The 'Severance' Season 2 Premiere Is a Deceptively Simple RTO
I don't usually do this. Actually, I never do this. But this Friday morning, Severance season 2 premiered on Apple TV+—marking the celebrated sci-fi show's return to television after a three-year-long break. We all deserve a treat, don't we? So, Esquire is officially providing a Melon Bar, for everyone. And if you hit quota by EOD, we'll kick off next morning with a Waffle Party, too! No expenses spared.
Okay, I don't actually have the power to host a Melon Bar for everyone reading this—I'm just excited that season 2, episode 1 is out in the world for you all to watch. But I can offer you Esquire's review of Severance's sophomore season—spoiler alert, it's phenomenal—and a recap of the premiere episode.
First things first: Apple TV+ provided a helpful (and much-needed) recap of season 1, so please—if you haven't watched it yet, please do. I want to keep season 1 exposition to a bare minimum in this particular recap, because the premiere gives us a lot to talk about—even by Severance's standards. That said, episode 1 catches up with Mark S. (Adam Scott) in the immediate aftermath of last season's finale, which saw our heroic Innies briefly escape to the outside world. Here, we find Mark S. five months after that event—or so Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) tells him. Regardless, Mark only perceives his brief time as an Outie as only seconds ago. Episode 1 sees the protagonist slowly understand the aftermath of his radicalization—and successfully reunite his work friends.
Now, depending on how often you like to spend your waking hours scrolling through r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus, you're potentially thinking to yourself, Gee, that was a pretty tame episode! And I would not blame you—that's what I thought at first. But I watched the episode again, and there's much more than meets the eye. Let's break it down.
Welcome to the Ball Game
With a few whip pans and the sweet sounds of frenetic jazz, we're back in the world of Severance. Take a moment to appreciate the subtext of Mark running aimlessly through the hallways of Lumon—this is a man who is literally trapped in a labyrinth of suffering, spinning his own hamster wheel—and welcome him back to the Macrodata Refinement Team (MDR.)
After sprinting through the halls, Mark finally finds his old digs—but not his fellow rebels. Instead, Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving (John Turturro) have been replaced with new employees. We're quickly whisked away from them because Mark has some pressing questions for Milchick. Like, I don't know... Did you kill my friends?
Yes. Kind of. Milchick dumps a whole bunch of exposition on Mark, and it's unclear at first whether or not he's telling the truth. According to Mr. Milkshake—er, Milchick—MDR reached international fame for their uprising in season 1. They successfully brought attention to poor working conditions at Lumon, which also means that the company asked their Outies if they'd like to stop working for the company. They all agreed—except for Outie Mark. Sad. Mark is irate, obviously, because his only three friends in life now cease to exist.
More info from Milchick: Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) is Public Enemy No. 1 in Lumon's eyes, after she not only developed an "erotic fixation" on Mark, but wanted to join a throuple with Innie and Outie Mark. Damn, I missed this show.
Last thing. Milchick has a new assistant: Miss Wong (Sarah Bock). Given that she is, you know, a child—I smell some Lumon tomfoolery at work. Keep an eye on her. When Mark retakes his swivel chair at MDR, she walks into the room with a red ball. It's time for an icebreaker game.
Maybe I'll Even Buy You a Drink at a Bistro Someday
Mark successfully gives his best everything's fine poker face during the ball game, but he harbors a secret plan—which involves sneaking a threatening note into the pocket of one of his new coworkers. Milchick sniffs it out immediately, knowing that Mark is trying to frame his fellow macrodata refiners so that Lumon will bring his old squad back. Mark straight-up sprints to Milchick's office, begs the Lumon board to bring Helly, Dylan, and Irving back, then Milchick cuts him off. He's pissed—this is the Milchick we know and love! He pushes Mark into the elevator and says goodbye as if it's the last time he'll ever see Innie Mark.
Then, just like the episode began, Mark pops out of the elevator. This time, all three of his friends join him. Lumon granted Mark's wish.
By the way, let's appreciate how damn layered this show is. They reappear in front of a painting called "Kier Pardons his Betrayers." It depicts the heads of four people poking out of the floor, while Kier looks down on them. Given that, you know, we're following four folks who just double-crossed the company, were effectively sentenced to death, and reappeared with a second chance at Lumon—yeah. You get it.
About The Video... Was That Keanu Reeves?!
When Milchick reassembles the crew, he takes them to a dark room (no, not that dark room) to show them a video. What ensues is a delectably Severance-y piece of corporate propaganda. Apparently, Lumon filmed a claymation video for all of its employees about how the "quiet courage" of the MDR team led to better working conditions at the company. New perks include: Salsa and fruit leather! Yay.
Hilariously, the video (which is narrated by Lumon's literal office building) doubles as a claymation recap of season 1—right down to a not-on-my-Severance-bingo-card reference to the Heat Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus. (Dylan: "What the shit?") Severance also delivers the first lore dump of season 2—the company is in 206 countries, apparently. (There are 195 recognised countries in the world. Count on Esquire for the Severance fact-check you probably didn't need.)
When the clip ends, the Innies discuss what they saw in the Outie world. Mark catches everyone up about the Ms. Casey/Outie Wife/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) paradox. Meanwhile, Helly tells a somewhat odd story about waking up at a boring apartment, walking outside, and telling a gardener about her plight. Irving, always the skeptic, asks, "A night... gardener?" Interesting. As for our tall friend, he later—while fighting with the idea of leaving Lumon—tells Dylan about his Outie's grim elevator paintings.
Before we move on: did the building's voice sound familiar to you? And maybe even the water tower, too? Well, if you thought the water tower bore the unmistakable Long Island rasp of Saturday Night Live!'s Sarah Sherman—kudos to you. She is credited simply as "Voice of Water Tower" in the credits. As for the Voice of the Lumon Office? Uncredited. But please, shoot me an email if you hear anything other than the delightful cords of one Keanu Reeves.
Okay. Well. We could stop there. But this is Severance. And Severance demands that you ask more questions. Here it is: You have to assume that real Lumon employees recorded the voices of Mr. Lumon Office and Ms. Water Tower, no? I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. Until someone proves me wrong, I'm choosing to believe that Reeves and Sherman play real characters in Severance—and they're out there somewhere.
Reunited and It Feels So Good
This is the genius of Severance. Milchick gives the fab four the option to retire—which, I must remind you, is the equivalent of death for an Innie—or remain at the mercy of Lumon. If they resume work, Milchick says, he'll assume that they chose to stay. At the end of episode 1, Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving all fire up their computers. They aren't going anywhere. The entire episode, clearly, was written specifically to sit the asses of the MDR back down, so they can work on whatever the heck they do at Lumon. Again. After all of that. Mark wants to stick with it and find his Outie's wife. Helly wants to help Mark. Dylan finds hope in the promise of one day meeting his Outie's family. Irving, well—he's hanging on by a thread, but Dylan's support is enough to keep the man at his desk.
Now, you may wonder whether or not Severance is simply running season 1 back. That the creative team couldn't write a second season that didn't see the squad back together at their cubicles. Why would our favorite Innies work so damn hard to escape their oppressors and see the outer world, only to end up grinding away on bullshit numbers for the rest of their lives?
Well, that's Corporate America, baby. Is there a more relatable sight than an office worker complaining about their thankless job day after day, only to choose said thankless job day after day without ever making a change? Maybe they're waiting for a raise. Or a promotion. Or the hope of an early retirement. More often than not, none of those things come. And yet that person still swipes into the building every day.
Let's face it. By ending the season 2 premiere right where season 2 started, Severance made what might just be its most haunting argument yet: That either we're suckers for pain, or capitalism has a chokehold on us all. Or both.
Wait. What's Cold Harbor?
Get your pause button handy, because woo, boy. In episode 1's final moments, Mark is (happily?!) sorting numbers into little digital boxes again. But the computer flickers and shows a different screen, which you should parse through yourself. It has a picture of Gemma/Ms. Casey, with the heading COLD HARBOR. Truly ill Severance fans know that Cold Harbor is the codename Severance used in season 2's production listing. Maybe Cold Harbor isn't just a nickname. There are a few scattered numbers around the screen—is HR 80 referring to a heart rate?!—that I would very much like the Severance Reddit to dissect in the coming days. Is Mark just seeing Ms. Casey in his mind's eye while he works? Or, whatever we're seeing here, is this what Mark is actually working on?
Hopefully, we'll have some answers by the time the finale airs. In the meantime, thank you for reading, folks. We hope you'll continue to follow Esquire's recaps of Severance season 2. I'll see you next week.
Wrathfully, your Innie,
Brady L.
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