Episode Guide
Good news about hell half loop in perpetuity! The you you are the grim barbarity of optics and design, hide and seek defiant jazz. What’s for dinner, the we are -| review score – 5/5.
Severance is a mind-bending, genre-hopping gem that offers a very well worked mystery, talented actors across the board, and endless loops of working 9-5 without leaving. ..
Mark Scout is a man who’s still grieving the loss of his wife, and decides to undergo an experimental procedure called severance off the back of this. Severance is incredibly controversial, and many activists take to the street to try and stop it. Essentially, this severance act sees the subject’s memories surgically divided between their work and personal lives.
Work and weekend life are kept separate in this series. This leads to two versions of the same person emerging. ..
Mark works in the Macrodata Refinement department and it soon becomes apparent that the work Lumon are doing, is very strange indeed. I won’t spoil that here because it’s part of the mystery but suffice to say, it’ll keep you watching through the different episodes.
Mark’s “innie” (the colloquial term for the severed work-self) starts to uncover secrets about the company he works for, his “outie” is approached by Petey, one of Mark S’s colleagues from inside Lumon. He’s managed to “reintegrate” and warns that Lumon are not to be trusted.
As the two versions of Mark try to uncover the truth in their own ways, they are unaware of what their other self is actually doing. However, the story goes deeper than that. Fleshing out the roster is Helly R, who really does not want to be there. She tries everything to get out of Lumon, and through her attempts of escape we learn more about the company’s tight-knit security and different protocols. It’s subtle, but a really clever way of exuding exposition. ..
Mark Lumon is a brilliant scientist who has dedicated his life to creating the perfect world. However, he’s also been forced to confront the harsh realities of the world around him. His colleagues Helly and Dylan are two of his closest friends, but they have different ideologies about how to achieve this perfect world. Helly believes that by working together we can create a utopia where everyone is happy and content, while Dylan believes that by fighting for what’s right we can make a difference in the world. Despite their differences, they are all incredibly close friends and rely on each other for support. When Mark is faced with an important decision, he depends on both Helly and Dylan to help him make it.
As the season progresses, all four of these characters begin to question their own realities. Not only that, but this also extends across to their boss, Harmony Cobel and several other supporting characters too. ..
Severance is a unique and compelling work of fiction that refuses to be pigeonholed into a single genre. There are light bits of horror, plenty of surrealist and quirky comedy, bits of character drama, romance and even sci-fi too. The themes in Severance are powerful and thought-provoking, and the writing is excellent. I highly recommend reading this novel if you’re looking for an interesting and unique read.
The show’s use of themes and symbolism is outstanding. Overhead cameras reinforce the idea of being looked down upon by one’s superiors; the use of green and blue is clever and ties into the final episode’s explanation; the idea of trying to control one’s workforce and rebellions is shown; and even the trippy Hitchcockian camera zoom in the work elevator, shifting between the personal and work parts of one’s self, plays a significant role in all this. ..
Severance is a unique game that offers a lot of different experiences and mechanics. The creators deserve a lot of credit for keeping these consistent and fresh until the very end.
The use of visuals in Severance is deliberate and eerily set the scene early on before becoming symbiotically linked to the main narrative. The use of color and lighting create a very oppressive and dark atmosphere that is perfect for the story.
As the series progresses, the scenes start to become darker. Those brightly lit corridors soon become dark and uneasy tunnels. There’s also some subtle but very interesting details in the background of shots too. In episode 3 for example, Mark’s fish tank in his room back home shows a single goldfish, but the way this is framed shows off the reflected fish too. It’s a visual metaphor for this double-life Mark has been living and the fish-tank signifies the cage he’s trapped in.
Severance is a great show that nails every element. However, it’s too early to call it the best show of 2022. This one has certainly set a very high bar indeed.
