‘Severance’ Season 2 Review: Three Episodes and 300 Questions

This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of “Severance.”

It’s been nearly three years since we last got a peek inside Lumon, the fictional mega-corporation at the center of Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson’s workplace-mystery-thriller “Severance.” Yet, in the time since the phenomenal Season 1 cliffhanger ending, the creators of the critically acclaimed drama have been crafting an even more intricate labyrinth of secrets, lies, and Lumon founder Kier Egan-based artwork.

Three episodes of the second season of “Severance” have been released as of writing, providing viewers with some answers, but even more questions about the world Mark Scout (Adam Scott) and his coworkers inhabit. Most importantly, the activation of the Overtime Contingency — a security mechanism that allows Lumon to access someone’s “innie” while they are not on the severed floor — at the end of Season 1 has expanded the world of the series substantially.

Irving Bailiff (John Turturro), Dylan George (Zach Cherry), and Helly R. (Britt Lower) are given substantial amounts of time dedicated to developing the characters of their “outies,” ultimately resulting in a more emotionally charged Macrodata Refinement (MDR), the department where our protagonists work, and one that makes their exploration of the severed floor of Lumon all the more urgent.

The first two episodes of the second season deal directly with the aftermath of the first, with the first episode showing the team returning to work after — what they’re told is — five months. They’re met with a delightfully underhanded animated video, a reminder that “Lumon is listening!” The second episode flips the narrative on its head incredibly effectively. The audience learns that it hasn’t been five months so much as less than five days since Mark, Irving, Dylan, and Helly’s “innies” contacted the outside world.

Despite all that is new, and true to the show’s progress till this point, “Severance” still leaves a number of questions unanswered: What is MDR doing? Is Mark S.’s wife still alive? What’s the deal with the goats?

We’re given clues to the first and third questions throughout Season 2 so far, but no concrete answers. MDR, and Mark S., specifically, are engaged in completing “Cold Harbor,” a mysterious codename masking the reality of the assignment, and what seems to be the central mystery of the season. We discover in the third episode that the goats are a part of the Mammalians Nurturable department, guarded by a group of severed employees who ask to inspect Mark S. and Helly R.’s stomachs in search of “pouches.”

Any review of this show would be remiss to not mention the fact that Helly R. is in fact Helena Eagan, direct descendant of Kier — a reveal so monumental that her “innie” won’t even disclose it to her coworkers when they all first see each other in the first episode of the new season. This plot twist works its way deeply into the increasing tension of Season 2. The sharp writing and masterful performance by Lower make for a thrilling undercurrent to the show’s Lumon-centered obfuscations.

This development casts an entirely new light on the series. The difference between Helly as an “innie” and her “outie” could not be more stark. Helena manages the Lumon building with an iron fist, going head-to-head with Ms. Cobel as the season progresses, directing Milchick as he navigates his new role, and surveilling the activity on the severed floor.

The latter two continue to provide excellent performances. Tillman, especially, shows with profound subtlety the questions his character asks internally about his work at Lumon. In the third episode, he’s presented with a gift of reimagined paintings of Kier Eagan, so that he can “see himself” in them. They are, in fact, reimagined only inasmuch as Kier, the white founder, is painted as a black man, like Milchick. Tillman’s reactions and physicality in this scene are especially wonderful, as he navigates the reality of his new job in the presence of the anonymous Board.

Thus we reach the end of episode three of Season 2. After Dylan makes use of the “Outie Family Visitation Suite,” Irving reconnects with Felicia (Claudia Robinson) in O&D, and Mark and Helly explore the Mammalians Nurturable department, “outie” Mark is confronted by Asal Reghabi (Karen Aldridge) who confirms that his wife, Gemma, is alive. In that moment, he decides to reintegrate the two severed halves of his brain, and the second season is off to the races.

Stiller returns to direct four of this season’s 10 episodes, two fewer than the six he directed the last go around, but he does so with remarkable sharpness. Even episode two, directed by Sam Donovan, accomplishes the same heights as the other released installments. If the phrase “every frame a painting” applies to anything, it is this new season of “Severance.” Suzie Lavelle’s cinematography in episode two is nothing short of gorgeous, playing with light and shadow masterfully to illustrate the division within Mark’s mind and the ominous oversight of Lumon as a corporation.

Paired with some excellent needledrops, episodes one and three perfect the sequences of running through identical white hallways on the severed floor, adding necessary stillness and energy to the scenes. Stiller’s command of his craft is obvious and truly exciting to watch. The opening sequence of episode one is a particularly standout moment in the season so far, though it remains to be seen just where the show will take us.

Answering one question with another seems to be the modus operandi of “Severance” Season 2 up to this point. But that’s just what makes the show so remarkable: its ability to give you just enough to keep you glued to the edge of your seat, desperately waiting for the next episode.

“Severance” releases weekly on Fridays on Apple TV+.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.