Severance – Atilla Review

Well, that was a heck of a lot to pack into a single episode. From the much-anticipated meeting between Burt, Irving, and Fields to the continued reintegration of Mark’s Innie and Outie lives, this, for my money, is the episode in season two where things really start kicking into high gear from a story perspective. We have all of our key characters reaching turning points in their season journeys, each one presented with a choice on how to move forward to secure what they most desire.

The center piece of the episode was the dinner party between Irving, Burt, and Fields, which was just about as tense and awkward as one might imagine it to be when one is meeting the love they can’t remember having (and neither can he) in the presence of said love’s husband. But beyond Field’s pointed commentary about how there is a non-zero chance Burt and Irving slept together (I think we can assume they did not and that the kiss we saw was the extent of their physical relationship), he also had some interesting comments regarding just how long Burt worked at Lumon. Was his mention of Burt working there for 20 years a mere slip of the tongue, or was he telling the truth and Burt was there significantly longer than severed employees were in existence (per Lumon, severed employees have only existed for 12 years)? Burt tried to convince Irving it was a mistake, but Fields seemed pretty adamant that Burt worked there for 20 years, so what part of their story was a lie? Has severance been around for longer than Lumon has said? Or is Burt somehow more ingrained in the world of Lumon than he’s let on? That look Christopher Walken gave at the close of the episode wasn’t exactly the look of a man overjoyed that he has chemistry with his former work boyfriend. I think we need to keep our eye on this new Burt.

As for Mark, well, the reintegration appears to be taking, but at what cost? Remember how poorly it went for Petey back in season one? Yeah, it doesn’t seem to be going all that great for Mark this time around either. From the persistent cough to the nosebleed following his hook-up with Helly, something isn’t right. And that’s not even taking into account the seizure he had at the close of the episode – at least Devon was there (and is definitely going to be read into the reintegration now, right? Also not going great for Mark? That would be Helena showing up to “get to know him” in the real world. It looks like she was intrigued enough with Mark’s Innie (and the promise he presents to the company) to seek him out in the outer world as well. Which would be all well and good, no harm no foul, except for the whole reintegration thing – where Outie Mark got to see his Innie having sex with Helena (who was Helly, but Outie Mark definitely doesn’t know that). That’s a complication that even Helena couldn’t account for.

As for Helly and Helena, the push and pull between them continues, even if neither one is aware of it. Helly’s hurt over both Mark and Helena’s actions was deep and hard to see. Helena took away something she had dreamed of by sleeping with Mark (although her claim that Helena “used her body” to do it is a bit more dubious, seeing as Helena has had that body in her sole possession for decades and has used it in ways Helly wouldn’t even know about), and Mark compounded that hurt by not being able to recognize that it wasn’t really the right Helly.* I wonder what she would think about Helena seeking out Outie Mark.

*The episode didn’t really address the fact that Helena essentially sexually assaulted Mark, lying to him about her identity so that he would sleep with her. Yes, she deceived everyone on the severed floor, but that was absolutely an assault.

Finally, we have Dylan and Gretchen getting closer and closer in Lumon and farther and farther apart in the real world. And, honestly, I can’t blame Gretchen. I suspect this arc is going to set up some sort of question as to what is the nature of cheating when it comes to an Innie. Fields waxed poetic on how Innie’s are complete beings and should have the right to love and live within the bounds of their existence – his blessing for the relationship Irving and Burt had on the inside. But something tells me that Outie Dylan won’t be as thrilled to learn that his Innie is someone his wife would rather spend time with than him – and that he’s someone who is kinder, more open, and less of a screw-up compared to his Outie self. I appreciate that the series hasn’t made Outie Dylan a jerk or irredeemably awful. Rather, we can see why Gretchen would be attracted to Innie Dylan compared to his Outie. As for Milchick? Well, this could be an interesting piece of information to hold over Dylan’s head should he need it. After all, it looks like this new Milchick is harder, less forgiving, and focused on doing what he needs to do to stay in his position. Which reminds me, what has Cobel been up to since she sped out of that parking lot a couple of weeks ago?