The Apple TV show “Severance” was released three years ago, and now it has just begun releasing its second season. Surprisingly, the show has hit number one on the platform and is currently the most popular show on Apple TV ever.
After the season one finale, we were left on a cliffhanger as innie Dylan temporarily unsevered his coworkers. Irving was a painter, Mark was at his brother-in-law’s book launch, but most notably, Helly realized she was severed as a PR stunt as the daughter of Lumon’s CEO.
Jumping back into season two, Mark returns to work to find that none of his usual coworkers are there. It was a little unfulfilled with the quick jump to work life after escaping for a few minutes, but it does seem to represent the abruptness between the innies “waking up” between different days. Nothing truly disappoints at the beginning of season two, despite my worries about altering the intro. When I noticed changes initially, I expected it to be more minimalistic or boring as branding has become, but thankfully, it still looks like a surreal nightmare. This time, we see a few possible clues for the season: goats, pills, babies, and balloons. The goats are the ones living in the building, and the balloons are a gift from Mr. Milchick but the other motifs are a little harder to understand. The closest thing we have to babies on the severed floor is the new hire, Miss Huang, who is unexpectedly and strangely young, and Devon’s daughter, Eleanor. As for the pills, Mark’s life took a dark turn after he attempts the unsevering process and realizes his wife may still be alive. The pills may be his way of coping with the pain or maybe a new creation to deter reintegration sickness. Very quickly this is confirmed in the episode named Trojan’s Horse, with his reintegration doctor overseeing his extensive pill collection.
Helena’s life took an unexpected turn when she watched her severed counterpart working at Lumon. Watching back the tape, she discovers that she is in love with coworker Mark. This scene gives us so much insight into her life, and combined with her interactions with her father, explains a lot of future behaviors, especially in episode four. This episode, titled “Woe’s Hollow,” made me feel like I needed to rewatch the whole season with all the new information. Irving snaps, waterboarding Helly in front of Mr. Milchick in hopes of revealing her true identity. Helly, or Helena Eagan, shouts for “Seth” to call him off, acknowledging that she knows him personally. As she becomes severed into Helly, she collapses into Irving’s arms and absolutely devastates me.
The attention to detail becomes incredibly noticeable after this revelation. Helly and Helena have unique behaviors. Helena acts more stiff and unfamiliar to other workers in the office, especially her love interest, Mark. When watching the tape of her and Mark, she looks near tears and becomes fascinated with the clip of their first kiss. Living as the daughter of such a powerful innovator, she was raised sheltered and still behaves as if controlled by him. Rather than trusting her innie to return and keep her body safe, she decides to take over the role of Helly to feel a bit more freedom and “authentic” relationships.
Dylan G. became a special favorite of mine this season because of a particularly emotional episode, “Who is Alive?” where he was granted permission to meet his outie’s wife. Seeing a bit of their family dynamic made me feel for his wife, Gretchen. Dylan is portrayed as an inattentive father, leaving Gretchen to work multiple late shifts as a security guard. When innie Dylan met Gretchen, he asked what he was like outside of work and if he was, politely put, a failure. Gretchen avoids the topic directly, preferring to say that he hadn’t found his thing and had a hard time holding down a job. Other than Mark’s severance due to trauma, it seems like Dylan had a hard time working unsevered and underwent the procedure out of desperation.
The most eerie performance of this season goes to minor character Natalie, who absolutely terrified me this season. She went beyond notifying “The Board has concluded the call” without using words. Just her wide-eyed look freaks me out.
Honorable mention to Miss Huang, played by Sarah Bock. She is only 18 years old and so incredible. I have no idea why she was severed or hired at Lumon, but children in thrillers or horror always make things scary.
As of episode six of season two, we still don’t know what they do at Lumon. However, most file names are cities on the coast. In a quick shot with Ms. Casey, we see her vital signs and a label, Cold Harbor, which is also a file. Additionally, the logo for Lumon is a drop of water, also seen on their water tower.
Aside from the incredible acting, eerie settings and business casual color palette, Severance has an amazing marketing campaign. “Severance” hosted a pop-up in New York City, featuring a large glass box with the actors working on macrodata refinement inside. This show is unlike any recent TV series, and viewers of season one should make sure to catch up on season two.
Editor’s note: Some episodes of season 2 are rated M and may not be suitable for all ages.
