“Severance” season 2, which was released of Apple TV last month, has been one of the most anticipated shows of this year. For me, “Severance” may be my favorite TV show currently being released. With that being said, it’s not without its problems, especially in this most recent season. While the show is still great overall, some odd pacing choices and character developments keep this season from being truly amazing.
For those not in the know, “Severance” is a show about people who sever their minds, so they don’t remember what they do at work at a company known as Lumon. These two people are called innies (those who work) and outies(those who don’t). We follow Mark Scout, a man who did the severance procedure after his wife died, as he begins to uncover that this job is not what he thought it would be. On the flip side, we also follow Mark S., Mark Scout’s innie and a refiner, who, after meeting Helly R., begins to become more rebellious and begins to question what they are really refining.
But before I continue criticizing the show, I want to mention all the things I love about it. First off, the directing is even better this season than last. Episodes like “Chikhai Bardo” and “Woe’s Hollow” do some insane things with the camera that you don’t see in mainstream television. I’m just always in shock that a majority of these episodes are directed by Ben Stiller, the way he frames the camera. You wouldn’t expect it from the man who played Zoolander, but he’s an amazing director when he is directing episodes.
I would also like to praise the acting. Everyone is doing an amazing job. Adam Scott as Mark S. is as always amazing, as well as John Turturro as Irving B., but I think the obvious standouts this season are Tramell Tillmen as Mr. Milchick and Britt Lower as Helly R. The things these actors do with their performances, from Milchick’s odd mannerisms and way of speech, to how Helly changes so radically from her innie to her outie, is nothing short of amazing and I can’t wait to see what they do in the next season.
Another consistently great part of the show is the score. It’s somewhat comforting, yet ominous at the same time. It’s an integral part of the show’s identity, and without it, I feel the show would be left with a large hole.
One final thing I want to praise before I move on to my criticism is that the story of the show is still great. I don’t always like how it’s being told to the audience all the time, but it’s still quite interesting to watch. I was questioning what would happen in that final episode up to the final seconds of the show. I am also glad the show offered some answers to the show’s overarching questions, like what they are refining at work, while opening up more confusing and interesting puzzles, like why did they have to sacrifice that goat, and is something supernatural going on with the Eagans, for us to figure out in future seasons.
Even with all this praise for the show, there are a lot of problems that I have been noticing with this season, and I will be veering a bit into spoiler territory to discuss. First off, the pacing feels all over the place. The choice to have one episode focus on Gemma Scout in the super secret extra floor of Lumon, where she has multiple severed personalities, and another entirely on Harmony Cobel connecting with her past, and us realizing she created the severance procedure was interesting, but the way they placed it in the season makes no sense, and it breaks up the flow of the season. I also believe it ruins the Mark reintegration plot line, which brings me to my second major problem with the show, being some of the writing choices.
This season is very much about isolation, so it makes sense that they would want to break up the group so much. With that being said, a lot of characters suffer from this choice, leading to their plot lines feeling a bit underdeveloped. I already mentioned the reintegration plotline, but it also felt like Irving’s plotline was a bit all over the place. I like all the different parts of the storyline, but the way it was spread out between episodes, where he sometimes didn’t even show up in an episode when he is such a vital character, just didn’t sit right with me. Also, there was sadly no real development on the Ricken side of the TV show. Maybe we will see more of him in season 3, but we will have to see.
Overall, I will say this season is great. Is it better than the first season? No. Is it on par with the first season? I would say probably yes. Your mileage will vary. This season is very much weirder than the first one, so if you don’t love that aspect, it’s probably not going to be for you. Still, this show is great – a real shining star in this world of so-so thrillers being released today. I can’t wait for season 3, just as long as there is more Ricken.
