DISCLAIMER: This recap of the SurrealEstate episode “The Harvey” is riddled with spoilers. You’ve been warned. Proceed at your own peril. 

Welcome back, stigmatized property agents! SurrealEstate aired its second episode this week, and with it a more intricate character study of the main players beyond Luke and Susan. While “The Harvey” isn’t laden with as many jump scares as the pilot, the show takes a page out of Supernatural‘s book with its “monster of the week” format. But will it be sustainable? We’ll have to keep tuning in to find out. 

Ready to delve into “The Harvey”? Let’s get to it. 

RELATED: SurrealEstate Series Premiere Recap: (S01E01) Pilot

Now, we open with a house from eight months prior. A family resides therein. Suddenly, windows shut of their own accord. Bloodcurdling screams can be heard. A body is slammed against the front window. We see a sign for The Roman Agency is in the yard. Finally, the house is set ablaze in a fiery explosion. What a happy ending!

Later, a small boy is chatting it up with a little girl in his room. She looks … suspect. At The Roman Agency, Susan (Sarah Levy) attempts to make cheerful small talk with Zooey (Savannah Basley), who’s not having it. 

Still of Tim Rozon and Sarah Levy in the SurrealEstate episode "The Harvey."

SURREALESTATE — “The Harvey” Episode 102 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Tim Rozon as Luke Roman, Sarah Levy as Susan Ireland — (Photo by: Blue Ice Pictures/SYFY)

Then, Luke (Tim Rozon) and Susan are driving to their next client: the Quincy household. Luke urges Susan to do things their way. Susan may have an impeccable track record when it comes to selling properties, but the paranormal stuff is in Luke’s wheelhouse. Luke and Susan meet the family that’s trying to sell their home. Unfortunately, multiple potential buyers have fled their house in abject terror. 

Next, Luke meets the couple’s son, Jamie (David Kohlsmith). Luke notices that something’s amiss with the young boy. We see the little girl again, whose name is Cindy (Molly Lewis). She asserts that Jamie’s not allowed to leave, even though his mom got a new job elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, Susan arrives back at the office and tries to take the reins. She begins micromanaging Father Phil (Adam Korson), asking for access to his findings on the Quincy residence. She also wants August (Maurice Dean Wint) to coordinate his surveying/testing efforts with her so they don’t stop by the house at the same time. Susan even asks Zooey to create spreadsheets. 

Of course, the team isn’t taking too kindly to Susan’s requests/demands. Later, Susan returns to the Quincy home. She encounters Molly, who’s definitely some kind of demon or ghost. Maybe both? Molly feigns sadness and claims that her doll is lost. It’s up in the attic. Molly quickly vanishes while Susan calls Luke. Luke urges her to stay put — he’ll be there soon. 

However, methinks not. Luke is snapping photos of Megan Donovan’s house. We see Megan (Tennille Read) sneak up behind him. There’s a bit of flirting. It’s quite clear that Luke fancies her. Megan’s fiancé, Brock, makes an appearance in his skivvies. Luke vows that he’s working on getting a buyer for Megan’s property. 

Then, Susan heads to the attic in search of Molly’s doll. Instead, she spots a formidable raven that proceeds to attack her. This moment is a tad cheesy, in my humble opinion. Mostly due in part to the special effects. August enters the fray to find Susan on the floor post-raven attack. 

Still of Maurice Dean Wint in the SurrealEstate episode "The Harvey."

SURREALESTATE — “The Harvey” Episode 102 — Pictured in this screengrab: Maurice Dean Wint as August Ripley — (Photo by: Blue Ice Pictures/SYFY)

Next, Luke chastises Susan for going at it alone in the Quincy home. He shows her footage of the residence from eight months ago that burst into flames and slaughtered the whole family inside. A supernatural entity was at play. Luke asserts that treading carefully is of the utmost importance, especially when it comes to volatile spirits. Rozon gets to flex his dramatic muscles here, and it’s nice to see. 

Later, Susan and Luke are called back to the Quincy household. Jamie is on the roof and his parents are trying to persuade him to get down. We see that Molly is taunting Jamie — she’s attempting to “jump.” Of course, that won’t do much since she’s dead. Molly leaps but doesn’t fall. She begins to levitate. 

After the ordeal, Luke sits with Jamie on the latter’s swingset. Luke wants to know all about Molly. However, Jamie is forbidden from talking about his friend. Jamie laments that he doesn’t have any friends, even though Molly’s a little jerkwad. While up in the attic, Susan bonds with the repairman over Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. How obscure!

Then, Molly is irked because Jamie talked to Luke about her. He must be punished! She notices his parents are outside doing lawn maintenance. She telekinetically forces his mom to face his dad with a pair of hedge clippers. Molly’s going to drive his dad into the protruding hedge clippers. Fortunately, she stops right before the potential bloodbath. 

Still of Sarah Levy in the SurrealEstate episode "The Harvey."

SURREALESTATE — “The Harvey” Episode 102 — Pictured in this screengrab: Sarah Levy as Susan Ireland — (Photo by: Blue Ice Pictures/SYFY)

Instead, she mercilessly slaughters Jamie’s hamster. This little girl’s an asshole. Now, Luke tries to coerce Molly out of hiding. She puts on the “helpless little girl” façade, but Luke sees right through her charade. 

Meanwhile, Susan vents to her mother about the day she’s had. Nobody likes her, her boss is weird and she’s not free to do as she pleases when it comes to selling houses. Her mom puts Susan in her place. Susan just needs to give her coworkers some time and space. Let things breathe before she starts micromanaging everyone. This speaks to my soul on a profound level. 

With the aid of August, Luke is able to pinpoint exactly what Molly is. She’s an incredibly old, incredibly ferocious demon. He snags a device that’ll help deconstruct Molly’s ghost particles. Susan waltzes in with everyone’s coffee orders. Unprompted at that! Zooey, Phil and August all appear to be content with Susan. Susan gushes over the repairman she met to Phil, only to learn that he’s Phil’s husband. This is a genuine twist that I didn’t expect, and I highly enjoy it. Brava. 

Next, Luke and Susan head back to the Quincy house even though the family fired them. Luke, the device in hand, races upstairs to catch Molly for good. He begins playing a chess game with her. Earlier, August urged Luke to attack Molly’s ego. These beings are quite fragile. So, Luke proceeds to belittle Molly. His condescension knows no bounds. 

Suddenly, Molly transforms into an old demon woman. That’s her true form. Admittedly, the special effects aren’t great here. I’m getting 2005 Supernatural vibes. Luke successfully traps her in the device, which destroys her. Susan also convinces the Quincy parents to refrain from calling the cops on Luke. Everyone wins!

Still of Molly Lewis and Tim Rozon in the SurrealEstate episode "The Harvey."

SURREALESTATE — “The Harvey” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Molly Lewis as Cindy, Tim Rozon as Luke Roman — (Photo by: Derm Carberry/Blue Ice Pictures/SYFY)

Back at the office, Susan manages to sell the Quincy property after Molly was disposed of. Then, we see Luke playing minigolf with an older man. A montage plays out of our core cast winding down for the evening. Susan’s baking cookies with her mom. Zooey and August are playing video games. Phil and his husband are having a night in. All’s well that ends well. The older man mentions Susan. She could be a good match for Luke!

However, Luke likes to compartmentalize, and Susan is filed under “work,” not “personal life.” The pair discuss romance for a bit until the older gentleman vanishes into thin air. This is the ghost of Luke’s father. 

RELATED: ‘Wynonna Earp’ Stars Melanie Scrofano and Tim Rozon Reunite for SurrealEstate

Overall, “The Harvey” is a so-so episode. The comedy feels a little forced in some places, as if the writers tried to wedge it in just for the sake of having it. Zooey’s comment about Molly resembling the Wendy’s girl did make me cackle. Luke Roman is bland for me. He’s reminiscent of Daimon Helstrom from Helstrom — he’s human Wonder Bread. This is a shame because Rozon is such a versatile and talented performer. 

That being said, there are moments in this episode that cast a promising light over SurrealEstate. This does have the potential to fill that Supernatural-filled hole in your heart. Whether it follows through with that is another story entirely. Right now, it still needs work. I’m excited to see Melanie Scrofano as a guest star next week!

SurrealEstate airs Fridays at 10 pm on your Syfy affiliate. 

Wynonna Wednesday: Theories for a WYNONNA EARP Season 5

 

 

 

Follow me!
Latest posts by Melody McCune (see all)