Severance’s Season Two Cements itself as One of the Best Shows On Television

TW: Spoilers for severance season 1 and 2

The second season of Severance finally concluded on Thursday, March 20, which was an ending over 3 years in the making. After the first season ended on a cliffhanger in April of 2022, it took over three years for the second season to air.

The long wait was due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, an extensive writing process and a drive for perfection by the cast. 

Although grueling, the wait was worth it, as Severance’s second season delivered some of the best television currently on air or all time. Season two builds on what transpired in the previous season but also takes the show in fresh new directions. 

This season picks up immediately where season one ended. His innie rushes to the wellness center where Gemma used to work as the floor’s wellness counselor named Miss Casey. However when he gets there, the whole area is gone with no sight of Gemma.

The season now follows Mark as he has to find a way to save Gemma. Episodes four, seven and the finale is what truly sets apart this season.

In the fourth episode, “Woe’s Hollow” we follow the four as they embark on a “Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurrence” where they traverse the snow and learn about the history of Lumon.

At the end of the episode, we get one of the most shocking reveals of the whole show. Irving realizes that Helly has been her outie self the whole time. Ever since the start of the season, she has been her Egean self manipulating the rest of the team. 

Irving, realizing this, threatens to drown her to death if she doesn’t get turned back. However by doing this he effectively ends his life as an innie. 

In episode seven “Chikai Bardho”, we finally get answers as to what Lumon is doing to Gemma. She occupies a separate floor with different rooms each containing a different innie performing different tasks. 

Each room is named after a separate file that Mark has worked on in Macrodata Refinement. However, aside from seeing what is happening to Gemma at Lumon we also get flashbacks to Mark and Gemma’s relationship. The whole episode is beautifully shot with the episode being directed by the show’s cinematographer, Jessica Lee Gagné. 

Seeing Mark and Gemma’s relationship was really beautiful as up until now we only heard about their relationship, never actually seeing it. We learned how they were planning to have a child, but Gemma had a misscarriage. 

The season finale, “Cold Harbor” was the best episode of the series. With a total run time of one hour and fifteen minutes it was noticeably longer than every other episode in the series.

The episode starts with a conversation between innie and outie Mark at the birthing cabin, with each recording themselves on a video camera before switching to the other. 

The conversation between the two is jarring; outie Mark is trying to convince innie Mark to help save Gemma, but he is reluctant to. After Gemma is saved there would be no reason for outie Mark to go back to work essentially ending his life.

The innie’s have their own life, but throughout the series it is always looked down upon compared to the life of an outie. Innie Mark is being asked to prioritize his outie before himself even though he has his own life with his own relationship with Helly. Still, outie Mark decides to go to work where Helly is able to convince innie Mark to save Gemma. Innie Mark finally finishes Cold Harbor, which causes Mr. Milchick to come with a whole marching band to celebrate.

Helly is able to distract Milchick and lock him inside the bathroom allowing for Mark to escape. Mark finally gets to the room where they are holding Gemma, and we finally learn what Cold Harbor is.

It’s an experiment to see if the severed chip can hold against extremely powerful emotions. This was tested when Gemma was made to dismantle the same crib of her miscarried baby in the room. 

She was able to do so without any emotions showing that it worked, but Mark came in to save her. While all this is happening, Helly convinces the marching band to turn against Lumon starting a revolt on the floor.

The episode ends with Mark taking Gemma to the staircase allowing her to finally escape. Innie Mark however, decides not to go with her and instead lives his life on the severed floor with Helly.