Apple TV dropped the second season of one of its most well-renowned television shows in recent days. Severance.
Severance is a mystery thriller based on the science fiction idea of: what if you lived two fully different lives? One for work and one for your home world?
In the show, there is a procedure aptly named ‘severance’ where people, when going to work for a company named Lumon, can sever their memories into two. Effectively having a work persona (who has no memories outside of work) and a home persona (having no memories of work). These two personalities never interact and work almost in a geological manner.
When the work persona (named ‘innies’ for only ever living inside their job) leaves the office, there’s an automatic switch between them and their outside persona (named ‘outie’).
While this may seem like a simplistic – perhaps even dull – concept, the show fills both its world and its characters with a sharp and outrageously compelling sense of intrigue. With its creepy, tension-filled dialogue, nearly sterile working environment, and ominous secrets looming in the background, the show manages to make something nail-biting out of itself. It is the definition of having a basic idea with exceptional execution.
The characters are also unbelievably enthralling, all of them complex and most of them lovable; they truly bring everything about the story to life.
With stunning performances from Adam Scott as Mark S. and Britt Lower as Helly R., the two leads exhibit a captivating chemistry and turn a performance into something real and raw, and gripping.
There are so many mysteries in Severance that absolutely draw the audience in, making them question and theorize about everything.
Severance is a stunning thriller with twists and turns, a tangled web of mysteries that slowly unfolds over the series. There are so many things left unsolved; for every answer, there are a hundred more questions. Season one ended with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger, and season two had a lot to live up to. And it more than succeeded. With a few bumps along the way, it created something beautiful, enjoyable, engaging, and unforgettably entertaining.
