Severance: A 21st Century Masterpiece

By Allan Tompkins

The poster image for Season 2 of “Severance,” starring Adam Scott. (Apple TV+/TNS)

Severance follows the life of the main character, Mark Scout (Adam Scott), who recently lost his wife in a car accident and has since undergone a surgical procedure known as "severance," during which his mind's memories and experiences are split between his work and personal lives. This means that anything that happens while he's in the underground area of the company he works for, Lumon, is completely separated and forgotten once he returns to the ground level. This genius concept allows viewers to follow the development of two dynamic characters played by a single actor for each character in the show and their different efforts to uncover the truth behind Lumon's true motives.

With the completion of season 2 on March 21, following the epic and possibly greatest season finale in television show history, Ben Stiller, the director, has already confirmed the coming of season 3, relieving fans who were worried about another three-year wait following the first season due to the writers' strike.

In this article, I will review season 2 of Severance and the events leading up to the powerful season finale. Of course, I must disclaim that if you haven't finished Severance, the rest of this article will be full of SPOILERS, so read at your own risk.

Season 1 of Severance is loaded with mysteries that never seem truly conclusive; even when one is seemingly solved, another arises due to that solution. This acts as a perfect foundation for season 2 to address, which it does for the most part; however, in true Severance fashion, it also makes sure to keep viewers hooked to the main plot by introducing new mysteries that bring along new theories.

Following the plot-twisting season finale of Season 1, viewers not only learn that Helly R. (Britt Lower)—the rebellious and most anti-Lumon character yet—is an Eagan and underwent the procedure as a publicity stunt to encourage its widespread acceptance, but they also witness Mark S.’s shocking revelation. He discovers that his wellness therapist, Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), is actually his supposedly dead wife, Gemma—a scene that’s excitement and emotion are encapsulated by the final words of the finale, "She's alive!" In Season 2, we see the detrimental effects of the Overtime Contingency and shift our focus from discovering Lumon’s secrets to saving Gemma from the mysterious lower level of the company building.

Tramell Tillman in Season 2 of “Severance.” (Apple TV+/TNS)

Early on in the season, there’s a theme of dishonesty that prevails as not only are Mark and his team told they are now famously recognized in order to prevent any more revolutionary ideas, but they are also said to have returned 5 months after the events of the Overtime Contingency when in reality, it was only a couple of days. While Mark’s team is seemingly replaced in episode 1, his demands to the board are instantly met along with others from the team, arousing questions about their sudden increase in authority following the season 1 finale.

The most telling part of the early episodes in season 2 is everyone's description of their outie's life. Mark accurately describes his enlightened state following the discovery of Ms. Casey as his wife, and Irving (John Turturro) seems to be riddled with grief over the realization that Burt is happily married; so much so that he tries to leave, and essentially kill his innie.

The suspicion is aroused when Helly R. explains her experience in a boring apartment where she was able to find a gardener to explain her story. While viewers believed she was lying due to the fear of being rejected by her colleagues, looking back after the reveal in episode 4, which showed viewers that Helly R. has actually been Helena Eagan since the beginning of the season, her lying made sense.

Throughout the middle episodes of the season, there aren't as many eventful moments as the earlier ones; rather, they act as a gradual advancement to the climactic season finale. One of the more underrated subplots in those episodes is the interaction between Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) and his outie's wife, Gretchen (Merritt Wever). This awkward and distinctive love triangle that Gretchen experiences with innie and outie Dylan is a very unique portrayal in the show that follows along its central theme of emphasizing the inherent value and individuality that innies have and deserve.

Throughout the entirety of the show, viewers adopt similar views about the innies that the outies believe: the innies are meant to suppress their darker feelings and act as scapegoats to their problems rather than be valued as real people with lives. What the show is great at accomplishing is a gradual shifting in these views as viewers slowly start sympathizing for the innies and realize their eagerness to live and experience. It’s able to do this strictly through many instances of symbolism.

While the cinematographers behind Severance are known to use colors to depict the innies (blue) and outies (red), most of the symbolism doesn’t take much analysis to uncover. The entire show is a critique of capitalism and its corporate structure that often ignores worker sentiment. This is depicted through the religious-like cult that Lumon imposes on its workers.

It seems as though the whole religious following of Kier Eagan as a deity is solely implemented toward the workers of Lumon, both severed and not, and not largely professed publicly as an official religious denomination. This is because the religion acts as more of a symbol to the corporate capitalist structure of companies that instill values of utmost loyalty and obsession that allow for the manipulation of its workers. Kier is a mere idea that provides the innies with a sense of purpose and serves as a guide to their ultimate, and mysterious, goals.

Britt Lower as Helly R. in the final moments of the “Severance” Season 2 finale. (Apple TV+/TNS)

Now, as for the season 2 finale, the roller coaster of emotions and excitement that arise throughout the entirety of the episode make it hard to believe all of it happened in one episode. Following the intense and heartfelt episode 7, which takes us through the backstory of Mark and Gemma and how Lumon had been behind their love story, bringing them together just as fast as they tore them apart, viewers were eager to find out whether or not Mark could finally save her.

This was perfectly executed through the intense debate that innie Mark had with outie Mark at the birthing cabin. The dynamics of both characters were so fun to watch, and while most people were initially rooting for outie Mark to persuade his other half, innie Mark begins bringing up good points that lead us to believe he's nowhere near being wrong. Once again, it's important to note that the entire episode is the pinnacle of the innie revolution and them finally demanding sovereignty from their oppressors, meaning innie Mark realizes that his creator didn't have much good intent for his existence and despite all of his struggles, outie Mark has never cared about him until he needs something from him.

On the other side of things, there is some sort of satisfactory inconclusion to Dylan G's story as he reads this self-reflecting and vulnerable message from his outie, who openly expresses his jealousy of innie Dylan's ability to make his wife so happy. Innie Dylan acts as a role model for outie Dylan, which is very special and unique to his character. Viewers are left watching him pondering over the blank line that would allow him to quit, and essentially end himself, or live to see another day.

Fast-forward to later in the episode, and Mark is seen in an internal battle over whether he trusts his outie's remarks and completes Cold Harbor or doesn’t finish it at all, ultimately being persuaded by the one thing keeping him there, Helly R,. who encourages him to save his wife. This is where the show takes an unexpected, violent turn. While Mr. Milchick is busy conducting a phenomenal performance with Choreography and Merriment where he's eventually trapped in the bathroom with the help of Helly and Dylan, who makes a surprise appearance that leads viewers to understand his decision to stay, Mark can nimbly escape and head to the mysterious dark hallway where Gemma is supposedly housed.

Only then do we get a proper explanation of the goats' role in the matter: they're sacrifices meant to guide departed souls to Kier, which in this case was meant for Gemma following her completion of Cold Harbor. After a violent brawl between Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) and Mark that ends once Lorne (Gwendoline Christie), the goat lady from Mammalians Nurturable, surprisingly turns on Drummond and threatens to kill him due to all of the anger she's accumulated from killing her beloved goats, Mark is finally granted access to the hallway in which he turns back into his outie and mistakenly pulls the trigger of the gun, killing Mr. Drummond.

The real intensity and emotional scene of the episode occurs once Mark reunites with his wife, Gemma. There's a four-way dynamic between the characters that's interesting to watch as both innie and outie Mark are able to see Gemma's severed versions while Gemma's outie is able to see both Mark's innie and outie, yet she doesn't know that he's severed, making his decision after freeing her all the worse.

The ending of the season 2 finale honestly could have served as a fitting end to the show entirely, leaving later events up to interpretation; however, the promise of a third season leads viewers to believe that there are still more mysteries to be solved that go beyond the destruction of Lumon.

The one controversial aspect of the episode was innie Mark's decision not to walk out the door and rather run away with Helly R. While it is completely reasonable to be disappointed with his decision, especially after all that Gemma has gone through, from his perspective, he is practically killing himself and everything he knows and loves for a woman he has no affection for. His act is a reaffirmation of the theme of individuality that innies are beginning to feel, especially after his initial feelings of love and possibility that enlighten him to no longer remain confined within the life-draining halls of Lumon.

Ultimately, while Severance has been acclaimed as a captivating show with one of the coolest ideas in fiction, the season 2 finale truly cemented it as one of the greatest masterpieces of the century. I can't necessarily see the show running for much longer simply due to how many issues and mysteries have been solved yet, the show's writers are extremely talented and have already delivered an amazing plotline that has been sustained through two seasons, leaving me with little to no worries on this show's future capabilites.