"Severance" Thread ; "You ready to man the vat for ten hours?"

  • Thread starter Thread starter an0maly
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies: 147
  • Views: 3K
  • Off-Topic 
I am GROWing my own conspiracy theory that Lumon knows of Regahbi's project of reintegration of Mark, and they have a new curiosity if this is possible. I am not convinced at all; just examining this wild notion as a possibility. If he goes to the hospital they gain control of him, as shown with Gemma. I wonder if Mark Scott is captured in this way, and if Gemma and seeing her is held out as motivation to do what they say, as innie Dylan is cooperative to keep getting his romantic time with his outie wife.

Much focus of others is on clues about next week, which suggest death {~!~} or near death for Mark, given the title Chikhai Bardo. This video is one of the best on what that means, a Tibetan stage of death, and possible implications:

 
Horrific nightmare. Tragedy.

Well, that was about the saddest and most deeply disturbing episode of television I have ever seen. Also, this one told the story far more with images rather than words, very much in the style of Kubrick. The torture of Gemma is unspeakable (painful dentistry to fully test severance), and Robbie Benson as a modern Dr. Mengele is both inspired in the most twisted way, and unavoidably, slightly amusing. Also: he was utterly perfect in the role. A series that has been deeply bizarre has just turned into the depths of sorrow and horror, with all we are now given of Lumon's depravity.
 
an0maly said:
Horrific nightmare. Tragedy.

Well, that was about the saddest and most deeply disturbing episode of television I have ever seen. Also, this one told the story far more with images rather than words, very much in the style of Kubrick. The torture of Gemma is unspeakable (painful dentistry to fully test severance), and Robbie Benson as a modern Dr. Mengele is both inspired in the most twisted way, and unavoidably, slightly amusing. Also: he was utterly perfect in the role. A series that has been deeply bizarre has just turned into the depths of sorrow and horror, with all we are now given of Lumon's depravity.
Click to expand...
Saw this on Reddit. I am all in with this:

  • Theory is that the chips will be sold as a way to sever your mind during bad/annoying experiences (like turbulence, going to the dentist, writing thank you cards) and Gemma is the person they are testing this on and Mark is brought in to refine her chip as he knows her the best.
Also saw this "So it seems to me like Lumon is trying to create a severance chip that gets toggled on whenever someone experiences discomfort. This would give every outie a “perfect” life, where their tempers are always tamed.
Right now, Severance is an on/off thing. But what if they could put a test subject through negative situations, and then refined the data from the test subject to create a version of the chip that was triggered not by a location or on/off switch, but by the emotional temperament of the individual?"

Also, it's clear Lumon ran the IVF clinic she went to with Mark. And that's how she got targeted. Milkshake, Helena, all of them are complicit in torture. Maybe like Milkshake doesn't KNOW the details of her being down there, but he fully knows that she's this captive unavailable to leave. It will be hard to have a redemption arc for any of them after this episode.

They said he (weird doctor in love with her) won't see her again after she goes into Cold Harbor. Does she die in there? Does she drown? Or do they stop the testing and release some fucked up version of her into the wild?

There is something weird about Devon. She's way too attached to her brother. I mean lady where the hell is your kid??
 
Last edited:
I sincerely apologize for linking this perky freak (I'd kind of like to run him over with a steam roller {nerf steamroller}), but in this video he does examine all of the torture and sadness in this last episode. To reduce the perkiness nausea, you can lower the speed to .75.

 
The Mark and Gemma backstory was very enlightening. With Gemma definitely alive and seemingly aware of who she is and who Mark is to some degree, it also raises lots of questions about how she wound up as Lumon's guinea pig. Clearly Lumon was involved with the fertility clinic so that's part of it. Was she "resurrected" by Lumon technology after the car accident? Did she even die in the accident or was she whisked away to Lumon afterward. Was there really even a car accident? Did she wind up at Lumon by some other means, even her own choice? Also sets the viewer up to choose couples to root for - Innie Mark and Helly or outie Mark and Gemma.
 
She was kidnapped IMO

Lumon is clearly trying to sell a way to avoid all unpleasant experiences in life but if Cold Harbor is her drowning, then she's totally dead. Or is it near death? But the creepy guy can't see her again

I don't know why Gemma thought the elevator escape would work. She's gone in it dozens of times and knows it's a severance passage
 
Really liked this episode and though it had call-backs to several other sci-fi and weird fiction shows, but an intriguing one for me reminded me of Blade Runner the question to Gemma about being in a mudslide was very much like the empathy test questions asked in Blade Runner to determine whether someone was a person or a replicant. Also the focus on eyes reminded me of Blade Runner (and of course Lost).

Not sure what that means, if anything, but thought it was striking.

The strangely outdated computers/tech in Severance remind me of Blade Runner as well.

IMG_5328.webp
 
nycfan said:
Really liked this episode and though it had call-backs to several other sci-fi and weird fiction shows, but an intriguing one for me reminded me of Blade Runner the question to Gemma about being in a mudslide was very much like the empathy test questions asked in Blade Runner to determine whether someone was a person or a replicant. Also the focus on eyes reminded me of Blade Runner (and of course Lost).

Not sure what that means, if anything, but thought it was striking.

The strangely outdated computers/tech in Severance remind me of Blade Runner as well.

IMG_5328.webp
Click to expand...
Agreed on the above, but that eye shot double-references back to similar ones Kubrick created for the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Eyes were a big motif in that film (the leopard's; HAL is shown as Cyclops like eye; and in the "trip" sequence where Bowman is given all conceptual knowledge the coda visual metaphor in his own mind is we see his eye transform through various colors until the final one is flesh color.

~~~
On another note {pun alert}, above I wrote about the extreme strangeness of the music and how well it fits. Well there's a video for that. Even if you are not a musician or into music that much, I still think you will find this very intriguing:

 
Yeah that was 30 mins of "what the holy waste of fuck is this?" followed by about 7 minutes of OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So she's turning on Lumon (they said as much in the behind the scenes after the show). But is Devon aware of that or is Devon just stupid as hell? They love to end shows on cliffhangers. And the Eagens are all worse than imagined. I mean we knew they were bad but damn. So I guess the show really now becomes how to break Gemma out and end severance

But at least we know now why she said they fear her. They probably should.
(and is Sissy the aunt? I guess)
 
Incredible episode of television from beginning to end. That may be the best episode of the season. I think she is trying to claim her place as opposed to "turning on Lumon." I don't think she is with the "good guys" - she is certainly not on Mark's side.
 
p5mmr9 said:
Incredible episode of television from beginning to end. That may be the best episode of the season. I think she is trying to claim her place as opposed to "turning on Lumon." I don't think she is with the "good guys" - she is certainly not on Mark's side.
Click to expand...
Episode reminded me of the movie Frailty in its darkness and overtones of orthodoxy and zealotry.

It wasn’t my favorite episode, as the Cobel character feels overwritten/caricature-ish/overacted, but even when episodes don’t land for me, I’m still caught by the art direction, high strangeness, and air of sinister.
 
I have no problems with this episode, but it reveals and resets a lot of things so suddenly. Harmony's mother knew she is an unrewarded, unrecognized innovator for Lumon; the source of Harmony's constant anger and resentment is now obvious. Harmony's mother lived with a sister (the great Jane Alexander) who is the ultimate true believer. Mr. Frolic is apparently on the trail to kill Harmony Cobel now, so the secret seems massive and dangerous to Lumon, and to Helena's father. Harmony seems to accept that Mark Scott/Mark S (one person now) is a weapon for her goals--but how much damage does she want for Lumon now? Too much to process for now.
 
p5mmr9 said:
Incredible episode of television from beginning to end. That may be the best episode of the season. I think she is trying to claim her place as opposed to "turning on Lumon." I don't think she is with the "good guys" - she is certainly not on Mark's side.
Click to expand...
Well the director said, in the behind the scenes, that she's slowly turning on them, but that what she has planned is still unknown.

Interesting that you liked the episode overall - I mean the last 7 minutes was a wow moment, but most of it was so slow and drawn out...I am like "yeah enough pretty shots of the coast. get on with the damn story"
 
It was an interesting episode. Didn’t hate it and didn’t love it on its own, but may end up appreciating it as a piece of the story.

What was really interesting about it, however, is that it took us out of the claustrophobia-inducing bubble that the show keeps us in. The show is generally limited to the Lumon offices and the homes in which the outies live. We never really see a vast landscape, or anything close to that. Before last episode, virtually all of the cinematography has focused on a very contained mise en scene, with most scenes taking place inside confined rooms or immediately outside of the buildings the characters enter and exit. And most of the outdoor scenes take place at night when it’s dark, which further limits visibility beyond the focal point of the scene.
 
Icky Mettle said:
It was an interesting episode. Didn’t hate it and didn’t love it on its own, but may end up appreciating it as a piece of the story.

What was really interesting about it, however, is that it took us out of the claustrophobia-inducing bubble that the show keeps us in. The show is generally limited to the Lumon offices and the homes in which the outies live. We never really see a vast landscape, or anything close to that. Before last episode, virtually all of the cinematography has focused on a very contained mise en scene, with most scenes taking place inside confined rooms or immediately outside of the buildings the characters enter and exit. And most of the outdoor scenes take place at night when it’s dark, which further limits visibility beyond the focal point of the scene.
Click to expand...
Even though it was outside, it was a stark, harsh landscape. The ravaged, decrepit town illustrated the bleakness and destruction left behind in the wake of Lumon's toxic, all-consuming existence.
 
aGDevil2k said:
Well the director said, in the behind the scenes, that she's slowly turning on them, but that what she has planned is still unknown.

Interesting that you liked the episode overall - I mean the last 7 minutes was a wow moment, but most of it was so slow and drawn out...I am like "yeah enough pretty shots of the coast. get on with the damn story"
Click to expand...
The whole series is mostly "slow and drawn out" - it's a character study with a few big mystery boxes. This week's episode is filled with narrative, so I'm not sure how you could find it boring. It is compelling - well written - well acted - and beautifully shot. Maybe the lack of Mark and the other main characters is a turn off for you. I really do hate the weekly release schedule.
 
p5mmr9 said:
The whole series is mostly "slow and drawn out" - it's a character study with a few big mystery boxes. This week's episode is filled with narrative, so I'm not sure how you could find it boring. It is compelling - well written - well acted - and beautifully shot. Maybe the lack of Mark and the other main characters is a turn off for you. I really do hate the weekly release schedule.
Click to expand...
Reading online it feels split... Slight majority hated the episode and how it was really only 5 minutes of anything that mattered and then a slight minority loved it for the cinematography


I want the story. I don't care about pointless scenes of her driving around Newfoundland
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top