A heart-pounding masterpiece that still falls short of season 1.

“Tame the four tempers in me, so I can serve you forever. Place the nine values ​​in me, your touch is sacred. ” – Mr. Kobel’s Prayer, Discontinuation Season 1.

For those of us who watched Severance when it first aired in 2022, it’s been a long wait. It was a long and agonizing wait. The first season ended on the craziest cliffhanger I’ve ever seen on a TV show, and three years have passed since then. I watched Season 1 three times over those three years, and each time I got near the end I wanted to scream at the TV. It can’t end here!

There are almost no spoilers, so please read on with confidence. We’ll be reviewing/recaping individual episodes as they stream, so be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, or Facebook as well as this blog. We can’t wait to tell you all about this amazing show, which is back with a vengeance in Season 2.

Sequels are difficult and often disappointing. In rare exceptions, the sequel may be better. The Empire Strikes Back, Paddington 2, The Road Warrior. You’re far more likely to be disappointed. The story drags on too long for its own sake, or becomes a cheap cash grab.

I watched all 10 episodes of the second season of Severance and overall I think the first season was better, but season 2 stands on its own. We are further introduced to the lives of each character (disconnected and undisconnected), as well as the inner workings of Lumon and at least some of the company’s diabolical intentions. There are many mysteries that will not be solved until the end, but there are also many new discoveries.

MDR blue

Visually, season 2 is even more impressive than the first. What I noticed early on was that the color was blue. Blue is everywhere. Blue against white. Blue on black. It’s the blue balloon in the photo above. The deep blue of the office walls. Blue eyes, blue tie. Helly R. currently wears exclusively blue dresses.

Yes, she wore blue in season 1 as well, but she also wore green and yellow. Now it’s much bluer. An unforgiving blue. This is just one of the visual touches that fascinates me, and one of many details that I find myself perplexed as they roll around my head like azure marbles. When the blue suits and dresses come off and the heroes put on their black coats, it is as if the world is drained of all color and finally fire appears. Then there is the contrast we feel, the sudden warmth.

The details are very impressive. Symmetry of houses and streets. The light beyond the window. Somehow, Ben Stiller and the rest of the creative team took every stunning visual aspect of season 1 and honed it into an art form. Rather than making the everyday extraordinary, they restore it to normal by assembling it perfectly. Every shot is artistic. As a result, the season has become more claustrophobic and frightening, with established big shots of this strange, cold world shrouded in endless winter, and smaller, more intimate shots that make you want to lean out and capture them. Both shots made her look even more beautiful and gorgeous. Let’s take a closer look.

There is a sense of threat that grows as the season progresses, creeping beneath everything like the shadows cast by a fog. The character’s face is illuminated by fire from behind like a demon. A smile that was once charming, but now evil. An undercurrent of bass that rises like a bottomless fear.

Music was one of the highlights of the first season, and somehow it’s given new life here. The familiar melody remains the same, but with an added sense of urgency. Every note conveys joy and sadness. Every verse is imbued with fear and malice.

Of course, all these production elements aside, what makes Severance special is the story and characters. It picks up where the first season left off, but doesn’t share details about how much time has passed or what anyone is doing.

Mark (Adam Scott) and his fellow Macrodata Refinement staff are back. Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro), Dylan (Zach Cherry), as well as Mr. Milkchick (Trammell Tillman) and Corbell, who is now in a battle between loyalty to himself and Lumont. There is also a woman (Patricia Arquette). . We’ll learn more about the work they do, and perhaps a little mystery will be solved in the process. And when you learn more about the numbers, it gets even scarier.

Mark’s sister Devon (Jen Tulloch) grows more suspicious of Lumont after the events of season 1, while her husband Ricken (Michael Charnas) is seduced by corporate flattery and appeals to his own ego. I notice. Where Ricken sees mercy and opportunity, Devon sees only trickery and subterfuge. Several new cast members join the fray, including Gwendoline Christie (of Game of Thrones fame). Others, like Alexa (Nikki M. James), are nowhere to be seen.

The aftermath of Season 1’s shocking finale is dealt with fairly early on, and naturally new conflicts arise. New twists and turns slip into the frame, many of which I didn’t expect. A big part of the season obviously has to do with Gemma/Ms. Martin. Casey (Dichen Lachman), but it’s notable that the show’s writers are as stingy as they are willing to be with the cast, almost completely sidelining a fairly important character for much of the first half of the season. worth it.

What I can say is that we’re starting to see more of these characters’ lives outside of Severed Floors. The only time we really got a glimpse of someone other than Mark’s “outie” was towards the end of season 1, and only from the “innie’s” perspective. That changes a lot here. And as we learn more about each of these people, we find ourselves questioning what we thought we knew about them and how it makes us feel. This is an emotional journey that the audience takes with the characters of Innie and Outie.

Increase vision, reduce support

The second season will certainly be bigger than the first. Learn more about the history of Lemon and its global reach and influence. The mutilated employees pass through the familiar corridors of a fluorescent-lit dungeon, and we visit a location beyond the snow-covered settlement of Kia. And in some cases, it can be really weird.

Season 1 could be taught in schools as a test case for its finely tuned tension buildup. The final three episodes of that season ratcheted up the intensity with a series of close calls and great reveals, not to mention a daring plot that was abruptly cut short. I went through the last two episodes horribly, perched dangerously on the edge of my seat. The opening episode was slow paced. It took a while to warm up.

In Season 2, we’re off to the races right from the start, swinging in some really wild directions and taking some pretty crazy twists and turns. In many ways, it’s a thrill ride. But it never hits the high notes of its predecessor.

If I were to sum this up in one word, it would be that “Season 2 was not made with such precision.” This was most noticeable in the second half, where some episodes felt a little bottley and disrupted the overall rhythm of the season. I’m not sure if it’s better to play this weekly rather than all at once (I watched all 10 screeners over the course of 3 or 4 days), but the decision to put two I’ll admit I was upset after a series of episodes that felt so out of place with the rest of the season that the momentum stalled.

The second time you see it, you may get a different impression. At least one of these episodes ends with a big revelation that I didn’t really like. This choice was used to extend one character’s story in a way that I didn’t quite believe, and it felt a bit after the fact. I felt like it probably lacked the storytelling that the first season had, or felt like it was a bit of an afterthought. Other Bottle episodes provided a lot of backstory, but the most important details that were explored in the backstory were never revealed. Both left me unsatisfied.

Similarly, the final episode’s admittedly crazy ending wasn’t as shocking as Season 1’s emotional finale (how could it be?) Things certainly didn’t go as expected, but that’s it. I’m satisfied with that, but I’m left with mixed feelings. However, they do not continue to land with exactly the same force. I think a lot depends on where the story goes in season three. Many questions remain unanswered, and some new questions have also arisen. How these are resolved going forward will definitely influence how I ultimately think of season two.

Finally, while there are plenty of witty and funny moments in this season – the line “gobbling up feces and urine” is uttered, more needs to be said – it never quite reaches the comic heights of season 1. This is a major drawback. In the attempt to make everything bigger and weirder and give the characters clearer purpose and motivation, we lose some of the humanity that made the first season so moving. .

There was a deceptive simplicity and slightly meandering levity to the first season that ironically focused the story and allowed its strangeness to shine. Season 2 has more “quests,” for lack of a better term, more dire stakes plaguing the protagonists, not to mention so many plotlines to juggle, and this season has It’s not as balanced and tightly woven as the seasons of .

Still, those complaints aside, this is an unusual season for television. Severance is a unique force in modern television, and that continues to be the case in his second appearance. Even if it’s not as perfect as season 1, you won’t be as disappointed as I was with the second season of Arcane.

With a compelling and mysterious story, quirky and complex characters, sumptuous production values, sound design and cinematography, Sevilance outperforms almost all of its competitors. In my humble opinion, there are only a few other shows that can match this. My humility knows no bounds. Some are on my list of best shows of 2024, and others are coming soon, like the second season of Andor. The long and arduous wait for Season 3 begins now.

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Check out individual episode summaries, some fan theory posts, and a spoiler-filled final season 2 review when the season ends on this blog in the coming weeks (subscribe please!). If you want to follow us, check out the link below. And join in the fun. Season 2 of Severance will premiere on Apple TV on Friday, January 17th at 12am PT, with new episodes available every Friday for a total of 10 episodes, one more than Season 1. There’s going to be a lot to discuss, and a lot to discuss about fan theories. I’m going to watch each episode at least twice, I can say that.

Are you a Severance fan? What are you looking forward to in season 2? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook. Also, subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on this blog. Sign up for our newsletter for more entertainment and culture reviews and commentary