This article contains major spoilers for the first season of the Apple TV+ series Surface.
When the series starts, its been approximately five months since Sophies accident.
Although her wounds have healed, her amnesia remains, and shes becoming increasingly more desperate to remember.
Verywell / Ellen Lindner/ Photo Courtesy of Apple TV+
But how accurate is the shows depiction of amnesia?
We spoke to experts to understand what would happen if Sophies fall happened in real life.
What Kind of Amnesia Does Sophie Have?
Is Surface’s Depiction of Amnesia Realistic?
Based on this, it makes sense that Sophie doesnt remember events right before she fell from the boat.
However, suppose the consolidation process is disrupted due to an accident like Sophies.
Hollywood vs.
Reality
Experts agree that Surface’s depiction of memory loss is pretty inaccurate.
Both Miller and Peniston concur that one of the most unrealistic parts ofSurfaceis the frequent runs Sophie takes.
And it’s usually attributed to a person due to severe conflict, sometimes severetrauma.
Would Sophie Continue to Be Suicidal After Losing Her Memories?
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
If somebody had a tendency towards suicidality prior to the injury, then generally that’s going to persist.
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, observes Miller.
If somebody had a tendency towards suicidality prior to the injury, then generally that’s going to persist.
One of the ironies is [suicide attempts]… can leave the person with fairly serious brain injury.
So now you’ve got somebody who was suicidal to begin with, and now they’re impaired.
That might increase someones depression further, increasing the likelihood that theyd attemptsuicideagain.
