'Severance's' Season 2 Premiere Satirises Corporate ‘Listening And Learning’ Culture
Spoilers below.
When Severance first premiered in 2022, it came at the right time. We were in the midst of returning to the office (which many resisted, and still do) roughly two years out of Covid lockdown. We, especially women, were losing ambition in our careers. And we had just started 'quiet quitting' in the jobs we did keep. It’s no wonder that a haunting sci-fi drama set within the suffocating walls of an office, where an employer plays an ominous evil, resonated so loudly with audiences. It wasn’t just revolutionary; it was a reflection of our fatigue.
Three years have passed since then, but our workplace gripes continue to manifest in different ways (complaining about your job is not new, after all). Severance season 2 feels more current than ever, though one could say the Apple TV+ series created by Dan Erickson would slap in any climate, because it’s so well made. The acting and directing (hi, Ben Stiller) are superb, the story is thrilling and well-paced, and the twists are jaw-dropping without being too ridiculous. Speaking of twists, the season 1 finale is, to quote our deputy digital editor Madison Feller, 'ingrained in our brains.' And it’s right where season 2 begins.
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The episode, 'Hello, Ms. Cobel,' picks up immediately post-finale—after Mark (Adam Scott) shouts, 'She’s alive!'; Helly (Britt Lower) hijacks her Outie’s speech; and Irving (John Turturro) learns Outie Burt (Christopher Walken) is in a relationship. Mark snaps back into Innie mode in the Lumon elevator and scrambles through the halls searching for the wellness center where Ms. Casey, a.k.a. his Outie’s wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman), works. But she and her office are both gone. When Mark returns to his desk, Helly, Dylan, and Irving have all been replaced with other employees (played by Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, and Stefano Carannante). Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman in a sublime performance) welcomes Mark with balloons.
According to Milchick, five months have passed since Mark and his team’s overtime contingency (OTC) stunt, which he describes as one of 'the most painful moments' in Lumon’s history. Since then, Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) was fired, and Milchick replaced her as manager of the severed floor. He also has a new deputy manager, Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock), who appears to be a child, if not a young teenager. Her appearance alone raises a myriad of questions: Can children undergo severance? Can they work at Lumon? How many more are there? And who is Ms. Huang’s Outie? Why would she want to be severed? And is she related to anyone here? Mark echoes our confusion, asking, 'Is it normal for a child to–' but Milchick cuts him off.
Milchick shares what else transpired since the OTC: Mark and his colleagues achieved international fame and became known as the 'face of severance reform.' (He hands Mark a newspaper with them on the front page… but, hm, is it real?) More security has been installed in the macrodata refinement (MDR) department where Mark works. And as for Ms. Cobel’s presence at Mark’s sister’s home and overall attachment to Mark, Milchick offers an interesting reason: She had an 'erotic fixation' on both Mark’s Innie and Outie, pursuing 'what might be termed a throuple.' Oh!
Most importantly, Helly, Dylan, and Irving weren’t fired, but their Outies, upon learning of their Innies’ rebellion, chose not to return to work. Mark can’t trust Milchick; he’d rather hear that directly from his friends. But Milchick says that’s not possible.
Back at his desk, Mark’s colleagues, especially Gwendolyne Y. (Shawkat), badger him about what Outie life is like. Ms. Huang arrives for an icebreaker game, revealing that, before this job, she was a crossing guard. Mark W. (Balaban) is also curious about her age. 'Why are you a child?' he asks. 'Because of when I was born,' she responds. She’s not wrong! When it’s Mark’s turn to share, he remembers seeing a glimpse of Outie Mark’s wedding photo with Gemma. He sarcastically says that he’s made new friends today, to which Ms. Huang replies, 'I have to remind you, I’m a supervisor, not a friend.' Iconic. Love her already.
The next day, Mark writes a note and plants it into Mark W.’s jacket pocket, hoping his new colleague will get caught and perhaps replaced with his old teammates. But it’s no use; his handwriting is identified, and Milchick reprimands him in front of the team. Mark creates a diversion and runs to Milchick’s office, where he commandeers the speaker to the Lumon board and begs to see his team again. Milchick cuts his message short and tells Mark, 'The board does not converse with Innies.' He leads him to exit through the elevator.
Once the elevator opens again, the lobby is different. There’s a strange, large painting of Kier pardoning his betrayers (a subliminal message, maybe). It’s unclear where Mark is now and how much time has passed since. At last, Dylan emerges from the elevator, then Irving, and finally Helly, all confused about what happened after the OTC. (Irving, however, is more heartbroken about his discovery on Burt.) They’re afraid to say what they saw in fear that the company is spying on them.
Their reunion is interrupted by Ms. Huang, who leads them to a break room, where Mr. Milchick is waiting to play them a video that will be shown to all Innies. The animated short film is a classic employee orientation video, down to the intro text: 'Lumon is listening!' It features their Lumon branch having a 'love' for its employees—we’ve all heard that before—and paints the MDR team’s mutiny as 'The Macrodata Uprising,' a noble rebellion and necessary step for severance reform (rather than the stain on Lumon’s history as Milchick described earlier). It even gives a brief glimpse of Mark and Helly kissing. (I’m sorry, but imagine having your workplace romance portrayed in a company-wide video? We’re with Dylan when he says, 'What the shit?!') Most importantly, the instructional clip shares that the uprising yielded much-needed reforms like: tasty new snacks, hall passes, pineapple bobbing, and a brand-new playful mirror room. All thanks to 'the quiet courage of four MDR heroes.'
Once again, Severance’s satire is searingly precise. Think of all the similar language and corporate speak you’ve heard from companies, especially following Covid, Black Lives Matter protests, and calls for more equitable workplace practises. It’s the classic move of responding to complaints with free lunch or a pizza party—opting for perks over long-lasting systemic change.
Milchick says the workers have until the end of day to decide to stay or leave—the Innies, not their Outies, get to choose. He leaves them to deliberate, noting that all recording devices and cameras have been removed for the employees’ privacy. The group finally reveals what they saw outside. On Mark’s end: He discovered that Ricken Hale, the author of their beloved book, The You You Are, is his brother-in-law. He and his Outie both know Ms. Cobel. His Outie’s wife died two years ago, but she must still be alive because she is Ms. Casey, their wellness counsellor. Helly is far less open. She says all she saw was 'the inside of a really boring apartment' and a gardener outside her home. She’s probably afraid to share that she’s an Egan, the family behind Lumon, scared of how her friends would react given their rebellion. Irving is suspicious, though. A gardener? At night? Likely story. But he’s not ready to share either; he’s too devastated about Burt.
When Mark and Helly are alone, Mark assures her that he never felt romantically about Ms. Casey, being mindful of their own relationship. Still, he wants to find Ms. Casey and get her out. It’s a weird conundrum, though—Outie Mark was married to her, so is she still Innie Mark’s responsibility? 'We’re the same-ish person, so it’s mushy,' Mark says. Helly replies coldly, 'We’re not the same, actually. Us and the Outies, we’re not. And speaking for myself, I don’t think we owe them shit.” She’s coming from a personal place here. Innie Helly was so anti-severance that she tried killing herself to escape the workplace; meanwhile, her Outie self is the daughter of Lumon’s CEO and one of the biggest spokespeople for the procedure. Severance once again asks: What really makes you you? Ultimately, Helly understands that Ms. Casey is a severed person just like them, so she chooses to stay and help Mark find her.
Meanwhile, Irving reveals to Dylan that outside he went to find Burt, only to discover he’s married or in a relationship with someone else. Irving wants to leave Lumon; he can’t continue working as an Innie with this pain. Before he tries to exit, Irving reveals something else he saw: When he woke up in his apartment, he was in front of a painting of a dark black hallway. At the end of the hall was an elevator with a red downward arrow. Dylan tries to convince Irving to stay, to figure out what the painting means and because he would be sad if Irving left. 'Dylan,' Irving says consolingly, 'I’m your favourite perk.' Ms. Huang calls Dylan to Mr. Milchick’s office.
Milchick has one more perk up his sleeve. He reveals Dylan’s wife’s name is Gretchen (which she wanted him to know). And he doesn’t stop there: Milchick privately shows Dylan plans to build an Outie Family Visitation Suite in the office, where he would be able to meet members of his family. However, he cannot tell the others about this development to 'avoid resentment,' Milchick says. Mark, Helly, and Irving are all unmarried (for now), so technically, only Dylan would be able to benefit from the suite. 'I’d hate for your friends to turn against you after all you’ve done for them,' Milchick tells Dylan.
So, when Dylan returns to his desk, he doesn’t say a word about what he just learnt. He is, however, happy to find Irving has stayed, completing their MDR quartet. Upbeat music plays as the gang gets back to work, inexplicably sorting numbers into boxes based on vibes.
Then Mark sees an image of Ms. Casey on his screen.
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