SurrealEstate Season 2 Episode 1 Trust The Process Review And Recap- What’s Wrong With Luke?

It seems like we have been waiting an eternity for Season 2 of the oddest, most endearing group of ghost-hunting real estate agents on television to come back. When we last saw our ragtag group of home sellers, they celebrated what they thought was a win. The Donovan House portal was reopened, and all of the spirits stuck there were sucked back to the other side, presumably to find some form of peace. It should have been a victory, but it came with a price. SurrealEstate Season 2 Episode 1 shows that price in uncomfortable detail.

Luke’s gift had strings. He had always been able to communicate with the dead because it seemed he had a twin in utero who was stillborn. Somehow, that infant returned as a wrathful ghost hellbent on getting what she thinks she is owed. That is the thirty-some-odd years Luke has been living. We never see the conclusion of their conversation, but when the group reconvenes outside the house, Luke can no longer hear the undead. Susan says she will cover the agency while he deals with his loss, and the viewer is left wondering if Luke is really Victoria.

In SurrealEstate Season 2 Episode 1, we still don’t have a definitive answer. Susan has been handling everything with the Roman Agency in typical enthusiastic and efficient form. To say she is killing it is putting it mildly. She has organized, coddled, sold, and banked her way through seemingly hundreds of homes since Luke has been gone. Sullen and lackadaisical, he is a shell of the motivated, caring person who first hired Susan. This becomes even more apparent when he returns to the office with barely a thank you and a whole lot of dismissals.

We and the group are left wondering what is wrong with Luke. He is borderline rude and displays a disgusting amount of male fragility. His ability loss has left him feeling vulnerable and inconsequential. He counteracts that by acting like an egotistical tool and forging headlong into situations he has no business being in. That brash attitude is not going unnoticed by his friends and colleagues either. When he confronts the ghost of the week in SurrealEstate Season 2 Episode 1 without proper research, he puts himself in danger, and Susan must rescue him.

The agency’s latest problem house is inhabited by a ghost who appears to be a child. She sings in a high-pitched, creepy kid voice and cuts off unsuspecting contractor’s fingers. Instead of collaborating with his group and utilizing the system that has been working this entire time, he forged ahead to prove he was still necessary. It’s not a great look for Luke, and is driving a wedge in the group. It’s a new dynamic for the Roman Agency, and Tim Rozon(Luke Roman) is playing a character we have never seen before.

Luke still visits his father’s grave and mourns his loss, but everything he says can be viewed through a different lens. Victoria could be in there lamenting her stolen time with her Dad. We still don’t know if this new Luke is his dead twin sister or a pouting cuck who whines too much.

Rozon’s work as Doc Holliday on Wynonna Earp was a decidedly manly man but with a refreshing amount of vulnerability. He wasn’t afraid to show his sensitive side even while kicking demon ass. Rozon first played Luke as an open-minded, confident leader. The Luke that has emerged in SurrealEstate Season 2 Episode 1 is insecure, grasping, and demeaning. It is a real departure from the typical sexy man of steel that Rozon is known for. Whether this routine will grow tiresome before he either snaps out of it or we realize he needs an exorcist remains to be seen.

In any case, Roman tries to shift a ghost child who turns out to be a large, freaky, homicidal maniac, and Susan firebombs his trophy, thus cleansing the house of his spirit. Instead of apologizing that he was foolhardy or thanking Susan, he is rude. His behavior is sending her right into the arms of another house with ill intentions. Maybe it’s not a home with a physical embodiment of evil running the show sucking off the misery of those around it, but potentially it is even more deadly.

It was only a matter of time before we got a ghost in the machine episode. It appears that Showrunner George Olson will give the show structure by always giving us a house that acts as the Final Boss each season. Last season, the Donovan House claimed Luke’s powers and forced everyone to confront their pasts. This season of Surreal Estate appears to be leading to a battle with an AI or ghost posing as an AI. Either one will be fun and very timely. Susan’s dream house is gorgeous and is giving her everything she needs to heal, but dreams can quickly become nightmares. What is acts of kindness now could quickly turn into manipulation. Susan will need the real Luke to stand up before the season ends.

Olson’s show works because it is easy entertainment. It is scary enough to give you some good jolts but also light enough not to keep you up at night. The dynamic between the characters feels earned, and these are not cookie-cutter teammates. Zooey(Savannah Basley) is tough but intuitive. Father Phil(Adam Korson) is a complex, wounded soul with plenty of trauma to explore, and August(Maurice Dean Wint) is easily one of the most unique characters on television today. They work because they complete each other.

Every person in the Roman Agency has a role to play that makes their business and their found family work. If one cog in the wheel ceases to work, everything falls apart. This is true of the agency and the series as a whole. Like a well-oiled machine, they succeed when firing on all cylinders. This makes Luke’s current behavior all the more impactful. We feel the loss and the discontent as if it is our own. I’m hoping the eventual payoff is more effective because of the dissonance.

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