Would Luke Roman ever consider going legit, as he considers it?
SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 8 presents the leverage Luke might need to scrap his supernatural interventions and compete on the same stage as his competitors.
After all, most of their business is from unchallenging homes. They happen to excel across the board.
But what sets them apart are the miracles they offer to people without a chance of selling due to circumstances outside of their control.
If Luke dropped the ball, who would be around to help those who needed it the most?
Luke doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to cut and run, but when the hour begins, he’s at the end of his rope.
He still can’t shake the offending remarks his dead mother made, and after Susan’s award ceremony, he’s no longer connecting with Megan, either.
Megan has grounded Luke since they met on SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 1. Even though she’s been present for many supernatural experiences, with Megan, he can put the rigors of the job he does behind him for a little while.
When the news hit on SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 7 that The Roman Agency is being targeted by the media rather exploitatively, Luke needed Megan to lean on.
She wasn’t there, and Luke got entirely wrapped up in his head, seeing the only way out of their predicament as actually getting out of the supernatural business.
Any clients that they can take from us, we didn’t deserve to keep.
Luke
But life has a way of showing you a path even when you’re reluctant to take it.
We watched Nellie, an elderly woman who had been trapped inside of a house likely since the age of 16, finally escape. She didn’t make it, dying at the first light of freedom.
Nellie’s house was in the neighborhood where Luke grew up. He mowed her lawn, never seeing her, and later discovered that his dad was paying Luke because he felt sorry for Nellie, who had never been seen outside in all the time anyone lived there.
For Nellie, whose parents died because of that house, the seductive nature of eternal bliss proved too much to ignore. Seemingly, the more she gave in to it, the less likely she was to escape its grasp.
In walks Luke, believing that his focus will be on a regular house with a sentimental touch. He never knew what hit him, turning 16 just over the threshold.
Even after telling his team that he was withdrawing from life to tackle the house for a few days, they recognized something wrong when Phil discovered how Nellie came to own the house.
I become apprehensive when the words freak and accident are used concurrently.
August
I didn’t expect it would be so easy for them to enter the house, but it sure was fun when they turned 16 again, too.
With their entrance, we finally understood the house. It caters to your every whim, and it knew exactly how to engage Phil, August, and Zooey.
August was the first to be swayed with a top-of-the-line Commodore 64 and a bag of weed.
Phil’s enticement included red licorice whips, his all-time favorite candy, and a book titled “Catholic and Gay,” which made me laugh aloud.
Zooey’s room played to the activist in her, with posters and slogans and, finally, a lovely, frosted cake.
Once again, having Zooey along for the ride was highly beneficial. When they finally pulled themselves away from their happy places and found Luke, Zooey realized that they were all 16 with different birth years. She was also the first to recognize that the glamor of the house was fleeting.
Once their minds were free of the trappings of the house, they set about freeing themselves.
It seems to be telepathically reading our desires and then leveraging them to keep us here.
August
The house couldn’t accompany the desires of four people, so they were ripped off, but that worked to their benefit. Luke wasn’t so lucky.
As it turned out, it was the best thing to happen to him.
Young Luke: Something happens to dad?
Middle-aged Luke: Life happens to him, buddy. Death is a part of life. Usually, the quiet part. So, here’s the pitch. You stay here, and none of it happens. None of the complications, none of the muss or fuss, scary nights, the sad goodbyes.
I just watched a documentary in which a man who was wrongly convicted and incarcerated for more than two decades said he’d do it all over again if it meant that he would, once again, meet the love of his life. That love was worth all of his suffering.
Similarly, Luke realized that his pain created the man he is today, a man who can do for others things that they only dream of. Since it was an internal battle being waged, it was perfect that his adult self was trying to keep him in the house.
It would have been easy to stay, but Luke’s never been about easy. When he saw how he could become, he wanted no part of it. That cynicism older Luke was showering him with came from a dark place, and Luke is in the business of vanquishing darkness.
If he’s said he desired to stay, the house would have claimed him. But Zooey had just infiltrated the darkness with a rock through a window, and that was enough light for Luke to remember all of the beauty he’d been granted from his difference from others, and he called the house on its bullshit.
Of course, we also knew the reason that Megan wasn’t calling Luke. She was demon-infested. It was unexpected that she’d remember nothing about her experience.
The Roadie demon wasn’t easy to understand. It’s a body jumper, yes, but it’s unclear how Megan shook herself free of it once Susan arrived to help her with the house in Luke’s absence.
Susan was prepared, and although the roadie jumped a couple of times, it was eventually vanquished into one of August’s gizmos.
Susan was on point all the way through the installment. She was supportive of Luke when he needed it and proved she’s a good bowler with an extra kick. She didn’t need fire to manipulate the pins but did it nonetheless.
She easily took control of the situation at Megan’s house by recognizing the artwork of the Roadie demon. She’s learned a lot in a short time, and even better, she doesn’t want it to end.
That was the same for the whole agency, as they love what they do and how it makes them unique. And although they all wanted a little while to rest up before hitting the market again, they may not get as much as they need.
Hot damn, Megan’s house is a hotbed of activity!! And the first and only jump scare of the series got me good. I can’t wait to see them infiltrate that place and set it and Luke’s mama straight.
Because the way Luke’s dad tells it, his mother was never cruel. Maybe there is more to her story, and tending to it could finally free Luke of the pain he’s had for far too long.
I had a chance to chat with Tennille Read, who plays Megan, so keep an eye out for that article over the coming days. She offers a little tease of what to expect as the season winds down!
What are your hopes as the season comes to a close?
Hit the comments and share your thoughts on another fun installment of 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.