Worth the wait: ‘Severance’ season 2 delivers
Apple TV+’s “Severance” just concluded a stellar second season, delivering on the promise of its excellent premiere season. With a three-year gap (!) between seasons due to the writers’ strike, people were understandably worried, but main show runner/creator Dan Erickson and executive producer Ben Stiller have delivered.
The show about office workers who have been “severed”—a process by which somebody can create an alternate personality due to severing and restoring continuous memory-making—proved to be a tantalizingly mysterious puzzle in its first season, dealing with the enigmatic Lumon Industries, a biotech company with cultish roots/overlap.
We were introduced to the company via Mark S. (Adam Scott), the “innie” of Mark Scout, who then meets fellow innies in the Macrodata Refinement Team: Irving (John Turturro), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Helly (Britt Lower). Adjusting to their strange circumstances with varying results, after one too many odd occurrences the team finally led a small revolt by activating their innies in the outside world.
Season 2 began by dealing with the aftermath of last season’s finale, ultimately settling on a new, albeit familiar reset of the status quo. But it turned out to be a clever misdirect, hiding a midseason shiv of a twist. The show rewards an attentive audience; if you were spotting all the clues you might’ve had suspicions, but it’s no less satisfying when it remains a surprise.
Developments
The best thing a second season of TV can do is deepen and expand what was intriguing about the first, and “Severance” did just that. Of particular note, Tramell Tillman’s Mr. Milchick, getting a promotion after the exit of Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette). Milchick gets some new layers and peeks into a cracking facade as he reconsiders his loyalty and appreciation with regard to Lumon. There’s a new character in Eustace Huang (Sarah Bock), a child employee who takes over Milchick’s old position. She represents the kind of tactics and policies that Lumon has been implementing for decades, as discovered in the back half of the season.
Other supporting characters also received very satisfying solo episodes that finally rewarded audiences’ patience. It was finally revealed what Gemma Scout (Dichen Lachman) is up to in the bowels of the Lumon building, as well as what her relationship and life was like with husband Mark (outie). Cobel didn’t get flashbacks but her own indie thriller as she goes back to her hometown to get something which proves to be a Big Reveal, but also unveils a tragic and surprising backstory, just in time for the last two plot-heavy final episodes to bring the season home, for another nail-biter of a cliffhanger.
“Severance” keeps its weirdness. From the various rooms that Gemma accesses to the goat room that Mark S. and Helly discover, the show has very deliberately gone down an eerier and more peculiar bend. The question “Is she a goat?”, referring to one of the main characters, is ridiculously a two-pronged question and yet also a valid one.
With a renewal for two more seasons, we can rest easier knowing we won’t be left holding the bag with no answers like some other less fortunate shows. The confidence of the writing staff can be seen in these episodes, and we should see answers to some questions coming sooner than later. Perhaps in less than three years, fingers crossed.
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