Severance is one of Apple TV‘s best and biggest shows at the moment. Even during the release of the first season in 2022, the show made waves for its interesting story and brilliant visual style. As the writers’ strike in 2023 delayed the writing of season two, three years later, Severance fans welcomed a brilliant new installment that’s set to finish with episode 10 on March 21st. Even with potential plans for another season, the second one still needs to wrap up, and expectations are high for its final episodes.
Severance follows employees of the mysterious company Lumon. They are “severed,” meaning their private life and consciousness are separated from their life and consciousness at work. When they leave the severed floor, they don’t remember a thing they did, making their Innies – the severed employees – and their Outies – the people they truly are on the outside – almost feel like different people altogether. The show stars Adam Scott, John Turturro, Britt Lower, and Zach Cherry as Mark S., Irving B., Helly R., and Dylan G. respectively. Severance is a sci-fi mystery, and its best episodes so far often reveal the lore behind Lumon, as well as the four people’s purpose.
10
“Attila”
Season 2, Episode 6
Season 2, episode 6, “Attila” still lingers on the aftermath of a failed team-building outing in episode 4. Helly is back, and Helena is no longer posing as her Innie, though she reluctantly agrees to bring Helly back. This was suspected in earlier episodes by keen viewers, with Helena obviously refusing to lose control once again. Helly feels like her Outie stole her experience, as Mark and she had sex during the team-building activity; Innie Helly also initiates sex with Mark, and it’s obvious they’ve had feelings for each other from the start.
Dylan also gets the right to visitations from his Outie’s wife, Gretchen (Merritt Wever); they kiss during one in this episode. Irving visits Innie’s lover, Burt (Christopher Walken), who welcomes Irving with his husband, Fields (John Noble). Fields drunkenly blurts out that Burt’s been at Lumon much longer than when the severance procedure first began. With small crumbs of trailing here and there, a grander conspiracy surrounds Lumon; however, this episode is also very sweet and emotional, as Innies experience love and affection for the first time.
9
“Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig”
Season 2, Episode 2
Season 2, episode 2, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” shows the immediate aftermath of the first season’s finale; Mark is back at Lumon, but his team isn’t, as their “outing” into the real world was punished by termination from work. As Helena Eagan says, Mark needs to be back to work to finish a project called Cold Harbor. This is why Lumon is open to fulfilling his wishes, and one is getting his team back to work. Dylan struggles to find a different job on the outside, and is discriminated against for being severed; Mrs. Selvig, aka Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), wants her job back, and Helena promises it, but Cobel runs away.
The start of season two gathers the group back into the same formation, except their mental states are now completely different due to the overtime contingency. It’s discovered that Mark and the group spent 39 minutes on the outside before Milchick and Cobel could stop Dylan at Lumon. There’s also the grand revelation that a lot of this season will be focused on Mark and his work on a particular project, meaning his wishes will be respected as long as he makes progress. The episode shows some progress in crumbs, but it’s a brilliant continuation to the comeback in episode 1; we’ll likely see Cobel more by the end of the season.
8
“Who Is Alive?”
Season 2, Episode 3
In anticipation of what’s to come, viewers see that the Innies aren’t the same at the start of season 2. Having experienced the outside, there was enough for them to see and not be able to gloss over. Irving observes Helly more, and starts drawing a picture of a hallway his Outie was painting when he woke up. One of the employees from O&D recognizes his sketch as “Exports Hall.” Mark realizes his wife Gemma is alive, and he wants to find a way to burn a message into his retinas so his Innie can see it. Reghabi (Karen Aldridge), an anti-Lumon activist, tells Mark she can help him reintegrate.
The more we watch Mark looking for answers, the more it seems like he doesn’t care too much about himself; depressed over a tragic loss, this is somewhat typical, but the reintegration procedure he begins grows more dangerous for his overall health. “Who Is Alive?” is a slow-burning episode, but it’s one of the most visually stunning additions to the show. With Mark’s reintegration showing signs of life, the episode’s final moments are a massive cliffhanger, with his memory shifting between his Innie and Outie. This is one of the best episodes of the show because it slowly introduces how things are going to play out by the end.
7
“The You You Are”
Season 1, Episode 4
Season 1, episode 4, “The You You Are” deals with identities on the inside. As the start of the season introduces Helly as a new character, the entire first season shows her being the latest addition, and someone who can’t just accept she’s severed. With all her might, she tries to escape, and this episode in particular delivers Helly’s final cry for help. Mark’s memories also seem to seep into his severed self while around Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), who asks him to mold how his emotions look to him from a clay shape; he molds the clay into a tree he visited in remembrance of his wife’s passing.
This episode shows viewers how intertwined the Innies are with each other, and how they’re not just robots made for work; these Innies have desires, wishes, and questions, as much as their Outies. Irving grows close with Burt, and Helly’s struggle culminates in a suicide attempt, which is later glossed over as her Outie continues to insist she must be there. “The You You Are” is an interesting, potentially even a philosophical view of how the severed Innies still come from people with the same desires on the outside, giving additional layers to the complex storyline.
6
“Good News About Hell”
Season 1, Episode 1
It’s hard not to put the first episode of Severance among the ten best, because it’s a beautifully crafted, eerie intro into this crazy world of Lumon; the episode begins with Helly being integrated into MDR, where she joins Mark, Dylan, and Irving after a dizzying first day orientation. Observing Innies from this perspective makes them feel like children just learning to walk, and it’s interesting to see how the microchips that sever them at work actually function. This is why viewers are immediately connected to Helly, who learns she was severed, and feels trapped and like the entire ordeal is wrong. She struggles to understand why her Outie would do this, mirroring the viewers’ fresh realizations of the dynamic.
In episode 1, most of the vital characters are introduced, including Mark’s real-life neighbor, Mrs. Selvig, who is actually his boss at Lumon, Harmony Cobel. Mark doesn’t realize that, of course, and lives obliviously. His motivations for being severed are pretty much clear from the start – Mark openly mourns his dead wife, Gemma, and has a hard time forgetting her and moving on. To people, it makes sense why he’d choose to forgo her memory for a specific time; however, it seems his work at MDR is unlike his personality. “Good News About Hell” is one of Severance’s best episodes, and one of the greatest series openers.
5
“What’s For Dinner?”
Season 1, Episode 8
The final two episodes of season one are a masterclass in suspense; though the entire series feels a bit like a slow-burning candle, the end of the candle burns faster and with much more vigor, just like episodes 8 and 9 of season 1. In episode 8, “What’s For Dinner?” the group prepares for Dylan to turn on the overtime contingency, after he learns about the possibility from Milchick. The procedure allows the Innies to wake up in the outside world. After Dylan realizes how to do it, he stays behind to wake the group up while they’re outside.
This episode also gives insight into Ms. Casey, aka Gemma, who is presented to the Innies as a wellness psychologist. With her work at Wellness on the severed floor done, Cobel orders her return to the test floor, which is now understood better after season 2, episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo”. In “What’s For Dinner?” the excitement is high; it’s an episode full of anticipation, even causing some nervousness and anxiety with all the close calls, especially with Cobel watching and Dylan enacting his plan from the inside.
4
“Woe’s Hollow”
Season 2, Episode 4
In season 2, viewers started getting more answers, mainly about whether Helly had really returned, or if Helena was going undercover. It seems Irving had the same doubts, which is why in season 2, episode 4, “Woe’s Hollow,” he attempts to drown Helena so she can admit she’s been posing as Helly. The episode starts with a team-building exercise for the group, which Milchick calls ORTBO; they’re shown out to a frozen lake, and are made to hike through a frozen landscape until they reach Milchick and Miss Huang’s campsite. There, they roast marshmallows and tell stories, and Irving has terrifying dreams that seem to be premonitions of his future at Lumon.
With Irving actively endangering the life of a coworker, and, on top of that, the boss’ daughter, he’s terminated permanently and taken out of Lumon. That, of course, only applies to Innie Irving; luckily, John Turturro is still in the show. Helly returns, shellshocked, and Mark and Dylan aren’t sure if they can trust her. This episode had some pretty interesting hidden details, and it was a great venture into horror, too; with Irving’s dreams, the episode found its way through tension and gave an answer to one of the most important questions in season 2, which was Helly’s true identity on the severed floor.
3
“Defiant Jazz”
Season 1, Episode 7
In season 1, episode 7, “Defiant Jazz,” John Turturro was praised for a brilliant performance, though as the story progresses, each cast member defines themselves in different episodes. “Defiant Jazz” follows Mark making headway with Reghabi, who gives him clues and props to help him when he goes to work. Dylan is frustrated with Milchick, who caused an overtime contingency on him, forcing his Innie to see his Outie has a son; and Milchick rewards Helly with a Music Dance Experience for reaching a milestone. The experience consists of Helly picking a music genre that the group gets to dance to for 5 minutes.
With Milchick running a tight ship, it seems his motivations are a lot more focused on getting back at the refiners in small ways; his victories consist of tormenting them mentally, which culminates in Dylan in this episode. “Defiant Jazz” begins guiding viewers into the finale with small but significant moments, which are a culmination of the Innies becoming more defiant. The episode also highlights Tramell Tillman as a standout performer, giving his slightly sociopathic character Milchick a lot more importance for the rest of the show. “Defiant Jazz” is also memorable for the dance scene between Milchick and the group, which has been used in pop culture and memes since it was first aired.
2
“Chikhai Bardo”
Season 2, Episode 7
The most recent Severance episode is called “Chikhai Bardo,” which Gemma explains to be ego death; bardo is a Buddhist concept of a liminal state between death and rebirth, consisting of six stages, and chikhai bardo is the fourth stage, signifying the beginning of death. The episode mostly consists of the flashbacks of Mark and Gemma’s relationship; it was love at first sight, and they were genuinely happy, but Gemma’s psyche begins to falter when she experiences difficulties with conceiving. It also shows Gemma being alive and living as pretty much a test subject in Lumon, visiting different rooms and becoming severed, and a different personality in each.
Dichen Lachman’s performance as Gemma in this episode is stunning; she portrays Gemma as charming, sensitive, and kind, but tormented by her inability to conceive. She also hops into more innocent and childlike depictions of her Innies, especially when she asks her supervisor, Mauer (Robby Benson), to skip the dentist appointment for the day. Adam Scott and Lachman also have beautiful chemistry, and their love is depicted as genuine and strong, despite strains. “Chikhai Bardo” gave viewers all the necessary answers about Gemma, making them care for her and understand Mark more.
1
“The We We Are”
Season 1, Episode 9
The best Severance episode remains the season one finale, “The We We Are.” Until we get to see the final episode of season two, the first season finale remains unparalleled in tension. There are few revelations and a lot more cliffhangers, posing questions for the next season, giving the opportunity to answer them. In this episode, Dylan has activated the overtime contingency, awakening Mark, Helly, and Irving’s Innies in their Outies’ worlds. Mark realizes Harmony Cobel is posing as his Outie’s neighbor, Mrs. Selvig; he also sees a photo of Gemma, realizing she’s Ms. Casey from Wellness, telling his sister “She’s alive!”
Helly realizes she’s Helena Eagan, and gives a speech about Innies before being interrupted; Innie Irving visits Burt, but sees he’s already in a relationship. The entire episode runs pretty quickly because a lot happens, but it’s tense and feels like a race against time; the Innies don’t have much to understand their Outies, and the more time passes, the suspense increases. Before Milchick and Cobel can catch the Innies, they have to figure out who they are and why they’re at Lumon. A great end to a season is great, but this episode gave viewers one of the most exciting and brilliant season finales ever.
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