SPOILERS for Severance Season 2, Episode 3 ‘Who Is Alive?’
We spent the entire first episode getting reacquainted with our innies, and the entire second episode catching up with our outies, now the quest to find Gemma/Ms. Casey is well and truly underway. With Ben Stiller back in the director’s chair for this episode, the narrative is moved along on all fronts. I always suspected we’d be drip-fed answers and reveals throughput the season, but this episode seemed to accelerate multiple narratives… and it’s exciting to say the least. In under an hour we have developments on everyone from Mark’s innie to Ms. Cobel, and even the elusive goats from last season. So lets get into the recap, because there’s a bit to cover.
You have a plan. You have a plan. We have a plan?
We’ll get to the episode’s intro a little later, but the first time we see Mark’s (Adam Scott) outie in this episode he seems to be prepping for some sort of big plan. He rushes off to work and begins timing the journey from his car to the elevator. Why? We have no idea, but the scene is still dripping in suspense regardless. We find out it take 2 minutes and 18 seconds before he transitions to his innie, and then we’re left to ponder that information for a while.
Meanwhile, the innies are collectively hatching a plan of their own… minus Dylan (Zach Cherry)… to find Ms. Casey. The plan is to spread out through the severed floor with missing posters. Mark and Helena (Britt Lower) opt to search for the Goat Man and “other possible goat people”, Irv (John Turturro) is tasked with returning to a Burt-less O&D, while Dylan isn’t all too keen on sussing the new Break Room. It seems like when Mr. Milkshake (Tramell Tillman) dangled the idea of family visitation in front of Dylan, it’s influenced him to stay in line so as to not lose out on the privilege. Even when Irv mentions that he has recreated the paintings of the dark hallway, Dylan wants nothing to do with it. Dylan is whisked away by Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock) while we get some awkward Helena moments.
First of all, Helena reaches out to Irv to provide some words of support. The intention comes across as being earnest, but there’s an awkward, insincere and almost robotic demeanour about her. It’s the reason I’m referring to her as Helena in these reviews – I don’t believe we’ve seen Helly at all this season. It’s like Helena is trying too hard to “act natural” and it’s having the opposite effect. This is immediately followed by the awkward interaction between Mark and Helena. Granted, much of the awkwardness is coming from Mark’s innie not really having a basis for showing affection (besides the kiss he and Helly shared last season), but it really seems like Helena is struggling to play the part. It’s like she’s trying to initiate an intimate, affectionate moment, but there’s apprehension in her demeanour and her gaze, which gives away her forced persona.
The Disney school of inclusivity…
If I had a bingo card of things to see on this season of Severance, the following sequence would not have been on there. Before we get into it, I just want to say how strange it sounds to hear Lumon employees like Seth Milkshake referred to by their first names – it’s the equivalent of hearing your school teachers’ first names.
Mr. Milkshake arrives at his office only to be greeted by Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander), who is waiting there with the Board. I have to point out one thing that’s bugged me about the board since season one – why does the Board never communicate via the speaker and instead through Natalie’s earpiece. We can hear the presence of at least one person on the other end, and they’ve spoken a single word in season one, but other than that they’re silent. If the person on the other end of the speaker was the same as whoever is in Natalie’s ear, we’d hear them talking to her. My best guess is there is no Board and it’s just a lone leader – much like everything at Lumon, it’s one giant smokescreen that only Natalie seems to be in on.
Back to the scene itself, Mr. Milkshake is gifted a folio of paintings that have been “recanonicalised” so he can feel more connected to Lumon’s history and really see himself in Kier. I had an immediate gut feeling of what the paintings would be, and the fact that I was correct is wild. They have basically recreated iconic painting through the history of Lumon but with Kier represented as being Black. It’s terrible but hilarious in a dark way when you consider some modern attempts at inclusivity that out-of-touch companies enact.
Natalie also takes the opportunity to mention she received the same gift when she got her promotion – but I call bullshit. She’s one of the most under-the-radar, intriguing characters in the show – her always-vibrant demeanour, fake smile and awkward, haunting interactions give off the impression she knows a lot more than she’s letting on.
The last time we see Mr. Milkshake in the episode, he’s hiding the box of paintings in the storage room. It’s hard to gauge his exact emotions because he’s always so stoic, but I don’t think he’s all too thrilled by the gift.
Greatest Of All Time
Goats. For years all we’ve wanted to know is what’s the deal with the goats. While we still have no idea, at least we’re a few one steps closer. Upon returning to the goat room, Mark and Helena find that it’s empty. However once they crawl through a tunnel of hay and poo, they stand up in a large, surreal room filled with rolling hills, grass and more goats. Among them is a creepy man cosplaying as Black Phillip from The Witch (2015) and Gwendoline Christie, who makes her debut as a disheveled farmer named Lorne. According to Lorne, this department is known as Mammalians Nurturable – presumably the place where mammals are nurtured.
When they question Lorne about Gemma, she gets quite standoffish and disregards the question, opting to ring a cowbell which summons the entire department in a moment eerily reminiscent of Westworld’s hosts arriving on the scene. As Mark and Helena press Lorne and co. for answers, they cave and divulge some info. They mention that Gemma used to do her sessions in their Husbandry Tanks. Are they referring to the Wellness Centre when they say that, or is there another area to this department? Either way, Lorne seems to be aware that there’s more to Gemma being retired, encouraging Mark’s mission.
I also want to highlight the moment that closes out this sequence where Lorne asks to see Mark and Helena’s bellies. This scene is a hilarious callback to the first season where O&D let us know about the rumour that the workers in MDR have pouches. As the Mammalians promptly find out, the rumours aren’t true, and they all seem astounded by the revelation. It’s small nonsense moments like that that tie into the wider mystery, but are also blissfully fun, that I love.
“This is my wife” – Borat
After Dylan is summoned by Ms Huang, he’s taken to the security room, which has been repurposed as the Outie Family Visitation Suite we saw in episode one. In there is his outie’s wife, Gretchen, played by Merritt Wever. They’ve really expanded on the star-power of this season. The whole sequence is strange and awkward, but also wholesome and endearing. It’s interesting seeing someone from the outside world meet an innie of someone they know, but who doesn’t remember them. It’s an interesting conversation and one of the most touching moments of the show, with Gretchen getting to know innie Dylan while Dylan is learning about his outie’s life and kids. The sessions ends and we get a glimpse of Dylan’s outie at home with Gretchen and the kids. He comes across as a little lazy, down on his luck and not all too ambitious in life. I mean when we saw him try to get another job in episode two, he was going for the most exciting possible option – Great Doors. When Gretchen mentions the meeting with Dylan’s innie as just “good” I get the feeling we’re heading in a direction where Gretchen will start to like and desire Dylan’s innie more… causing all sorts of drama.
Week-in, week-out I find myself commenting on the comedic genius that is Dylan. In that meeting with Gretchen, his delivery of “he dumb?” and “he a dick?” in reference to his outie had me in stitches. The comedic timing and delivery was perfect, providing a great moment of levity in an otherwise mysterious series.
All about Burt
Irv’s mission to O&D to spread word about Ms. Casey/Gemma gave us some unexpected developments. When he arrives there, Felicia (Claudia Robinson) is still working away in Burt’s absence and they proceed to reminisce about Burt and have a good laugh. As Irv is showing sketches of Burt, Felicia catches a glimpse of the dark hallway that Irv sketched based on his outie’s paintings. All we know about that corridor and elevator is that it leads to the Testing Floor, but interestingly Felicia recognises the hallway. Apparently it’s the Exports Hall – a location where O&D used to send shipments through. While they used to send the shipments themselves, Lumon now sends “a guy”. Could that have been Mr. Graner? Either way, Irv asks if she knows how to get there, and it looks like she’ll be taking him there next week.
Should I stay or should I go?
Throughout the episode, Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) is racking up the miles and going on a bit of a road trip. At first she seems to be abandoning the promotion opportunity presented to her and heading to a place called Salt’s Neck. It’s eluded, based on the hospital tube in her car, that she’s heading to the place in which she grew up. However we may never know, as she abruptly turns around and heads all the way back to Lumon where she approaches Helena. Cobel demands her old job back, wanting to oversee MDR and Mark as he gets closer to finishing Cold Harbour. Her ego and ambition doesn’t exactly pay off though. Helena calls Natalie to set up an immediate meeting with the Board, but Cobel can tell that something is off. There’s an ominous vibe suggesting Helena is trying to have Cobel killed, so Cobel once again gets back into the car and drives off.
I have a feeling Cobel is heading for a redemptive arc this season, and unfortunately it’s one that probably won’t end with her being alive.
Let’s get reintegrated!
While all this is happening on the severed floor, Mark’s outie is going through the motions too. First we catch up with Ricken (Michael Chernus) and Devon (Jen Tullock), who have been graced by the shock presence of Natalie, complete with her fake-ass smile that Devon ain’t buying. Apparently they want to publish a version of Ricken’s book specifically for the innies, but there’s certainly more to this meeting than that.
We then cut to Mark and Devon working away in a shed while Devon spills the beans about the meeting with Natalie. This is where we learn what Mark’s outie was doing at the beginning of the episode – they’re putting letters on a bright light and plan to shine it in Mark’s eyes long enough for the afterimage to stay in his vision until he transitions in the elevator. When I heard this, honestly it sounded like a great idea. I don’t know about an afterimage lasting over two minutes, but the idea itself is pretty neat. However in just the next sequence, we learn it’s a fruitless plan anyway.
For the first time since last season we see Dr. Asal Reghabi (Karen Aldridge), who tracks Mark down and jumpscares him while he tries and fails to create a long-lasting afterimage. The knowledge that the elevator transition wipes your vision clean, so the afterimage wouldn’t make it through is a neat tidbit of information, putting that mission to bed. As an alternative, she suggests the idea of reintegration again, only this time she accompanies the offer with the information that Gemma is alive, at least last she checked. I love that Mark is finally getting this confirmation so early in the season and it’s not being drawn out for 8+ episodes. Now that he knows Gemma is alive, he agrees to integration immediately… and we get right to it. It’s interesting to note Mark is wearing a red sweater that stands out like the red jumpsuit he’s wearing in the new intro. It’s probably nothing, but the colours seemed like a purposeful connection.
After a chilling reintegration sequence, one which had me firmly on the edge of my seat, it seems Mark’s innie and outie are now one. This sets up a huge change for the series going forward, as we should be getting crazy new character dynamics both in and out of Lumon’s Severed Floor.
Wow. Just wow. If Ben Stiller in the director’s chair produces content of this quality, I want him there each and every week. This episode was jam-packed with morsels of information, minor reveals, big answers for characters and plenty of tension. Being one big collection of mysteries, this show is typically laced with suspense, but this episode felt especially tense and gripping. The editing jumps between each arc at the perfect moment, never moving too slow and ensuring we have a great bearing on where everyone is at all times.
The ending could be a game-changer for the series – adding a brand new dynamic we’ve yet to fully see. With Mark reintegrated, presuming he follows the protocols that Petey didn’t, he should have all of the memories of both his innie and outie… if that is how it works. Does that mean we won’t see his innie and outie again in their own forms? I think we will – especially if the series goes down the cloning route, we could have both innie and outie Mark as their own selves. Nevertheless, I couldn’t be more excited to pick back up where this episode left us, next week.
9.7/10
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