Surface Season 2, Episode 5, “Daybreak” pays off the massive revelation that ended Episode 4… sort of. The entire episode revolves around what fans learned about Sophie Ellis’ history, as that information spills out to the other characters. The majority of the plot is people finding out and then reacting to that surprise. That creates an awful lot of suspense, even if it occasionally seems like the show is reaching to create more drama than it needs to.

“Daybreak” picks up the morning after Episode 4. Sophie disappears from the Huntley estate and receives a call from her estranged husband Mark Ellis, who catches her in a vulnerable moment. Elsewhere, Henry Huntley finally catches up with what’s been going on, and is forced to come clean to one of his kids. Surface also reveals something that viewers won’t at all be surprised by — but the shifting dynamics between all of the characters will keep fans on the hook anyway.

Surface Season 2, Episode 5 Confirms That Sophie Is a Huntley

It’s Not Just in the Discussion of Her Parentage

Any lingering doubt that Sophie Ellis is a Huntley gets erased in “Daybreak.” The episode makes up for Episode 4’s implication by explicitly affirming that Henry Huntley is Sophie’s father multiple times. Several characters talk about it, including Sophie herself clearly stating that Henry is her father when she and James visit her mother’s gravesite. But it’s not just the repetition that hammers this home for viewers. It also becomes clearer in the way that Sophie behaves. The way she is keeping and has kept secrets, the importance of family in her life, and even the way she can be standoffish all seem more like the Huntleys when recontextualized through the prism of her parentage. Sophie may have started out trying to ruin the Huntleys, but she’s got much more in common with them than she’s aware.

This episode truly illustrates the underlying theme that Surface Season 2 is going for. The season may have begun as a classic “eat the rich” tale, with the scrappy and overlooked Sophie determined to expose the sins of the Huntley dynasty. Yet it’s slowly — very slowly — pointed out how the divide between the proverbial haves and have nots is much smaller than it first appeared. The characters are definitely in different economic and social classes, but their behavior isn’t that much different. With that in mind, “Daybreak” prompts the natural question of whether or not there’s really a “good guy” in the show. Sophie is certainly the protagonist and fans can root for her wanting to avenge her mother. But in getting to the truth, is she just going to get sucked back into the world she left behind?

Related

Apple TV+ Reaches Major, Unfortunate Milestone With Streaming Losses

A new report delves into the exact numbers, revealing how Apple has reached an unfortunate milestone with its streaming losses.

Surface Upends Sophie and James’ Relationship a Second Time

James and Sophie Are Better When They’re Together

The lion’s share of Surface Season 2, Episode 5 is devoted to its most interesting plotline: James and Sophie’s shifting relationship. After James made an unceremonious return in Season 2, Episode 2, “Speak of the Devil,” he spent most of his time antagonizing Sophie, and he wasn’t entirely wrong in doing so. He was hurt and angry, so of course he wasn’t going to be polite. “Daybreak” shakes things up, but not because James had an utterly random one-night stand with Grace, which isn’t even addressed save one scene of James looking like he regrets it. He subsequently calls Sophie and begs for a meeting, which leads to a confession.

James tells Sophie that he personally paid back the money she stole from Ascendant, and that he did so by taking out a loan from some unspecified but dangerous people. He claims that he needs $100,000 to pay them back in two days or else. A sympathetic Sophie thus turns James into her psuedo-partner for the episode. She takes him to her mother’s grave and confesses that William Huntley is her father. When James reveals that isn’t the first time Sophie’s brought him there, she gets him to take her to the place he once picked her up from, which turns out to be her mother’s old apartment. These scenes are infinitely more interesting than watching Sophie and James fighting. They absolutely needed to fight, but seeing them sympathetic to one another, re-learning how to interact with each other, and still having some kind of care for each other is far richer in terms of character development.

Unfortunately, Surface then apparently undoes all of that with James’ last moments on screen. Sophie gives James the funds he needs and then some, providing “a peace offering” as they seem to be able to connect with one another again. But as James leaves her apartment, he tells her that he doesn’t actually have a flight home in two days, and he’s seen writing down Sophie’s passcode in the Notes app on his iPhone. That might be good for a dramatic cliffhanger, but it’s so incredibly disappointing to choose drama over letting the relationship heal and grow in an organic and extremely relatable way.

Related

This Hidden Gem Is 1 of the Best Apple TV+ Shows of All Time

Trying is one of the best series on Apple TV+, but it is often overlooked due to the popularity of shows like Severance and Ted Lasso.

Surface Season 2, Episode 5 Gives Better Insight Into Quinn’s Psyche

Phil Dunster Plays His Character on Tilt

Elsewhere in Surface Season 2, Episode 5, viewers are privy to the downfall of Quinn Huntley. Quinn wakes up from his hangover to find Grace gone and the tabloid article taunting him. He spends “Daybreak” trying to piece things together. The conversation that Quinn has with Henry is proof that the Huntleys make dysfunctional sitcom families seem normal. It’s a talk that covers both the murder of Phoebe Davis and the truth about Sophie, with Quinn pointing out that Henry has spent his life covering for William Huntley’s indiscretions. It’s surprising that Quinn Huntley has become the sanest person in the show, but he makes very valid points.

Quinn’s self-loathing is on full display in “Daybreak,” which then adds more color to his erratic behavior in the previous episodes, including the ridiculous drunken bender from Episode 4. Audiences may be disappointed that Quinn and Grace don’t have it out over her infidelity; the script skips over that and the opportunity to see what Sophie did after seeing Eliza’s music box. Those are two big moments that are just left to fans’ imaginations (at least so far) when they shouldn’t be. But Quinn warning Grace about his family shows the depth of his inner turmoil and gives him back some of the credibility that he lost. Surface is a better show if the Huntleys aren’t all scheming elitists.

Season 2, Episode 5 also includes the reveal that Callum’s assistant Claire has been in Quinn’s pocket. This is not as shocking as the show wants it to be. There have only ever been two choices — Claire and Callum’s editor Julia — and viewers already know where Julia’s interests lie. Claire has really just followed Callum around. The bigger deal is that Callum confronts Sophie about lying to him, and leaves her to her own devices. The one ally she may have now is Eliza, and their relationship runs hot and cold. Surface wonderfully depicts all the shockwaves that come out of revealing Sophie’s father, but there are a lot of pieces left to pick up.

Surface streams Fridays on Apple TV+.

Surface Season 2, Episode 5

Release Date

July 28, 2022

Network

Apple TV+

Directors

Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Jennifer Morrison

• 

  Gugu Mbatha-Raw

  Sophie Ellis

• 

  Oliver Jackson-Cohen

  James Ellis

• 

Pros & Cons

• Provides the most information about Sophie and her mother yet.
• It’s nice to see Sophie and James on the same side again.

• James’ last scene seems to undo all his character development.
• Some scenes drag slowly when they could be condensed.