Well, they did it again. Ben Stiller managed to rob an entire weekend of my life as I couldn’t pull myself away from Severance season 2 (just like with the first season). It’s been THREE YEARS ever since Mark (Adam Scott) left us on the massive cliffhanger when he proclaimed to his sister Devon (Jen Tullock), “She’s alive!”. Referring to his supposedly deceased wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), it’s been a long wait to see what result came of the revelation. As suspected, Apple TV+ has a fantastic sophomore season in an insane workplace drama/sci-fi/mystery/thriller genre. When I finished the first season, I had a lot of questions and was impatient about the follow-up. Praise Kier was my first thought when the opportunity came up to screen Severance again.
[Warning: This review contains spoilers for the first season of Severance!]
What happened during the final events in the first season of Severance?
The season two trailer released during CCXP showed that the “Innies” (the severed part of the Lumon employees) were hailed as heroes for bringing about Severance Reform after the attention that Helly R (Britt Lower) gave during the Lumon gala. At that same gala, it was revealed that her full name was actually Helena Eagan, making her related to the founder and owner of Lumon Industries. She chose to undergo “severance” to help build legislative support for the highly controversial procedure.
Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) was overly involved in Mark’s life, to the point of deceitfully presenting herself as a lactation expert to Devon to overly intrude. Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) each had separate things to deal with. Dylan helped activate the overtime contingency (switching the Outies to Innies outside of the severed floor), and Irving searched for his love, Burt (Christopher Walken) on the outside. Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) hastily sprinted and tackled Dylan to deactivate the contingency before any further damage could be done, and that’s where we were left hanging off the cliff in the first season of Severance.
Burning questions are finally answered in Severance season 2
So many things happened in the last three episodes of Severance that have the fan boards theorizing up storms based on clues left. This much intrigue over details hasn’t been seen since perhaps Westworld’s first season. Questions such as: What is Macrodata Refinement? Why are the four tempers so important? What do they do with the goats once they’re ready? What is Ms. Cobel’s extensive history with Eagan? How did Mark and Gemma meet?
The lack of answers kept my attention undivided throughout the first season, and the second season did the same by providing so many answers indirectly. Of course, new questions arose. Luckily, the main things that needed to be addressed were thoughtfully covered. The revelations in Severance season two were exceptional and carefully allocated by character. Perhaps the most intense story told, apart from the finale, was one that followed Harmony Cobel for the entirety of the episode.
New additions to Lumon Industries
The opening title sequence of Severance had amazing animation full of details that helped visualize a lot of what happens in the show. The sequence was even awarded a Primetime Emmy for “Main Title Design,” and it was refreshing to see an entirely new sequence that once again held that high quality. It would have been too easy to reuse the intro, but the new one is also part of the show’s identity. While season one’s intro was a great way to ease the viewer into “severance”, the new animation helps blend together the new elements Mark will face throughout the season. It’s so easy to be passive in an intro sequence, but the attention and care (another series highlight) make this show so compelling.
Several new faces appeared in the trailer, and a few were announced but not shown. The most interesting name was Gwendoline Christie, who has only a handful of appearances but makes the most out of each minute on-screen. John Noble also has a few minutes but a tense scene with two characters from the first season. Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, and Stefano Carannante feature primarily in the first episode as Mark’s new Data Refining team, hoping to inspire Mark to continue with his sacred work for Lumon. Sarah Bock, as Miss Huang, is an excellent foil to Mr. Milchick and is the best point of reference to test his inner turmoil of the season.
Once again, a revolving gallery of cryptic paintings drives even more symbolism to the characters and, by extension, the viewers. Presented right as the elevator doors open, Dylan, Helly, and Mark are all “greeted” by new paintings meant to evoke several emotions. The religious and dogmatic undertones of artwork featuring Kier Eagan are not even remotely subtle in the way and moments they are conveniently framed. As if visuals weren’t enough,
Set design and camerawork continue to be exceptional in this AppleTV+ series
The discomfort from the sets in Severance is intentional, of course. With liminal spaces and muted color, navigating Lumon Industries is designed to distress the severed workers quietly. Once again, the long corridors in plain white, olive carpets and antiquated computer equipment reside almost exclusively on the severed floor. It’s even explained that the furnishing specifics of the work environment are explicitly chosen to ease the innies into a sense of security and familiarity. It was exciting to see the explanation of why they use such retro computers, for a valid reason beyond fitting in with the show’s setting.
Not every scene is located several floors below the Lumon Industries building, but we spend an entire episode with the MDR team outside. The freezing, snowy tundra setting is a perfect metaphor for the multi-hyphenate company. Even the innies take guesses of what US state they may be located within and become fascinated with the lack of a roof when they wake up in the wilderness. Moments within Mark’s house are dimly lit, doing the visual labor of fractioning his weakened mental state in the real world.
Final thoughts on Severance season 2
Severance season 2, keeps up the incredible work from the first, harnessing all the juice from its insanely talented cast. Tillman is still cold, calculating, intense, and verbose. Lower can balance both sides of Helena/Helly in a way that makes it hard to differentiate them without being told explicitly who is who. Scott is determined, even through various adversity that piles up in his doorway. Cherry and Turturro explore a decent amount of their outies, adding enormous character development within the season’s chaos.
This season’s plot is just as mysterious and intriguing as the first, with the finale providing a moment that is satisfyingly annoying if we have to wait a long time for the third season. The season’s resolution was not entirely a surprise, but how it played out was astonishing, as the road had been paved to this conclusion. Fans of Severance will be holding on with clenched fists up to and after the credits have rolled for the season.
Severance season 2 streams on AppleTV+ starting January 17th! Have you watched the first season? Are you prepared to return to work? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus or join our official Discord for discussion forums!
Doctor Who: Joy To The World and Season 2 Discussion | The Cosmic Circle Podcast
Dune: Prophecy: A Worthy Entry In The Dune Universe
