Severance Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The You You Are
Mary Littlejohn
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Did you think Severance couldn’t get any bleaker?
Severance Season 1 Episode 4 marks the darkest turn yet in an already grim series.
Will things get better for the Lumon Innies, or could it possibly get worse?
It’s called the break room because that’s where they break you.
In an act of psychological torture, Helly read the compunction statement over a thousand times. But how can she mean it when she doesn’t even know what it means?
Helly heard a muffled angry voice, but Dylan mentioned that he heard a baby cry during his break room stint.
Could these voices be the people Petey mentioned in Severance Season 1 Episode 3, who exist in an undiscovered department? Or is that the hidden room behind Optics and Design (which we’ll get to later)?
Helly got creative coming up with new ways to get through to her Outie.
We’ve only seen Helly’s Outie briefly, so her casual cruelty was terrifying when she told Innie Helly she was not a real person. After that betrayal, Helly became oddly calm and made up her mind, taking matters into her own hands.
It was extremely upsetting to see her journey to the elevator, with the sinking feeling of knowing what she was about to do.
It can’t be the first time something like this has happened. It's odd that the powers that be wouldn’t be prepared for such an eventuality.
I could not, with a razor to my throat, be less interested in being your family.
Helly
Helly’s wasn’t the only upsetting and disturbing storyline. It turns out that Petey died from an “unknown ailment,” which we all know was reintegration sickness.
The coffin-robbing scene was hard to watch. Director Aoife McArdle let the camera linger abit longer than necessary when showing the drill going through Petey's skull.
If you want a hug, go to hell and find your mother.
Ms. Cobel
This was an extremely risky move for Cobel, and she’s lucky it worked out for her -- what would she have done had they not been playing a loud video clip of a Metallica song? What if the coffin were to be opened again?
What was so important about getting that chip? Is Petey the first to attempt reintegration -- or simply the first to whom they have access?
Mark also met June and Nina, Petey’s daughter and ex-wife. Once they established he was from Lumon, they expressed their disdain. Maybe when they are outside their immediate grief, they will realize that Mark shouldn't know June's name if he only knew Petey as an Innie.
Will June be part of the key to helping Mark solve the big Lumon mysteries? I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her.
Enter Sandman by Metallica was a brilliant choice for Petey and June’s jam video -- the lyrics are very apropos. Could this be a hint that a dream state is a place where the effects of severance are more tenuous?
Mark had better hope that Petey’s phone (assuming the phone was Petey’s) didn’t have a tracking device on it, and Mrs. Selvig/Cobel is going to have to be careful Mark never sees her near Lumon.
Adam Scott conveys depression well -- that bleary bewilderment and dull apathy with sudden bouts of profound grief.
On one hand, it’s great to see a comedic actor stretch his legs and show us his range in a dramatic role like this. But he’s almost too adept at it. Outie Mark’s state of emotional paralysis makes him frustratingly passive. Grief and depression are not pretty or glamorous. They are even-present and often monotonous.
What is the significance of the clay tree? Is this Outie Mark’s way of somehow getting through to Innie Mark, even subconsciously? After all, Outie Mark had a profound reaction to the tree where it appears his wife Gemma was killed.
Zach Cherry’s Dylan has a comedic energy that brightens every scene he’s in but manages to stay in keeping with the overall reserved feel of the show.
I like to imagine my Outie’s love made with a MILF or two, which is obviously badass, but I do pity the husbands.
Dylan
Every office has a Dylan. He’s got attitude and some anger issues (due to fierce Macrodata loyalty) and loves a good conspiracy theory, but he doesn’t seem as weighted down by it like the others. He’s good at his job and doesn’t let it get to him, for the most part.
It’s hard to know what’s going on with Burt and Irving, but it’s fascinating, and I’ll be curious to see what develops. Is it friendship or something more? The need for human connection is a powerful one.
These characters could come across as pathetic, but the yearning buried down beneath all the layers of Eagan dogma is there. There is passion in Irving, and he seems almost afraid of it. Even tote bags are exciting!
Both are repressed, but Burt appears to have more knowledge that he wants to impart, but he recognizes the danger. Burt offered a bit of hope, too, saying Eagan speaks to them in many ways.
And I shall whisper to ye dutiful through the ages. Your noblest thoughts and epiphanies shall be my voice. You are my mouth, and through ye, I will whisper on when I am ten centuries demised.
Burt (quoting the Lumon handbook)
This relationship illustrates how little things can mean so much to people who are deprived.
Irving finds joy in the art and words sanctioned by Lumon, but fears anything from the outside -- Ricken’s book, for example -- perhaps because he’s afraid of the feelings that it could spark within him.
Irving has found a way to love the scraps that Lumon provides him. His work family is his family, including Helly, and he cares deeply about all of them.
What is going on at Optics and Design, and why are there so many people there? They must be severed, too -- why else would they be on the severed floor? What are those machines they are working on?
Those broken eggs are starting to feel much more suspicious now. What does Lumon actually do? We might be closer to answers here.
Will Irving pry further or try to forget he ever saw anything?He hasn’t got much else going on, so the odds of him fixating on this until it gets the better of him are high. He may even share with Dylan or Mark what he saw.
This is why Ricken’s book was such a big deal -- especially since it was inscribed to Mark. Milchick will probably learn it is missing soon, and someone will get in trouble, but it was Ms. Cobel’s fault for bringing it in in the first place.
When your employees are starving, a morsel that is different from anything they’ve experienced will undoubtedly be appetizing.
What will the Macrodata team learn from this new contraband tome, and how will it affect how they feel about their current situation?
Rise up from your deathbed and sally forth, more perfect for the struggle.
Irving (quoting Kier Eagan)
On a meta level, Severance proves that the experience of watching the show is much like the characters’ experience living in the show -- it’s what you make of it.
Finding those little moments of humor and joy make it feel worth going through.
How are you feeling about it all, Fanatics?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn was a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic.
