The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode.
The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian Mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up.
In the episode, Raylan decides to confront Nicky Augustine after Winona's life is threatened while Boyd and Ava work to avoid detection by the police in relation to a murder.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.25 million household viewers and gained a 0.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
The episode received universal acclaim from critics, who praised the direction, writing, pace, twists, acting (particularly Walton Goggins) and set-up for the next season.
After taking Drew Thompson and Ellen May into custody, Art (Nick Searcy) suspends Raylan (Timothy Olyphant), who happily accepts it.
Meanwhile, Boyd (Walton Goggins) and Ava (Joelle Carter) are worried about their future and decide to get Delroy Baker's body before the authorities find him with Jimmy's (Jesse Luken) help.
Raylan visits Winona (Natalie Zea), who is being held hostage by three henchmen working for Augustine (Mike O'Malley).
At the bar, Boyd then decides to use his leverage with Lee Paxton (Sam Anderson), who owns the funeral home that Delroy's body is in.
When Raylan says Ellen May confessed many things, Boyd agrees to take him to meet with Augustine while Ava works with Jimmy in swapping the bodies.
[3] Yost said, "the idea of a big shootout in the nursery just appealed to our dark, twisted Justified sense of a really horrific place for something like this to happen.
The writers then came up with the idea of moving a corpse, which Yost liked because he found it "kinda gruesome, and weird, and it allowed for a lot of sick, funny jokes.
The original idea for the episode (and the season) involved Raylan teaming up with Nicky Augustine to take down Theo Tonin.
Due to actor Adam Arkin working as director on The Americans and the character development for Augustine, the writers rewrote the plan.
"[6] In its original American broadcast, "Ghosts" was seen by an estimated 2.25 million household viewers and gained a 0.7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "Justified's fourth season started with an old crime, revealed to have been the launching-point for the criminal careers of Boyd and Raylan's fathers.
"[13] Kevin Fitzpatrick of Screen Crush wrote, "'Ghosts' in particular feels as nuanced and well-defined as ever, needing precious few action beats to illustrate the tension of the hour, and rich character definition from Walton Goggins and Timothy Olyphant.
"[15] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "Raylan's a fast gun, super-cool and great with a quip, but ultimately, he's a tragic character.
"[17] Joe Reid of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This is currently a show that is solidly (and justifiably) confident in its characters, to the point where life-or-death suspense doesn't even have to be at the end of a gun barrel.
'Peace of Mind' and 'Ghosts', on the other hand, take the other tack, trading in the action-movie plotting and balls-out excitement of 'Decoy' for thematic contemplation and brooding emotionalism.
Unsurprisingly, the show's innate ability to create fabulous characters, and tell great stories, once again made Justified one of if not THE best dramas on television this year.