Well, that was a lot, wasn’t it? If there’s one thing to say about Severance, it’s that it doesn’t simply just rest on its laurels and draw out the reveals and revelations. Rather, we got further confirmation that Mark is reintegrating both of his selves – albeit with a nagging cough that I suspect is linked to the procedure. And that Milchick arc? Oh boy, I think our favorite laid back manager is done playing Mr. Nice Guy and is ready to start laying down the law with his rebellious MDR employees. Finally, the reunion of Irving and Burt was wonderful – especially now that the pair are planning on meeting up to try and work out just what went on during their time as severed employees of Lumon. Let’s dive in.
Oh Mark, so surly, so betrayed, so embarrassed. Throw in that what Helena did was, essentially, sexually assault Mark, well, I don’t blame Mark for having a hard time processing just what happened at Woe’s Hollow. It also doesn’t help the Mark is also feeling embarrassed that he couldn’t figure out Helena’s deception, considering that he is the closest person to Helly by a mile and still couldn’t make that connection. But to take it out on Helly – who had absolutely no control over Helena’s actions and is truly an innocent party in all of this – was hard to see. And to try to close himself off from Dylan as well and brush off Irv’s Innie existence? That’s the mark of a man who doesn’t want to engage with both the trauma brought on by Helena’s deception and actions, as well as the reality that Irving was able to suss out Helena’s switch and bring it to light at great cost to himself. He was more ready and willing to sacrifice himself to save MDR from further infiltration by Lumon while Mark was perfectly happy to sit and play nice with the woman who isn’t, for all intents and purposes, his girlfriend. And that snarky comeback to Milchick in the elevator? Yeah, Mark, I think things are about to take a turn at work and you’re not going to enjoy what you experience.
As for Milchick, that review had Ms. Huang’s tiny hand prints all over it (at least the part about using too many big words and the improper use of paperclips). Just what is her role in all of this and how will Milchick respond? But this was . . . not a great outing for Milchick, even outside of the review process (2-6 hours and lunch is enough to make us all realize that our jobs might not be nearly as bad as working for Lumon). For one, his attempt to get Natalie to divert from the company line, and acknowledge just how incredibly strange that Kier series of paintings were, failed epically (although the facial expressions Sydney Cole Alexander is giving in that role are offering some series Get Out vibes – I really want to know what is going on with Natalie). And then there was the reminder that if Mark completes Cold Harbor, it will not only give Milchick’s stock as a manager a huge boost, it will also change the world.* But in order to do that, he needs to get Mark back on track and dedicated to his work. So, why not threaten to expose Helly to the one piece of information that Mark seems to want kept from her: he slept with Helena. This isn’t the same Milchick we’ve seen up til now. No, this is a scrappier version, someone who knows what is expected of him and is willing to throw anyone and anything under the bus to keep his job. And that’s a heck of a turn.
*This is the clearest indication yet at the scope and scale of what Cold Harbor might be. And I suspect the prevailing theory – that the project is aimed at returning the consciousness of Kier (or someone else who is seemingly dead) to another person – is likely true. Although, we did see Felicia and her O&D colleague passing off what appeared to be dental tools to a doctor (whose face we didn’t see), which suggests that there’s some sort of cosmetic work being done down that dark elevator.
And then there’s Irving and Burt. I was struck by how different John Turturro and Christopher Walken’s portrayals of their characters were outside of Lumon. Walken was still charming – his Burt presents as easy to draw others into his presence – but there’s an edge to Burt here. He’s confused but intrigued (although it sounds like things with Fields are exactly . . . great right now). And he sees something in Irving that makes him willing to risk upsetting his life to bring him into it. As for Irving, he’s still making clandestine phone calls in the dark to a mysterious person who knows he was severed and that his Innie was apparently working on some plan that connects to Irv’s Outie’s plan. Was Irving reintegrated? Is there some additional ability of Irving to recall things between both states? Remember that he had some truly creepy and unsettling visions in season one. But whatever the reason, I’m happy to have Burt and Irving teaming up once more.
This was an episode that was heavy on plot movement and absolutely made every moment count. The worry with a show like Severance is that it will eventually sacrifice character for story or vice versa. As it stands, the series has managed to thread the very difficult needle of perfect balance between the two. So much happened this week (I didn’t even get into Devon’s dismissal of Ricken’s new Innie-focused book!), but it never felt like it was pushing the characters where they didn’t want or need to go. Rather, everything felt dictated by the characters and their needs. Truly spectacular writing.
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Writing
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Acting
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