Let's begin with the Helly enigma: how does someone who despises everything about this company get hired? Were the usual pre-screening processes thrown out the window, or did Lumon just glance at her application and think "The perfect candidate - someone who loathes us to no end!" And then there's the baffling insistence on keeping her around as if this contrived mystery is the linchpin of some grand, sinister corporate plan meant to dazzle us. (Will find out in later episodes why, if you stick around or read the recaps, and it's not mind-blowing).
As for Helly herself, I found myself oddly rooting for her - not because I believed in the convoluted corporate backstory that justifies her staying in a mind-numbingly mundane role, but because I secretly hoped she'd vanish from the narrative entirely. (Note: This comment was penned after the end of the first series, so no spoilers here.)
Overall, the show comes off as a pretentious jab at corporate America, steeped in a self-important gloom that screams 'I'm deep!' without actually offering any substance. Intrigue is there, sure, but it's buried beneath layers of contrivance that make the whole mystery feel rather silly.
