Need to talk about Severance, BAD. I watched it first with my mom back in Feb/March 2022. I have said before that I will never EVER forget about how that finale felt (me pounding my fist on the ground). God, it has really been THREE YEARS. I'M SICK. Anyways, watched first episode last week with my mom and my roommate (separate occasions), and I just want to put down some thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain for a while.
Just some things I accept in my mind from the first season (before watching S2E1):
- Mark & Gemma were coworkers to lovers, their big professor brains, and their love was too powerful for the world (Lumon took her ass out).
- Ms. Casey (aka Gemma) behaves so bizarrely because she has limited "awake" time; often getting experimented on down on the testing floor. She has minimal experience as an innie and she is just one of many test subjects Lumon utilizes because people who are presumed dead, missing, or whatever else/poor/homeless/what-have-you "won't be missed." I don't know if they took advantage of her situation and utilized the crash to their advantage, staged a crash, or wanted to get Gemma specifically (because she was also really smart). IDK. Maybe she even signed up for something (inspired by connections at the university), and got more than what she bargained for.
- Irving's dog, Radar, is inspired by Radar from M*A*S*H. He COULD be a service dog. I don't know if Irving was a veteran, following in his dad's footsteps. He could have gotten severed due to PTSD (we have no idea what wars have went on during this alternate timeline that the Eagans have ruled since the 1800s).
- Irving is reintegrated (maybe unintentionally) explains the zoning and drifting/goo/whatever. His Outie constantly paints (what we learned to be) the testing floor. OBSESSIVELY, which implies he has been down there. He is trying to figure out what's going on down there bc he was either suspicious of Lumon from the get-go, or experience symptoms (related to possible reintegration or a failed integration) and was probably being gaslit by medical professionals.
- HOWWWW does he know so many severed workers? Was Irving a part of a group of people intending to infiltrate Lumon to some degree? (I'm realizing a lot of these are about Irving, but it was mainly because we had the knowledge that Dylan had a family, we knew Mark's story, and we realized Helly was Helena Eagan. We only had Radar and tangible things to tell Irving's story, he was alone).
- Helena Eagan could've definitely been groomed to fit the position. She might be the nasty bitch she was painted to be (from Helly's perspective) (and our perspective, honestly, "I am a person, you are not" eeueugh)), she might not be a believer of what she was sharing to the public. She might have doubts. Her dad is such a creep omg. Her body and soul easily could have been molded to fit atop the throne, and her skull carved to support the crown (I don't know what the fuck I'm saying). Some monsters are made, but some... who knows, some aren't monsters at all.
- We all know why Mark got severed, and we know Petey's severance was inspired by his divorce + strained relationship with his daughter (or at least that's what the show seemed to imply TO ME)... Helena's could have been out of obligation, Irving's could have been due to PTSD/grief/pursuit of knowledge/infiltration... but what about Dylan? He has a family, but does he have a spouse? Is he a caregiver? Was it hardship that pushed him to this job? I think it has been shown to us that most people who were led to this job (at least severed positions) due to pure desperation, or potentially manipulation. Were there any aspects of Dylan's life that were darker/pushed him to this? His Innie things the world is a shitshow up there, and the numbers are... eels??? (Idr what his ass said fr), but he also thinks he's got yachts and bitches for days. Obviously, not all of that is factual, but maybe he was pursuing the job as a promotion (already working for Lumon) and just thought it seemed "sick as fuck" and more efficient.
- Thinking of trans folks... idk how to put this into words, but imagining the transference of dysphoria and not having the words or material to understand it - in the same way grief seems to transfer. "You feel it down there too," thank you, Petey... that's devastating. Is there any room for exploring that? Does this make sense? If your feelings aren't spatially deviated – your wants and needs – repression or avoidance does nothing. Anyone (if this is even read by another person) feel free to add to this, or direct me to someone who HAS talked about this. I'm... unable to articulate what I'm saying, or even figure out what I'm asking. But there is definitely avenues to touch on here.
- This also brings me to pregnancy. We know about the senator's wife who got severed just to give birth (horrifying), and we heard about the Innie relationship drama/affairs that was on the news Mark clicked past. Regardless of where conception occurs, the body will carry that everywhere regardless of the mind's deviation. Are there clauses that prohibit Outies from getting pregnant while working on the job? Are they granted maternity leave the moment they start experiencing symptoms (so their Innies don't experience that), or do they make them work through it knowing that no matter what happens - they have no control over what is growing inside them? This is horrible and making me shudder, but it's definitely a twisted question I have. It would be cruel for the Innies to know this, to experience this, then to live without knowing. Just a vessel for something they cannot understand beyond those walls.
- How many departments are there??? Goats??? Purple rooms??? Is Lumon global? Are there "Lumon towns" in the way there are coal mining towns? (Thinking of the subsidized housing)
- Girl scouts, boy scouts... Kier scouts. What the fuck was on Harmony Cobel/Selvig's wall? Is this a societal thing? People being raised in community-based things instead of cult... stuff? Because it isn't like the Lumon principles are universal (people protest it, it's newer technological advances the company has made) ... idk, I think I'm losing myself in this. I think I should stop on reflections I've drafted in relation to S1.
So, NOW.... reflections post-S2E1.
Episode One Thoughts, Pre-Episode Two
- Ahhhhhhhh. An episode all on the inside was so fascinating. No intro credits, so I'm wondering if the second season will bring us a new animation? Because there was no sequence in the first episode of the first season. Who knows? Either way, I'm excited. Theodore Shapiro is a phenomenal composer.
- What the fuck is going on with Miss Huang? Is she just there to be disarming to the employees? Are they THAT short staffed? That kid is eight years old LMAO. WAIT- AS I WAS TYPING THIS.... KIER SCOUT. Jk jk, it's not that deep (or is it?). Is this just a daughter of an employee, a kid getting extra credit, a test to push an employee into remembering something—like how Cobel/Selvig (wtf is her real name... is it Selvig?) brought in that candle Gemma made in hopes of triggering some kind of olfactory reaction from Mark (freak). IDK. I don't understand where the kid came from. Mark made my blood run cold, I thought he was gonna chuck the ball at that kid... he's gonna crack soon. Like, Dylan-level BITING. (He still doesn't know his best friend is dead)
- Additional new characters: Mark W is funny as fuck actually. Thank you for saying Milkshake. Hello, Maeby (Arrested Development)... get tired of the family? Why the random Italian guy? Where were his subtitles? Did anyone understand what bro was saying??? Where did they go?! So sad how they asked "how the sky was" ..... the wind. Devastating.
- I wasn't sure if Helly was gonna tell them the truth once they got together. Because how do you say, hi... I am behind this evil corporate scheme. And the way she did it, I almost wondered if they sent Helena IN. To gather intel. But as the episode progressed, I don't think Helena knows Helly well enough to even do that - and her charms kind of came out as it went on. So I think it is truly Helly.
- Irving was truly devastating this episode. Girl is at his wits end over the most painful situationship ever, first love heartbreak vibes (my current life situation).
- People say they saw crazy tension between them, and yeah, it was raw unbridled emotion. However, I don't see what ppl are seeing. Irving was devastated and effectively planning to end life as he knew it, and Dylan was talking him down. I guess yall can read it as romance, but I know gay when I see it and I say that it wasn't. Homies can kiss homies, but it wasn't beyond that. It was just a very charged moment. I loved it.
- That claymation video was giving peak corporate horror. And Moral Orel vibes.
- The newspaper was SOOOO fucking redacted, with no date (obviously), and the picture looked fake as fuck. Just an edited version of their office picture into a car that doesn't look like it is from the same timeline all the other vehicles are in. If anyone has more insight on that, feel free to provide it. I tried to take a screenshot and image grab it to see, but it wasn't working.
- I think it was fascinating to see ONLY Innies perspectives. We didn't get a single fucking peep of the aftermath from things on the outside and how that went down, how everyone reacted. I wasn't expecting that at all for the first episode, but I think it was a wonderful choice.
-Obsessed with how they blatantly called Cobel/Selvig a freak. Wanted to pursue a throuple. SHE IS SUCH A PERVERTTT, I KNOW IT IN MY SOUL. SHE'S A FREAK. However, they are using any ill intent that Lumon enacted as material to use her as a scapegoat. Like, that trickles down. It wasn't JUST her. Milchick, you treated them like animals because you COULD.
- What the fuck happened at the end of the episode... is GEMMA doing the testing? Idek what to think, I'm sick. I don't want to entertain that. Idk wtf they're doing. Genetic sequencing, cloning, whatever!!! WhatEVER. I have no idea what to expect.
- And lastly, because my brain is tired... they all went back to their desks. Severance reform my ass... the best way to tame a prisoner is to make him believe he is free. Or whatever.
