Severance

[Totenkindly]

Started watching this show called "Severance" on Apple TV. It actually is really great -- kind of like a stripped-back Westworld (in that it deals with the nature of consciousness and self-awareness) and also a kind of puzzle box show like Lost except I don't think it's gonna have crazy stuff in it that derails the plotting.

It's a pretty slow burn right now. Adam Scott is essentially the lead but he's actually acting rather than just cutting everyone down despite the occasional zinger. It's also got a few surprising cast members as well.

Essentially the scenario is that the company they work for has developed a way to split your consciousness so that your "Work" self only is aware of what happens at work and your "Non-Work" self is only aware of what happens outside of work. The two consciousnesses are completely detached from each other and are not informed of what the other knows. And the plotting basically sets up a number of reveals it can get away with based on this kind of scenario. And the company seems appropriately cult-like in the work that is done there (it's never really clear what they are doing) and in workplace etiquette and discipline and interactions.

But it's really interesting to see how this all plays out and the impact it can have on a person. Some people have good reasons for agreeing to this. Others, it's not clear what their game is.

I'm three episodes in on a nine-episode season. The cinematography is minimalist but really nice, the music is great, and it's a slow mood/burn show.

 

[Totenkindly]

I have now watched eight of the nine episodes in Season 1 of Severance. It ends on a crazy cliffhanger I should have seen coming, and Episode 9 (season finale) will be a doozy. I can't wait to watch it.

This is such a great show. Greatly produced, wonderfully acted, written so well. I've seen comparisons to first season of Westworld due to its exploration of consciousness, and it is similar but for first season focused on a particular application. it also ties into workplace themes (bureaucratic oddities, relationships, private versus public, dumb regulations, chain of command, management obfuscation, etc.) But there are hints this could expand outside into a more social sphere than just work.

Adam Scott is just wonderful. Most things I've seen him in, he's hilarious and snarky -- but he actually does have decent dramatic chops (I remember seeing him early on in his career on Six Feet Under when he played a minor character) and I think this might get him further work outside just pure comedy. Ben Stiller also directs some of these episodes, and they're all great. There's also a few big names in this series (I didn't want to spoil one, but it was like "no freaking way"), and two of the old timers have some scenes together and are just amazing, they show why they've been around for decades. Patricia Arquette is another who just has had a wonderful career and is rather a scene stealer when she's in it (kind of like if a more nuanced / viper-in-the-grass version of Dolores Umbridge was your boss).

EDIT: Finished Severance later that night. Wonderful finale, with some questions getting answered but more being raised in their place, and we start to see the seeds of the impact this tech might have on the larger world beyond just workplace impact. I've actually seen some bitching about the "cliffhanger" ending, but the show was already renewed, and it TOTALLY makes sense for the cliffhanger (it was really darn predictable where it would be end), and all of it was earned... the mysteries are part and parcel of the show and there was a payoff for some of the things we were concerned about. I really love this show.

 

[Luminous]

I have now watched eight of the nine episodes in Season 1 of Severance. It ends on a crazy cliffhanger I should have seen coming, and Episode 9 (season finale) will be a doozy. I can't wait to watch it.

This is such a great show. Greatly produced, wonderfully acted, written so well. I've seen comparisons to first season of Westworld due to its exploration of consciousness, and it is similar but for first season focused on a particular application. it also ties into workplace themes (bureaucratic oddities, relationships, private versus public, dumb regulations, chain of command, management obfuscation, etc.) But there are hints this could expand outside into a more social sphere than just work.

Adam Scott is just wonderful. Most things I've seen him in, he's hilarious and snarky -- but he actually does have decent dramatic chops (I remember seeing him early on in his career on Six Feet Under when he played a minor character) and I think this might get him further work outside just pure comedy. Ben Stiller also directs some of these episodes, and they're all great. There's also a few big names in this series (I didn't want to spoil one, but it was like "no freaking way"), and two of the old timers have some scenes together and are just amazing, they show why they've been around for decades. Patricia Arquette is another who just has had a wonderful career and is rather a scene stealer when she's in it (kind of like if a more nuanced / viper-in-the-grass version of Dolores Umbridge was your boss).

EDIT: Finished Severance later that night. Wonderful finale, with some questions getting answered but more being raised in their place, and we start to see the seeds of the impact this tech might have on the larger world beyond just workplace impact. I've actually seen some bitching about the "cliffhanger" ending, but the show was already renewed, and it TOTALLY makes sense for the cliffhanger (it was really darn predictable where it would be end), and all of it was earned... the mysteries are part and parcel of the show and there was a payoff for some of the things we were concerned about. I really love this show.

One of the best shows ever, I think. I can't wait for more. I think I read there may be 5 or 6 seasons!

 

[Totenkindly]

So Season 1 ended up culminated with what amounted to a prison break:

With the swiped keycard to the Control Room, Dylan was able to hold the conduit open for maybe 38-40 minutes to allow Helly, Mark, and Irv to get conscious control over their physical bodies outside the workplace before Mrs. Selig/Cobal discovered the ruse and blew it wide open.

• Helly R is Helena Egan, the granddaughter of the Lumen founder and presumably next in line to be CEO.
• Mark -- a little later than us -- FINALLY realize that Miss Casey is his dead wife. But what the hell does that mean? How can she be truly DEAD on the outside, while only alive on the inside for about 109 hours we figure out later?
• Irving realizes his outie is compulsively painting pictures of the dark elevator hallway.

Mark manages to get his sister Devon on his side and realize that Gemma aka Miss Casey is alive.

Helly blows open the mic at the gala by dumping everything she's learned about being an innie and how much it SUCKS, during what was supposed to be an inspirational speech from Helena Egan.

Irving manages to track down outie Bert long enough to realize he is with someone else. Also, outie Irving has apparently been sleuthing a lot and has numerous addresses for people's outies.

All of that set the stage for Season 2. Which starts with Mark coming back to realize he has a whole new team (including Bob Balaban, roflmao)... at least for a brief time until he convinces them to give him back his old team. There have apparently been a lot of "improvements to the workplace" due to the "whistleblowing," but we know much of it is a ruse to try to deaden the impact of Helly R's public outburst and any dirt outie Mark and his sister might dig up.

 

[Totenkindly]

I think Season 1 was kind of fascinating is just exploring trauma that could contribute to someone wanting relief enough to buy 8-10 hours a day of unconsciousness. Having lost his wife, Mark is led to opt for severance because the pain of her loss is just killing him. We see it when he tries to date other people in Season 1, it just is very hard for him even when he tries to put a smiling face on it. Devon, his sister, is tougher -- she reminds him I think in early Season 2 that she also lost Gemma and it was really hard... but we would never see Devon (who is gangbusters and down to earth so often -- I get the feeling she can give Helly R a run for her money) taking that way out of the pain. Mark is more vulnerable, it seems, and can't deal.

So who and what is exactly Miss Casey? We are starting to see hints of potential cloning technology, but it's unclear to what degree it has been perfected

The other interesting part of Season 1 is the mix between Helly R and Helena. The innie is a rebellious firebrand at heart, and the most resistant to accept her existence as an innie -- leading her to a great deal of self-harm (and trying to hurt her outie) in Season 1. Our brief glimpse of Helena on the outside runs counter to this, but it makes you wonder how restricted she feels, how trapped in her life as that is, especially in light of events in Season 2. Why is the inner Helly such a rabid animal trying to escape her trap, while outer Helena has accepted the strictures of her cage and become domesticated -- even while just both being parts of the same person? Because that is the fascinating element -- they are like two individuals but aren't two individuals because they are sharing the same body.

 

[Totenkindly]

So at the end of S2E1 there is a great interaction between Irving and Dylan that seemed to really embody the weird blend of professional and personal. At work, you are kind of expected to keep people at SOME amount of different in order to not let personal feelings impact how the work is getting done, but that doesn't mean personal feelings do not exist. We like who we like, we dislike who we dislike, and that push and pull filters through all of our interactions with our coworkers.

We are also trying to keep part of ourselves (the part of us not related to the work) hidden, to avoid all the complexity of these relationships and to keep it "business" ... but we're also human, so we can't do that 100%. We want to be known, especially by coworkers we like or feel some level of kinship towards. It is also a major portion of our daily existence (half our waking time during the work week) and we can't just be machines during that time. I love how Dylan tries to fight it repeatedly and finally, in his own stilted way, admits that losing Irving would impact his own ability to work at his full capacity -- he's doing it partially to manipulate Irving into not leaving, but he's also being honest on some level (and Dylan tends to be the most surly of the bunch, where Helly is the one who least likes being controlled). It is just a very real, very honest sequence -- and Irving recognizes it and respects it for what it is, and does his best to honor it.

 

[Totenkindly]

'Severance' Season 2, episode 5: What's written on the note Dylan finds?

Pause. Zoom.

mashable.com

 

[Totenkindly]

Severance S2E7 might have been a watershed moment.
Outside of spoilers, all I'll say is ... Gemma.

This is the kind of episode that puts prestige back in prestige television.
It's edited and composed so beautifully, with nuanced color palettes.
But a lot more makes sense now.

 

[Totenkindly]

This is your wellness session. Please try to enjoy each fact equally.
Your outie maintains an innocent demeanor but in fact can be quite sneaky when warranted.
Your outie's lone cough often is mistaken for a sneeze.
Your outie's favorite part of the pizza is the crust.
Your outie is obsessed with collecting every World of Warcraft mount, even the ugly ones.
Your outie likes to purchase good films but only actually watch about half of them.
Your outie can smell cigarette smoke from a hundred feet or more away.
Your outie will randomly laugh to herself, amused by her own inner monologue.
Your outie can move very quietly when motivated.
Your outie is amused by putting cats under a blanket and seeing if they can escape.
Your outie is meticulous at maintaining her RPG characters' gear and gold but refuses to balance her own checkbook.
Your outie likes to wear dark purple, dark blue, maroon, and olive colors.
Your outie inhales cake, guzzles coffee, and savors dark chocolate.
Your outie is very patient and gentle much of the day, yet shouts very unpleasant things about other drivers while on the road.
Your outie makes content on a web site and hopes that others will comment with their own outie facts.
That concludes your wellness session. Thank you.

 

[Totenkindly]

Severance Season 2 finale: Holy Wow, that was an enjoyable 80 minutes of television!
So much emotional payoff, while leaving room for Season 3.

Also clearly demonstrates the principle of "Chekhov's Bolt Gun"...

 

[SensEye]

I agree. I enjoyed it quite a bit although at times the series confuses the heck out of me. So many weird goings on that are never explained (and maybe never will be as they just get forgotten).

Like what is the whole point of the sheep? And that bizarre band routine with Milchick showing us his moves (I suppose there is simply someone on the team that likes musical theatre).

And at the very end, where the heck are Mark and Helly running to? It can't be to get out, as they could have just gone down the stairs with Gemma (as outies given, but unless they are planning to haunt the halls of Lumen like some sort of innie ghosts I can't figure out what the plan is). It seems like that run was all just for the freeze frame ending as an homage to some famous movies. Seems like something Tarantino would do.

Regardless, I'll watch season three as the show is entertaining enough despite some of the oddball scenes.

 

[Totenkindly]

I think some of it is to be odd, although I have more faith that they'll actually try to explore much of these things compared to the original puzzle box series Lost (and have better explanations consistently).

The reward in season 1 for completing something was the Waffle party, which Dylan was "chosen" to attend by Mark but mostly to get him into the control room after hours to initiate the Overtime Continuum. (And there are other items like the egg party and the melon party, plus there was also a dance party in season 1.) The other thing is that the Lumon beliefs are so whacked out (and we don't even know all of them), this kind of stuff just fits in their brand of crazy....

I was laughing at the marching band simply because it was SO over the top -- but damn, to me it is actually ripping on the absurdity of some of the "rewards" we get at work -- basically stuff that's deemed to be a prize by management but doesn't mean shit to the employees. If they could pick their reward, employees mainly want: (1) a promotion / pay increase, (2) a cash bonus, or (3) time off. Instead they are offered dumb shit that costs the company little to provide but then can be held up as some kind of benevolence. Even a pizza party (even though none of us would ever turn down pizza) is really cheap rewards for the company in terms of the overall cost. A few times my employees actually threw a "popcorn party" instead of a more substantial award -- literally they had a big popcorn machine, and a variety of about 10 different cheesy toppings we could put on it, but somehow that was supposed to be greatly appreciated and it was being given in lieu of other rewards. (You know how cheap POPCORN is? Like give me a freaking break. And they had all the managers down there handing the popcorn out a la Milchick with big sappy grins on their faces as if they were providing us the keys to heaven.) To me, this marching band was just that whole concept of a ridiculous "award" maxed to 11.

The goats (as it seemed to be explained in the episode) are sacrificial, with the belief that the goat's spirit would then act as a guide for person who had just been fractured. That is why they pick the most spirited, canny, wily goat of the bunch -- Emile, this time. IOW, Emile would be killed, then guide Gemma through the afterlife into Kier's loving embrace. And it explains why Lorne finally decided enough was enough and hauled off on Drummond's ass. You can't help but think Brienne vs the Hound, lol...

Yeah, the end scene seemed to callback to The Graduate, where two people are taking a chance at doing something crazy for happiness but it's not clear how any of it will play out and for how long. What can they do while trapped in Lumon? But I think it is iMark's finally living his life for himself even if it can't last, vs just serving oMark's interests as he's somewhat been doing.

I'm not really sure where things are going at this point -- it's a vague slate in my head. But we saw that Jame Eagan actually sees Helly R (not Helena) as the reflection of Kier -- so I don't think he wants to lose Helly as a possible heir. It's still not clear what Cobel wants. or where Milchick's arc is going (the latter is even more enigmatic than Cobel in some ways -- I'm not quite sure what he's trying to get out of all of this).

And what of Gemma now? She is free. But without Mark at the moment. I think one thing I appreciate about Severance is how they avoid outright fan service. People might have wanted that happy ending but they took it in a different direction that still works. Some of those scenes would have played out differently in a lesser series.

There were a lot of great emotional beats in this episode. The whole exchange between iMark and oMark played out really well -- at first they seemed a bit enamored with and open to each other, but then it started to go south because oMark wanted something from iMark, who felt his own interests would not be respected. Helly has been so Helly and it's mostly because of her iMark honored oMark's request to free Gemma -- their conversation was touching. And what oDylan says to iDylan (I like how it starts with a "fuck you," becomes kinder/gentler, and then in the end gives iDylan volition over his own life, unlike oMark trying to manipulate iMark)... and the latter then comes through as the clutch batter once again to lock down Milchik until iMark can get his job done. And then Mark and Gemma -- we see them in three or four different configurations, and just heart-wrenching, as they go through the gates/elevators and their chips flip. That moment when oMark and oGemma actually do find each other briefly is a tearjerker.

I do think Adam Scott has truly jumped past his typecasting as sarcastic comic relief in most of the things he'd been in and he proved he has acting chops. I think the first thing I ever saw him in was a walk-on part in Six Feet Under, 20 years ago... he was one of David's gay boyfriends for a few episodes. Sarcastic there too, but realistically so versus a caricature (like he was on The Good Place). Kind of good to see him get a show like this that he's knocking out of the park.

 

[Totenkindly]

Decent substantial finale recap by Forbes. It kind of expands on a lot of stuff I saw, it's written nicely.

‘Severance’ Season 2 Finale Recap And Review: In The Windmills Of Your Mind

A powerful, shocking finale.

www.forbes.com

 

[Totenkindly]

I really REALLY like the whole thing with Jame Eagan and Helly down in the bowels of Lumon:

I mean, the guy's always been a creep -- then admits he doesn't care for Helena but sees Kier in Helly. And when she comes for him with a ballpoint in her hand, aggressive and fearless, he's like, "there it is" ... the thing about Helly he resonates with, even if she's about to stab him to death with a goddam pen. It stops her in her tracks. Just... wow.

Later, the "oh fuck" moment is utterly hilarious coming out of Eagan's mouth out of all people.

 

[SensEye]

I can accept the goat thing just being part of the 'cult of Kier' vibe. It seems out of place in what is really a high tech company, but it goes with that narrative.

I disagree a bit with the Forbes guy who says rescuing Gemma would be the end of the serverance floor. I would think it is really the other way around, failing to rescue Gemma would have completed the project, and the severance floor would no longer be required. Assuming Gemma is now free, Lumon will have to start over. Although perhaps Mark is no longer of any special value if Gemma is out of the picture. The fact many goats had been sacrificed implies Lumon had been through the process before, which infers they can just start all over again.

Of course, that got me to thinking... if Mark was 'boxing numbers' based on a subconscious ability to sense Gemma's emotional states in her different severed persona's, what where the other co-workers doing? They were boxing numbers too as I recall. Where they working on the same files as Mark or different files? If the same, why would they have any ability to read Gemma's emotions and if different, whose data were they working on?

Admittedly, I never paid much attention to what the workers were doing in season 1, I thought it might just be busy work to keep them occupied while Lumon studied innie behavior.

In any event, I guess what comes next is up to the season 3 writers.

 

[Totenkindly]

I can accept the goat thing just being part of the 'cult of Kier' vibe. It seems out of place in what is really a high tech company, but it goes with that narrative.

I disagree a bit with the Forbes guy who says rescuing Gemma would be the end of the serverance floor. I would think it is really the other way around, failing to rescue Gemma would have completed the project, and the severance floor would no longer be required. Assuming Gemma is now free, Lumon will have to start over. Although perhaps Mark is no longer of any special value if Gemma is out of the picture. The fact many goats had been sacrificed implies Lumon had been through the process before, which infers they can just start all over again.

I'm not sure if Gemma was the entire endgame, although obviously it was a milestone of some kind. They might have other milestones they have to meet as well -- so the severed floor would need to continue. We don't know what other departments exist either.

But I think they wanted to extract her chip at that point, which would likely kill her, so they could use it for something / analyze it.

So technically even if she's out of the building, I don't think she's out of danger.
Although with Drummond gone, roflmao... I suspect Cobel is going to grab Gemma to get her out, but then... I'm not sure of Cobel's endgame.

Of course, that got me to thinking... if Mark was 'boxing numbers' based on a subconscious ability to sense Gemma's emotional states in her different severed persona's, what where the other co-workers doing? They were boxing numbers too as I recall. Where they working on the same files as Mark or different files? If the same, why would they have any ability to read Gemma's emotions and if different, whose data were they working on?

Yup. Valid question. We don't know.
Who WOULD they be working on?

 

[Totenkindly]

Kind of amusing... Yeah, this is Dylan's preferred expletive.