Warning: Spoilers
When I first heard of the concept behind Apple TV’s “Severance”, my eyes rolled into the back of my head (much like Mark’s on his transition from “outie” to “innie”). The idea that people could undergo a “severance procedure” and separate themselves into two different people (an “outie” for work, and an “innie” for outside of work) seemed too theoretical and thinky for me. I could not have been more mistaken.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t immediately hooked. The show was engaging right from the start, but it took about three or four episodes of exposition to understand the name of the game here. I yawned at the extensive shots of the mysterious company Lumon’s blank walls, confused as to why I was watching this or what was happening. When Mark gives Helly (a new hire at Lumon) a tour, he explains that the work they do is “mysterious and important.” He shows her how to perform a seemingly mundane task – looking at numbers. Nobody knows what is happening at Lumon, or what work they are doing. By the fourth episode, as small details about Lumon revealed themselves, I found myself more and more engaged.
While the show’s mystery pulls you in, its complex characters keep you hooked. In the series, the character development of both Mark’s “innie” and “outie” makes viewers feel conflicted. It makes us wonder who we are even rooting for. Both Mark’s innie and outie are so well developed that we root for each of them. They both have the same needs: love and connection. Mark’s outie is grieving his late wife, and when he learns that she is not dead, but entrapped in Lumon headquarters, he does anything he can to find her, including undergoing a dangerous “reintegration” procedure. Mark’s innie loves Helly, his co-worker. In a pivotal scene depicting how well-developed a character Mark is, he speaks to his innie by recording himself. In this scene, Mark comes to terms with the harsh reality that by severing himself, he has created another human being.
While I initially wanted to figure out what’s going on at Lumon, it is a testament to the show that two seasons in, I don’t care anymore. Honestly, it would kind of ruin the fun. Severance’s strength is best shown in the finale episode of season 2, in which Mark’s outie saves his wife, but Mark’s innie leads her to the exit door, leaving her outside alone to run away with Helly. A need for love and companionship drives every character in the show. In a way, the show makes an important point about our lived experience. We might not need to peel back the curtain and figure out every detail about the meaning of life. We know the people we love, and that is most important.
