Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 2Severance season 2 had a great first episode and I enjoyed a lot of what the show did with its story. Adam Scott is just impeccable as Mark S., and the world of the series feels just as exciting as it did when season 1 was released back in 2022. However, the episode was slower than what I expected and did not directly focus on the events of Severance season 1’s shocking finale. Initially, I thought the show would continue from there, but episode 2 had other plans in mind, plans I quite liked.
The main theme that spoke to me when watching season 1 was the characters’ duality. Lumon is a company that offers broken people the chance to leave all their problems aside with a fraction of themselves just to escape from feelings of guilt, loneliness, grief, and more for extended periods of time. Just as the show’s mysteries are entertaining, its philosophical questions are as well. Severance season 2 continues those reflections, with episode 1 focusing on Mark S., the severed worker, while episode 2 puts Mark and the others’ Outies in the spotlight.
Severance Season 1’s Finale Is Expanded Upon
The Consequences Of The Innies’ Actions Are Revealed
One of the things that frustrated me in the season 2 premiere was how the consequences of the Innies’ actions were explained to Mark and the rest of the Macrodata team, not shown onscreen. Thankfully, episode 2 changed that. The new entry was mostly dedicated to showing what transpired with the characters’ Outies due to their actions related to the overtime contingency in the season 1 finale. As expected, there were some major repercussions and some mysteries were answered while others were raised.
Since season 1, Tramell Tillman has done a fantastic job of making Milchick positively scary while pretending to be a nice person to others.
Taking Ms. Cobel’s place, Mr. Milchick was put in charge of damage control, as the Innies had contacted people in the outside world, and Lumon had to assess the effect of these interactions. Since season 1, Tramell Tillman has done a fantastic job of making Milchick positively scary while pretending to be a nice person to others. With an even bigger role in season 2, Milchick is the source of tension in most of his scenes. Interestingly, Milchick opted to fire both Irving and Dylan, with Helena choosing not to become Helly again, but he fought for Mark to stay.
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Severance season 2 continues to perfect the mystery box series formula with perfectly planted answers that raise more harrowing questions.
Episode 2 cemented that the work Mark is doing is key to Lumon on a deep level. Not only did the company want him to stay, but it also accommodated Mark S.’s demands. Milchick convinces the Outie Mark to return by reminding him of the problems he faced in his life after his wife, Gemma, died, while Lumon fired Mark’s new team and brought his old crew back after he asked for it. I thought it was interesting that even Helena had to go back as Helly R., showing just how important Mark is in the show’s grand scheme.
The Search For Mark’s Wife Continues
Mark’s Outie Makes A Major Break In The Case
The most shocking reveal in Severance season 1’s finale was that Lumon’s head of wellness, Ms. Casey, is really Mark’s believed-to-be dead wife, Gemma. So far, the character has yet to show up in season 2, but the sci-fi series is already dealing with the fallout from the momentous season finale reveal. In episode 2, Mark’s sister does not buy that Mark was talking about her baby when he screamed, “She’s alive!” While her husband and the Outie Mark insist that must have been the reason, she keeps pressing Mark about the possibility his Innie meant Gemma.
The Outie Mark is much less energetic than his Innie version, which Milchick even notes is due to how the Mark who works at Lumon is unburdened by Gemma’s death.
Mark’s sister proved herself to be a smart character in season 1, and I’m happy we get more time with her in season 2. The Outie Mark is much less energetic than his Innie, which Milchick even notes is due to how the Mark who works at Lumon is unburdened by Gemma’s death. That is how big of an effect the event has had on Mark’s life, so I’m happy to see that Gemma’s death and Ms. Casey’s disappearance are being explored from two different angles by both the Innie and Outie versions of Scott’s character.
While it was frustrating to watch Mark fight with the possibility of his wife being alive, even if his skepticism was understandable, I was glad things were clear to him by episode’s end. I’d been waiting for a showdown between Mark and Ms. Cobel since he learned she’d been playing him as his neighbor, Mrs. Selvig. However, I didn’t think Mark would corner her and ask about information she had on his wife so early in the season. With Ms. Cobel screaming and driving away, that storyline has been kicked into overdrive and I can’t wait for what happens next.
Severance season 2 episodes stream on Apple TV+ every Friday through March 21.
Severance
- Release Date
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February 18, 2022
- Showrunner
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Dan Erickson
, Mark Friedman - Writers
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Dan Erickson
- The fallout from season 1’s finale is thoroughly explored
- Mark’s work is revealed to be very important for Lumon
- The Apple TV+ series makes the Outies interesting players
- The Gemma storyline is heating up
