Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig

I loved season 1 of severance, and the cliff hanger left me yearning for more. However leading up to the release of season 2, I was mildly cautious that it would not live up to the hype. I assume at worst season 2 would be a fun weekly show to follow along with. I think we've all been misunderstanding what's happening here.

I truly believe we have something special on our hands here. Something that years down the road someone will say "I'm so jealous you got to watch Severance as it released." The way I personally think about the likes of Breaking Bad or The Sopranos.

I truly believe this is Mount Rushmore quality television that we are lucky enough to get to follow along with as it happens.

Adam Scott and Britt Lower are delivering performances on par with the likes of Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook (this is the highest praise I can give any form of media). Emmy season is going to be glorious for Ben Stiller and co.

The second season and episode of severance both respectively share an increase in pace, yet are both dominated by stunning locations and set designs capturing the show's tactile and generic branding type of vintage futurism.

Unlike the first episode of season two, this episode highlights the revelations of the characters lives outside of their work-selves. The more the characters learn about their "innies" at LUMON the more they realize they're even more at odds with their involvement within the company they disappear off into. Even some employees at higher levels who remain lucid throughout their experiences have some reservations about their roles.

There are no wasted opportunities to capture beauty in each shot and the minimalistic nature of each shot reflects the sterility and lack of intuition by the audience and characters alike.

A perplexing emotional sophomore season and episode have me in a place between anxiety and curiosity which almost always with this show, requires some time after each episode to "detach" from, which I find a little ironic.

Great episode. 10/10.

The shots taken this episode is just mindblowing. Gave me some better call saul vibes. The story, where do I begin. It's simply extraordinary. I'm just here to give the cinematography of this episode a 1000/10 because wow, it's literally a Monalisa for TV shows. The way the shots taken, the angles, the face reactions, Mr Milchick on his motorcycle, his helmet, oh my god his helmet is a piece of art ( I'm not even a motorcycle dude but hey ). This show is a brilliant TV art that shows you don't need to rush every year for a season. Take your time with it and deliver for your viewers. Ben Stiller KUDOS.

I wonder if there is actually a point to reviewing episode after episode, when there is not anything new to say. The show goes on the same way - mystery, atmosphere, more mystery, more atmosphere. On and on it adds layers of mystery on top of layers of mystery. But the problem is, you have to throw some resolution. But this show simply doesn't do that. Instead, the mystery just widens, but there are no answers, and it is becoming tiresome. What is Lumon's agenda? What do the severed workers do? Why is Mark so important to Lumon? After one whole season and two episodes of the second season, we should have at least some answers, but there are none. Still not a bad show, but more and more it is form over substance.

Ben Stiller is a national treasure. Sure, Meet the Parents is a classic. Heavyweights and Dodgeball are both great Stiller flicks. Night at the Museum, also an amazing franchise that is a TON of fun to watch. Add in Tropic Thunder and forget about Zoolander, and I'm making a pretty good case for his body of work.

Severance is Ben Stiller's chef kiss. This show is true art. It's says a lot without saying anything. All the fake smiles, the lies, and the two faced leaders make this a case study for the work environment in today's society. We have become a society built on phony smiles and fake hellos. Our politicians are the easiest examples, but it trickles down to our bosses. We traded trusting our fellow co-workers for a paycheck.