SurrealEstate 3×6 Review: “Battleground”

SurrealEstate season 3 episode 6, titled ‘Battleground’, had Luke receive a message from “management” while also talking about war-caused PTSD.

With only four episodes left, the latest chapter of SurrealEstate season 3 featured a major development for the in-universe lore. I have my fingers crossed that such lore development continues. Frankly, I found that particular story thread to be far more engaging than the ghost-of-the-week mission the Roman Ireland Agency staff had to deal with.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Talking about war-related PTSD is an important subject, especially when certain media outlets (more or less) glamorize war and link going to battle to masculinity and being a “real” man. However, I think SurrealEstate could have done a better job of what the writers served this week.

The ghost in question was a young soldier who lost his life during the Vietnam War. For some reason, he began haunting a house now owned by a gay couple. For him, the war’s still going on, and his haunting involved explosions and other weapons that could harm humans. Susan’s called in to handle the situation. August helped with taking paranormal readings while Tag researched how the young soldier might be connected to a house that had never been owned by veterans.

August felt a connection to helping the young soldier (later revealed to be named Robert) because of how August’s uncle experienced similar PTSD. Returning from war had led to August’s uncle secluding himself even from family members. War had permanently changed him. The added layer to August’s backstory explained why he struggled at ASDRA due to the company’s focus on pushing the technological envelope, only to find ways to use the breakthrough for weapon development.   

I liked how Rochelle understood August’s hesitation. I’m a fan of the two as a romantic couple. So, I’m glad they made up after August’s snarky comment about Rochelle joking about his supernatural endeavors. I get why August felt Rochelle didn’t take his work at the Roman Ireland Agency seriously, but Rochelle’s joke involving the twins from The Shining was funny! It’s not like she didn’t believe in the paranormal or that August wasn’t helping souls move on. She just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. 

Tag’s research revealed how the house used to belong to Robert’s girlfriend, Lynette. Considering the drama in his household, Robert used to spend a lot of time at Lynette’s and had grown very close to her parents. He remained in contact during the war, but decided to stop writing because he didn’t want Lynette to be part of the horrors he continued to experience.

As for why Robert was haunting the house now, August mentioned a news story about the remains of soldiers being sent to US soil from Vietnam. Robert’s ghost was attracted to Lynette’s house. However, he hadn’t realized the war was over.

Bringing in a much older Lynette to provide the past lovers some closure was a nice touch. I also liked how Luke played ball with Robert, connecting Robert’s storyline to what Luke had recently gone through inside a mysterious cabin in the woods (more on that in a bit).

So, yeah, while I get why the creative team featured a storyline about PTSD and used it to develop August as a character, it was… I’m going to say it… a bit boring. Especially with what Luke had going on during the same episode.

Along with playing a role in aiding Robert move on, Susan also had to deal with her ex-boss and love returning with an offer. Bob wanted to merge with the Roman Ireland Agency. Apparently, he had changed as a person. I liked how Susan stood up for herself and didn’t allow Bob to steamroll her. Susan’s done with Bob for good. Not even presenting Bob’s offer to Luke made sense. Bob didn’t gel with the Roman Ireland Agency’s philosophy of helping people instead of focusing on the real estate side of things.

With Susan having gone through a bunch of failed dates, having her connect with a handsome firefighter was nice. However, considering how things usually go in such a show, I couldn’t help but side-eye the firefighter (who went by the nickname Chase). We know that Malec’s not alone. The SurrealEstate universe is expanding, and Chase could be an associate of Malec’s meant to keep Susan busy.

As for Susan’s pyrokinesis. I hope she levels up her ability to control and extinguish fire instead of just being able to burn things.

Talking about Luke, he’s away from the rest of the staff while searching for a cabin by the lake. However, he got lost in the woods and found himself knocking at the cabin door owned by a grumpy man named Harry. Due to Luke not having offensive supernatural abilities, I was concerned for him the moment he entered the cabin. Luke doesn’t even know hand-to-hand combat. Like, sir, what are you doing?

Of course, Luke clocked Harry and his dog Erasmus to be ghosts. However, it was made clear Harry didn’t mean Luke any harm. He had been waiting for Luke to arrive at the cabin because Harry had a message from “management”. We saw Death show up to ask Luke for some help during episode 3. So, we know that Luke has caught the attention of TPTB governing the universe. 

Though they appreciated Luke, he was, after all, human. He’s prone to thinking that what he’s been doing for years is right and that he should keep doing it. However, Harry’s message to Luke was about how not every spirit needed to cross over. For some ghosts, like Harry, it’s okay to stick around, especially if they weren’t bothering human beings. Harry’s idea of paradise on Earth was the creepy yet cozy cabin he was staying in, complete with numerous books and Erasmus. The “management” wanted Luke to “listen” and, I assume, handle paranormal matters on a case-by-case basis.

Again, I’m so here for the lore being developed in such a manner. I hope we get to see a lot more of that before the current season concludes. The fate of SurrealEstate is always up in the air. So, I want to get as much as I can!

In a surprising turn, Tyler’s wife Vonda showed up at the agency and warned August about how Tyler hadn’t been acting like himself. According to Vonda, Tyler’s obsessed with Luke. With August already suspicious of Tyler/Malec, I’m looking forward to seeing if August will come up with a way to help Luke escape Malec down the line.

Susan did talk to Luke about possibly going into business with someone as greedy as Tyler, as it went against the agency’s philosophy. Though Luke told Susan he won’t do any business with Tyler, we did see Luke still holding onto the Elvis the Elephant plushie. Someone take that thing away from Luke!

I don’t see Malec accepting Luke’s rejection of his business offer. The plushie also seems to be influencing Luke without him realizing it. From what I can tell, Malec’s also running out of time to possess Luke and use his abilities to, in a way, conquer death. The remaining episodes seem ready to be quite intense.

What did you think of SurrealEstate season 3 episode 6 ‘Battleground’?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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