Hey Severance Survivors!
Have you survived the world mandated by your employer that may conflict with objectives in your private life at home? Do you “sever” the reality between those two parts of your life on a regular basis? So do many people to keep the chaos at a minimum level between private and work life? In this series viewers explore the enigma that everyone faces in their lives in the real world but with fascinating details accentuated only a superb science fiction series as created by Dan Erickson, and executive produced by Ben Stiller can do!
In the superb dystopian thriller science fiction series Severance, the marvelous main characters, their friends and families follow the adventures of Mark Scout (Adam Scott), Helly R (Britt Lower), Dylan George (Zach Cherry), Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman), Devon Scout Hale (Jen Tullock), Gemma Scout (Dichen Lachman), Harmony Cobel / Ms Selvig (Patricia Arquette), Ricken Hale (Michael Chernus), Irving Baliff (John Turturro), Burt Goodman (Christopher Walken), Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) Kier Egan (Mark Gellar) and Cecil Fields portrayed by outstanding guest start (John Noble) of Fringe!
Viewers will recall that in season one we began with Mark being promoted at a fictional corporation named Lumon Industries. In a separate sequence we meet Helly who is on a boardroom style table after she was sent as a replacement for the work group now led by Mark who interviews Helly.
The first season ended in an episode aptly named “The We We Are” that sets up the second season when viewers learn about the consequences of the main characters actions including details about their family relationships and their jobs as “Macrodata Refinement” specialists.
Over the course of the first season we learned that our heroes are Lumon employees who voluntarily have undergone a “Severance” procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This is accomplished using a computer chip implanted in their brains.
This technology is not dissimilar to technology being developed and utilized in contemporary times to help handicapped individuals. However, in “Severance” the extent of the control of their memories goes far beyond what science is capable of today.
As delightfully described by the series creator and executive producers that include Dan Erickson, Ben Stiller, Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette, Severance is a “daring experiment in “work-life balance” is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work … and of himself. In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.”
As season one winds down, Helly finds herself as the star of a high-profile Lumon corporation gala in the season finale “The We We Are”. It is here that viewers learn that Helly’s character is revealed to actually be Helena Eagan, daughter of Lumon’s Chief Executive Officer the Eagan dynasty. Season two further explores the conundrum of why Helly elected to become severed.
We include a video recap of Severance season one below, and above the creative work of excellent VFX Supervisior Eric Leven at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) courtesy of Accolade Publicity and Consulting. Included below are several video clips from season two videos below courtesy of Apple TV for your enjoyment of our Severance series analysis.
Season Two Journey to Cold Harbor:
In season two, as the villainous Lumon corporation seeks something known as control of “Cold Harbor”, a “Macrodata Refinement” goal that is delineated in the final episode of season two episode. The season also focuses on Mark’s efforts to rescue his wife Gemma from the clutches of Lumon corporation, revealing significant developments at their headquarters.
The second season shows enjoyable but sometimes crazy sequences including a room full of mountain goats, fruit trays, balloons with Mark’s face and extracurricular field trips to places that in effect are attempts to bribe our heroes. Viewers are stunned to find out that Mark’s wife Gemma no longer exists in the outside world but is being held captive inside the evil Lumon corporation in the “Cold Harbor” room!
The loss of Mark’s wife Gemma is what motivated him to seek “Severance” in the first place as a way to emotionally deal with the painful situation over the disappearance of his beloved Gemma. Along the way viewers learn significant additional details in episode nine “The We We Are” about why the main characters agreed to a computer chip implantation surgery procedure that segregates each employee’s brain into two entirely separate individuals.
The separate halves known as the “Innie” characters, people who spend their seemingly useless work days in the insane and overly controlling Lumon workplace with no memory of their own personal life. This is juxtaposed with each characters “Outie,” where the individuals experience no memory of the horrors the Innie characters. These characterizations are often analogs to what many people experience in real life with corporate and governmental secrets of their employment that cannot be revealed to anyone.
People in real life regularly execute such a mental division on a voluntary basis. This is quite is similar to what is portrayed in “Severance”. However in the streaming series, our Innie heroes Mark, Helly, Irving and Dylan decide during their “work day” to rebel because they suspect that the agreement they made with Lumon corporation is a poor decision. They work out a plan to uncover and reveal the truth about working at Lumon corporation which is run by openly sadistic supervisor’s led by Seth and Harmony that leads to a “Macrodata Uprising”.
Mark’s is in turmoil as he and his team determine they must lead to a “Macrodata Uprising” at Lumon corporation by activating a procedure known as the Overtime Contingency (OC) protocol. Dylan breaks into a Lumon security office depressing two levers simultaneously to activate the forbidden OC procedure. This allows Mark, Helly, and Irving’s to experience Innie consciousness in the outside world for the first time as Outies. Irving seeks out his love interest Burt in the Outie world.
As viewers know, Mark’s Outie agreed to the “Severance” procedure to compartmentalize his sorrow after years of all-consuming grief over the tragic loss of his wife, Gemma. Helly / Helena had voluntarily undergone severance to promote the Lumon technology but also rebelled when she learned that the technology was being used to manipulate the situation and the individuals involved who appear to have become victims of the circumstances.
During the exciting conclusion of season two Mark learns that “Cold Harbor” is a room where Innie Gemma is held captive. Designed to help her deal with trauma and sever from her pain, Mark seeks to free Gemma despite the efforts of Harmony referred to as Ms. Cobel in the show. Cobel Selvig is the former manager of the severed floor at Lumon and in an unexpected plot twist, viewers learn that she is likely Mark’s mother. How dystopian is that?
At the end of “Cold Harbor” we witness Mark’s Innie elect to stay with Helly at Lumon instead of leaving to be with his Outie’s wife Gemma. The adventures of our heroes are mixed with rewards provided by Lumon setting up the third season of this fabulous science fiction series. Severance creator Dan Erickson confirmed that it’s not Helena taking advantage of Mark, but rather Mark “claiming his own autonomy” with his decision to stay at Lumon corporation as an Innie.
We look forward to Severance season three in the future and hope that panels and Press Rooms will be featured at San Diego Comic-Con in July later this year. In the meantime, please feel free to share this article with your friends, co-workers and or your family!
We look forward to you visiting our dedicated review and analysis web site here in the future! Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit TeamWHR on X, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and TeamWHR look forward to Seeing You on The Other Side!“
Thank you. 
Best Regards,
Kenn of #TeamWHR
