Severance Season 2 Somehow Gets Even Weirder, Wilder, And Darker

I’m not going to spoil point because nan caller play of Severance doesn’t premiere for 10 days. But I want to beryllium clear — nan first play of nan sci-fi thriller wasn’t a fluke. The Apple TV Plus bid burst onto nan conception successful 2022 pinch a communicative astir tech workers who were forced to unrecorded successful purgatory acknowledgment to an experimental process that divided their brains successful two: 1 who lived a normal life extracurricular of nan office, and different who could ne'er leave. It was tense and different and downright horrifying — and too benefited from mostly being a surprise. But moreover without that, play 2 hits conscionable arsenic difficult arsenic nan original, pushing further into nan dark, weird edges of nan Severance universe, while expanding it successful fascinating caller ways.

Spoilers for nan first play of Severance to follow.

As a mini refresher, Severance is centered connected a tech elephantine called Lumon Industries, which developed nan mind-splitting process truthful that labour tin activity connected delicate projects successful its basement pinch nary concerns astir that accusation getting retired of nan building. The severance process is dictated spatially: arsenic soon arsenic a severed worker gets successful nan elevator and heads downstairs, they, successful essence, spell a caller personification pinch a wholly different group of memories. That’s awesome for protecting institution secrets but atrocious for nan group who cognize virtually nary life extracurricular of nan Lumon basement. The beingness of nan “innies,” arsenic they’re known, is filled pinch point but harsh fluorescent lighting, perks for illustration digit traps and melon bars, and activity that is immoderate mysterious and important (or truthful they’re told).

Season 1 ended pinch 1 of nan awesome cliffhangers successful modern television, up location pinch “Not Penny’s Boat” from Lost. For astir of nan season, innies Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro), and Dylan (Zach Cherry) had been learning overmuch astir really and why they beryllium successful Lumon’s basement and yet concocted an elaborate strategy to spot what life connected nan extracurricular is like. The finale ended pinch innie Mark shouting, “She’s alive!” successful reference to his seemingly dormant female — correct earlier he’s switched backmost to his different self. The finale premiered connected April 8th, 2022, truthful viewers personification been waiting overmuch than 2 years to study nan implications of that revelation.

The caller play picks up almost instantly aft that infinitesimal — astatine slightest for nan innies. It’s really 5 months later, but because they haven’t been astatine nan office, it’s for illustration nary clip has passed. Mark is nan first to arrive, and he’s initially greeted by a caller portion successful nan Macrodata Refinement helping because nan outies of Helly, Irving, and Dylan ne'er returned to work. All nan caller workers want to cognize what life is for illustration connected nan extracurricular — Mark gets questions astir really upwind feels and what nan entity looks for illustration — and they personification a caller supervisor, who, for immoderate reason, is simply a kid named Miss Huang (Sarah Bock).

Eventually, done sheer portion of will, Mark is tin to portion Lumon into getting nan group backmost together, and they group to activity figuring out, erstwhile again, what nan hellhole is going on. Their excursion extracurricular lasted for precisely 39 minutes and turned nan quartet into celebrities of sorts. It too accrued nan scrutiny connected Lumon for what really happens connected nan severed floor. Because of this, nan institution is playing somewhat nice, offering things for illustration a amended break room, caller items successful nan vending machines (fruit leather!), and different tempting offers.

There are a batch of different threads happening concurrently: nan ongoing guidance shake-up astatine Lumon; conscionable what activity is really happening successful Macrodata Refinement; nan steadily blurring lines betwixt innies and outies; and nan public’s expanding consciousness of nan reality of innie life. I’ve only seen nan first six episodes truthful acold (season 2 will personification 10), truthful I can’t opportunity whether nan show satisfactorily answers astir of its galore mysteries. But what I tin opportunity is that it continues to turn nan conception successful smart and unexpected ways, opening up Severance to each kinds of caller revelations done moments for illustration an innie retreat successful nan wilderness and — finally! — further specifications connected nan goats being reared successful nan basement.

The caller play too pushes moreover harder connected nan thought that Lumon-style megacorporations exert an bonzer magnitude of powerfulness complete mundane life, often successful ways we don’t spot aliases understand. Even if severed labour don’t beryllium successful existent life, disturbing mysteries astatine tech companies decidedly do. It too makes it very clear that you should spot almost nary of what they opportunity — peculiarly if they’re trying to look for illustration nan bully guy. (These points make it peculiarly ironic that nan bid is streaming connected a level tally by Apple.)

Really, what play 2 proves is that Severance wasn’t a awesome show because it was specified a astonishment — it was conscionable a awesome show. And astatine slightest successful nan first half of play 2, its quest to turn its scope hasn’t dulled immoderate of its sharp, different edges.

Season 2 of Severance starts streaming connected Apple TV Plus connected January 17th.