Severance Season 2's Faster, Smarter Story

The joys of rapid plot development and rewarding attentive viewers

Spoiler Alert!

Past the second heading, I'll be discussing full spoilers for both Severance Season 2 (up to Episode 4: "Woe's Hollow"). If you're interested, I've previously written about the cosmic horror themes of Severance Season 1 and how they relate to corporate dehumanization.

I've also written on what makes great narratives a few times:

• What Makes a Good Read?

• Frustrated by a Book? Put it Down (For Now)

• Plot, Perspective and World: What Makes Great Speculative Fiction?

But without further ado, let's get back to Lumon!

Always a Step Ahead

At the end of my previous post on Severance, I said I'd likely wait until the end of the season to return – unless something profound drew me back before then. And golly, here we are.

The second season of Severance (and in particular Adam Scott) hit the ground running. Each of the four episodes we've seen so far have ended with substantial revelations or plot developments, whether blatant or incredibly subtle:

1. That MDR's "Cold Harbour" project is related to (likely recovering) Gemma's mind

2. Hint that Helena has replaced Helly R. on the severed floor (no elevator beep for her)

3. Mark begins reintegration

4. (Permanent?) death of Irving's innie, recovery of Helly R.

And that's aside from the many, many other details and developments that made up these episodes (Burt, Mammalians Nurturable, Cobel, anagrams and field trips)! It's hard to imagine what the status quo will look like after another six episodes yet to come.

Given the first season's relatively contemplative pace and that the show's creator has a vision for either three or six(!) seasons, I think it would be entirely fair to imagine these four developments (or maybe even just the latter three) representing the climax of season two. It feels audacious to move through them so rapidly instead, and I love it.

"Kier Pardons His Betrayers", by Danny Aviles

The argument about Helena/Helly's identity had been ongoing online since the first episode of the season, and by now I'm well-used to this type of theorizing slowly tipping toward one side or the other until a reveal in either the last or second-to-last episode of a season (Bernard and later the Man in Black from Westworld certainly come to mind).

Yet in this case, I genuinely don't think many viewers will have made the connection about Helena replacing Helly before Irving solves it for them – and I think it's the perfect outcome! The die-hard fans are quickly validated, the casual fans are perhaps encouraged to look up from their phones during future episodes and show's characters come off as exceedingly clever.

A lightning-fast pace also helps to keep the characters on their toes; they made a lot of breakthroughs at the end of the first season, and it's difficult to imagine the show maintaining its eerie atmosphere if they had been allowed to continue as expected. But of course, the best part of rapidly getting all of these revelations and developments is the promise that there are many more to come.

Never in a million years would I have guessed a witch jumpscare at an office desk was in the cards for this season, but that happened last week! (And somehow was barely discussed online, given how much else went down – and how great Milchik's outfit was.)

Screencap from Severance Season Two, Episode Four

Where do we go from here?

To me, the most shocking revelation remains that at the end of episode one: an answer about the purpose of MDR's work. In a way, that felt like the biggest mystery of the series shared by both characters and viewers alike. Granted that there were plenty of theories online which saw something like this coming, but as with the Helly reveal it feels excitingly provocative of the show to give us this answer so soon.

I still wonder if we're being lied to about the severed floor in general. I think the show has certainly taken inspiration and lessons from Westworld, and that show eventually made a big twist out of simulation: could events 'on the severed floor' be taking place on a Lumon hard drive? The most recent episode, with its odd transparent clones of the innies, certainly makes that feel like a possibility – and the show is always cagy about showing direct continuity via the elevator.

Of course this theory is easy to write off because of Mark's bandage in Season One... but I wonder whether the body might produce pain for the outie based on the innie's perceived experiences. Could this be why Helena is able to shrug off Helly's bodily threats in the first season?

Or who knows, maybe the outer world is just another Lumon experiment – we've yet to see beyond their towns and compounds, after all. I'd love to hear any theories you have on where the show might go from here! Deeply excited for the next episode tonight.

Thanks for reading, until next time <3