After a three-year wait and a writer’s strike, the corridors of Lumon’s office floor have relit and its employees are back for another shift. Immediately, s
eason two of the award-winning sci-fi show “Severance” clocks into work with a suspenseful, atmospheric return to the office that made the wait worthwhile.
The return occurred Jan. 17 as Mark S. (Adam Scott) finds himself back in macro data refinement following a climactic finale in the previous season. Previously, his work-persona had escaped, alongside his co-workers, through an elaborate heist that allowed them to see the world outside their cubicles.
As severed employees, Mark and his coworkers Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), Irving B. (John Turturro) and Helly R. (Britt Lower) knew nothing outside of their office, as they are not permitted to leave. Instead, anytime their body exits the building, their conscience is erased and supplanted with the actual owners of the bodies – the “outies.” All outies had undergone a surgery, the so-called “severance,” thereby splitting their work and home personas into two different identities, with their own thoughts, minds and feelings.
Over the previous season, tensions built throughout the pristine luminous white walls of Lumon’s basement as the group became increasingly malcontent with their working conditions. Severed workers know only the endless winding hallways of the corporation’s lower floors and the few meager benefits offered to them, like waffle parties and decorative cubes.
Following the season’s finale, the group’s understanding of the world twisted beyond their job descriptions. With the new season, the four must grapple with the consequences of their rebellion, as well as a change in management. From the first few seconds of the newest episode, the show splendidly returns back to Lumon’s uncomfortable domain with a stellar sequence of Scott desperately racing through the twists, nauseatingly building on the creeping tension as viewers are left on the edge of their seat waiting for him to find what he is searching for.
Following the introduction, the show slows down to introduce new characters and build suspense. Under the stellar direction of Ben Stiller, the show’s atmosphere and camera angles work together to create a discomforting environment for both the workers and the viewers. While the show is largely set in an office, it’s easy to be caught up in the disquieting lingering shots, lasting just long enough to build unease. One such example in the latest episode comes from Mark’s attempt at bonding with his new crewmates, when his supervisor reminds him that they are not friends, Mark stills and the camera lingers on his expression as he ruminates on what to say next, before snappishly responding. That stretching of the proverbial rubber band is something that “Severance” continues to excel in and helps settle the show’s uncomfortable atmosphere.
As the mysteries continue winding themselves and viewers await with bated breath to see the full fallout of the previous season’s finale, “Severance” makes good on its promise to tackle themes of identity and the self, while critiquing the banalness and empty cruelty of work culture. The second season will run from Jan. 17 to March 21 and is available on Apple TV. The show is rated mature but is perfect for anyone interested in a masterpiece of television, with an atmosphere of unease permeating the whole production as the workers and viewers wait to see if season two will be when all the built up tension comes crashing down.
