Severance returns after 3 years with yet another incredible season of television, as the mystery continues to unravel with new creative heights.
Considered one of the biggest surprises of Apple TV’s slate when the series first released in 2022. Severance was a breath of fresh air. Shows like Mad Men, Succession, The Americans, Industry or The Bear have demonstrated the struggles of balancing the work life while aspiring to have a fulfilling personal life, or lacking a decent one. Relationships, identity conflicts and self perception are all common threads that drive these prestige dramas to becoming so detailed and why the audiences find themselves so deeply interested and invested in their characters lives. But how often do you see a series depicting the inner workings of our work and personal lives so surgically, to the point that they become entirely separate entities and you’re only left with one side of the coin. You would be hard pressed to find any in fact.
Severance is a sci-fi psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, focusing on a tight knit group of office workers whose memories have been separated between their work and personal lives. They live out 2 different existences while occupying the same body. A new colleague called Helly (Britt Lower) joins and disrupts the harmony of the work space, hellbent on resigning and escaping the work prison by any means necessary. This leads to doubts to surface within the Severed floor as a web of mysteries uncover, with each individual starting to question who they work for and why. The journey to discover the truth about their jobs and recall hidden memories begins. Can they escape the Severance?
To refresh your memory, Season 1 leaves off right in the thick of the plot as the “outies” of the 4 “innies” workers are finally revealed against a ticking clock. The innies grasp their window to leave their work space and find out what their lives were actually like in the outside world, much to everyone’s surprise. There’s a lot of life being lived out that they weren’t aware of. But how did they get there? A more pressing question may be why these people chose to undergo surgery and enact the Severance, and even forgetting such a life changing procedure.
Season 2 continues right where we left off in the pulsating finale ‘The We We Are’ as both the innies and the audience come closer than ever before in discovering the truth about Lumon. The big twist that reframes the entire show from the start as Helena is revealed to be the daughter of the CEO of Lumon, who is found in disbelief just as she attends her dedicated ceremony for her speech to celebrate Lumon’s achievements, she decides to take the twist a step further by announcing to the public the mistreatment of Severance innies. Validating many of the public’s concerns of its existence.
While Season 1 is quite plot oriented as the rabbit hole deepens and stakes escalate to a boiling point, Season 2 switches up the rhythm of the show and puts that pace to a halt to become more of a slow burner character drama. Focusing on visual experimentation, bottle episodes and less progression of the plot. That may not satisfy every viewer but it is consistent to the show’s pattern of behaviour to put you at unease. There’s more room to breathe and think but less space to wrap your head around at what direction this show is heading and form a correct theory. While that statement may sound unideal, it is exactly what makes the show worth watching. It’s almost been a while since a tv series has really felt elusive to its benefit without your investment wavering at any point.
This also ties into the show’s central mystery about Lumon and what the show is attempting to convey about trauma and human through unexplainable experiences and absurd interactions. As the great David Lynch once said, “I don’t know why people expect art to make sense. They accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense.” It almost feels like this show is the closest to recreating that universal wonder and curiosity about human life and existence since the iconic Twin Peaks series.
When confronted with misfortune, people often choose to deny it or shut themselves off from the world. So it only makes sense that if given the opportunity to forget your grief, that you would want to restart life on a clean slate, not having to worry about dealing with the emotional consequences of your pain. Inevitably, by rejecting reality, one can indulge in fantasy. But how long can you go on until you have to wake up and face your past, or forever be stuck in it. This is Mark’s (Adam Scott) ultimate challenge as he confronts his wife’s passing and relevancy to Lumon, while the others face obstacle of their own that permeate this core theme of human connection and the absence of one. Irving (John Turturro) pursuits to make sense of his loneliness and desire for connection being unrealised is beyond heartbreaking.
The cast boats an impressive display of performances of all types. From Adam Scotts emotionally charged reflection as Mark’s downward spiral reaches new, terrifying lows to Britt Lower effortlessly switching personas to convincingly provide enigma and keep you guessing on her character’s true intentions and personality. John Turturro is especially tragic to witness as his character goes through it all, from an unfulfilled relationship to a life of aimlessness and yearning.
But it may just be Tramell Tillman who steals the show with his rigorously graceful portayal as the new Severed floor manager Seth Milchick. His chilling yet warm rendition continues to persis as he rises the ranks. He is clearly a perceived threat yet he is also someone that may be of decent value unlike the hierarchy in Lumon, leaving both the Macrodata Refinement gang and the audience unsettled with whether to believe him or not. Sarah Bock and Gwendoline Christie are new additions who open up new dynamics for the cast while retaining the unknowable elements that they are privy to. As the show continues to tackle more humanistic themes in disturbingly psychological fashion, the talented cast reach greater heights and assert themselves to give these characters the gravitas and interiority they deserve.
What really defines this show is Ben Stiller’s commitment to being curious and creative. Dabbling in social experiments to discern an understanding of each character’s mental state, exploring various types of relationship conflicts to create new walls to break down, and even throwing out random activities or trials, almost like a daily task in the workplace. Romance, mental health, identity crisis, conspiracies, performance reviews, animal labs, family dramas and friendships being tested. There’s a bit of everything that is easy to buy into despite its weirdness and that keeps the show feeling fresh and captivating at every turn. It helps that the show’s filmmaking is even more impressive than the first season as new one takes are attempted, striking colors like blue used frequently to accentuate a despairing and isolating mood and the use of music enhancing the atmosphere even further.
Overall, Severance Season 2 is a defining point of modern television. Not only does it build upon the foundations of the first season but it cleverly expands the scope of the narrative and reexamines its core themes to dive deeper into darker, psychological themes and issues revolving human nature and connection. It’s brilliant, bold and riveting in what it achieves with some incredible artistry on display. With a third season already confirmed, we may have an all timer in the making.
Severance Season 2 is releasing weekly now streaming on Apple TV
