The first season of Severance was recently completed and explores a world in which people can really separate their work and personal lives. Thanks to a new procedure developed by Lumon Industries, people can divide themselves into two different types of selves. Mark lost his wife in a car crash and has struggled to work through the grief. For eight hours a day, why don't you forget the pain?
Mark works at Lumon, a place that makes your own office, no matter how bad it is. Mark likes it. Or thinks he likes it. We as viewers have some concerns. Is he doing all day for Lumon? There is a cult-like vibe everywhere. What happened to Petey? Why are people excited about waffle parties?
If you think this sounds like a corporate sci-fi dystopia, you are correct. The show is funny, absurd, depressing, mysterious, visually distinct, and propulsive. This is one of the best things we have seen so far in 2022. Here is why.
There are some minorspoilers below.
The trick Severance pulled was turning windowless offices, fluorescent lighting, corporate furniture, break rooms, staircases, elevators, and antiseptic white corridors into something that went from banal to menacing.
The banality is clear. Lumon workers are encouraged with ridiculous corporate activities like waffle parties and finger traps. Middle managers who never seem fully human are answered to by the workers. The food coming out of the vending machine is unappetizing. The team's collective work might be mysterious and important, as one character puts it, but this is an article of faith. The work looks like tedium to the viewer.
The menace is atop the banality. We meet Helly R. in a conference room, but one where she is locked in, lying on the table, and talking to a voice. There are hints of violence between the departments and we are treated to odd, cult-like sayings from the Handbook. A paper cutter can be used as a weapon. The company has a plan. The break room is not a good place to be. Severance is in a long line of corporate dystopias.
AdvertisementWe also feel an increasing sense of wonder. Lumon forbids its employees to map the labyrinthine basement. Why? We don't know. We follow our lovable Lumon loser team as they stray further than their caretakers allow. The team discovers new things. There are many more waiting to be revealed as they find other departments. They look at a strange Perpetuity Wing. The people of Lumon still respond to beauty when they find it, as evidenced by the Plant Room.
Our team begins to make connections between departments, between inner and outer selves, and between each other. A self-help book that makes it onto the severed floor is part of why people grow. Families, lovers, and children are important.
There is an office parody called Severance. It is a story of corporate evil. It's also a show about healing, empathy, new life, and emotional growth. The show's impact is peculiar because it is held all of these elements together.
Nate Anderson is a deputy editor.
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