As Lost viewers will surely remember, thrillers that rely on ambiguity tend to be all setup and no payoff. The mystery is so gripping that the eventual reveal can't help but disappoint.
That might be the future for Severance, but in Season 2 — or at least in the six episodes provided to critics — the series is still levelling up the mysteries introduced in Season 1, fleshing out the characters as creator Dan Erickson and primary director Ben Stiller dig deeper into the surreality and complicated interpersonal relationships of life at Lumon Industries.
After last season's jaw-dropping cliffhanger, when the essentially-imprisoned "innie" workers at Lumon broke out and discovered what their "outies" were up to, the four members of the Macrodata Refinement team are back on the severed floor, and now they're being placated with some special privileges to keep them in line. There are new snacks and even moments of contact with the outside world — and the latter perk grows increasingly complicated as all four of them end up in some sort of a love triangle involving innies and outies. Does it count as cheating if you're secretly involved with someone's innie and their outie?
Mark S. (Adam Scott) is piecing together information about whether his late wife is actually still alive, and he's becoming increasingly bold in trying to pass information between his innie and his outie. Meanwhile, the higher-ups are ever more insistent that Mark needs to continue doing whatever the hell "Macrodata Refinement" actually is and complete a project called "Cold Harbour."
Mark's search for answers pushes Severance down increasingly weird paths, with more goats and more fucked-up company rituals (not to mention an even more bizarre animated intro). At times, the creepiness borders on full-blown horror, with entire episodes devoted to specific side plots; an episode will take place entirely on the severed floor, while the next will highlight life on the outside, and another focuses solely on a team-building exercise. Apple TV+ will be dripping episodes out week-by-week, but the narrow focus of each episode — full of big swings that are unfailingly interesting but not always quite satisfying — gives them an addictive quality, and I was grateful to be able to blaze through them all within a few days.
There are a few new faces, with Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) playing small roles. But mostly, it's Tramell Tillman's performance as Mr. Milkchick that shines. Former floor boss Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) is on the outs at Lumon, and while her unhinged outbursts keep her as a memorable but minor presence, Milkchick has become the show's primary antagonist. Rarely has a performance conveyed wamrth with such insincerity, his unsettling benevolence occasionally giving way to brief outbursts of harsh cruelty. His stiffly formal language adds to the show's uncanny corporate mundanity, as he's deftly able to throw a normal conversation off-balance with a word like "bedelived."
Britt Lower brings similar nuance to her double role as Helly/Helena, playing both the corporate overlord and the helpless underling with an intensity that makes both selves simultaneously compelling but untrustworthy.
Severance has set up a lot of strange mysteries, and the first six episodes of Season 2 add more questions than they provide answers. But as the characters become more complex and the show's world gets even wackier, it's a thrill to be along for the ride, even if the destination is unclear.