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

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Overwhelmed and overwhelmingly pleased with 2.01. I've just let it marinate and will watch again today to gather some focus. Agree with a lot of NYC's list above.
* Helly on the inside appears to me to be faking (is holding her outie mind while inside), and faking a lot else. I don't understand her transformation --earlier as Helena at the promo Gala last season wanting to pull down the pillars of the whole temple of Lumen--now playing, I guess, a kind of "spy." The better to disrupt later? Did the old guy's sad sack routine at the Gala work on her in some way?

* I don't understand the benefit to the game of replacing the original crew back, after kicking them, on Mark S's "needs," then after he keeps going rogue, replacing Mark S. back instantly (for his perspective) after kicking him. Do we get to see his or the others outie timeline during these Lumen games? Milchick is lying about the time gap.

* There's a line of speculation on the internets that what they all do at the PCs is intuitively shuffle numbers to somehow create (re-?)a conscious mind. I don't know what that means, so... That they feel something somehow positive when succeeding in little bits (accidentally literal there) implies something in that direction. Not on board with that, but Mark feels something good with unknown success at it. Are they trying to reconstruct specific deceased minds, like his wife on the outside? Ms Casey's face and 68% (success?) show up on somebody's screen at the time of his success. Wow.

This episode was baseline epic-great with last season, and with keeping same level interest on mysteries, and keeping them coming.
 
BTW, the opening following Mark through the baffling maze of white hallways to discover he ran straight to Wellness was tremendous. I noticed rewatching the first season this week how effectively the subvert expectations of movement in hallway scenes — a guy comes through and intersection and you expect them to turn and run toward the camera but they do the opposite, etc. just so much attention to detail and craft down to the micro level.
 
I couldn't tell if helly was mortified of who she is or what. Season 1 didn't make it seem she was really unsevered.... So I feel it's embarrassment and thinking they won't trust her

Huang is creepy

Tramell Tillman needs an damn Emmy. Dude can act his ass off. And it's a lot of ass at that
 
I'm not following any of this but I still want to watch it. Liked the Ben Stiller cameo..
 
Because I am slow and borderline senile, everytime I see this thread title, I think it is about someone asking if it is OK to accept a "handshake" agreement on the amount of the severance payment s/he has negotiated with her/his soon to be former employer. And part of me wants to scream, "NNNOOOOOO!"
 
an0maly said:
Overwhelmed and overwhelmingly pleased with 2.01. I've just let it marinate and will watch again today to gather some focus. Agree with a lot of NYC's list above.
* Helly on the inside appears to me to be faking (is holding her outie mind while inside), and faking a lot else. I don't understand her transformation --earlier as Helena at the promo Gala last season wanting to pull down the pillars of the whole temple of Lumen--now playing, I guess, a kind of "spy." The better to disrupt later? Did the old guy's sad sack routine at the Gala work on her in some way?

* I don't understand the benefit to the game of replacing the original crew back, after kicking them, on Mark S's "needs," then after he keeps going rogue, replacing Mark S. back instantly (for his perspective) after kicking him. Do we get to see his or the others outie timeline during these Lumen games? Milchick is lying about the time gap.

* There's a line of speculation on the internets that what they all do at the PCs is intuitively shuffle numbers to somehow create (re-?)a conscious mind. I don't know what that means, so... That they feel something somehow positive when succeeding in little bits (accidentally literal there) implies something in that direction. Not on board with that, but Mark feels something good with unknown success at it. Are they trying to reconstruct specific deceased minds, like his wife on the outside? Ms Casey's face and 68% (success?) show up on somebody's screen at the time of his success. Wow.

This episode was baseline epic-great with last season, and with keeping same level interest on mysteries, and keeping them coming.
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There's a theory the mind they are reconstructing is either Kier's and or Gemma's. Its possible Gemma is really dead but Ms Casey is an experiment to bring Gemma back to life. That's why she has to go down to the testing floor (cold storage?) while they keep working on it. And the end goal is bringing Kier back to life after they get good at it.
 
an0maly said:
* Helly on the inside appears to me to be faking (is holding her outie mind while inside), and faking a lot else. I don't understand her transformation --earlier as Helena at the promo Gala last season wanting to pull down the pillars of the whole temple of Lumen--now playing, I guess, a kind of "spy." The better to disrupt later? Did the old guy's sad sack routine at the Gala work on her in some way?
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imo, Helly is shocked, scared, embarrassed by her outtie and she's afraid to tell the group that Helena is part of Lumon. Would they still trust her if she did tell them? Maybe, maybe not.
 
chawkheel said:
imo, Helly is shocked, scared, embarrassed by her outtie and she's afraid to tell the group that Helena is part of Lumon. Would they still trust her if she did tell them? Maybe, maybe not.
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Yes, it explains the "guard up" pose with either situation, but say it's Helly in this episode--she has learned far more than the others in the brief foray to the other life. The threat of Lumen is qualitatively worse, it would seem. This episode also raises and forefronts the idea that "quitting" or being kicked out permanently is a kind of murder and or death of a person, if they leave and never go back as the innie. Irving felt (earlier) that Burt's retirement was for both Irving and Burt, Burt's death. Totally for Irving, and for the innie version for Burt. This conception of, innie death is morally, factually, a real death, now drives the deeper horror of the show. It explains why things like coffee, waffles, balloons, and a stupid dance party are so huge--intended to be--for innies. Because they don't know the bigger joys of the outside world.

This video just dropped and seems to me above others for some insights:

 
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The last scene of this episode was intense

The whole damn episode has like 200 total words and it's just sinister
 
Milk and Cookies said:
Who thinks Helly's outie is now impersonating Helly with the other innies?
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I was wondering that, although the look on her face as she was about to go up the elevator suggested she was very afraid, which also made me wonder if she was afraid to be innie Helly again.
 
Milk and Cookies said:
Who thinks Helly's outie is now impersonating Helly with the other innies?
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The producers definitely want us to keep guessing.

I still think it's Helly.

The way Drummond reluctantly looked at Helena when he told Milchick they're giving Mark everything he wanted, including Helly R and the way Helena looked down at the table. Also, the way Helena kept rewinding the secruity footage of Helly and Mark kissing, almost envious of her innie feeling love.

Add that to last week's episode, when Helly seemingly had a viseral reaction to Mark's suggestion that the innies and outties were kinda the same while talking about rescuing Ms. Casey.

Just feels like it's Helly, imo.
 
Milk and Cookies said:
Who thinks Helly's outie is now impersonating Helly with the other innies?
Click to expand...
I do and did think that earlier, when I typed "spy" above,
chawkheel said:
The producers definitely want us to keep guessing.

I still think it's Helly.

The way Drummond reluctantly looked at Helena when he told Milchick they're giving Mark everything he wanted, including Helly R and the way Helena looked down at the table. Also, the way Helena kept rewinding the secruity footage of Helly and Mark kissing, almost envious of her innie feeling love.

Add that to last week's episode, when Helly seemingly had a viseral reaction to Mark's suggestion that the innies and outties were kinda the same while talking about rescuing Ms. Casey.

Just feels like it's Helly, imo.
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There's an old visual tactic in filmmaking, where you track the camera out while you zoom in, for a bizarre visual effect (example in Jaws when Chief Brody is at the beach and realizes another shark attack is happening), and Severance has been doing when outies are becoming inies in the elevator (or the reverse). A consistent visual signifier they are transforming. Near the end of this one, another stunning, brilliant episode, we are not shown this technique effect when Helena goes in. So yes, they are being very cagey about what is going on. Earlier I used the word "spy" about the idea of Helena pretending to be an innie. But the way she watches the kiss is both strange and has huge meaning of some sort.

On both the outside and the inside Mark is willing to joust with those in power, and the ending of 2.02 suggests he will definitely follow the white rabbit --VW... The new opening animation suggests it crashes into ice {?}.

I need to think about so very much going on this episode.
 
Just watched it. Starting to wonder if Irv is unsevered now?

Can’t tell about Helly — in S2.1, she hesitated before returning Mark’s hug. She also had to feel around for the power switch to start up her console (the other three didn’t effortlessly and without looking). Two things that point to outie Helena. Then in this episode the way she watches the video easily could have been prep to be fake Helly if needed.

Even Helly’s angry response when Mark suggested that innies and outies are the same could be genuine but reverse — she clearly hates her innie (as does her weirdo father?). All Helena wants is to make sure Mark solves the Cold Harbor board he has been assigned (name of the game board the show posted on their web site as an Easter egg. It was weirdly fun to play at looking for scary numbers, LOL. I was sad you only get to play it once, though maybe I should check again — maybe something new each episode?). I think she was severed but is not now.

So I am leaning spy.

I was surprised they returned so soon — I thought the 5 months was BS but somehow didn’t consider Mark came back next work day.

Who knows what’s up with Cobel/Selvig.

Milkshake has a nice motorcycle.

Didn’t expect Christopher Walken to be spying on Irv.
 
Ohhh yeah maybe she's unsevered now? Or they don't turn on the switch device for her now?
 
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