Well, the oddities continued with SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 9.
Susan’s powers are all-encompassing now, and she’s using them freely.
The story of hiding her powers and being embarrassed or afraid to use them once she had her way with the mean boy is also chucked out the window.
Priya and her mother both know about Susan’s powers and count on her to use them, and use them she does.
So, what the hell is going on here?
There are a few options. Perhaps, there was a misunderstanding, and we didn’t get a clear picture of what was happening.
Retconning, which is odd for a series so green, is what we’ve all been thinking. There are too many of us who have recognized the discrepancy for it to be a misunderstanding, I would think.
Another possibility, if we scrap the two above, is that Susan was hiding the truth from that little girl and Luke and herself, but now that she’s working with people who consider powers like hers to be an everyday occurrence, she’s embracing her differences.
I like that idea.
We’ve seen Susan change quite dramatically since she first arrived at The Roman Agency. She’s freer and embraces her work and coworkers.
Sales still drive her, but it’s not her only motivation. She genuinely cares about the work they do.
That seemed like a decent option, and definitely one tuned into her character development until we met Priya and her mom.
If there was a point when she hid but embraced her powers, then joining The Roman Agency should have been a dream come true, not a last-ditch effort because nobody else was willing to hire her.
The result of all of this wishy-washiness is that it doesn’t seem that this story knows where it’s going, and even going nowhere, there doesn’t seem to be an adequate roadmap to get there, either.
For example, at the end of SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 8, we saw that the Donovan house was teeming with spirits.
That was never addressed, although we knew that they were recording those events. Even worse, it wasn’t until the team mapped the houses from Rita that they saw a connection to the Donovan house.
That was just odd.
The map suggested they would have known instantly that they were circling the same blocks. It’s not like they’re unaware of the neighborhoods and the proximity of the houses to one another.
So, nobody watched the recording of the house, but when they saw a connection to the six houses, they let August go into it alone. That’s just lax.
And by lax, I mean they’re not being careful with a team that’s very point requires great care just so they can move the plot along.
If you didn’t read my interview with Tennille Read, she noted that the only reason Megan lived in the house so long was that showrunner George Olson told her that if Megan moved, then there would be no more story.
Uh, no. That’s not what I want to hear from any showrunner—meaning matters.
Adding insult to injury, when Phil got to Priya’s mom’s house (it would have been nice if she’d had a name… did she?), he had info on Leon’s family history and whispered quickly to Luke that he found something about his family too, and they needed to talk.
Megan spilled the beans to Phil and August about Luke’s mom lurking around the Donovan house, so why didn’t Phil consider calling August when he made a discovery, knowing that August was there alone?
These are, obviously, rhetorical questions.
Leon’s story brought up some issues, as well.
What kind of family would fail to notice that every single first love of their paternal ancestors had died within days of their marriage?
Who are these people that they don’t talk amongst themselves and gossip about the possibilities of lost loves and deaths?
It’s too bad because I thought it was one of the more interesting stories until Leon acted aghast at the idea the males before him hadn’t had happy first marriages, let alone that their wives all died.
If you’re entertaining marrying someone, it must call to mind all of those who came before you. Certainly, he considered that he had something to overcome, even if only from the angle that he would be the first male to break the cycle.
As expected, the finale will come down to Luke and his mom at the Donovan house. While it could have been an exciting finale, now it will be a game of what else is coming out of left field?
The case was fun, if disappointing (in respect to Leon), but there were a few bright spots.
Megan’s tongue lashing to Luke’s mom and her assertion that she didn’t let the house beat her were pretty cool. She’s a fiery one.
That fire seemed a little less potent when she was leaving the house and talking with August.
Megan: You know, I used to be scared of you.
August: Really? That pleases me no end.
Megan: That I was scared of you?
August: That you no longer are. Megan, Luke is a very, very fine man, but he is an anomaly. He walks an odd, often lonely path. I’m so glad you’ve chosen to walk with him, however long.
Megan: Isn’t always easy.
August: Why is it that the sweetest rewards only sing to us on the other side of hardship?
Megan: That’s beautiful. Is that Shakespeare?
August: No, just a thought I had this morning while feeding my cat.
Their conversation was quite nice, but for all the ferocity she had while defending Luke to an empty house, she seemed less sure of Luke when talking with August.
It’s almost as if now that she’s out of the house, she’ll be moving on because it’s just too much dealing with the supernatural all the time.
I guess we’ll find out. We’re onto the finale!
Hit the comments with your thoughts on all things SurrealEstate!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
