The long-awaited second season of AppleTV+ hit Severance is absolutely worth the long wait. It keeps you hooked with its mind-bending twists, constantly leaving you with more questions while following employees at Lumon, a company where their work (innie) lives and normal (outie) lives are kept severed.
Season 2 expands on the world established in season 1, diving deeper into the characters and giving us more insight into their outie lives. Adam Scott and Britt Lower shine as Mark and Helly, while John Turturro and Zach Cherry continue to provide standout performances as Irving and Dylan. In the Season 1 finale, we discovered that Helly’s outie, Helena Eagan, is a descendant of Lumon’s founder and godlike figure, Kier Eagan, and is basically in charge of the company. When Helly comes back to the office, she seems... off.
Five months after season 1, we still don’t have a clear idea of what Lumon Industries is up to, but we’re getting closer to understanding just how controlling they really are. Mark’s still searching for answers about his wife and returns to work before his old colleagues do. Season 2 works so well by digging deeper into the gap between each character’s innie and outie, and shedding light on why anyone would choose to go through the severance process in the first place.
Lumon’s trying to appear more progressive with new HR measures that supposedly promote accountability, but things haven't changed much. Mark, Irving, Helly, and Burt are still in the Macrodata Refinement office, staring at computers and sorting numbers that stir up emotions for reasons no one can explain. Meanwhile, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) is now running the severed floor, taking over from Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), with a new assistant manager, Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock). Ms. Huang looks to be a young teenager, though we still don’t know why.
The team behind the show, including creator Dan Erickson and executive producer Ben Stiller, have crafted a weird world of corporate culture and jargon that feels familiar to anyone who's worked in an office. Set in a place full of long white hallways and glowing workspaces, they’ve woven in a thrilling mystery that’s slowly revealing the pieces of the puzzle along the way.
What’s most impressive is that Season 2 proves Severance knows how to expand the story while keeping its core mysteries intact. It’s one of those rare shows that feels both totally unpredictable and carefully planned at the same time. It's very early, but this is without a doubt one of the best shows of the year.
Severance season 2 releases weekly on AppleTV+.
