Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig

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.

Many people complained that the first episode only showed the inside of Lumon, and we didn't see anything about the outside. They gave it a low rating because of that. I was sure that the second one would show the other side, and that that would be a wise decision, since the most important things would surely be there, and it would have been a bad decision to show them in reverse order. Seeing only the inside first (even though that wasn't extremely exciting) increased the doubts and expectations of what would happen outside, and it was the best narrative decision (instead of seeing them interspersed part by part) since that is how the characters experienced the situation. Applause for both episodes.

I feel like the series is delving into the gnostical existential journeys of its characters. The stunning visual presentation of Mr. Milchick's motorcycle scenes doesn't need further praise - I believe his character is on the path to gaining more depth as the story progresses.

While I loved the visuals in the first episode of Season 2, I found S2E1 slightly below my expectations. However, it now seems clear that it was all about laying the groundwork for the episodes to come. Following the setup in S2E1, this episode is a true masterpiece. This is the episode that has taken a wild momentum for the new season.

Honestly really enjoyed it. Im still yet to see an episode worth $20M, however thats not necessarily a bad thing. This episode is more of a different perspective on the information we were given in the prior episode. Which leads to the one critique i have for this... why wouldnt they release those 2 at the same time, then let us wait a week and come back with the new story as it unfolds. It kind of feels like a write off so they can extend people's attention and using that as kind of a way of abusing the power they have over us. Thats definitely not something i think is the shows fault my any means, more of a flaw on the side of Apple. However, the episode is still great. Its still what we do want to see, i would have just liked these first 2 to be released in tandem with one another... then give us the rollout for the next week with the new story. Nonetheless, love this show.

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.