SurrealEstate 3×8 Review: “Perchance to Dream”

SurrealEstate season 3 episode 8, titled ‘Perchance to Dream’, finally allowed Luke to learn the truth about Tyler.

While I was excited about SurrealEstate coming back for a third season with 10 episodes, and I want it to be renewed for a fourth outing, I do have to say that I feel a 10-episode order might be a bit too much for the current chapter. ‘Perchance to Dream’, as well as a couple of previous episodes, have felt like filler. Yes, the main storyline involving Tyler has progressed throughout the season. However, the story threads about the haunted properties have been lacking, coming across as padding to hit the 10-episode order instead of being able to stand on their own.

There were two haunted houses that the Roman Ireland Agency had to handle during episode 8. Plot A was about a woman named Dorothy who died in her sleep and had been giving Susan, August, and Lomax nightmares. She clearly didn’t want her home sold. Her anger was linked to her hidden box of gold in the backyard.

I was surprised to see that Dorothy’s ghost was capable of appearing in people’s dreams. I don’t think we have seen something like that happen before to the main cast. I was hoping for the creative team to explain if said ability developed after Dorothy’s death or if she already had some dream-related ability while she was alive. Unfortunately, we didn’t get an answer.

It could have been a very simple fix. The team finding a collection of books in Dorothy’s house about dreams and understanding their meaning could have provided some context for why Dorothy’s ghost appeared in the nightmares.

Anyway, Luke’s able to talk to Dorothy’s ghost inside her house and come up with a plan about donating her box of gold (worth millions of dollars) to help educate girls.

I liked how the narrative seemed to talk about how certain people delay doing good because they wait for the “best opportunity” to do so. Frankly, life’s too short to be waiting to do good. If you think there’s something nice you can do for someone, especially if it’s something that can significantly change another person’s entire life, just go ahead and do it. 

But yeah, the Dorothy stuff was… servicable.

As for Plot B, it involved Susan and Lomax’s newly renovated property being haunted due to the old bricks they used to create an accent wall. I had been waiting for the bricks to be brought up again, and I’m glad they did. Having said that, I’m also disappointed that the possessed bricks were treated as a B storyline instead of allowing Susan and Lomax to really dive into the situation. The bricks were replaced with a fresh batch, and yeah, everything was good.

Sigh!

At least, ‘Perchance to Dream’ allowed the cast to deal with Tag’s death in their own way. It made sense for Luke, August, Lomax, and Susan to show up to work. They wanted to keep busy. However, Tag’s death did take a toll on Luke. I think he blamed himself for Tag’s fatal accident, especially because he’s the one who hired Tag. Luke tries to look out for his employees. So, in his mind, he failed Tag.

I appreciated the writing team finally allowing Luke to grow suspicious of Tyler. He found the future-predicting piece of toast in Tag’s apartment. Tyler’s rudeness over Tag’s death also didn’t help matters during his conversation with Luke. One would think Tyler would take the opportunity to pretend to console Luke so he can get close enough to take over Luke’s body during such a stressful period. Tyler even told Seven that his way to get into Luke’s mind was during his grieving period. But, I guess, with only two episodes left, the writers don’t have a lot of time to drag things out in such a manner.

Also, with Luke’s dreaming about Elvis the Elephant actually being Tyler, I’m looking forward to seeing how he will protect himself and his crew from such a malevolent being.

Again, I wanted an explanation about the sudden occurrence of the cast experiencing weird dreams. Luke can talk to the dead, but his powers haven’t been mentioned as being linked to dreaming about them, too. I just really wanted an explanation to help further expand the lore of SurrealEstate.

Coming back to Tag, he looked out for Susan one last time before heading to the afterlife. His research (from beyond the grave) was the reason the haunted bricks could be replaced ASAP. It was a nice gesture, but I wouldn’t mind not seeing Tag again. The last thing I want is Tag’s ghost possessing the computer systems in his apartment and continuing to assist the Roman Ireland Agency from the digital realm. He was a nice little addition to the team as a way to replace Father Phil, but if the show returns for a fourth season, I would like to have Father Phil back in the flesh.

The scenes between Susan and Lomax continued to be enjoyable. I’ve grown to like their friendship. Susan needed a friend like Lomax in her life. As for Susan’s romantic life, I’m still side-eyeing Crush. He told Susan he’s there to offer her emotional support after hearing about Tag’s death. He also bought her the flowers she liked. Apparently, he knew about Susan’s favorite flowers because he listened to a whisper in his ear. I don’t know about you, but it’s all a little too good to be true for me. Again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Crush’s revealed to be one of the people/demons from the same group that Tyler’s part of.

What did you think of SurrealEstate season 3 episode 8, ‘Perchance to Dream’?

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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