all Paramount+ has to offer can click here for a free streaming offer. 

Disclosure: PopCulture. is owned by Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.