SurrealEstate Review: For Sale By Owner (Season 1 Episode 3)
SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 3, “For Sale By Owner,” continues to build the series lore giving us a little bit more about Luke’s past. However, it also highlights some of the formatting constraints the series has to contend with.
“For Sale By Owner” takes viewers to a lake house, where Harper North (Melanie Scrofano) has been trying to sell the home herself. Scrofano plays this quirky character well, delivering meek librarian vibes that suit the story. The North family cottage and the ancestral curse is, by far, the strongest writing in the series so far.
This goes to show that SurrealEstate understands that it can’t deliver satisfying storylines if it packs too much into its episodes.
Most of “For Sale By Owner” focuses on Harper with her family being peripheral characters. While the audience gets a look at the ancestral ties to the cottage, we aren’t bogged down in the lore of each family member’s passing or their connection to the home.
This is both the episode’s strongest point and its weakest.
Personally, I like when shows don’t rely too heavily on exposition. This story allowed Scrofano to make choices about how she would portray Harper. It’s clear something more is going on, but we’re not sure if anyone is really aware of it.
As a result, Harper is the emotional core of the episode. Her scenes with Luke (Tim Rozon) though understated, speak volumes about what Harper’s life is like. This matters, because as much as the story may be about selling a home, it knows the people in the home are the heart of the story.
Since this is a home so rooted in history and story, it’s hard to shake the feeling that it needs more time. Scrofano and Rozon have such strong chemistry, and it is clear that a lot of care was put into the production design of this house.
This is the first time I got a gothic feel from the series, and it’s a narrative style that feels like a natural fit. Gothic narratives, and fiction, typically center around dwellings and usually have this deep psychological and supernatural thread running through them. “For Sale By Owner” encapsulates that genre perfectly and makes me hunger for more stories like it.
It also made me realize that in introducing new characters and settings each week, the series has a monumental task ahead of it. As an audience, we need to get to know these characters and be invested in their homes.
Harper’s story worked, but I question if the series can duplicate that again in this monster-of-the-week style.
Despite my desire to delve deeper into the Norths and their history, “For Sale By Owner” is a strong episode. In fact, it’s the strongest so far, and I think that’s partly because it also invests in Luke and his mysterious past.
Letting the audience briefly glimpse his childhood home is a nice addition, and his vague convo with Susan piques my interest. I’m even more curious about what’s in the house since the audience didn’t follow the buyer inside.
The final chef’s kiss of the episode is Luke’s conversation with his mother.
Seeing the tenuous relationship Luke’s going to have with his mother’s ghost is an interesting detail, especially coupled with his interest in Meghan.
We got a glimpse at his relationship with his father on SurrealEstate Season 1 Episode 2, “The Harvey,” but that relationship felt warmer. In contrast, his mom gives off a venomous air that makes the entire scene uncomfortable, and Rozon’s performance is sublime.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Luke’s mom, but this ending scene is enough to make us feel the menace. These little breadcrumbs are enough to keep us watching week to week as the cases unfold.
“For Sale By Owner” shows what SurrealEstate can be if it hones its craft. It’s still early days for this series, and it’s clear the there is an understanding of how to write and perform horror, but a balance needs to be struck.
Stray Thoughts:
- It’s smart to condense Susan’s home showings into a two-minute montage. Sarah Levy is a great actress and I want to see what she does with Susan, but when a client comes in as a guaranteed closing and a repeat customer, it isn’t necessary to get his backstory up front. Plus, we don’t want to see Susan fail each week. While it’s great when she succeeds and she’s the audience’s way in, we don’t need to learn everything by putting her missteps front and center.
- I am curious about the grandmother’s costume. All of the deceased North family outfits were black but her’s seemed to be from a different time period altogether. I am getting curious how the rules of ghost work on SurrealEstate.
- I really want to know more about Father Phil and August. I am okay with them being the guys that analyze things, but I really want them to have a little more footing in the story. The way Zooey and Susan are working together is a good example.
- Zooey saving the day is amazing. Never count out the admin cos they know more than you do.
What did you think of this episode of SurrealEstate? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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SurrealEstate airs Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.