The mystery unfolds and secrets unspool in the second season ofSurface

In the psychological thriller Surface, amnesiac Sophie Ellis (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) spent much of the first season figuring out who exactly she was. Surrounded by unreliable narrators — her husband James (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) among them — the complete picture of a London transplant-turned-wealthy banker’s wife, who allegedly tried to commit suicide by jumping off a boat, was muddy until the very end. But once the picture became more clear, Sophie knew it was time to return home. “She woke up in this new life and she didn’t know who she was, but when she has those answers, she wants to know where she came from,” says series creator Veronica West.

Plagued by memories of a young girl in trouble, Sophie ended last season by leaving for London and seeking out Eliza (Millie Brady ), who’d put her past with Sophie’s alter-ego, Tess Caldwell, to bed, long ago. “They both have very different experiences of the past,” says West. “That’s true for everybody’s memories of something that happened ten years ago, but especially in this case, as Sophie doesn’t remember what happened and Eliza does, it takes them a long time to understand where the other is coming from. Eliza is understandably defensive about Sophie’s reappearance into her life.”

But, as viewers have come to discover, Sophie is nothing if not tenacious and in season two it is she who drives the plot. “We wanted to show Sophie as a woman who was empowered and had more agency,” says executive producer Lauren Neustadter. “She throws herself into an environment that she knew she belonged in, but she didn’t quite know where she fit. It all feels very big and very overwhelming, but she’s really finding her way. This is about a woman coming into her own and starting to be the author of her own destiny.”

For Mbatha-Raw, the mystery of Sophie’s origins, and her ties to the British aristocracy she is trying to infiltrate, brought out a different side of the character. “Sophie becomes this investigator of her own life,” she says. “It is almost as if she’s undercover in this family.” After discovering that she, herself, was a person responsible for stealing millions, continuing to delve into themes of money and accountability feels appropriate to the actress. “I love that Surface has luxury, glamour and privilege, but also is not afraid to delve into the underbelly and the consequences of that world and show that just because people have wealth and power doesn’t mean they’re immune from corruption, emotional difficulties and complex relationships.”

Speaking of complex relationships, having discovered that his wife faked her suicide — not once but twice — James has also made his way to London in search of his ex. “He’s coming to London as an agent of chaos to disrupt Sophie’s mission,” teases West. But Jackson-Cohen believes it is not just retribution that is on James’ mind. “With the history that they have, James has a huge amount of love and that’s ultimately what’s driving him, because he feels so hurt,” he says. “But it is interesting because you don’t really know where it’s going to go. Do they reconcile? Are everyone’s motives clean? [The relationship] lives in this very interesting space where it feels quite human, in a way.”

Leaving San Francisco means the introduction of an entirely new cast of characters. Eliza, a talented cellist who vacillates between questioning and enjoying her privilege, is the audience’s point of entry to a family entrenched in old money and deep secrets. Her brother Quinn (Ted Lasso’s Phil Dunster), although more likely to follow in family footsteps than his sister, is also questioning his purpose, in part thanks to fiancé Grace (Freida Pinto).

“An exploration into family trauma and that very British, ‘stiff upper lip, everything stays within the family,’ is such an interesting place for Sophie to find herself in,” teases Brady. “And, for me, playing a character that’s a part of that but is wanting to step away from it and doesn’t fit into the family way of doing things, I found really interesting.”

With her amnesia still ripe for storytelling opportunities, Sophie’s deep dive into her past is unlikely to be fully resolved this season. “She’s never going to recover her full memory,” says West. “That’s medically accurate, in that if you don’t get your memory back in the first couple months after an accident like that, it’s not coming back. As a storyteller, finding that out is such kismet.” Whatever Sophie discovers next about herself, Mbatha-Raw is embracing every character shift. “In season one we’re on this journey with Sophie in a very fragile place, having to piece together her life from her husband, from her best friend, from her lover. But by the time we get to the end of season one, Sophie has turned the tables on us,” says Mbatha-Raw. “She’s not so innocent after all.”

Surface, streaming Friday, March 7 on Apple TV+