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On Thursday night, the final episode of Season 2 of “Severance” aired, and, wow, was it an emotional roller-coaster. I knew the show was a national sensation when a few weeks back a mysterious and important Slack channel named “Macrodata-Refinement” appeared at Post Opinions. I sat down with two of my colleagues, Robert Gebelhoff and Lillian Barkley, just after watching the episode to unpack our feelings about the show.
Warning: very light spoilers below. We think you can read our conversation and not have anything ruined for you. But if you want to know absolutely nothing before you watch, you have been warned.
Damir Marusic: I started watching Season 1 about a week after Season 2 started. A good friend of mine thought it would click with me. All three of us here at Prompt just watched the season finale, and … boy, was my friend right! I really love this series. “Severance” connected with me on various levels. I’m curious about you guys. What do you find (most) compelling about it?
Rob Gebelhoff: It’s just such a good concept for a show. I’ve always loved “The Twilight Zone” for the weird ideas in each episode and wish someone took one of them and built an entire world out of it. This is that. Also, Adam Scott. Adam Scott himself is very compelling.
Lillian Barkley: Friends had recommended it to me for years, and I finally caved after Season 2’s Episode 7 came out last month. I watched every episode in an unbroken 16 hours. The idea of what makes a person and why the full range of human emotion is important really pulled me in. And I would absolutely agree about Adam Scott.
Rob: And just so beautifully done. It’s a work of art. Really a testament to Ben Stiller as a director.
Damir: I agree about how compelling the concept is. But the thing that hooked me beyond the surrealism is how well rendered the characters are despite all the weirdness. Adam Scott’s performance has a lot to do with it. But the pathos of the “innies,” their tragic, doomed love in a claustrophobic world — I was invested much more than I thought I would be. Toward the end of the series, I think it started to drift a bit as the writers fleshed out the “outie” characters more. But the finale … what a treat to be back with the core of the show! I was genuinely moved.
Rob: Yes, I agree about the middle of the season drifting a bit. But the ending brings it all together again. Brings us back into that dystopian office world that we fell in love with.
Damir: Why do you guys think the dystopian office world resonates so much? I always felt like it’s too easy to say something about it being relatable, about how we all split ourselves between our office and personal lives. The series tapped into something deeper than that, I thought.
Rob: I think anyone who starts watching the first season is struck by this concept of being able to sever yourself from the nasty or dull parts of life and thinks, “Would I want that?” I’m blessed to love my job, so my answer is easy. But it’s still so intriguing.
Lillian: It speaks a lot to how so many modern innovations have made life more convenient and comfortable at the expense of other people with less power or influence. At one point, text from Ricken’s book even mentions that sweatshop children can just say no to their jobs.
Damir: It feels like it’s powerfully mocking a kind of Silicon Valley office culture cliché — that companies go out of their way to be good and welcoming to their employees with lavish perks, that the days of the exploitative employer are over, that there are win-win arrangements in postindustrial tech-powered capitalism. “Severance” just slices at these conceits for me, through savage satire rather than through some kind of high-minded political activism about injustice. If anything, it feels more effective. Rob, you mentioned “The Twilight Zone.” Why do you guys like these kinds of reality-bending conceits? Why do we seem to gravitate to these kinds of questions about the nature of the self, the nature of time, the nature of memory?
Rob: That’s a good question. It often goes right to the cliché question “What is life?” Is a robot that can feel emotions human? Does it deserve rights? I think people enjoy letting the wheels in their minds spin a bit. It’s healthy. Also, who doesn’t love a good transatlantic accent?
Lillian: On a very base level, I’ve always really gotten into thought experiments about consciousness. Every choice you make makes you who you are. In the severed cases, they’re each having to deal with the choices they’re not making. Which is convoluted, but that’s the beauty of the show.
Rob: Yes, that’s why Dylan’s arc this season is just so gut-wrenching. Watching him fall in love with his outie’s wife destroyed me.
Damir: Agree. I found how the show highlights the contingent, contextual and circumstantial qualities of love to be absolutely gutting throughout the second season. I found how the show highlights the contingent, contextual and circumstantial qualities of love to be absolutely gutting throughout the second season. It gets at something very human, and tragic.
Lillian: And why Mark’s decision ultimately made sense to me, even though I was screaming at the TV the whole time.
Damir: So the finale felt “final” for me for the very reason that I loved the show so much: it’s about the characters much more than it is about the overarching conceit. Many of the bigger mysteries of what is actually going on at Lumon remain unanswered. But I found myself not caring so much. I felt like some of the bigger questions about the characters themselves ended in an emotionally satisfying way. I’m not (necessarily) craving a third season — though, of course I’ll watch it if they decide to do one. How about you guys? Do you demand more?
Rob: Totally agree. For whatever reason, I just can’t seem to care too much about the lore of Lumon. And I want to know what the damn goats mean, but that’s not why I’m watching. The most riveting moment in the finale was when Mark was talking to himself. Just fascinating to watch both versions wrestle with himself. (Themselves?). That’s the sort of character development that made me fall in love with this show.
Lillian: I would absolutely watch a third season, but this resolution is satisfying. I feel like the human stories mattering more than the company goals fits in with what we’ve been talking about.
Rob: I’m just glad we got to see Mr. Milchick dance again.
