Severance Season Two Review

I won’t bury the lede for you: the long-awaited second season of Severance is great. I easily found myself swept back up into the world of Lumon, rewatching several of my screeners just to be sure that I caught everything I needed to catch to piece together the various arcs unspooling this time around (a warning: this is not a show where you can double screen it – you will miss key seemingly details that will eventually come into play somewhere down the line). But what makes this season work so well (especially for someone like me, who liked season one, but didn’t love it the way some folks did)? Here’s where things get tricky, because there’s not all that much I’m able to tell you about just what makes this installment sing – owing to Apple’s Do Not Spoil list and just not wanting to impede your enjoyment of the series – but I’m going to give it my best shot, while being as vague as possible.

In short, this season feels deeper and richer from both a story and a character perspective. A lot of that stems from the simple fact that we’ve had time to get to know these characters over a ten episode season, and while there are certainly characters we know better than others, there’s a sense of familiarity with them this time around that allows for us to sink back into the action without needing to take the time to learn their nuances.* But the writing this season has done one key thing that it didn’t do back in season one: Take the time to flesh out both the Innie and Outie versions of all of our core four characters (that would be Adam Scott’s Mark, Britt Lower’s Helly/Helena, John Turturro’s Irving, and Zach Cherry’s Dylan). Where in season one we only really got to see Mark’s outer life, this time around we get a window into each of the four’s lives both inside and outside of Lumon (although, with Helena, much of her outer life is, unsurprisingly, focused on running Lumon). Lower and Cherry, in particular, are given much more to tackle this time around and both rise to the occasion, turning Helly/Helena and Dylan into complex and incredibly interesting characters.

*One question I’ve been asked by some folks is whether or not I think they should do a season one rewatch before tackling season two – which will be released one episode at a time weekly. Personally, I watched the season one finale before starting in on my screeners, and Apple provided a compact but informative three-minute recap video for season one which more than prepped me for what was to come. If you watch the recap, pay attention – everything in there does impact season two.

With where the series left things in season one – the Innies of Helena, Mark, and Irving were released into the world, allowing them to learn key pieces of information about who they were on the outside and how the outside world impacted their Innie existence – it’s not a surprise that we get to spend time with more than just Mark’s Outie this time around. This change not only expands our understanding of the characters – Helly/Helena in particular – but it also expands our understanding of Lumon’s reach outside of their office footprint. For example, Devon, Mark’s sister (played with aplomb by Jen Tullock), was the source of much of Innie Mark’s interaction while out in the world – meaning that she is now privy to information about life at Lumon that most non-Lumon folks aren’t. And it also means that she’s aware Mark thinks his dead wife is actually alive and being held at Lumon under the guise of Ms. Casey. Expanding the role Devon plays in the story – and allowing Tullock the chance to really sink her teeth into a more complex arc this season – enriches Mark’s arc in incredible ways.

But the expansion of the inner and outer lives of our central four characters does have a downside, and it’s my only real quibble with the series this season. More time spent on Mark, Helly/Helena, Dylan, and Irving means that we have less time for some of our other characters when they aren’t crossing paths with our central four. In particular, Patricia Arquette’s Harmony Cobel is pushed to the sidelines throughout much of the season (odd, as Arquette is an Executive Producer, like Scott, on the project). No longer in her role supervising the Innie floor – and exposed to both versions of Mark – her season one arc has written her into a corner of sorts for season two. I suspect there’s still something big coming in terms of her character down the line, but it’s a bit disappointing to see that there isn’t enough room for this expansive array of characters now that the footprint of our central four characters has expanded.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the series isn’t adding in new characters. Of most interest is the young Miss Huang (a very good Jessica Bock, who despite being a teenager in her first major onscreen role, holds her own and more in scenes with this very seasoned cast), glimpsed in the trailer as Dylan asks her “Why are you a child?” Her position at Lumon is something I won’t spoil here, but suffice it to say, she plays a key role in the arcs of our Innies – and Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman, making the most of what he’s given in a slightly reduced role this time around). And yes, Christopher Walken is back, albeit in a much different Burt than we’re used to, now that he’s confined to his Outie self (and, like Arquette, he’s reduced in his appearances).

You’ll notice I’ve spent a lot of time waxing poetic about the performances and character arcs of season two and not really getting into just what season two is about. And that’s because I really can’t get into things too deeply. Yes, the actions of the Innies in getting outside of Lumon’s walls is a huge element of the season – sparking Lumon to try and wrench back control in different ways for different characters (after all, what works as a carrot for, say Mark, isn’t going to work for Dylan). As is the continuing mystery of just what Macrodata Refinement means – it’s clearly an important piece of the Lumon infrastructure, or else they would have simply cut all four of our characters loose after their breach. And, to that effect, all the other weird things that happen on the Lumon Innie floor – remember the goats? – are revisited and touched on in season two as our characters try to reconcile the strange things that seem normal as Innies but that don’t correlate to the outside world they have experienced. All I can say is that as the mysteries deepen, things get more and more interesting as a viewer. You won’t be bored.

Season two of Severance was a long time coming, but it’s more than worth the wait. I found myself deeply invested in these characters right from the jump this time around and I was equally as intrigued by the puzzle box elements of the series – something I didn’t take to as much in season one. This is one of the most visually stunning series on television – a lot of that is thanks to frequent director and Executive Producer Ben Stiller, who helms multiple episodes this time around – and the performances and writing are top notch. If you were enraptured by season one, you’re going to love season two.

Severance’s second season premieres on January 17 on AppleTV+. Six of the season’s ten episodes were provided for review.