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This article contains spoilers for Surface Episode 6.
It’s no secret that Apple TV+‘s psychological thriller, Surface, leaves much to be desired. Decider definitively dubbed the eight-episode series a “SKIP”, and critics have called the show everything from “a jumble of shallow thrills” to “a tedious slog” since its first three episodes dropped on July 29.
Despite a sensational cast, five episodes in I agreed with the haters. It felt like no star could shine bright enough to make Surface‘s sluggish pace, incessant plot twists, and at times infuriating writing enjoyable. But just as I was about to abandon the show entirely, Episode 6 sucked me in like a rip current.
The Hello Sunshine-produced series is led by the talented, ravishing Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who plays Sophie, a woman furiously searching for answers after losing her long-term memory in a supposed suicide attempt. Upon diving head-first into her past, Sophie is forced to question her suspiciously faultless husband James (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), her best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor), her former flame Baden (Stephan James), and anyone else who crosses her path.
While the curious premise has potential, Surface gets stuck in a repetitive, dismal, largely ineffectual hunt for answers. But Episode 6, “The Myth of California,” unexpectedly shakes things up, offering refreshing structure, an escape from character ruts, and some long-overdue insight.
Fresh off a drug trip and a harrowing night on the town, Sophie — wearing her infamous black dress and smudged eye makeup — sits in her living room staring at James. “I don’t even know where to start,” he says, still wearing last night’s suit. “The beginning,” she replies. Yes, FINALLY!
![Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Sophie and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as James in 'Surface'](https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-apple.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-apple.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-apple.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-apple.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=618 618w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-apple.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1236 1236w)
The episode launches into a stunning hour of flashbacks that effortlessly flow, stringing the muddied narrative together so neatly you’ll feel like you’re watching a different show. We see James in a restaurant feeding a man a line about tripling his money. The prospective client shuts him down and leaves just as the wine arrives, so James turns to the server, Sophie, and asks how much the bottle costs. She says $300, which causes him visible discomfort, but he recovers by explaining he’s a partner at a venture capital firm downtown and inviting her to drink with him. Gentle piano music sets the mood for their hopeful, innocent spark, and the camera cuts to a dark entryway of a gorgeous house.
James lets Sophie in and turns on the lights. He offers her a bite to eat, only to realize the fridge is empty. Then he momentarily forgets where the restroom is and searches the kitchen for glasses. “If only this was actually your house,” she says, correctly calling his bluff. James explains he’s house sitting for his boss and was just trying to impress her. In reality, he’s a junior associate with imposter syndrome who’s considering quitting his job.
“You don’t have to try to impress me, you know. I mean this stuff is nice, but in my experience the kind of people who have it never really appreciate it,” Sophie says. It’s clear they’re not yet the broken human husks we’ve been following for five episodes. These strangers are carefree, modest, playful, and genuinely into each other — as shown in a delightful montage of drinking, dancing, and goofing around. The scene, straight of of a rom-com, brilliantly cycles through Khruangbin’s “Time (You and I)”, Nina Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” Daft Punk’s “Around the World”, and more before ending on the jazzy romantic “Moody’s Mood For Love” that takes us into the next morning.
![Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Sophie and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as James in 'Surface'](https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-ep-6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-ep-6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-ep-6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-ep-6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=618 618w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-ep-6.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1236 1236w)
Sophie and James watch the sun rise with their feet in the pool. They have a candid heart to heart with pant legs and shirt sleeves rolled up, shoes off, and sincere smiles on their faces. When the conversation reaches a natural pause, strings swell and we’re transported to an empty subway car where they make out around a pole. The dreamy sequence — which features stunning cinematography, sound, and lighting — takes us back to the the tired couple in their living room and offers a stark contrast between their hopeful past and ill-fated present. “You know what the best part was? You saw right through me,” present-day James tells Sophie. “We didn’t poke our heads out for months, just stuck in our own little bubble. And then, I introduced you to my friends.”
As exciting as it is to finally escape Sophie and James’ cryptic world for a while, the flashbacks also feature phenomenal performances from Mbatha-Raw and Jackson-Cohen. The two are tasked with playing their characters at different stages in life; an ambitious feat that requires tapping into a variety of different emotions. Their acting chops are finally put to good use in this episode, and it’s a satisfying sight. After Sophie and James’ meet-cute, we cycle through linear milestones in their relationship, from the first time Sophie meets Caroline to the first time she lies and heavily pads James’ resumé for the sake of career advancement, and of course, the rush. We watch James get promoted, the couple buy their first house, and then host a housewarming party, where James’ colleague Harrison (François Arnuad) calls Sophie out for being suspicious.
“Was he right about me? Tell me the truth,” present-day Sophie asks, bringing viewers up for air again. “How did we go from all that to this?”
Another round of flashbacks reveals that Sophie’s affair with Baden drove James into the arms of Caroline. We learn Sophie conned James out of the $11.25 million his firm’s missing and tried to leave town, but he followed her. They had a confrontation at the pier, but he didn’t push her off the boat. He came home and found her note before the hospital called. Then he saw her memory loss as a chance for them to start fresh, so he told the police she left a suicide note.
![Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Sophie and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as James in 'Surface'](https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-subway-kiss.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-subway-kiss.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-subway-kiss.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-subway-kiss.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=618 618w, https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/surface-subway-kiss.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1236 1236w)
“How can you still love me after all that?” present day Sophie asks. “I still love the girl I met that night and I always will. And maybe all the shitty things that happened since maybe we could just try to forget,” he says. The end credits roll and “Moody’s Mood For Love” starts blasting again, the last of a continual string of stellar creative choices in the episode.
“The Myth of California” is engrossing in a way Surface‘s other episodes — including those that follow it — aren’t. The strong, succinct storytelling is void of the show’s usual painful pauses and unnecessary fillers. We not only get answers about Sophie and James, but we finally feel like we know them a bit, and thus can become more invested in the series. In addition to pushing the narrative forward, the episode is beautifully written, directed, edited, and acted. Suspense and intrigue never wane over its 50 minutes, and the show successfully avoids the cheesiness that’s present in so many other TV flashbacks.
Though “The Myth of California” is the series’ sole standout episode, it gives a glimpse at Surface‘s potential and will have viewers wishing the rest of the season lived up to its hype.
New episodes of Surface stream on Apple TV+ every Friday, with the finale airing on September 2.