Severance Season 2 [OPEN SPOILERS]

Adam Scott and Ben Stiller joked that they studied Tom Cruise running. It was a sequence of 10 shots – shot over 5 months – with some shots using a robot arm, and other times on green screen / treadmill with a motion controlled camera, then blended together using VFX.

I thought it was super impressive and a perfectly frenetic way to open the season after Season 1’s finale energy.

Yeah - I got the impression that Helly is either outie-Helly, or inner-Helly has cut a deal of some sort. I’m not sure a reset into a new Helly would be believable - but I’m sure the writers could convince me otherwise.

I guess anything is possible in this show but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Her outie is, to her understanding of it, the oppressor. The premise of the show, literally explicitly discussed in this ep, includes the tension over whether innies and outies are the same person or completely different individuals. To whatever degree Helly doubts her own separate completely independent self she is ashamed of what her outie is. And scared of how her friends will change what they think of her knowing who her outie is.

Would Dr Jeckyl be thrilled to admit to his friends all about Mr Hyde?

I think it’s safe to assume will find out what happened outside in the next episode or two. This episode was focused on the innie’s point of view, which from there perspective the season 1 finale happened minutes ago.

I think one think to consider is that fact it’s not really a choice to stay or go. It’s a choice to live or die. If they quit that’s the end for them. I think the show will end with some way of the innies getting to coexist outside with the outties.

And keeping us as in the dark as the innies are of what the outies part of the puzzle is, is what makes it more fun. At some point we will see the same timeline through different sets of eyes and I suspect it will recontextualize it, each time we see it.

In S1 Peter had been the subject of an attempted reintegration procedure. His death was presumptively from complications of the process, but the set up is that there is some potential way to Tuvix them.

His death could have been from complications, but Reghabi, the doctor who did the procedure, said it was safe. She says Petey died because he ignored her post-op instructions and ran away at the first sign of sickness.

Who knows if that’s true, of course.

It seemed to me more like outtie Petey wasn’t really Tuvixed, he was outtie Petey with memories/flashbacks from innie Petey.

Yes, “attempted” and “presumptively.”

And minimally the possibility of reintegration will be dangled as a resolution so that neither inner nor outie must “die.” (Or is that having both “die” in favor of the combined individual?)

In universe am I right that only outie Mark, Corbel, and the scientist who did the procedure (and who killed the security thug) currently know about it, with only Corbel knowing the results of Petey’s post mortem chip analysis?

That didn’t take long. I’m betting we see it through Corbel’s POV too. Which will change understanding too.

Good news, everyone!

Cobel told the Board she had the data to prove reintegration happened. She told them she would present her proof in person to them at the Eagan Family Gala thing and the Board agreed, but they fired her before that happened.

Graner also seems to indicate that the reintegration data has been saved, ostensibly in the Diagnostics department. So if Diagnostics is made up of anyone besides Garner, I guess they know.

This episode was good and answered a decent amount of questions I had after episode 1. Good start.

I should’ve figured out that 5 months hadn’t actually passed. They have complete control over the Innies - they could make them believe 5 minutes has passed or 5 months. Maybe not 5 years, as the Innies would feel/see the changes to their body. But 5 months is an easy lie. Make up a fake newspaper article, lie to them about what happened in the outside world, and boom – they’re the heroes of the reform movement. Make a few changes to make their lives better and they believe they made a difference and things are going to be better this time around. Keep Mark happy and working, since apparently his presence is critical.

Interesting that Mark is important to them but not the rest of the team. He’s needed for project “cold harbor.” I thought trying to lure him back with a 20% raise was kind of ridiculous if he’s that important – the severance project must be a multi tens of billions of dollars project and based on his standard of living he’s not making much as it is.

I’ve got a theory about what’s going on. I’m not the first to guess that the Eagens are involved in some sort of consciousness transfer. Helly’s father talked about being at his “revolving”, which sounds like it might be when his mind is placed in a younger body. As far as we can see, there’s no productivity/work related reason why Mark is so important - he’s not easy to control, he’s not especially productive, he doesn’t have a unique role that we can see. But maybe he’s suitable, for whatever reason, to be the target of the elder Eagan’s transfer? And maybe the work they’re doing is some sort of prep work for it – mapping out the brains of each man so they can do the consciousness transfer.

Really impressive work to put together that animated film in just a few days.

Also renovating the break room. Then again, they do make the doors in house…

“Like I said, they’re just trying to establish a baseline.”

“For what?”

“Fidelity.”

I really, really hope it’s not the consciousness transfer trope.

With the week wait between episodes I rewatched both of the first two again but watched them back-to-back. However I started with episode 2 first.
It put everything back in the right order again and seemed to make more sense. That 5 month gap lie threw everything off the first time around.

Well they aren’t just wasting time this season!

Ha, seriously.

I’m still on the fence with (fake?) Helly innie. She seemed amused about everything - like it was an adventure. Like Helena might act about it.

Who’sherface said that she worked with Christopher Walken for 6 years. Assuming 8 hour days, that means severance has been going on fir at least 18 years.

They know when days end and begin, so I assume she meant six actual years, not six years of working hours.

A key moment in episode 3 was when Helly failed to kiss Mark before they started their mission to find Ms Casey, like she did before the unauthorized OTC. That made Mark suspicious. But didn’t Hellen watch video of the kiss from last season? Assuming it’s Hellen now instead of Helly, did she just forget? Or is it because Helly knows Mark has a wife?