‘Severance’ Season 2, Episode 10 Review

So, after ten episodes the second season of ‘Severance’ has come to an end in a suitably wacky, weird, and unsettling way, and we finally get some of the answers we’ve been desperate for.

With time running out, Mark tries to reason with his innie to rescue Gemma from Lumon, but it’s not so easy. While they might not be completely different people, they still have their own personalities, their own lives, and their own loves, and they aren’t willing to give that up so easily.

This episode felt like a return to form after several episodes where things have been up in the air. The innies are really the heart of the show, as they are deep in the action, and also provide for the most interesting scenes, during their “unique” activities at Lumon, something that this episode brings back. Milchik once again gets to show off his dance moves in a celebration for Mark Finishing the Cold Harbor file.

We also get the answers to some long standing questions, or at least part of the answer. The mystery boxes might have been opened but that doesn’t mean everything’s been taken out of them for us to see. As it is, some of the answers are what most fans guessed, or are a bit underwhelming. The goats are simply a sacrifice to the godlike figure of Keir Eagan, which seemed likely right from the start, given how he’s revered. As for why Gemma is being kept there, that isn’t quite clear. It seems she didn’t go there of her own will, but what exactly have they been doing, except making multiple severed personalities for her, and why was it necessary to use her for that?

These are things that need to be answered in season three, which has been confirmed, along with the obligatory cliffhanger finale, which leaves everything up in the air, not least now that the company is collapsing around them, and the management don’t have control anymore.

There were quite a few conveniences to get us here, like Dylan returning just when he was needed, or the band turning against Milchik on a dime, but I think it managed to pull things together for the most part. It had the right amount of dark comedy to make it more like season one, and the scenes with Mark’s innie and outie “talking” provided some good moments.

I do think that this season has been a downgrade from the first, though. It’s been unfocused, with too many plotlines that come from nowhere and go to nowhere. Is that it for Burt and Irv, or will we see them again? What was the point of Ms. Huang when she did very little? These threads weren’t really tied up well enough to leave them there, yet they don’t leave any obvious slack for future seasons to pick up.

I think it’s one product of the mystery box format, that there will always be problems when it comes to providing answers. But even so, this was still a satisfying conclusion to the season by itself, that leaves plenty for season three to get stuck in, and if that can raise things to the level of season one, then so much the better.