Severance

[Jex]

I don’t know, innie Mark choosing to stick around after the death battle with Mr Drummond didn’t sit right with me, he’s no longer useful to Lumon and they don’t mind killing him. High time preference behaviour. There’s probably plenty of things that I missed though, like It didn’t click that Burt was an assassin until the person I was watching it with pointed it out to me. It was alright, hopefully season 3 doesn’t take as long to release as season 2 did.

 

[The Repeated Meme]

The ending was kinda baffling to me as well, but with that said, I still really enjoyed it, and it left me curious for the next season, which was their goal, of course.

 

[Yours Truly 2095]

I’m just glad they didn’t pull the “finish Cold Harbor and cut to black” or “reach the testing floor and cut to black” shit that I was expecting. That’s a positive, I guess.

I will say I’m having a good laugh at the retards who had all these elaborate theories about what Cold Harbor was and turned out it was just Gemma taking apart a crib.

However, we absolutely did not need ten episodes to reach this point. So much of this season was pointless.

I thought they'd end at Mark not making a decision between leaving or staying. In case a season 3 didn't happen. Kinda surprised at the choice they made. innie mark is dead no matter what. Either he didn't keep his deal and outie Mark never let's him live again or he is just killed by Lumon which is more likely. Unsure what season 3s entire premise will even be. I forsee some twist where somehow innie mark and innie Helly are the ones who end up outside and not their outies. Effectively killing their outies.

Also did I miss something about the kid? Anymore about that?

 

[HelpingNoone]

This Rolling Stone article shows they clearly don't know what they are doing.

Was there a version of this season where you thought of having the reintegration work? We discussed a couple of different versions of it. Yes, we could have taken it further. Ultimately, though, there were interesting things to explore along the way of that process, and we wanted to give that its due time.

So that leads into the question of pacing...[bunch of unrelated stuff].... On the other hand, Mark begins the reintegration process at the end of the third episode, and it still hasn’t worked by the time of the finale. How do you balance pacing these various arcs over the course of a season? With Mark, we leave him in this place now, where he’s having these flashes between his innie and outie life, he’s not fully reintegrated, but he’s getting these glimpses, and that makes him different from any other severed person on the show. We ultimately want to just live in that world for a while, and that wasn’t was something we decided not to resolve this season.

When you get ready to write something like the scene where Helly and Mark meet the goat people, or come up with the idea that there is a severed marching band, how much do you feel you need to work out the explanation for it, even if it’s never explained on the show itself?
We oftentimes lead with crazy. We’ll put something in there because it tickles us and makes us excited. Something that would throw us off if we were watching the show. But that is immediately followed up with, “OK, can we justify it within this show?”

 

[Hijo de D. Woodchucks Jr.]

>We ultimately want to just live in that world for a while, and that wasn’t was something we decided not to resolve this season.
Translation: We baited for a Season 3 and it happened.

>We oftentimes lead with crazy. We’ll put something in there because it tickles us and makes us excited. Something that would throw us off if we were watching the show. But that is immediately followed up with, “OK, can we justify it within this show?
Translation: LUL random XD

I am so glad I didn't watch this shit, the crash and burn during S3 is going to be magical.

 

[Quijibo69]

I am so glad I didn't watch this shit, the crash and burn during S3 is going to be magical.

If they add magic to the show that would crash and burn it.

 

[Commander X]

All of a sudden there's a lot of talk about Severance and how it is "brilliant", I've never actually watched the show, but the clips I've seen people posting with claims as to how the show is "smart" and "genius" make me glad I've never bothered to watch an episode.

I'll probably never watch it but I always got weird vibes from the whole of Apple TV+, feels very sterile and like it shouldn’t exist. It's just fifty shows that have five seasons and several prestige actors in their casts, that are these weirdly glossy fake-looking shows you've never heard of. Along with films with $200+ million budgets starring the likes of Tom Hanks that no one has heard of or seen.

 

[TheHarbinger]

All of a sudden there's a lot of talk about Severance and how it is "brilliant", I've never actually watched the show, but the clips I've seen people posting with claims as to how the show is "smart" and "genius" make me glad I've never bothered to watch an episode.

This is how modern shows get into the mainstream. Through endless astroturfing. Every year you'll hear about the next big thing like Shogun, The Bear, or Last of Us. Right now there is some Netflix show called 'Adolescence' that is being spammed on every single website and social media site and forum as if watching the show can cure your ails and sicknesses. It will win all of the awards and all of the writers and actors will get big parts for the next few years before likely fading into obscurity.

Severance is the same. It's the next Lost or other big mystery box show. Where the writers just make up thing as they go, GRRM style, with no planning or idea what they are doing. Then the production company spams the media with things like "Severance is pure genius". "You can't miss the show of the decade". "The best mysteries on television". "Apple+ is the future of storytelling". "My Apple+ subscription saved my marriage". "Trans queer theory in Severance and other popular shows". "Severance has all the drip no cap".

I'll probably never watch it but I always got weird vibes from the whole of Apple TV+, feels very sterile and like it shouldn’t exist. It's just fifty shows that have five seasons and several prestige actors in their casts, that are these weirdly glossy fake-looking shows you've never heard of. Along with films with $200+ million budgets starring the likes of Tom Hanks that no one has heard of or seen.

It's soulless corporate product. Not art. You're not missing anything.

 

[Google.com]

I'll probably never watch it but I always got weird vibes from the whole of Apple TV+,

I actually disagree I generally pirate everything but I liked the Apple TV shows enough for it to be my only streaming subscription.

For All Man Kind is my favorite show that's still in production and probably up there in my all time favorites.

I loved Hello Tomorrow but it didn't get renewed sadly. The whole 50s-60s scifi style was really cool to see explored.

Silo is pretty good as well enjoyed that one a lot, Season 2 was a bit slower like severance but it picked up at the end for sure.

I enjoyed Five days at Memorial(No idea how historically accurate this is and don't care either way) and I have to give them big credit for not going the lazy Netflix docuseries route and filming it entirely in character.

There was another one about some super space empire that was highly recommended to me. I could definitely see the appeal but the whole Dust sorta style of sci-fi isn't really my thing so I didn't stick with it. Though I could tell a lot of effort was put into it for sure.

The one with the blind people was also a miss for me I don't like that one or get the appeal. It's just blind tribalists walking around in the forest.

Others I'm still trying.

I wouldnt call it bland I think out of all of the streaming services they are more experimental. Netflix just produces pure garbage based on metrics and how fast they can shit it out. Amazon just buys other shows or partners with existing IPs, Hulu doesn't do shit, Paramount plus is a joke. But apple TV tends to make their own stuff and more importantly actually renews them and continues series.

 

[Commander X]

Severance and Ted Lasso are the only Apple TV+ shows I've ever heard anyone mention, which is especially funny because they have shows headlined by Vince Vaughn, George Clooney, and other big name stars, plus those giant budget movies they've put together for tax write-offs. Zero traction or pop cultural impact. I wonder what it's like dedicating a year or more of your life to taking part in producing "virtually indistinguishable from AI-generated material" content that no one watches.

The problem with a lot of streaming service "originals" these days, is that more and more the producers make shows that don't feature any real storytelling, it's just supposed to be background noise with a visual element, where every narrative step should be so basic, so simplified that you can understand what is happening even when you're barely watching.

Former actress Justine Bateman, whose gotten into directing and producing addressed this in a podcast interview

I’ve heard from showrunners who are given notes from the streamers that “This isn’t second screen enough.” Meaning, the viewer’s primary screen is their phone and the laptop and they don’t want anything on your show to distract them from their primary screen because if they get distracted, they might look up, be confused, and go turn it off. I heard somebody use this term before: they want a “visual muzak.”

 

[MilkThePig]

Finally got around to watching the finale and that was utter shite, just like the rest of the season. I'm legitimately baffled at how people can still be enjoying this show. This entire season has been completely pointless and none of the things they set up in season 1 have gone anywhere. The Mark reintegration plot point is almost like it never even happened. Like what was even the point of making such a big thing of that and then making it so the two versions of himself are still having a conversation through camcorder like they're two totally separate people in the final episode?

I'm totally convinced this show is being astroturfed online too. Nothing else makes sense for how much over the top praise it seems to be getting from almost everyone.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

Severance is the same. It's the next Lost or other big mystery box show. Where the writers just make up thing as they go, GRRM style, with no planning or idea what they are doing. Then the production company spams the media with things like "Severance is pure genius". "You can't miss the show of the decade". "The best mysteries on television".

exactly, gun to the head how many shows that have come out in the last 10 years do people still care about? outside of stranger things the answer is fuck all. no one is "rediscovering" Narcos or whatever the fuck the way they do shitty cable shows like Suits or burn notice. Shows that people actively joked about being garbage.

For All Man Kind is my favorite show that's still in production and probably up there in my all time favorites.

you should check the kiwifarms thread here, people tear the show a new asshole.

 

[Google.com]

exactly, gun to the head how many shows that have come out in the last 10 years do people still care about?

For me I enjoyed those couple, outside of apple TV I enjoyed that HBO Chernobyl mini series, and expanse was pretty enjoyable. I do agree that shows are a lot shittier in the past decade but I still like some of the stuff streaming services put out. So far in my opinion I've enjoyed more apple TV shows then any other streaming services offerings that's all I'm saying.

you should check the kiwifarms thread here, people tear the show a new asshole.

Which one?

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

For me I enjoyed those couple, outside of apple TV I enjoyed that HBO Chernobyl mini series, and expanse was pretty enjoyable. I do agree that shows are a lot shittier in the past decade but I still like some of the stuff streaming services put out. So far in my opinion I've enjoyed more apple TV shows then any other streaming services offerings that's all I'm saying.



Which one?

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/for-all-mankind-woke-alt-history-tv-show.173513/

 

[The Gene Genie]

I was more interested when the Lumen was doing something mysterious and it had this strange banality to it. Making it, essentially, all about the Asian wife is confusing. What was Mark doing for two years? And what was everyone else doing? Or the other branches? Why is the Asian so significant if they’ve got other people, other locations? The show almost makes it seem like the whole thing was set up entirely for her, but why? This isn’t satisfyingly explained and honestly I have little hopes of a Mystery Box TV Show to deliver on those kinds of questions from the previous season, especially since the main thread is the will-they-won’t-they-survive.

And honestly that part is the least favorite of the whole show. Christopher Walken and the other guy fagging it up was better than them.

 

[MilkThePig]

What was Mark doing for two years? And what was everyone else doing? Or the other branches? Why is the Asian so significant if they’ve got other people, other locations? The show almost makes it seem like the whole thing was set up entirely for her, but why? This isn’t satisfyingly explained and honestly I have little hopes of a Mystery Box TV Show to deliver on those kinds of questions from the previous season, especially since the main thread is the will-they-won’t-they-survive.

This is what confuses me so much about why people are still so enamored with the show. How can it be two full seasons in and the audience has still been given almost no answers to the most fundamental questions the show sets up from the beginning. So Mark's whole job is to create new personas for his wife that she plays out inside Lumen? Fucking why? You can't just set something that out there up and provide no explanation for it. Although apparently you can and people will stay clap like seals and say "best finale ever!"

 

[The Gene Genie]

This is what confuses me so much about why people are still so enamored with the show. How can it be two full seasons in and the audience has still been given almost no answers to the most fundamental questions the show sets up from the beginning. So Mark's whole job is to create new personas for his wife that she plays out inside Lumen? Fucking why? You can't just set something that out there up and provide no explanation for it. Although apparently you can and people will stay clap like seals and say "best finale ever!"

I think what bothers me is that it’s totally inconsistent and not set up from the start. If it was implied from the beginning that this whole thing was for the “benefit” of Miss Casey/Gemma, with the location shown on screen as the company’s only location with no other grand schemes being pointed to, then it could’ve worked. It would’ve even been interesting. But instead they crafted this huge corporation, with international presence, which has senators on its payroll and massive media influencing campaigns, and it’s all set up for one guy to rip out the emotional subconscious of his wife that he thought died?

And then instead of delivering on that, his innie turns and runs towards certain death for what? And the show wants me to be sympathetic to them too.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

I *think* the idea with Gemma is that Lumon was using her to perfect the severance procedure, specifically that there's no bleed through of emotions and memories between the outie and the innie personas. Hence her final test in Cold Harbor being building a crib, something they set up as a traumatic memory for her earlier in the season, and thus why the Lumon employees who were watching it being happy that she seemed to have no reaction to it.

But, yeah, it just raises a ton of other questions, like what makes Mark and Gemma so special that they faked her death (though they sorta hint at a set up here, with past Gemma having done that test with the cards), how the whole 'deleting memories' thing via the numbers actually works, and what purpose 99% of the other employees serve on the severance floor.

 

[HelpingNoone]

This kind of just dawned on me; but Severance is just Being John Malkovich but shitty.

Weird company with unexplainable practices.

Messing with personas and talking about the enigmatic founder rising.

 

[urr13 account]

Season 1 was better overall.

I think some of the developments of season 2 (Cobel invented severance) were a bit too convenient and it feels like they dropped some of the plot lines from season 1 / early season 2 (Irving working with someone mysterious on the outside to get info on lumen, possibly an anti-lumen journalist or rival corporation).

The world of the show felt a lot smaller in season 2 as well.

I still enjoyed it and think that the filmmaking on display is very good, Ben Stiller is a good director, and the character stuff generally worked.

Weird company with unexplainable practices.

Messing with personas and talking about the enigmatic founder rising.

That's pretty broad and could apply to a lot of shit, you can also draw parallels between severance and zoolander. Or between any movie and any other movie.