Severance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major letdown. We already knew this. It was obvious all season. I feel robbed from this episode.

Why would it be a letdown? I'm intrigued to see innie Helly back now.

DP, but I kind of feel the same. Or at least about the idea that this was a big reveal to the viewer. It was obviously a big reveal to the MDR team. As far as what innie Helly is going to do, I feel like the show has one shot to get this right. It will be an insult if she's whisked away has no chance to tell them what happened.

I also have a really hard time with Mark totally blowing off the fact that his outie's wife (and by extension, his wife) is supposed to be dead, but she's alive inside Lumon. But he sleeps with Helly? Weird.

My speculation is that outie Mark, along with Gemma, are the second level down of a larger plot. I think Mark and Gemma are not quite Eagan level at Lumon, but have voluntarily put themselves in this experiment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never trust a show like this after Lost. They won’t pull it together, it will just get weirder and then fizzle out.

This season picks up from season one feels more focused and self-aware. It’s not so much promising a locked room puzzle with this big twist at the end as it is social satire. They have answered many questions from first season and those from this season nearly every episode—the writers have acknowledged the Lost concern, so I suspect this is deliberate. The storytelling is tightening its use of ambiguity while allowing for audience abstraction in the short-term. What might have been a one-off first season, no longer seems that way (the watches, for example; the corporate art; the perks; maps; color scheme). The story seems to be the point rather than the bait.

[Anonymous]

H. answers I.’s other question about what’s for dinner with her sculpture. He does, after all, appreciate corporate art.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:H. answers I.’s other question about what’s for dinner with her sculpture. He does, after all, appreciate corporate art.

What's her sculpture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:H. answers I.’s other question about what’s for dinner with her sculpture. He does, after all, appreciate corporate art.

What's her sculpture?

A snow seal.

[Anonymous]

Aha, I suspected that that "Hang in there" was a clue for Dylan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major letdown. We already knew this. It was obvious all season. I feel robbed from this episode.

Why would it be a letdown? I'm intrigued to see innie Helly back now.

DP, but I kind of feel the same. Or at least about the idea that this was a big reveal to the viewer. It was obviously a big reveal to the MDR team. As far as what innie Helly is going to do, I feel like the show has one shot to get this right. It will be an insult if she's whisked away has no chance to tell them what happened.

I also have a really hard time with Mark totally blowing off the fact that his outie's wife (and by extension, his wife) is supposed to be dead, but she's alive inside Lumon. But he sleeps with Helly? Weird.

My speculation is that outie Mark, along with Gemma, are the second level down of a larger plot. I think Mark and Gemma are not quite Eagan level at Lumon, but have voluntarily put themselves in this experiment.

But why would Mark have started reintegration if this was the case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never trust a show like this after Lost. They won’t pull it together, it will just get weirder and then fizzle out.

Agreed. Writers never know how to end these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plot talk if you aren't current, don't read.

Will someone remind me why the woman is so desperate to quit? I don't recall anything happening to her . does she, as in innie (makes me think of belly buttons) not like loss of control & agency of herself. Seems the company would have screened her out from severing for mental health reasons. Wonder if she suspected her suicide attempt would be stopped.

Also, the boss is not severed. Her outtie (belly button) is faking, correct?

What do you think the "numbers" are they are isolating?

From what we have been shown, the rest of the world is relatively normal? Like there isn't a zombie horde or genocide going on.

I don't understand why the innies would even need to know that there were outties. Would have been cleaner to only have the innies exist at work not knowing anything else.

She’s desperate to quit because her entire existence is in the basement. She never sleeps. She’s just there. Forever.

Just let me chime in two years later, since I just discovered Severance.

I think she is unhappy partly because she has the type of personality that resists authoritarian control/mindless compliance.

In general though, if you had NO outside life (no weekend plans to look forward to, no loved ones to think about, no hobbies), performing meaningless task would certainly not be enough to make up a thinking person's only conscious existence. That is probably why many of them get overinvested in the stupid "perks" and corporate philosophy. They are desperate for context/novelty.

Now that I know Helle's other identity, I can also speculate that she led a pampered life and therefore on some level has little tolerance for not having her needs met.

[Anonymous]

Do you think the outie denials of resignations are real or just a video that was faked by the company?

If real, I would think that you would trust your other self to tell you if things were really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s getting good.
Any thoughts on the shrine and Harmony’s creepy bedroom?

The ending of Season 1 blew my mind.

Before that I could not decide if it was just too weird...but now I see that the writing is brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this supposed to be some statement about failure of modern work/life balance? Work taking everything over?

The people in the show have a sort of weird naivete. The brother was so excited about the positioning of his book. Mark the person doesn't seem to have many real interactions with people in his home life.

A severance is what you often receive when you leave your workplace. Here it's what you get when you start your job.

I'm a little annoyed with the show. I enjoyed the "mystery" involved in The Good Place, but I don't like these sad mysteries that much anymore. sad sad sad. Maybe it will get exciting?

This show is SO much more cerebral than The Good Place.

That was good for people who wanted to severe their brains when they watch TV!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loving this show - it feels very West World-ish to me. But was thinking, since Helly is an Egan, why would they risk giving her a “real” severed position? Wouldn’t they create some faux amazing position for her innie to ensure she had a great severed experience, so as not to risk exactly what happened (I’m sure they didn’t anticipate that her innie could ever get “out” but her innie being miserable/self harming could leak out, or could make Helena second guess things)

I had the same question as well. Why not give Helly a cushy job or no job at all? Possible explanations are that Macrodata Refinement is the cushy job or that they are incredibly shirt staffed and need all the bodies they can get.

Exactly - it’s crazy that they would let Helly have the actual experience instead a manufactured lovely experience. She would not be waking up on a conference room table like everyone else. It’s too risky. And as soon as she was unhappy, they would have pivoted to make everything better. Why didn’t Helena demand that when her innie made that desperate tape and threatened to cut off her fingers?

I think the leadership believes everyone has drunk the kool aid, so she is just serving the bigger mission.

I also think that they believe severances could not be reversed (so even if she was unhappy, it would not be revealed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we binged it in two days. purchased Apple TV + after watching the 1st episode for free (genius marketing).

one thing I notices - the outside world - it is always so dark/dreary/poor lighting.

the inside world - bright white, glaring lighting.

I am trying to understand how everything is a clue to what is really happening. even the opening credits.

and what is the black tar Irv saw dripping all over himself? that's a clue too.

The black paint he uses in the outside world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this supposed to be some statement about failure of modern work/life balance? Work taking everything over?

The people in the show have a sort of weird naivete. The brother was so excited about the positioning of his book. Mark the person doesn't seem to have many real interactions with people in his home life.

A severance is what you often receive when you leave your workplace. Here it's what you get when you start your job.

I'm a little annoyed with the show. I enjoyed the "mystery" involved in The Good Place, but I don't like these sad mysteries that much anymore. sad sad sad. Maybe it will get exciting?

This show is SO much more cerebral than The Good Place.

That was good for people who wanted to severe their brains when they watch TV!

Not either PP but I enjoyed The Good Place so much more than this show, and also feel like I learned real philosophical concepts while watching it. So far, Severance overall is kind of depressing. My husband is really enjoying the intellectual game of it. But like a PP, I'm not really sure it's not all going to collapse on itself and/or ultimately go nowhere (truly interesting) like Lost. I'm still watching and hopeful, just not fully convinced it's going to pay off.