‘Surface’ is a labyrinth of suspense with more questions than answers
I DON’T know about you but I enjoy a good psychological thriller. I will never forget how Netflix’s Behind Her Eyes threw me for a loop.
Talk about gobsmacked, that ending was a serious mindf***. In fact, I don’t think I’ve quite recovered as I impatiently wait to hear whether the streaming platform will be pursuing a second season.
Leaving us hanging, desperate for answers, is just so cruel. Hopefully, it won’t be indefinitely.
Of course, You, Dexter: New Blood, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Severance, Servant and The Sinner also delivered when it came to getting that adrenaline going.
Now Surface has debuted on Apple TV+ and several episodes in you realise the writers have built a labyrinth of suspense.
Admittedly, it can be frustrating for whodunnit fans.
But the fascination and investment in the protagonist getting the answers she seeks makes it almost forgivable. I did say almost.
Surface opens with Sophie (Gugu Mbatha-raw) and her husband James (Oliver Jackson-cohen), who is making her breakfast as they banter about work and the day ahead. Nothing seems out of place. But as the episode gains ground, the fractures in their marriage show.
Sophie is five months into her recovery from a suicide attempt. The journey is more taxing as she has no memory of her life before the incident.
At face value, her life seems pretty charming. She is married to this dashing wealthy man. They have a beautiful home. And James has been immensely patient in helping piece together the puzzles of her missing memories.
Sophie’s therapy sessions with Hannah
(Marianne Jean-baptiste) aren’t helping much, either.
Then Sophie is thrown for a loop when she is confronted by someone from her past. Baden (Stephan James) approaches her to explain that she is in danger. He warns her about her husband.
Naturally, it is not news that sits well with her. Until she realises that the undercover cop and she have been more than acquaintances in the past.
She also learns that her best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) had an affair
with her husband.
But the bombshells keep dropping when she realises that James is being audited for embezzlement.
Meanwhile, Hannah is strongly opposed to Sophie seeking out alternative options to help regain her memory. And the more Sophie asks questions, the more the red flags in her relationships with everyone around her start to show.
Surface is laden with red herrings. But what lures the viewer in are the well-etched characters. Mbatha-raw, who stars in Loki, is brilliant in her role. She balances intense emotions of despair, uncertainty and confusion with a rebellious tenacity.
At times, she’s unflappable and, at other times, she unveils this vulnerability.
Her love interest, James, is quite the enigma. It’s obvious that he has strong feelings for her but there is a doggedness about him that hints at him being a dark horse as well – and not the knight in shining armour he has been depicting.
Jackson-cohen’s performance is also a revelation. His character is fluent in the art of gaslighting.
Surface is a slick series. It is adroitly directed and anchored by a fascinating script. Of course, it is the cast who not only brings the story to life but ensures that the mystery aspect doesn’t lose momentum.
I just hope by the end, the viewer will get closure and that the writers won’t leave us hanging in the same way Behind Her Eyes did.
¡ Surface is streaming on Apple TV+.