Sweet Vitriol

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.

Wah wah bad pacing Wah wah no big reveals every episode

So many people crying about this episode and some even regarding S2. Understand this show!

Yes, I get the frustration of waiting weekly to get a slow episode that does not focus on the main characters themselves but acting like the series fell off or it's the worst episode of all time it's so ridiculous.

Severance is NOT a fast paced series rather its built on a slow burning plot, mystery showcasing the mundane and slow thematics of the world itself. These people should know this by now if they paid attention to it. (clearly they didnt) Just drop it and stick to Stranger things or some marvel/disney shows for action packed scenes and the lack of attention span and tolerance about pacing some people have.

These kind of episode filter out fake "fans" from real ones.

...this episode would be the lowest rated of the entire show.

It contains single character focus on Cobel and none the 4 main "employees", no "office" scenes, very slow and deliberate establishing shots and 1 percent action (one character slaps another). This episode is very slow and unremarkable out of context.

The greatest shows are always the best on a rewatch and Severance is continually setting itself up to reframe everything we know. If you take what you get out of this episode and apply it to the historical record, it explains Cobel in ways that only showing, not telling, reveals.

While the ending is slightly rushed, the episode gets to the point and rockets forward with what is going to be an explosive finale. Nearly every character's tension level has turned up to 11. And I think the setup is complete, just like last season. Now it's time to watch the fireworks show.

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.