As we inch nearer to the top of Severance’s second season, there are nonetheless a whole lot of open questions. But it’s additionally grow to be clear that the present isn’t in a rush to reply them. Whereas many thriller field exhibits race to their conclusions, dashing by way of plot factors so rapidly that it may be exhausting to maintain up, Severance has spent the latter a part of this season meandering by way of flashbacks and spending some high quality time with its characters. It’s a slower tempo than different status streaming exhibits, however these episodes have helped present simply how fascinating a spot Severance’s weird world is. They’ve additionally helped set the present up for the finale — and solutions — to return.
Spoilers forward for Severance, as much as season 2, episode 9.
It all began with the seventh episode, which shifted the main focus from the Macrodata Refinement crew to heart on Gemma (Dichen Lachman) and the nightmarish procedures and checks she was put by way of to grow to be the calm and picked up Ms. Casey. That was adopted by a visit down reminiscence lane for Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), who went again to her hometown, an remoted fishing village that was additionally beforehand residence to a Lumon Industries ether plant. The story sped up barely this week, with private vignettes that coated nearly each foremost forged member.
These episodes have supplied some welcome backstory and worldbuilding. Gemma’s trials and torture confirmed the depths Lumon is keen to sink to with a view to make the severance process work. We already knew issues have been unhealthy, however this was one other stage. Cobel’s freezing journey gave some perception into Lumon’s extra humble beginnings, which included some equally questionable morals (involving, apparently, baby labor fueled by drug use), together with an excellent cause as to why she is so bitter and offended. And the most recent episode, “The After Hours,” confirmed the impression of Lumon and the severance process from a number of views.
For a present that has a lot lurking beneath the floor, even these small glimpses into the equipment of Lumon really feel notable and illuminating. It could also be a terrifying place, however I need to spend time on this world, looking for particulars and soaking within the oppressive environment — which is why the at-times plodding tempo didn’t hassle me a lot.
But there’s additionally clearly a component of technique right here. All the time spent away from Lumon’s basement workplace was used to make it apparent the place many of the key figures on this story are proper now. That’s most obvious in “The After Hours,” which is mainly a primer for no matter is about to go down within the finale. We have Mark (Adam Scott) assembly up with Cobel to hatch a plan to probably rescue Gemma, as an alternative of ending his mysterious and essential work at Lumon. This is all taking place whereas Mark tries to type by way of the cut up reminiscences merging collectively in his head.
Meanwhile, his exasperated supervisor Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) is displaying some spine in opposition to his personal oppressive supervisor, Dylan (Zach Cherry) is threatening to stop whereas coping with a novel type of infidelity, Irving (John Turturro) is leaving city and coping with an equally distinctive type of heartbreak, baby supervisor Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) has apparently graduated and is being transferred to a different facility, and Helly’s innie (Britt Lower) is about to fulfill her outie’s dad. (Helly additionally introduces viewers to maybe essentially the most weird and unsettling approach to eat a hardboiled egg.)
It’s a tough balancing act, however Severance has managed to spend a handful of episodes slowly increasing its world and exploring a number of characters, whereas additionally steadily pushing itself towards a finale that may virtually positively reply a few of these lingering questions. Most notably, that features Mark lastly discovering Gemma, the mysterious darkish hallway and elevator, and simply what the hell the Cold Harbor file is. (The ultimate episode is, the truth is, known as “Cold Harbor.”) More questions will undoubtedly come up quickly after — the Severance workforce loves a cliffhanger, in any case — however that’s simply extra alternatives to hang around within the Lumon basement.
