Severance Season 2 is Outstanding!
Severance season 2 is incredible, and I’m actually watching the current season right now despite not quite finishing season one yet.
Severance Season 2
I ended up watching season one through a reaction group I enjoy watching on YouTube, and was so intrigued with the Severance storyline that I watched the season finale on my own. I have been watching season two episodes as they air and oh my gosh, this is some of the best writing for TV since early seasons of Game of Thrones.
(I don’t think it’s a bad thing to watch a show like Severance out of order – you can catch more clues to the nature of the story that way!)
Woe’s Hollow
“Woe’s Hollow” is a masterclass in writing.
The suspense felt after watching Mark reintegrate with the help of Reghabi at the end of last episode, to then watching him stand on top of the “world’s largest” waterfall was absolute peak writing.
The entire episode I kept wondering how much he would remember of this trip, or if it was a memory from before he was integrated. Thankfully, the subtle clue of Helena turning into Gemma while in bed was hint enough that this is our current timeline.
And that for whatever reason, Milkshake (Milchick) and Child Labor (Ms. Huang) had dragged the Macro Data Refinement squad out into the middle of the woods – Dieter Eagan State Park, apparently. Although with how much Milkshake and the other supervisors lie to the Innies, I almost want to believe that this is another labyrinth floor inside Lumon offices, somewhere.
We were given the story of how the founding Eagan, Kier, had a twin brother named Dieter, and as they ran away from home to be forest paupers the important Kier then discovered the Four Tempers of the Mind: Frolic, Malice, Dread, and Woe.
Of course, the brother Dieter dies horribly in the book during Milchick’s Storytime, and because (reintegrated) Mark and (Outie) Helena were making inappropriate jokes during this sacred time, the Kier Marshmallow Sharing Experience was cancelled by Milchick – who had a lot of malice in his eyes toward Helena.
Not deterred by this, (or honestly grateful because she secretly arranged this whole trip to steal her Innie’s man) Helena takes this opportunity to fully seduce Mark in one of the tents. Helena also admits that she didn’t come up with a better lie on what her Innie had done during OTC because she was “ashamed” to be an Eagan, apparently. But Helena should not have said that bit about the night gardener – because it finally came back to bite her credibility as the “Outie Mole” on the Severed Floor.
Irving Confronts Helena
Irving is the absolute champ and MVP of this season, thus far.
Irv was the only one who was not compromised by Mr. Milchick or Ms. Huang going forward.
If you recall, Mark is wrapped up in his feelings for Helly and need to find Gemma, and Dylan is essentially being manipulated (and thinly blackmailed) by Milchick with knowledge of his Outie’s family. Since Irving lost Burt (or rather, Burt was purposefully taken away from Irving as a punishment) Irving had nothing to lose.
We still don’t know what Irving’s Outie said to Burt, who he spoke with on the phone to deliver the “message” about his Innie, or why Burt was secretly watching him make that phone call. We also don’t know if Irving has truly been reintegrated or not, and that is why he was so calm and almost reassuring to Dylan when he apologized for not believing Irv that something was off (saying “Hang in there”) before being shut down by Milkshake.
(Also interestingly enough, Irving’s “twin” was the only one on the team who did not offer “guidance” in the wilderness during the teambuilding retreat experience.)
Since “Hang In There” was on the poster in the video the MDR gang was shown about their OTC escape plan, I wonder if that phrase will end up meaning something later on in the season.
Did Woe Influence Irving?
I’m not sure if it’s because Irv’s coding was experiencing far too much woe after Helena’s cruel comments that needed to be “refined”, but after sleeping outside of the tent he had a dream about Burt, Woe, and the MDR computer literally told him that Helly was an Eagan, and an Outie traitor, too.
The sequence that follows of Irving testing Helly before literally drowning Helena like a wet rat was magnificent to watch.
Irving tests Helly first by saying “Hey Kids” to which Helena responds “Hello Irving” – not using his nickname “Irv” or even saying “what’s for dinner” which is the inside joke started by Petey in their department.
After this, Irving then asks Helena what she is doing down here, emphasizing the Severed Floor and Innies, while Helena believes he is referring to the waterfall.
He then continues to state well…” if you’re not the ___, then who are you?” and brings Helena to the water’s edge while calling for Milchick to look on.
Irving is so smart; I know he’s ex-military but his Innie was so stiff and rigid about Lumon protocol that I thought it was impossible he’d do something so based as this. We’ve been watching Mark’s Outie and Innie essentially converge in personality and mission over two seasons, so when did that happen to Irv?
Was it truly during the OTC when he got the message? It is whatever messages are covertly left in his watch by his Outie? Is it reintegration by Reghabi? And that’s why she told Mark she had gotten better at it during his procedure?
I don’t have the answers, but either way I will enjoy each episode equally for the duration of Severance Season 2. But, tell me your thoughts ~
Was Irving MVP of this episode (and the season) so far for you? And…will R Helly keep the baby as a Kier heir if she does become pregnant? And is this the baby alluded to in the opening sequences?
Let me know your thoughts and leave them in the comment section below! And until next time ~
“This world is a shadow of the real one”.
❂ Stories From the New World