Sweet Vitriol

I really liked this episode. It was cold, quiet, unexpected, beautiful and bleak.

The attention to detail is A+++ in this show and this episode was no exception.

I feel like it will bear repeated viewings and I'll catch something different every time.

I felt like this episode added a lot of depth to the character of Mrs Cobel and Patricia A knocked it out of the damn park.

I felt some sympathy for her and how her very difficult childhood has shaped who she has become.

The reveal was interesting and I'm so curious as to how this is going to play out in the next few episodes.

Highly recommend this one.

This felt like an odd episode. Cinematography was absolutely gorgeous as always, and Patricia Arquette does an amazing job as Cobel. However, nothing really happened in this episode. We did get one reveal about the origin of Severance, which is very interesting, and raises a lot of questions, however, this story could've easily been told in a two minute cut scene.

Overall, I'm not freaking out just yet, but I really do hope that the endgame plan for this season is strong. So far all of the clues in the season are very interesting and I'm excited to see where the trails will lead us. Interesting that Ben Stiller directed this episode as well because he usually directs the most important episodes so maybe there's some important details we missed.

Looking forward to next week's episode!

This one was different and it touched on a lot of things that I think people will appreciate more as time goes and story is revealed. I can't call it a misstep. I think it's important and too premature to call it out so much.

There are a lot of deep themes that those who were raised in deeply religious communities will relate to and that we'll find out as the show progresses and fans will see and appreciate it more in its own merits. Patricia played the part beautifully and this episode is artistically a whole vibe in itself of the emotional emptiness one feels when they're questioning with their deeply rooted religious beliefs. I didn't love it, but I really liked it and believe that I'll love it when future events are revealed. Solid bridge.

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.

I can take a slow burner every once in a while in a series like this one. We are going into the depths of the character of Harmony Cobel. Some of the elements that seem to have "bored" some reviewers were put in place to reflect the despair of the character. Details in the episode were helpful in creating a more believable and consistent universe. Some viewers actually like this. The story developed slowly, but by the end of the episode I felt quite satisfied.

I am giving it an 8. But the actual score of this episode also depends on how developments, revelations and the character building will affect the overall story. So we'll be able to evaluate it better after the season ends.