A thoroughly disconcerting -- and therefore, excellent, because that's what it's supposed to be -- episode 2.1 of Severance, the return of this cuttingly bizarre series on Apple TV+.
First, I really enjoyed the long opening sequence of Mark S. running through the severed hall at the opening of this episode. It was on the extended trailer which I watched a good couple of times, and I enjoy more every time I see it. In part because it reminds me of the halls on the ground floor (I think) of CBS on 57th Street in Manhattan -- I was watching a debate (on TV) there between John Kerry and George W. Bush in the 2004 election, that I was supposed to comment on -- and I stepped out for a moment to get a sip of water, walked down a hall and around to find a fountain I thought I saw when I was coming in, and it took me way too long to get back to the room with the debate. It also reminds me of some hallways in hospitals, which makes it even more unlikely that I liked it Severance 2.1, though I very much did.
[Now there might be a spoiler of two ahead ... ]
As to the story, it was nice and funny seeing Mark S. in a severed room with a new team, including a new old guy (played by Bob Balaban) named Mark W. -- which is why I'm calling our innie Mark S., because you never know, especially in a series like this, when a character like Mark W. will come back. (Actually, that applies to any and all of the characters in this series.)
But it was reassuring to see our Mark reunited with his innie team, and also reassuring to see how much Milchick -- aka Milk Shake -- lies all the time. In fact, it struck me that Severance from the very beginning was a series about the ultimate fake news, about news so fake, it's about your very self and being, split into two, with one not knowing what the other is doing. That's why notes passed back and forth between the inside and the outside hold such power.
And it was good to see Miss Huang, a new character, in the series. She clearly has a lot of importance, and at this point it's possible that she may be running the show. "And a child shall lead them" may be a central part of the story this season.
I'm off to watch the next episode of another great series, but I'll see you back here next week with my review Severance 2.2
See also Severance 1.1-1.2: Erving Goffman Meets The Prisoner ... Severance 1.3: The History and the Neighbor ... Severance 1.4: Deadly Ambiguity ... Severance 1.5: Second Lives ... Severance 1.6: Lumon on the Outside ... Severance 1.7: Overtime Contingency ... Severance 1.8: Fired, Kissed, Almost Fired ... Severance: Season One Finale: Stunning Revelations
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