After leaving us dangling on a massive cliffhanger for nearly three years, AppleTV’s hit mystery-box series is back for its sophomore outing. This season is bigger, more ambitious and doubles down on the strangeness factor. While it does answer a ton of burning questions, it also suffers slightly from the carrot and stick formula these types of shows often rely too heavily on.
A huge part of Severance’s appeal are the many mysteries it allows us to unravel as the show progresses. This season continues to unspool existing threads, while dropping plenty of new ones to expand the world. What these new episodes excel at is further exploring the line between the characters’ innies and outies, and the ethical dilemmas that stem from two separate beings sharing one body. Viewers with keen eyes will find plenty of small clues to fuel their theories, but there are some big revelations made as well. This season isn’t as concise with its storytelling, delivering a little more padding leading up to its thrilling finale. The “filler” is still intriguing in its own right, but I’m hoping it’s not a sign that the show is going to draw out its eventual conclusion.
The series continues to be a brilliantly crafted technical knockout. This is arguably the best looking original AppleTV has ever produced. The striking use of limited (but meticulously chosen) colour makes every frame pop off the screen. A lot of time is spent in the sterile white corridors of Lumon, yet the creative direction and cinematography allow each shot to feel unique. There’s a lot of wildly impressive camera work that shows how much the crew cares about delivering something of the highest calibre. The editing is also razor sharp, especially when it comes to dizzily flipping between innies and outies.
I have to commend the cast this season as well. Last season we really only saw two versions of Mark, but this season we get both versions of the entire MDR team. Britt Lower in particular delivers a standout performance, as both versions of Helly couldn’t be more different. Adam Scott’s work this season is outstanding. Mark is carrying the emotional weight of the revelations made last season, and the impossible decisions his innie and outie must make to do what’s right by his friends, family and coworkers. Scott absolutely nails the sense of inner turmoil, as we watch Mark wrestle with the best interests of both versions of himself.
Severance season two was worth the long wait. This sophomore outing delivers more of the mystery, strangeness and fascinating character dynamics that made the show such a massive hit. There’s a little more filler this time around, but “the work is mysterious and important”, so I’m still very intrigued to see where the show takes us next.
4/5
Review by; Benjamin Garrett