Severance Spoiler-Free Review

Do you ever feel like there are two of you – the professional you at work and the more “real” you in your home life? That’s the central crux of Severance, the smart new thriller from AppleTV+ – only in this case, there really are two versions of several main characters. You see, Lumon Industries has perfected a procedure in which their workers’ consciousness can be separated into two parts: the “Outtie,” the person you are outside of work and the consciousness who agreed to the process, and the “Innie,” a version of the person who only exists within the walls of their Lumon office. The mental separation occurs on an elevator ride up to your office – one moment you are an Outtie, and the next you’re an Innie, with no memory or knowledge of how the other half lives.

Severance follows Mark (a great Adam Scott), as he navigates both versions of himself, managing his work team (Zach Cherry’s hyper-focused Dylan, Britt Lower’s newly hired Helly, and John Turturro’s full-on Kool Aid drinking Irving) and dealing with his real life in the aftermath of a personal tragedy. The series also boasts performances from Patricia Arquette as Mark’s boss, Peggy, and Christopher Walken as Burt, a man from another department who strikes up a friendship with Turturro’s Irving. The cast is absolutely cracker jack – and reason alone to watch the series – but combine that with the thrilling twists and narrative turns? This is a heck of a series.

With numerous Lynchian elements (the world of Lumon, with its sterile winding hallways, odd corporate practices, and the central question of who has a right to life (more on that one in a moment) is a place that could be right out of the Black Lodge of Twin Peaks) and a strange sci-fi adjacent concept, the series is a mental and visual feast. What happens if an Innie wants to quit? Well, they’re welcome to request that their Outtie turn in their resignation – but as one character discovers when they try multiple times to get out – the Outtie is under no obligation to do so. In fact, the argument gets made that the Outtie is the real person – and the Innie is nothing more than a minor facet of the Outtie’s personality. A non-person. Heady stuff for a TV series, right?

Outside of that potential human rights question, there’s also the question of just why Lumon has created this particular experimental procedure. Is their work so top secret that their employees cannot be allowed to remember what they do when they leave the building? Or is there something far more sinister going on here? The company comes complete with an unseen “Board of Directors” who call the shots via a secretary – and anyone who has watched any sort of thriller knows that can’t be a good thing. And does this procedure have any potential long-term side effects? How desperate must these people have been to agree to sever elements of their memory and identity like this? What was their motivation?

Well, that question does get some answers, as we get to see just who Mark is in both identities, and understand what led him to make this particular choice (one that his sister, Devon, played with aplomb by Jen Tullock, still can’t quite believe he did), but it’s certain to be a key element moving forward. And that gets at the heart of things: This is a series that is absolutely willing to provide answers, albeit at its own pace. We get to see some of the interworkings of Lumon and some of the elements of the outer lives of our characters, but I will wholly admit to having some confusion over just what the key arc of the season was. The crazy thing is, I didn’t mind. There’s so much to love about this strange complicated series that I wasn’t concerned with following the plot as closely as one might be on another series. There’s a mystery here – and I suspect many viewers will solve far more than I did on my initial viewing – but there’s so much other great stuff to see that I wasn’t as concerned with the puzzle aspect. I found I cared far more about the characters. I wanted Irving to accomplish his dream, Helly to get what she wanted, to see Dylan go on his emotionally resonate arc, and Mark to triumph over his grief and take positive steps toward the future. And that’s a sign to me of a great show. Severance is a heck of a ride.

Severance premieres on AppleTV+ on February 18^th with its first two episodes. Episodes will air each Friday. All 9 episodes of season one were provided for review.