Gabriel Medina’s sordid love triangle featuring now ex-wife Yasmin Brunet and step-father Charlie the scintillating focus of universally-praised TV series “Make or Break” second episode!

Essential.

Surf media is falling all over itself to heap the most superlative praise on Apple+ Television’s just released series Make or Break though is it all deserved or another example, in continuous string, of our kind just gagging to be noticed? I’ll be extremely honest with you. I was worried it was the later after watching episode one. Tyler Wright’s narrative felt canned and the lack of genuine stakes seemed ridiculous what with non-stop hyperbole gushing from interviewed mouths.

Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, I think, said of last year’s tour, the one being filmed, “This is the greatest assemblage of talent in the history of the sport.”

Um, no.

Also, “Any of these guys could beat anyone.”

Also no.

11x champion Kelly Slater, speaking of Pipeline’s deadliness, declared, “It’s super dangerous. Somebody dislocated their shoulder this morning.”

As a chronic dislocater, not dangerous or deadly.

Etc. Etc. Etc. and I was concerned heading into episode two, The Brazilian Storm, especially when it began “Filipe Toledo is the most dangerous competitor on the world tour.

? unless “dangerous” and “dislocated shoulder” are now synonymous.

But then magic begins to unspool albeit slowly. The cameras focus on Gabriel Medina and his then wife Yasmin Brunet early. Medina having split from step-father Charlie and mother in order to make his own way with archival footage and tears. It flips to Italo Ferreira and his childhood friend and traveling partner who makes him smoothies and also admits to not being appreciated. Andy King is unveiled as Medina’s new coach, more tears flow, Medina and Ferreira go back and forth winning and losing events on the Australian leg, Filipe Toledo, the aforementioned “most dangerous” pops in and out and scene.

The subtle insights are fascinating but the real glory, for us honest-to-goodness professional surf watchers, is this bizarre time capsule. We know that Medina divorced Brunet and quit the tour for a mental break, for example, and to observe him shooting daggers through her when she tells him to “surf for fun,” when she says, “People think I am going to derail his career” are pure gold.

Kafka could not have written it better.

And so the only complaint I was left with was a lack of insight from us honest-to-goodness professional surf watchers. The camera follows Ferreira, for example, into a live Ain’t That Swell show and my gracious if that doesn’t look wildly fun but neither Jed Smith nor Vaughn Blakey are interviewed. Instead, Stace Galbraith and Luke Kennedy are utilized in the “surf journalist” role. Now, I’m sure both are wonderful but neither are vicious and we (read: you) are vicious.

That bit is missing, honest-to-goodness analysis, criticism, hot-takes from The People™. It appears, through the episode, that “surf fans” are pure, spooning down the storylines churned out by our World Surf League, which seems a miss.

A small complaint, though, especially when episode two flips to episode three and Jay “Bottle” Thompson reveals the origins of his nickname.

David Lee Scales and I, anyhow, discuss over the best fusion tacos and burritos I have ever had in my life. From New Jersey, it should go without saying.

Essential.