I am so glad I can finally watch Severance season 2 with you. I really enjoyed what they did with this premiere by only showing us the severed floor. This way we are as lost as the innies.
I don't believe anything Milchick is saying to Mark. He told him 5 months have passed but would his computer still be programmed to display "Hello Ms Cobel" if what we saw here was 5 months later?
Regarding miss Huang, I also think she is not severed since she is the floor manager assistant but she is very young to be in such a position. We've already seen that Lumon acts the same way cults do. How young the indoctrination does begin and how powerful the company really is to be able to do that?
I agree with you that Helly feels ashamed of who her outie is and doesn't want her friends to know. Her story is not very convincing and I don't think everyone has completely bought it. And when she tells Mark that they don't owe anything to their outies and they are not the same, it's clear for me that she is speaking about her own situation.
I feel for Irving. He understands there is no chance for a future for Burt and him and, as it is his first experience of dealing with such heartbreak, death seems better to him. I know this feeling way too well and I really hope he will find something to hold on to.
At last, I 100% agree with you about the sham that are the "reforms" Lumon made. It is just a few distractions added to their life but it doesn't really change the issues the MDR team are facing. I was disgusted by how they represented each of them in the cartoon, turning their real emotions into a parody. That only proves the disrespect Lumon has for their severed employees. And you're right by saying the choice they offered them (it is now their decision if they want to quit and not their outies anymore) isn't a real choice because quitting is literally dying for them. It is not a choice, it is the opposite of a choice. I don't remember who said it but "the best way to enslave somebody is making them think they are free". That sums up what Lumon is doing pretty well.
I'm excited to see the next episodes with you. Until then, take care of yourself.
Aurelius 19
2025-08-22 16:52:30 +0000 UTC
At 14:01 in the video, the subtitles suggest that Irv is shouting Mark’s name, but that’s incorrect. “Innie” Irv (sorry, I know you don’t approve of that term) is shouting “Burt! Burt!” (exactly the same he was shouting at Burt’s door when he was last conscious).
All I’ll say is that this season does tread a similar line as the first, but not the same line. The line’s been advanced in a sense, but whether it goes far enough is up to each person’s individual taste. Not sure if you’ll be sated at the end of it, but for me, it was not quite enough and did fall a tad short.