Just when fans thought they figured out what was going on in Apple TV+ original series Surface, a curveball was thrown into the story. This happened again and again through the eight episodes of the first season as fans watched Sophie try to piece her life back together while not having any recollection as to who she was prior to her traumatic brain injury.
All the twists were shocking in some way, and while fans were able to predict a few of them, others were completely unforeseen.
James And Caroline Slept Together
When Sophie overheard Caroline talking to James on the phone about hiding something from Sophie, she initially thought the pair might have been working together to try to have her killed, pushing her over the edge of the ferry and then covering it up.
The truth was far less sinister but no less hurtful: Sophie eventually learned that her marriage and friendship were both fractured prior to her accident. With her and James on the rocks, and him aware that she was having an affair, he and Caroline slept together. It was clear he only did it to hurt Sophie. Nonetheless, the reality of what happened was both a relief and an embarrassment for Sophie. She didn’t any of it and had to go through the hurt all over again.
Sophie Was Going To Leave James
While the note Sophie left could have been interpreted to be a suicide note, it wasn’t one at all. In reality, it was a note she left describing that she would be leaving town and leaving him. The pair had a strained relationship for some time before the accident, and she had declared to him that she no longer wanted to be together.
James, however, one of the initially least likable characters on Surface, didn’t want this information to be public and allowed the note to be viewed as a suicide note. He genuinely believed she jumped off the ferry with the intention of dying and felt there was no harm in having others believe the note referenced that. This was so even after he realized she might have been trying to leave him, not end her life.
Sophie’s Friend Eliza Is Alive
Eliza remains a huge question mark. First only seen in flashbacks, either in a romantic situation with Sophie (then going by Tess) or fallen from a horse, clearly injured, it was obvious there was some history between her and Sophie. But the implication was always that she was dead, with her injury seemingly fatal, combined with visions Sophie had of the young woman with blood running down her face.
As it turned out, Eliza was alive and well, and not too happy to see Sophie/Tess when she appeared again in town. That scene threw fans for a loop. The assumption up to that point was that Eliza was dead and Sophie harbored some guilt relating to her death.
Sophie’s Mother Had A History Of Mental Illness
Fans didn’t understand why Hannah was pushing back so much against Sophie trying the experimental treatments. If she was willing to pay for it and still see Hannah, what was the big deal? Fans learned the truth when Hannah was forced to reveal it: she didn’t want Sophie to do the treatments because, aside from the fact that she felt they had no basis in science or proper mental health care, they could also be dangerous.
Sophie – played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw in what might be considered one of her best roles - learned that her mother suffered from a mental illness that was hereditary. If Sophie had the same mental illness, the treatment she wanted to try could potentially bring on psychosis.
Sophie Was The Catalyst For Propelling James’ Career
Sophie returned with no recollection of who she was, believing she was simply the wife of a wealthy man who spent her days shopping, doing volunteer work or working at a hospital, attending fancy soirees, and planning charity events.
As it was revealed in flashbacks, Sophie was actually the one who pushed James to become better and more successful. After a chance meeting and watching James blow an opportunity with a potential client at a dinner, Sophie tried to convince him to stretch the truth every now and then in order to get his foot in the door. Again and again, fans saw Sophie talk James up, leading to many clients expressing interest in dealing with him. No one figured out that Sophie was more than just background for James.
Sophie Is The One Who Stole Money
While fans were initially led to believe that James maliciously stole money from his company, perhaps to pay off bills because he over-extended himself, or maybe even to pay off someone he hired to kill Sophie, it turned out that wasn’t the case at all.
While James was indeed guilty, it was because of Sophie, and he was trying to cover it up for her. She casually suggested there was a great business opportunity for him, then set it up so he would transfer a large sum of money to her to be held for a period of time, then stole the money and never deposited it to the client. It was a complete surprise for fans who had felt sympathetic towards Sophie up until that big reveal.
Harrison Hired Baden To Look Into Sophie
Harrison was always clearly suspicious of Sophie and her motives, and it was obvious he didn’t like her. But his true feelings towards her were made clearer in the later episodes. This was especially so in the flashback episode where he flat-out tells her he doesn’t trust her and that she should find another sucker to con because James was a good guy.
But fans never considered that Baden – one of the most intelligent characters on Surface - didn’t just meet Sophie by chance. Rather, Harrison hired him to look into her. What came as a big surprise to all involved is that in the midst of this assignment, Baden fell under her spell and became deeply in love with Sophie.
James Wasn’t The Bad Guy After All
While the jury is still out on James and whether he’s truly a good guy, it’s clear he isn’t the evil villain he was initially portrayed to be. All the obsessive spying on Sophie through video surveillance at their second home, for example, was because he had previously caught her having an affair.
Meanwhile, he was only trying desperately to get into her computer to see if he could track the money she stole. His final phone call to her, suggesting he still loved her and would find her and make things right, suggests that he might not always be thinking clearly and could be obsessive. Nonetheless, all the hints about his initial guilt turned out to be total misdirects. The believability can be credited to the wonderful acting of Oliver Jackson-Cohen, one of the best parts of The Haunting of Hill House.
Sophie Was Still Alive
The biggest twist is that Sophie was still alive. Keen-eyed fans will have picked up on the signs that she might have been planning to do something terrible, including giving away her personal belongings and saying what appeared to be goodbyes. But it turned out this was all a perfectly orchestrated plan to fake her own death.
While Sophie now knew that she was planning to run, she still didn’t understand why. She did know where she was planning to go thanks to the getaway bag and port she discovered. And she had those flashes of Eliza to go by. But that was it. Nonetheless, the reveal that she was alive, and the heart-wrenching and cruel video she left James, threw fans for a loop.
