have you seen your mother, baby (standing in the shadow)
SURREALESTATE – Season 1 Episode 5 – SPOILERS
Atticus Lee-Samson as George
Titled “Ghost Child”, this is the closest thing to a musical episode in the series, and was (somehow) not covered by Area 33 when it originally aired in August 2021.
Some ghosts are Fredos, spirits that live in the shadow of another. At the start, it seems that the problem with Cortona House is the ghost of oil tycoon Russell Vaughan the Third (Donald Ellis). Luke (Tim Rozon) describes Vaughan to the home’s prospective buyer as “not a pleasant man, especially if you were an environmentalist, a woman, or a sea otter.” But once that spirit is vanquished, Luke is surprised to see a slinky toy from the 60s descend the staircase, and the story of a little boy named George (Atticus Lee-Samson) unfolds, revealing (thanks to former priest Phil Orley) much about the attitude of organized religion toward women.
Anthony (Paul Ewan Wilson) comforts his husband Phil (Adam Korson)
Years previously, Phil (Adam Korson) decided to stop being a priest in the middle of Easter Mass. His congregation still remembers him, both for his spectacular exit and for his carrot cake. From this we get the best line of the episode: “If I could not bring them comfort and hope,” says Phil, “beta-carotene and fiber seemed like the next best thing.” When Phil tells his husband Anthony (Paul Ewan Wilson) that the investigation is making him miss the being involved with the church and its comforting rituals, Anthony suggests that he’s “not looking for God as much as Lin-Manuel Miranda“.
Hip-hop artist Damon (Cassius Crieghtney) is leasing the property with an option to buy because Vaughan’s third wife built a state-of-the-art recording studio on the premises. Luke suggests that she “fancied herself either the third Judd, or the fourth member of The Chicks” The choice of musical examples fits well with the theme of the episode, as both had considerable difficulties with a male-dominated music industry. Also, The Judds are a mother/daughter duo, and two of The Chicks are sisters. Vaughan’s third wife did not succeed in overcoming oppression. Vaughan left the house to his great niece, whom he “did not know well enough to hate”.
The helpful Sister Yasmin (Christie Stewart) and (right) the less helpful Sister Mary Ellen (Diana LeBlanc).
The recording equipment picks up a child’s voice and then a scream. (George is probably responsible for both.) Later, after Tessa wakes up with her bedroom filled with plastic toy soldiers from the 60s, she fires the Roman Agency, but Damon continues to use the studio to record, and the Agency continues its research.
Before Vaughan owned the house, it belonged to the local diocese and Phil quickly locates Sister Yasmin, a relatively friendly nun. Soeur Yasmin finds him the info on the property in question, which was named for St. Margaret of Cortona, which, Phil says, “tells you everything you need to know about the Church’s take on unwed mothers”. (St. Margaret is the patron saint of many things, including unwed mothers and “reformed” prostitutes.) When Sister Yasmin urges him to not forget about the good stuff like education, feeding the hungry, and caring for the sick, Phil replies: “But, see, aren’t those things kind of expected? I mean, isn’t that the price of admission if you’re going to tell 1.2 billion people what they can eat on a Friday?”
Luke and George.
(It might be relevant that the singer Boy George has an older half-brother named Richard, who was born out of wedlock in Dublin in 1957. His mother, who was eighteen at the time, moved to London with him to escape the stigma of being an unmarried mother.)
The place was used as a Catholic adoption agency. To paraphrase ex-Father Phil: If a woman, or a girl, was found to be “in the family way”, they could (for a generous donation to the church) live out their pregnancy at Cortona House, away from the judgement of polite society. Twenty-four hours after being born, the babies were put up for adoption, and the women could return home like it was all a bad dream. The fees would roll back into the sponsor of the program, and the mothers and babies would never see each other again. Ever.
George died at the age of four in 1970, unaware that his mother, who gave birth to him at Cortona House, had died in an accident. Luke explains to George that his mother is dead, and advises him to go to sleep and then walk toward the light. The experience is particularly poignant for Luke, who had what might best be described as an unfortunate encounter with the spirit of his own mother at the Donovan House in Episode 1.3. At the end of this episode he asks his father’s ghost why his mother left them, but does not get much of an answer.
We never find out if Damon buys the house, or if Susan has any further interaction with Tessa.
Miscellaneous Info
Melanie Scrofano (who directed this episode) with Tim Rozon in WYNONNA EARP
At the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, Tim Rozon won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series for his role as Doc Holliday on SyFy’s WYNONNA EARP, and Danishka Esterhazy (who directed four SURREALESTATE episodes) won Best Director TV Movie for I WAS LORENA BOBBITT.