Everything I know about Severance
And a few things I don't.
I’ve included Severance under #content enough times to warrant its own article entirely. This is that article.
Some undebatable things first. Severance is a show on Apple TV. It is the brainchild of Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller. It stars Adam Scott. It is filmed in New York and New Jersey (more on this later). And there is at least one person in your immediate circle who watches, and is possibly obsessed, with this show.
At the very least, I am that person.
So here’s what I know, what I think I know, and what I know I don’t know. In no particular order.
The basic premise
In the world of Severance, there exists an “irreversible” procedure (eyeballs emoji) that allows people to sever their brain into two distinct parts—one that goes to work and one that lives a life outside of work. Once someone undergoes this procedure they effectively become two people who share the same body.
The “innies” live their entire lives in the office. The “outies” live their entire lives outside of the office. Both possess completely separate and distinct memories.
When a severed person steps into the office elevator in the morning, their brain flips a switch and they become their innie self. When the innie steps into the elevator at the end of the day, the brain flips back and the outie takes over.
Some bizarre things that become normal
A couple of things this insane procedure brings up: innies never sleep. They only know their working, waking lives.
Outies don’t know what they do for work. This tension simultaneously drives almost the entire plot while also being something a calloused person could completely shrug off.
Innies never see daylight (actually, they have no memory of the sky or sun). Outies only experience the beginning and end of the day, plus weekends.
Innies never get dressed. That’s particularly funny to me.
Outies don’t know their work friends.
Both groups have to acknowledge the strange sensation that their physical body does a lot of things that their brain is not aware of. It’s like knowing you’re going to sleepwalk every night, except the sleepwalking version of you retains its own memories and is in fact building its own life.
The set is a work of art
Through an incredible use of muted greens and grays and blues and browns, the world of Severance has a look and feel all its own.
The interior office is outfitted with distinct retro technology, which forces the viewer (and to an extent, the characters) to contend with extreme technological advances presented in an older, “less advanced” aesthetic. That’s pretty fun.
Lumon headquarters are amazing and I will inevitably try to do a Mizzen photoshoot on this property.
Everyone drives the same car. There is a weird amount of repeated shapes (ovals and water droplets to name a few).
None of this is explained. All of this is enjoyable to look at.
The side characters are even more interesting than the main characters
The show focuses on four severed employees—Mark, Irving, Dylan, and Helly. They are all excellent characters and have equally engaging storylines. They are not the characters I think about the most.
I find myself obsessing about Cobel, Milchick, Ricken, and Natalie (who is barely in the show). Their lives and motives are so unclear and so impactful to the overall story that I can’t stop wondering about them.
Is Cobel a former severed employee who has been radicalized first for, and now against, Lumon? Is Milchick using a kind and confident exterior to cover an internal terror known only to him? Is Ricken actually a leader of a pro-Lumon cult? Do Natalie’s eyes deserve best supporting actress awards?
The answer to all of those questions is maybe.
Some theories and way-too-early predictions.
Below are the things I know I don’t know. If you are not caught up on Season 2, there are spoilers ahead…
Keep scrolling if you want to read the spoilers.
Ok, you’re here by your own free will now.
Kier Eagan is alive. Or at least, cryogenically frozen a la Walt Disney.
Helly R. (the innie) as we know her is gone forever. Retired. There is only Helena.
Lumon has some, if not all, control of the city. It’s possible that this has something to do with the water, but the matching cars, the similarly designed houses (with the notable exception of Devon and Ricken’s home), and the fact that the nearest town is hundreds of miles away (which we learned from Cobel’s recent roadtrip), all scream that this is a closed community. Possibly a cult.
Milchick is anti-Lumon. I don’t know why/how, but I think his character arc has him traveling to the belly of the beast to upend everything in the end. Watch this space.
Dylan G. is going to have the opposite character arc of Milchick. I think deep down he actually loves Lumon—if not for the sole reason that his work means he is finally good at something.
Lumon is secretly severing people against their will. I think Ms. Casey/Gemma is an example. She is alive as an innie who works for Lumon while her “outie” lives in some weird purgatory/prison. Think of it as surgical slavery where Lumon gets free labor from innies who live with the assumption that their outies have happy and fulfilling lives outside of work.
All of the actual labor is a red herring. Macrodata, Optics and Design, the goats. None of it matters. All these things exist solely as tests to see what the innies can and can’t handle. Lumon’s end goal is to perfect the most effective/efficient use of innies. What we see are only mazes for them to run through, and there’s no real importance placed on the kind of maze.
The goal of Cold Harbor is to determine if there is still some connection between the two halves of a severed brain. The fact that Mark does not recognize his own wife when both of them are living as innies shows that the technology works. Cobel, to her credit, was suspicious all through Season 1 that they did recognize each other, even in a distant way. And now Lumon has placed a special emphasis on Mark because if that is true and parts of him are not fully severed from his outie self, then Lumon has a problem.
Lastly, and this I’m sure of, I don’t think any of this is right.
Thanks for reading this far.
-jd
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Content
Me Talk Pretty One Day - Just finished this very fun read from David Sedaris. Can’t wait to pick up another.
Severance - Rewatching episode 3 with the better half and then a new episode tonight. Excited is an understatement.
Cowboy Carter - Don’t listen to what everyone else says. Beyonce is actually pretty good at music.
Camera Roll
The Atlanta airport is the best and you can’t convince me otherwise. 3min 24sec from ticket counter through security for anyone who is asking…
Question
Are you a fan of binge-watching a full season or do you like to wait between episodes? Cast your vote and hit reply if you feel passionate.