Severance – Hello Ms. Cobel Review

And just like that – okay, after a three year wait – Severance is back! Thank Kier.  And what a delightful way to throw us back into the world of Lumon, Innies, Outies (of whom we saw next to nothing this week), and Macrodata Refinement. And, I would be remiss not to mention, some absolutely stunning direction from Ben Stiller. That opening sequence with Mark running through the hallways was a master work of directorial precision and vision – I couldn’t catch any cuts (and I assume there were some), which says a lot.

Not a ton happened this episode in terms of moving the mystery of Lumon forward, but we did get some key pieces of information that we can file away for future reference. First, it was clear that Lumon, while embarrassed by the actions of the escaped Innies, needs Mark for something. Why else would they bring only him back and slot him with the new team (which included fun guest turns from Bob Balaban and Alia Shawkat as Mark W. and Gwendolyn Y.) – only to cave to his desperate request to the “Board Box” to bring back his original team? We know he’s got special skill when it comes to refining – he sees things faster and more accurately than anyone else – but whatever it is they are actually doing on that team must be pretty important if it’s worth bringing those three back after they were apparently fired (or, in Helly’s case, probably just refused to allow her Innie back into circulation).

Speaking of Helly, anyone else find her story about what she saw a bit weird? Sure, I can understand that Helly wouldn’t necessarily want to share that her Outie is actually an Eagan, but to not be able to think better on her feet? A night gardener? Even Innies should know that that isn’t a thing. And the rest of the crew seemed a bit confused by that statement as well, so I think that’s something to put a pin in and watch moving forward. But then again, Irving was also unwilling to share what he got up to during his time on the outside – that would be finding Burt and realizing that he has a partner – until Dylan all but begged Irv to let him know what led to his taciturn friend being even more prickly than usual. Poor Irving. Out of all the characters, I felt his loss the hardest in the season one finale – I was really rooting for those crazy kids.

With Ms. Cobel gone (for the moment, I presume – I’m sure Patricia Arquette will be back), Mr. Milchick is finding out just how hard it is to be the boss, especially on the heels of a major, internationally known breech. Based on what we’ve seen about how The Board interacts with their leaders, I can’t imagine he has much support or guidance, and I doubt a dance party is going to calm his problem children this time around. I was intrigued to see that he’s attempting to divide and conquer the team – singling out Dylan (who didn’t get to spend much time outside and only knows of his son’s existence thanks to Mr. Milchick’s own interference) with the prospect of learning more about his Outie’s life in the family wing, which is conveniently something his single co-workers cannot participate in. And then there’s the brand-new Ms. Huang, who seems about as trustworthy as, well, everyone else in a position of power over the Severed. The fact that someone is willing to let a teenager work on the Severed floor is troubling on a number of levels. It also seems to indicate that Lumon does not believe that our Innies would be able to outsmart her, which is telling in and of itself. But I guess we’ll see just how the Innies adapt to a child being in a position of power over them.

Having the season premiere take place solely in Lumon is an interesting choice for the series. It prevents us from seeing just what the Innies actions really did in the outside world – were they being heralded as heroes like Milchick indicates, or was that simply more smoke and mirrors to help convince Mark to continue working at Lumon despite the loss of his team? After all, outside of Helly (who truly had a massive platform to plead her case to the wider world), the actions of Irving and Mark weren’t all that noticeable on a larger scale. Telling Devon about life inside Lumon and that his dead wife appears to be alive and well inside Lumon is a bombshell, but one that only impacts those Devon chooses to tell – and let’s face it, she might be wily and more cunning than we have seen, but she’s also smart. She’s not about to run to the press without actual evidence of some true misdeeds. And then there’s Irv, who, as far as we know, screamed outside Burt’s door and then . . . turned back into his Outie and likely had no idea why he was even there. So, not exactly something that needs a massive corporate cover-up. But still, seeing how the Innies are trying to process their experiences and their now trapped existence within the walls of the Severed Floor needs to be balanced with how their Outies are dealing with everything that occurred when they lost control. I suspect that side of the fallout is coming our way soon.

But we have a long season ahead of us and plenty of chances to dive into the psyches of the characters both inside and outside of Lumon. And what a delightful way to start things off. The performances remain top-notch (I loved getting to see Adam Scott crack Mark’s outward veneer and show Milchick just what he really thinks of things at this stage of the game) and Ben Stiller’s direction within the episode was absolutely stunning. I’m so thrilled that we’re back in Lumon for another round.