The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design

The first time through I found this episode middling, however I found it ridiculously funny on a rewatch. The second time through I was simply watching the show, as opposed to trying to pick the episode apart and attempting to pick up on every detail/mystery.

::In Walken:: "They say you all have pouches...You each have a larval offspring that will jump out and attack if we get too close...the sentiment, you know, somehow holds, people are weird...in this theory, the larva eventually eats and replaces you. Which would solve the mystery" Both C. Walken and J. Turturro ((basically break character)) and start cracking up, it was HILARIOUS. The back and forth between Irving and Burt was humor at its best and absolutely bat sh.. insane. Also, Dylan(Z. Cherry) was excellent, probably his best scene up to this point. In a "binge" watch this episode was great as it sort of takes a break from Marks(A. Scott) and Hellys(B. Lower)characters, who has been so heavily focused on up to this point and also adds some needed levity, plus screaming baby goats.

On Severance Season 1 Episode 5. A brutal painting leads to many questions, with very few answers. Helly and Mark find more than they expected, but are they in control of their own destiny? How much are they being manipulated? It was a brutal way to end Severance Season 1 Episode 4, but the impact was lessened finding out that she hadn't actually died. It would have been quite a blow if our most relatable character died four episodes in, but probably not the message Severance is trying to convey. Helly has proven to be resourceful and determined when harming herself -- she could still find a way, despite removing the hazardous materials. However, there is the new addition of Ms. Casey supervising her at all times. We got a lot more time with part-time wellness counselor Ms. Casey this episode, but she's still a mystery. Is she also severed?

Ms. Casey has that affected way of speaking that middle management has, but still answers to Ms. Cobel. She covers the whole severed floor, though, as was evident when Burt had his wellness session, so surely it would be in Lumon's best interest if she was severed. Severance prods at the icky feeling that there's something deeply wrong with the world.

We devote our lives to gigantic, soulless companies that give us relatively comfortable lives, but those lives are ultimately indentured to them. Big corporations are great at taking people's alienation about the system and how the world works and then commodifying that alienation into a product for us to consume -- like Severance. Will Severance give us the tools to break free of the system we see ourselves trapped in, or will watching the Macrodata team do it be enough to satiate us?

Am loving this series - very different to other current stuff - perhaps a throwback to The Avengers or The Prisoner. Enjoy the slow development and reveal, but this episode was too slow and did not really reveal anything I did not already know - from the perspective of the protagonists it did of course, but the show is written for the viewer not them.

Weakest episode to-date (note I still gave it a 7)

The best way to destroy a society, is to make them turn on one another, and make a small groups out of other small groups till you have the person and his mind only. Then and only then, you can make the person turn and betray on himself. That's what happens in this show and today's episode confirmed it.

I hope they handle plot reveals in such a way it stays mysterious and fun. The problem with these series is that sometimes they stack the mystery too much and starts to be unrealistic in the universe it created.

So far though it is such a thrill to follow the small bits we get. I hope this stays!!!