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An overall muted but incredibly important episode. One people are gonna hate on from the outset, but I think this episode will end up more beloved over time. We get Cobel / Selvig lore and a big reveal that makes sense and definitely recontextualizes the entire story so far (aka Severance's bread and butter). We also get probably the biggest glimpse of life outside of the town / area where most of our characters live in when visiting Salt's Neck. Here we see Lumon has a long and pretty apparent history of destroying entire livelihoods in the name of power and fortune. This feels like a good set up to have our characters come together for the final two eps, while not overstaying its welcome (clocking in at a solid 37 mins). Looking forward to see if how they stick the landing.

Severance has always managed an intricate blend of science fiction and mystery that has gone unrivaled within its run, and this episode ratchets that up tenfold. The show handles this by presenting the viewer with its darkest hour to date, a rollercoaster from start to finish, leaving us with a host of questions and theories (as per usual, though this isn't necessarily a bad thing / boring, like I've seen some suggest).

The theme here is woe, and woah is there a lot of it. John Turturro as Irving and Britt Lower as Helena steal the show as mirrors of (what I perceive to be) malice and woe. There is a lot of emphasis put on why the characters are doing what they do, and I think the key moving forward is to look at the show / characters with the tempers in mind. I think this show will continue to delve in the metaphysical and metaphorical in aspects that will turn some people off, but I think this episode feels incredibly earned, and I am firmly seated for what will come down the elevator next.