Severance season 2
By Sioph W. Leal
It has been nearly three years since the first season finale of Severance but it is finally back and worth the wait in every single way. Second seasons can often struggle after a stellar first season and it can be painful but some rise to meet expectations and, in rare cases, some take the weight and expectation and come back stronger than ever. The burden of the first season was mighty and made worse by such a long wait but Severance proves that its excellence continues with no sign of stopping.
The concept of the “innie” and “outie” carries on this season even if they are the same person, you watch and think…are they? If you sever a part of your life, it creates the question if you are really the same person. The show explores this with Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower) and his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman). The relationships have a layered, nuanced take and a deep exploration that leaves you wondering just how much of yourself remains when you take parts away and are we the product of our pain? The shows take as a metaphor for capitalism and corporations, and workforces, strip people of their identity for the sake of the business needs remains at its core but with extra questions about the existential questions about what makes us who we are. It’s a rich exploration into a lot but they all combine well, never getting messy and working cohesively together in pure TV excellence.
The deeper exploration can, at times, leave the series with a muddier and dour feel without much of the humour from the first season that helped break the heavier moments, but it never acts as a detriment and gives more for the richer story Severance wants to tell.
No series is more expertly orchestrated than Severance and every episode in the ones provided for review illustrates that very fact. There’s always secrets but the more you know, the less revealed. It is not just the story, characters and the performances that show off Severance’s excellence but the cinematography too. Each shot is beautiful, and you can tell meticulously planned to highlight the story making it a thrilling story but a visual treat too. There is a reason Severance is one of Apple TV’s most renowned series and season