‘Ghosts’ Star Sheila Carrasco Breaks Down Flower’s ‘Flaws’ in ‘Lovers’ Episode (Exclusive)

Following last week’s tearjerker episode of Ghosts that saw Pete getting some closure following his very sudden death, the latest installment of the CBS sitcom saw fans getting teary-eyed over Flower’s backstory Thursday night. While chatting about the challenges behind her character, actress Sheila Carrasco told PopCulture.com the episode “Flower’s Article” was one she thought was “so awesome” to dive into thanks to clever writing helping peel back her character’s layers in what she touts is one for the “lovers.”

In the seventh episode of the season, Flower (Carrasco) begs Sam (Rose McIver) not to accept a job where she’s assigned an article about Flower and her friends holding up a bank during her commune days. Being secretive with her reasoning for killing the story, Flower later reveals she was embarrassed because she stole from the very group she worked with.

“It was so great to find out what her flaws really are and to know that she’s not perfect and that she made a mistake and the mistake that she made was that she was incredibly selfish,” Carrasco told PopCulture exclusively of her character, who she further states “leads with her heart” above everything else. “Even though she stole money, to begin with, the bigger thing to her was that she stole it from the group that she stole it with, so her kind of living with that in her ‘afterlife’ gave me so much to explore. I think that finding out that she had that side to her was so much fun.”

Carrasco adds that she initially assumed an episode about Flower would have been about her death but was pleasantly surprised to see the writing solidify her personality, especially as an individual who was notably carefree and happy now finally putting her foot down. “That would be really fun too, of her being at Woodstock and then getting attacked by the bear,” she laughed. “But then this was so much cooler because it also showed me the possibility of this shell and that it’s not about how the ghosts died, it’s about how they lived and some kinds of mistakes that they made and the issues that they need to have resolved and how Sam can help them do that.”

Carrasco further states how it is “really exciting” Flower gets to evolve on a humanistic level thanks to the writers. “I thought, ‘Wow, well what else are we going to find out about all these ghosts and about Flower as well.’ And it was really cool to show that side of her that’s like, ‘This is the one line you can’t cross because everything else is pretty cool. It was such a gift from the writers to be able to do that.”

Adding how she has had her fair share of emotional moments while reading the scripts back, like the episode “Pete’s Wife” that found him getting closure more than 30 years later, Carrasco calls herself the “biggest crier” of them all and her episode was no different. “I cried like three times doing the table read of mine, even though I had also cried when I first read it by myself,” she said. “I’m so connected to all these characters and their stories. And Flower’s, you know, whatever way that I hope that everyone can relate to it, I found my own way to relate to it and her connection with Ira still, that he’s lived on and made her dream come true.”

The Upright Citizens Brigade alum says it was that “selfish act” of Flower’s that somehow turned into a positive she could never have dreamed of. “[It] somehow ended up causing good and helping people. That being her dream and making such a positive impact in the world, I really relate to that because I hope that as a performer and as an actor that in my life, or just as a human, in my life, I can leave a positive impact on the world as well,” she said. “So that was really powerful, and there’s such an emotional draw with all of these characters. All of them have such amazing backstories. And even for Sasappis’ story (Roman Zaragoza) in this episode, it’s still great because we get to find out a little bit more about his life and his love, and it feels like this was an episode for the lovers, you know?”

Going on to share how the message of the show is about living your life and surrounding yourself with people you care about, Carrasco further states Ghosts in its most simplistic message is about caring for each other. “Sometimes we’re always wanting to be in a different place and we don’t realize that sometimes the place we’re at is enough. [It] doesn’t mean you can’t dream and want something more, but it’s really about valuing who you’re with and the people you love. I get emotional thinking about it.”

Another element she gets emotional about is the kismet and serendipity behind her character’s name, adding significance to the entire situation. “I was also so happy that Flower has the name, Susan Montero because Montero was my abuela’s last name. I’m half Chilean and it really meant a lot to me to bring a little more of myself to the character.”

Ghosts airs Thursday nights 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.