Ghost of Duke Ellington

He appears to Missy as a spectral guide, materializing in her bedroom with the easy authority of a jazz legend checking in on a descendant. Sharp-dressed and unbothered by the rules of the living world, he offers wisdom about identity, ancestry and self-possession, delivered with the calm of someone who has seen a lot of history pass.

Peele plays him with a warm, dry hipness that never tips into lecture, which lets the show smuggle in real ideas about race and legacy inside a cartoon about puberty. The ghost's fondness and patience for Missy give the character weight far beyond his screen time, a small dose of grace amid the show's chaos.