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Update (04/23): Severance (Apple TV+) season 2 has wrapped filming

Commissar SFLUFAN
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Commissar SFLUFAN

Commissar SFLUFAN

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Posted

I'm not going to get into too many specific details about the show as I really do believe that it well and truly is best discovered first-hand.  However, I'll post the trailer for those interested in getting a sense of it:

 

 

So far, it's easily one of the most frightening, dystopic works of art that I've experienced in quite a long time.  The commentary on capitalism and corporate culture may be a bit "on the nose", but sometimes that level of unsubtlety is exactly what's needed to make it's point effectively.  And somehow, the show manages to be genuinely funny (in a VERY darkly humorous way) that only serves to highlight the underlying horror of its premise.

 

Of course, I'm also a sucker for the show's "retrofuturist" aesthetic :p

 

I look forward to discussing it further in this thread!

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TwinIon

TwinIon

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When I first saw the trailer I thought it was an interesting concept, but it wasn't until actually watching the show that I came to understand the actual implications of what severance would imply. It really is quite horrifying, but the show is very well done and worth a watch to anyone curious.

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TheLeon

TheLeon

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I’m fully caught up now, including episode 7 that just dropped tonight. There’s a ton to say about this show, but I’ll leave most of that to people smarter and more articulate than me. I’ll just say: SEVERENCE GOOD!
 

This show is so funny to me because it’s only slightly exaggerated from how I imagine giant corporations actually operate. :p 


 

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Kal-El814

Kal-El814

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8 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Latest episode is up and it is AWESOME.

 

Yeah, it ends really strong. This season was the prefect length for me, I think each episode really delivered, kept me wanting more, and the tension in the last 2 episodes specifically was incredibly well executed.

 

Some spoilery thoughts.

 

Spoiler

I wonder if they'll go into what Lumon "does" more than they have, and I think I'd be fine with it if they didn't. My operating " theory" for the MDR group is that Mark was there to see if severance would remove memories about a loved one, Irv was there to see if severance would change their sexuality, and Dylan; was there to see if severance would remove memories of your kids. I could be wrong though, who knows.

 

I don't know why the Severance floor seems so sparsely staffed, particularly in hindsight once Helly's identity has been revealed? I get that they don't want to have a lot of non-severed employees down there but it seems like a severed person to watch the security cameras would have been a good idea. :p Lumon certainly seems to have the resources to do a better job. 

 

I wonder what Cobel's deal is. She seems more invested in Mark than she "should be," all things considered.

 

Also really curious to know about how Gemma "died."

 

Anyway the performances were almost all great. I hadn't seen Trammel Tillman (Milchick) in anything before and he was fucking awesome in this. His range and how smoothly he could change gears was just so, so good. They give out awards for acting right? He should get one. :p

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TwinIon

TwinIon

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The last episode is really good. I hope the wait for season 2 isn't too long.

 

Spoilers.


 

Spoiler

Seeing the innies react to their lives was fascinating. It was fun to have both ends of the spectrum, where we know what is going on with Mark and what his life is like and who these people are, but have no such frame of reference for the others. The entire season has been something of a hunt for clues as to what is going on, for both the viewer and the characters, and it's kinda great that the biggest discoveries made are in the outside world.

 

It was also quite the cliffhanger. A bold way to end season 1 of a show for a show that hasn't been relying on cliffhangers so far.

 

As far as what Lumon actually does, I've been of the opinion that there isn't really any actual work being done. It's all an experiment on the severed themselves for some other purpose. Step one in some wider plan for control of the workforce or something. The thing that gets me is that Lumon seems to very clearly understand how they're torturing these people. However it began, at this point they're aware what the severed are and how excruciating life is for them.

 

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Kal-El814

Kal-El814

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2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

The last episode is really good. I hope the wait for season 2 isn't too long.

 

Spoilers.


 

  Reveal hidden contents

Seeing the innies react to their lives was fascinating. It was fun to have both ends of the spectrum, where we know what is going on with Mark and what his life is like and who these people are, but have no such frame of reference for the others. The entire season has been something of a hunt for clues as to what is going on, for both the viewer and the characters, and it's kinda great that the biggest discoveries made are in the outside world.

 

It was also quite the cliffhanger. A bold way to end season 1 of a show for a show that hasn't been relying on cliffhangers so far.

 

As far as what Lumon actually does, I've been of the opinion that there isn't really any actual work being done. It's all an experiment on the severed themselves for some other purpose. Step one in some wider plan for control of the workforce or something. The thing that gets me is that Lumon seems to very clearly understand how they're torturing these people. However it began, at this point they're aware what the severed are and how excruciating life is for them.

 


So…

 

Spoiler

I have to assume Lumon is doing something? It seems unlikely that Cobel and the board would be invested in the team meeting quota of they were doing nothing. And the team seems like they agree on which numbers are scary, and If they could program something that specific it seems like they’d also be able to program more obedience. Who knows tho. 

 

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Kal-El814

Kal-El814

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Posted

Also...

 

Spoiler

One of the weirder elements about this season for me was the vibe that Mark's brother in law and his friends had.

 

I know people fall in love with people who have different vibes all the time, but she and Ricken feel like an odd coupling. That in of itself wouldn't be too weird except Ricken's friends seem like caricatures in a show that doesn't really have any of those other than that set of people. Ricken at least seems to have some self awareness that he's a bit much, but I have no idea why they'd invest time in showing us that specific circle of friends seem completely out of touch and vapid.

 

I don't think there's some deeper meaning here just feels like a misstep to me in a season that generally avoided those.

 

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TwinIon

TwinIon

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On 4/8/2022 at 11:47 AM, Kal-El814 said:


So…

 

  Hide contents

I have to assume Lumon is doing something? It seems unlikely that Cobel and the board would be invested in the team meeting quota of they were doing nothing. And the team seems like they agree on which numbers are scary, and If they could program something that specific it seems like they’d also be able to program more obedience. Who knows tho. 

 


 

Spoiler

I think the different nature of each department indicates to me that they're running various experiments at the same time. They're testing something about how severed people operate in various environments and conditions. There was a department that was only two people (I forget which one), and another that was a whole giant group manning the 3D printers. For the refiners, that means a group of four under specific work conditions. The emergence of "scary numbers" is just Lumon's version of the Four Lights from TNG. It's all experiments about controlling a workforce, but to some unclear end.

 

At least, that's my feeling right now. I feel like thematically that makes the most sense to me. I think it could actually be more interesting if we find out that Lumon is actually doing something real and that the data refiners in particular are doing some task that somehow requires a severed mind to complete. Could well be that the noise of living prevents a complete person from seeing what they can see.

 

The more I think about it, the more it could be an incredible twist if we find out that their work actually is important and that severence is the only way to do it.

 

In any case, it seems that the reception was good enough that we're getting more of the show. Apple seems to still value prestige buzz over viewership for the time being. I just hope we don't have a Barry like wait in between seasons.

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Kal-El814

Kal-El814

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12 minutes ago, TwinIon said:


 

  Hide contents

I think the different nature of each department indicates to me that they're running various experiments at the same time. They're testing something about how severed people operate in various environments and conditions. There was a department that was only two people (I forget which one), and another that was a whole giant group manning the 3D printers. For the refiners, that means a group of four under specific work conditions. The emergence of "scary numbers" is just Lumon's version of the Four Lights from TNG. It's all experiments about controlling a workforce, but to some unclear end.

 

At least, that's my feeling right now. I feel like thematically that makes the most sense to me. I think it could actually be more interesting if we find out that Lumon is actually doing something real and that the data refiners in particular are doing some task that somehow requires a severed mind to complete. Could well be that the noise of living prevents a complete person from seeing what they can see.

 

The more I think about it, the more it could be an incredible twist if we find out that their work actually is important and that severence is the only way to do it.

 

In any case, it seems that the reception was good enough that we're getting more of the show. Apple seems to still value prestige buzz over viewership for the time being. I just hope we don't have a Barry like wait in between seasons.

 

Yeah that’s all fair.

 

Spoiler

Without knowing more about Helly or the larger world, it seems a little strange that her outie would agree to severance just as a proof of concept? The public seems to generally believe that it works based on the protests and how Mark’s sister interacted with his innie. And if we can take the interactions that Cobel has with the board and the dead security guard as reasonably truthful, the board seems unaware of reintegration being a thing or at least unwilling to acknowledge to someone that works for them that it’s possible. So Helly likely thinks she’s in for keeps.

 

I suppose Helly’s outie would know that she’d have no idea what she’s doing while working with Lumon before she agreed to go, but the family connection makes me feel like there’s something more to it than just experiments… though I don’t doubt those are happening, too.

 

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skillzdadirecta

skillzdadirecta

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On 4/12/2022 at 4:29 PM, Firewithin said:

Milchick is the most unsettling character in this

 

On 4/12/2022 at 4:42 PM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:


He absolutely is!

 

He seems like he could come cataclysmically unhinged at any time.

He's definitely a "True Believer" in whatever Lumin is up to. A zealot in every sense of the word.

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legend

legend

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Posted

Regarding what their work is

 

Spoiler

I agree that it's all an experiment and not real is a plausible hypothesis, but I did have a thought as I watched the show that would involve it being more "real."

 

The main idea is MDR is involved in censoring data of disturbing things Lumen has done from documents and that they're actually viewing images or something of the like, but their mind has been altered to only perceive numbers. Here is some reasoning on that.

 

* I'm reminded of the experiments with people who have their Corpus Callosum severed. In these experiments, you do things like show a patient a picture to only one eye. You then ask them what it is and they say they can't tell you. But then you ask them to write what it is that they're seeing, and they're able to write down what they're seeing! Or it goes something like that (it's been a while since I learned about it.) So here, the visceral emotional reaction they have could be a consequence of the fact that in reality, they're seeing some disturbing shit, but they aren't able to articulate what it is.

* Lumen censoring disturbing shit they do is totally in character and big brother enough to fit.

* Lumen using severed employees to search and censor this stuff, while also keeping them even unaware of it, is in line with their overly cautious security about it. There can never be a leak.

* Furthermore, Lumen may reason that if taken to court, they could argue less legal culpability if no one actually knows what data they're censoring. (This would play well with corporate government corruption and loophole themes)

* The idea just adds one more layer to the whole "severance" philosophy they take. 

 

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EternallDarkness

EternallDarkness

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Just finished this and it was a great ride! I love the characters, I love the exchanges, and despite a pretty absurd premise, I like the unfolding of it all. 

 

 

I don't know that I would say the premise is absurd. I could totally see people wanting to separate themselves from their work. 

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Mr.Vic20

Mr.Vic20

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Posted
Just now, EternallDarkness said:

 

I don't think we are that far away from this kind of thing being possible 

Spoiler

The complete division of a person's memories and development growth would be a monumental challenge, not only for the human mind but for the tech that would produce that effect. We are waaay farther way from this than you might think.  

 

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