Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search
Log-in Changes With Upcoming Upgrade

S02.E02: Goodbye Mrs. Selvig

SoMuchTV

By SoMuchTV
in Severance

  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

jacehan

jacehan

This definitely felt like the second half of what should have been a two-part premiere.

Huh, up until Dylan's interview I hadn't considered how hard it would be to escape Lumon's psuedo-slavery from the other side. This time it was because of "prejudice" (although that guy is right, it is abhorrent), but also even without that if you work as a severed employee for a long time, you basically have no actual job experience or skills.

 

  • Like 4
Kirbyrun

Kirbyrun

3 minutes ago, jacehan said:

This definitely felt like the second half of what should have been a two-part premiere.

Huh, up until Dylan's interview I hadn't considered how hard it would be to escape Lumon's psuedo-slavery from the other side. This time it was because of "prejudice" (although that guy is right, it is abhorrent), but also even without that if you work as a severed employee for a long time, you basically have no actual job experience or skills.

 

That's true! It also occurred to me that a severed employee might be considered one who isn't truly invested in his or her job. Like, "We want people who want to be here 100%, not dodging their jobs."

  • Like 2
dwmarch

dwmarch

That new opening title sequence is... intense. I had to skip it in the first season, my brain did not like it.

I'm glad we got to see what was going on with Helena so soon. I thought that was going to be held for somewhere around the end of the season.

Speaking of which, I haven't counted but I feel like we have seen almost as much of Helena as we have of Helly now.

Mark's outie was engaging in some strong denial there, insisting "SHE'S ALIVE!" meant the baby. Umm dude, no one thought the baby was dead.

Another entry in the Milchick-as-OJ-Simpson file: Milchick in a leather jacket riding around on a motorcycle terminating people. OJ Simpson was almost cast as the Terminator.

2 hours ago, jacehan said:

if you work as a severed employee for a long time, you basically have no actual job experience or skills.

Having said that, I have worked for a few employers who would absolutely be fully onboard with severance if it was a real thing.

  • Like 2
arc

arc

(edited)

Clearly the severance chip doesn't have a GPS tracker. Nor does it record information, or else Lumon could just read their memories instead of sending Milchick out to interview the innies.

Helena's apology video gets back to my objection to the twist back in season 1: it still makes no sense to have put Helly in MDR. They couild have put her in a less important role. They could have just put her in a fake job altogether on the severed floor. They could have let her go down there unsevered. Cobel and Milchick are unsevered, after all. Hell, if it was just for the photos, they could have staged some photo op pictures or video with paid actors or even actual severed workers and never had Helena/Helly spend a real working minute down there. As well, in Helena's first appearance as her outie in the show, Milchick didn't show the same level of deference that he did this time. He was excited she was undergoing severance, but he certainly didn't act like this was the dynastic scion.

The new title sequence is fantastic.

I like how outie Mark exercised a little wisdom and didn't spill the beans to Milchick.

That Great Doors job interview was surreal, and as soul-crushing as any job interview could be even before the summary rejection.

Mr Drummond has a "frolic" tattoo on his hand; "frolic" is one of the four tempers Kier Eagan named as the four fundamental factors of a personality. Also, his hair is weird and not unlike Helena's dad. Did the high level cultists adopt Kier's hairstyle too?

Also, why would Devon even want to meet Mark at Pip's? Isn't that a company diner? As the door company guy said, Lumon even makes their own doors in-house. (The show creators said in interviews for s1 that Lumon makes /everything/ in-house, which is why all the office supplies and computer terminals don't look like off the shelf items.) They gave Mark a coupon for Pip's in the pilot episode, and this town kinda seems like a Lumon company town too.

Mark has two fish living in one separated fish tank. How very very visual metaphor of him.

I don't think I've ever seen an entire episode of TV so dimly lit. My loose understanding of cinematography is that this kind of lighting is more work than staging a brightly lit scene, because you need juuuuust enough light to see what's going on while keeping everything else dark.

WHOA, outie Burt is keeping tabs on outie Irv???

Once again I am impressed at the attention to detail with the Lumon parking lot. Not a single car younger than like 1983, I bet. Is it CGI or all real?

OK, so it wasn't five months. And it kinda seems like Helena really does go back to being Helly on the severed floor, huh? I'm 55% sure that's Helly down there.

If Helena had to record an apology video, it feels like something's missing that the other outies -- esp Mark -- never considered what went down at the Lumon gala. Did it make the news or not?

Edited by arc
  • Like 1
jacehan

jacehan

1 hour ago, arc said:

I don't think I've ever seen an entire episode of TV so dimly lit. My loose understanding of cinematography is that this kind of lighting is more work than staging a brightly lit scene, because you need juuuuust enough light to see what's going on while keeping everything else dark.

It does seem like the outie stuff is lit "naturally" - mostly sunlight, which since it's winter is weak and bleak - perhaps to contrast it with the overly lit innie stuff.

  • Like 2
Affogato

Affogato

1 hour ago, jacehan said:

It does seem like the outie stuff is lit "naturally" - mostly sunlight, which since it's winter is weak and bleak - perhaps to contrast it with the overly lit innie stuff.

I really noticed how cold the outside world seemed this episode, not just winter or night time, but starkly lit. Irving in the phone booth, all of it, stark and almost black and white. 

  • Like 1
Affogato

Affogato

(edited)

“Fetid moppet”

i suspect most of the world doesn’t watch the apple product circuses and similar  it wouldn’t have been a huge media bomb, lumon can ‘manage’ it  

i loved Devon throwing the towel over the picture of Gemma and Mark. Their relationship is without price. 

In the phone booth:  ‘I want you to know my innie got your message.’
 

The innies are mirrors of the outies. Mark is bitter, angry and alone outside. Inside he is warm, caring, a leader. Dylan is as smart as two or three inside, a workplace powerhouse, and outside he has had no workplace success. Irving is a company man indide, at first a true believer, and outside appears to work against it. Hellie is warm and open and supportive inside, outside she is emotionally unavailable and isolated. 


What is or was …..5X? In Grand rapids, apparently. 
 

is cobel/selvig working for or against Lumon now? Probably for, but perhaps there is a schism. 
 

To Lumon ‘cold harbor’ is the important project. Mark and Gemma are the important bits. Hmmm?

Edited by Affogato
  • Like 2
ajsnaves

ajsnaves

During the last week I’d came down on the side that it was Helly, not Helena. They were just dropping too many hints, making it too obvious. After this episode, I’m not so sure. I think we’re supposed to believe that it’s Helly R. But I really need to see the elevator trip. 

If it is Helena down there, I’m not fully certain of her loyalty though. Same with Cobel. 
 

Finally, I agree with Dylan. Favorite door? Pocket. 

  • Like 2
ofmd

ofmd

(edited)

Aw, I hope Burt looking so sinister doesn't really mean he's nefarious! Maybe he just researched the weird stranger who knocked on his door.

3 years ago, I had a few theories on what Lumen may have our heroes working on. I probably forgot most of them.

I do remember that I thought it must be something like cloning/ eternal life/ resurrection, in order to either bring back their weirdo founder/ god, or let their current dear leader live forever in some shape or form. I still believe that, and that the 4 tempers are somehow connected. Did they even pick the 4 refiners according to the tempers?

What was confirmed in this episode was that Mark is the most important, maybe the only important worker in this group at least. Didn't they say last season he was the only one to complete a file, or something? And what is "Cold Harbor"?

If it's Helena down there, I think it will be an interesting redemption arc.

I remember 3 years ago, I once went down the rabbit hole to research tons of names of the show. Unfortunately, I can't find my notes anymore. I seem to remember that indeed they did center around 3 or 4 topics, one of them being related to either milk/ eggs/ fertility in various languages.

- btw, Persephone: queen of the underworld, abduction myth etc., cyclical return to the surface, goddess of the dead, grain, and spring

- Helena, ofc, in Greek mythology, was abducted too... I'm probably overthinking this.

The cinematography is fantastic (Silo should take note on how you can make an episode look very dark but still everything is recognizable!).

I felt that some scenes could have been a bit shorter than they were.

ps: "Were pineapples involved?" Seriously, they keep bringing them up.

Edited by ofmd
  • Like 2
Affogato

Affogato

53 minutes ago, ofmd said:

Aw, I hope Burt looking so sinister doesn't really mean he's nefarious! Maybe he just researched the weird stranger who knocked on his door.

3 years ago, I had a few theories on what Lumen may have our heroes working on. I probably forgot most of them.

I do remember that I thought it must be something like cloning/ eternal life/ resurrection, in order to either bring back their weirdo founder/ god, or let their current dear leader live forever in some shape or form. I still believe that, and that the 4 tempers are somehow connected. Did they even pick the 4 refiners according to the tempers?

What was confirmed in this episode was that Mark is the most important, maybe the only important worker in this group at least. Didn't they say last season he was the only one to complete a file, or something? And what is "Cold Harbor"?

If it's Helena down there, I think it will be an interesting redemption arc.

I remember 3 years ago, I once went down the rabbit hole to research tons of names of the show. Unfortunately, I can't find my notes anymore. I seem to remember that indeed they did center around 3 or 4 topics, one of them being related to either milk/ eggs/ fertility in various languages.

- btw, Persephone: queen of the underworld, abduction myth etc., cyclical return to the surface, goddess of the dead, grain, and spring

- Helena, ofc, in Greek mythology, was abducted too... I'm probably overthinking this.

The cinematography is fantastic (Silo should take note on how you can make an episode look very dark but still everything is recognizable!).

I felt that some scenes could have been a bit shorter than they were.

ps: "Were pineapples involved?" Seriously, they keep bringing them up.

I have wondered if the board is in cold sleep of some sort and communicates from there and yes, are trying to return to full life. 

  • Like 3
  • Useful 1
iMonrey

iMonrey

16 hours ago, arc said:

Mark has two fish living in one separated fish tank. How very very visual metaphor of him.

I noticed the Bettas last year but didn't see the tank separation. (They are known as "Siamese fighting fish" and the males have to be kept separate.) I agree, it's almost a little too on the nose for Mark to have that. They don't actually make separated tanks like that.

I'm still not sure that's really Helly. The board said Mark would get back Helly but does that mean for real, or as far as he'll know? But the show clearly wants us to wonder, and I kind of hate that. 

On the other hand, I'm really intrigued by what's going on with Irv. We don't know what happened to him when he woke up outside Bert's house - and I assume Bert opened the door to see who the hell was banging it down. Plus the mysterious call in the phone booth. Which - by the way - don't even exist anymore. The "tech" in this world is really weird. The Severance procedure seems futuristic but everything inside Lumon looks like it's from the 80s.

  • Like 3
arc

arc

2 hours ago, Affogato said:

Also, they really lingered on the license plate of Milkshake’s motorcycle….

Maybe to show this isn’t merely a company town but a company state?

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The "tech" in this world is really weird. The Severance procedure seems futuristic but everything inside Lumon looks like it's from the 80s.

Except everyone has full-screen smartphones. Mark has one, Milchick has one, and so on. Those and the severance procedure itself do seem to be the only technological anomalies in the world of the show. (Well, the MDR computers are custom made for the show to look vintage but have built in anachronisms.)

  • Like 1
dwmarch

dwmarch

(edited)
On 1/24/2025 at 2:36 AM, arc said:

it still makes no sense to have put Helly in MDR.

 

On 1/24/2025 at 7:25 AM, Affogato said:

“Fetid moppet”

I think we have our answer right there, in Papa Egan's very bitter words. Between that and their weirdly tense bathroom conversation in 1x10, I get the impression that Helena is just as rebellious as her innie but in some other way that brings disrepute to the family/company with this incident being just the latest in a long line of previous ones. And we do see how good Helena is at giving an apology. In any case, long story short, I don't think she's there entirely by choice.

Edited by dwmarch
  • Like 1
  • Applause 2
arc

arc

Well, my longstanding objection also includes: why put Helly in the Break Room? She's severed, she doesn't know anything about anything! Tell her the Break Room is a time-out room or something. If they ever needed Helly for live PR purposes, it'd be great if she could say the experience was awesome, and she wouldn't even be lying, she just wouldn't know that her severed experience was different from every real severed employee.

2 hours ago, ofmd said:

I forgot to mention something I found really weird: When Rickon said: "Don't punish the baby!"

I think that was Rebeck who said that? The Ricken cultist so off-putting even Ricken finds her a little off-putting?

  • Like 1
aghst

aghst

Lumon needs Mark for Cold Harbor but he’s the one most suspicious, with him communicating with Petey.

Yet he also said severance has helped them.  If the procedure isn’t reversible shouldn’t they be absolutely sure Lumon their purpose in life, or at least the only job they want?

Yet Dylan and Irv were terminated and only Mark demanding them back made Lumon reverse course.  Otherwise Dylan at least was screwed.

So that pineapple basket wasn’t even necessary — how does Milchick carry that on his fast motorcycle?  Only Mark was offered something real, the 20% increase, which should have made him suspicious, why they wanted him so much.

He’s going to keep digging though like him confronting Corbel.  Helena didn’t reinstate her like she wanted yet she knows some of Lumon’s secrets.  Is it smart to alienate a former employee or do they just assume she will protect the secrets?

arc

arc

18 minutes ago, aghst said:

Is it smart to alienate a former employee or do they just assume she will protect the secrets?

Helena was probably right to say the Eagans don't fear anyone. They have at least one senator (state senator?) in their pocket. The license plates of the state have an Eagan saying on them. Even Devon thought contacting national reporters would be more productive than contacting the police.

Also, in that free ebook released back in s1, there was a whistleblower and she was killed ASAP. The discussion in that ebook between the reporter and editor also said a different newspaper tried to run a story about Lumon and got sued into oblivion.

The Eagans do seem pretty untouchable.

maddie965

maddie965

(edited)

I'm completely fascinated by Helena watching Hely kissing Mark. Three times! My guess is that she lives a really dreadful life, where her only motivation is to prove her dad wrong (he has always considered her worthless), and that's why she decided or accepted to go through the sever procedure. So she has no life, no boyfriend, no relationships in real life. But now she has someone as an innie! She wants to have that too! And that's why she decided to turn off the chip and go undercover as Hely - officially to spy on the innies, but secretly to be the woman who kisses Mark at the elevator.

Or I'm reading too much on that scene and you should ignore me completely.

Edited to add: Patricia Arquette is phenomenal in this episode. Give her all the awards  please!

Edited by maddie965
  • Like 3
ofmd

ofmd

(edited)

While I think it's entirely possible she does have a bf, or could have anyone she wants, I think watching that scene something about her innie, her fearlessness, made her want to explore. Plus life with her abusive father must be horrible. She looked as if she was used to slurs from him... And also, she started to smile watching the video, maybe getting the idea to go in there as Helena.

So maybe she didn't need to be forced. She still probably has nefarious plans... Then again, who knows? I definitely see lots of possibilities for her "getting it" down there and switching sides, so to speak. Probably with a few twists and turns.

Edited by ofmd
  • Like 1
Kirbyrun

Kirbyrun

54 minutes ago, ofmd said:

While I think it's entirely possible she does have a bf, or could have anyone she wants, I think watching that scene something about her innie, her fearlessness, made her want to explore. Plus life with her abusive father must be horrible. She looked as if she was used to slurs from him... And also, she started to smile watching the video, maybe getting the idea to go in there as Helena.

So maybe she didn't need to be forced. She still probably has nefarious plans... Then again, who knows? I definitely see lots of possibilities for her "getting it" down there and switching sides, so to speak. Probably with a few twists and turns.

Helena's whole life is so...proscribed. Restrained. Constrained. And to see herself -- her BODY  -- act so freely after being alive for, what, a month? Has to be a shock to the system.

I was originally on Team Helly (i.e., I thought Helly was Helly, not Helena undercover), but after this episode, I'm not so sure any more.

  • Like 2
AheadofStraight

AheadofStraight

(edited)

One line of dialogue that stuck out to me. When Mark was talking to Devon about Gemma's death affecting him and he said, paraphrasing, "If Ricken died and his body burned..." Maybe this is a clue that it wasn't really Gemma's body? Perhaps she was burned beyond recognition? 🤔

Edited by AheadofStraight
Typos
  • Like 4
  • Mind Blown 2
jacehan

jacehan

40 minutes ago, Red Fields said:

Can they turn it off like they can turn it on with the OTC?

I want to say that it's reasonable to suppose that if they have ways to turn it on outside of normal, they'd have ways of turning it off. BUT! The OTC is about giving them more control over their employees in more places, whereas letting people get to the severed floor while they are outies puts them at risk, so it might not be as easy.

  • Like 1
iMonrey

iMonrey

14 hours ago, jacehan said:

I want to say that it's reasonable to suppose that if they have ways to turn it on outside of normal, they'd have ways of turning it off. BUT! The OTC is about giving them more control over their employees in more places, whereas letting people get to the severed floor while they are outies puts them at risk, so it might not be as easy.

This is all fictional technology so they can do whatever they want with it. There aren't any rules.

  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...