Discussion (warning: WITH spoilers) of the Severance tv show

Ricken is something else, for sure. I question his ties to Lumon though, unless it's something unwitting or unknown. I recall the dinner conversation in the first episode, where he blatantly discussed Mark's work and severed state. Mark was not pleased.


Also, I'm not sure I buy that Milchick is the husband of outie Dylan. That scene confused me a bit at first, but remember Milchick is fully aware and the outies are fully aware of him. He escorts them through the indoctrination process when they first start as outies (Remember Helly). Outies on the other hand are obviously not aware of Ms. Cobel (Arquette). So point is, Milchick visiting Dylan at home is not really a shocker. Asking him to go in the closet (away from the son) and voluntarily being severed temporarily so he can speak to innie Dylan about the card thing. And the way Milchick treated the kid did not seem like a parent or familiar...that moment was borderline evil.

Oh...and yeah...about the Senator's wife. Totally agree that she is severed. Maybe her husband turns her on and off as he pleases or for some sinister purpose. The moment that hit me was the scene at the park. I just thought she was just being snooty at the birthing cottage, but her actions at the park were very suspect indeed. And the whole baby name change thing.

The biggest thing that strikes me about the whole "severance" device here, is that basically these severed folks are completely different people almost on the inside. Almost like babes in the woods so to speak. I'm really interested in getting to know the other outties better. Ha..I know Mark appears to have something going with the wetnurse, but I'm sort shipping him and Helly as well...maybe at least their innies. But I do hope they meet on the outside as well, and not just with Helly almost getting hit by Mark's car...ha.
 
Kier, brilliant one, Kier.

Was it really needed to question Dillon as his outie, compromising everything? Couldn't they wait until the next time he came to work?
If they allow Dillon to return to work, it will be really sloppy.

Why is Cassey even a worker, by the way? (supposedly she has an outie too).
 
I'm not sure there is anything compromised by questioning Dylan's "innie" at home. I took it that from Lumon's perpsective (.ie., Cobel and Milchick), it was of outmost urgency to get the card back. Why? Who knows? But note that the card never left the building. Innie Dylan said he hid back at Lumon.

Oh..and a point we have not brought up yet about Milchick's visit to Dylan, is that he has some portable device that enables severance, as he did to Dylan in the closet. Interesting. I'm sure that will come into play again, and probably the Senator uses one on his wife.

You referring to Ms. Casey? She's what I'd call a counselor/therapist type - helping employees with issues (but in this case its sorta BS). Again, keep in mind that these innies are like babes in the woods, as I mentioned earlier. Like different people, but no bearings in the real world. I think Casey is there to manage their mental state and keep them passive. Recall the ..um..."session" with Irv in an earlier episodes, where she basically spouts off empty and generalized platitudes about Irv's outtie, but Irv is eating it all up. I assume she is severed cause otherwise she'd not have to go to the break room. Plus, she acts like it anyway.
 
lymond said:
I'm not sure there is anything compromised by questioning Dylan's "innie" at home. I took it that from Lumon's perpsective (.ie., Cobel and Milchick), it was of outmost urgency to get the card back. Why? Who knows? But note that the card never left the building. Innie Dylan said he hid back at Lumon.
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But now Dylan (?) knows that the elevators don't scan for that ideogram. Which makes it even less likely that they scan for (say) pieces of messages hidden inside the body*. If he returns to work, he can tell the others (even if threatened openly by Milchick). Maybe it was worth all that, but it's not evident from what we have seen up to now :) (I just fear it may be a plot hole).

Re Cassey, yes, one has to suppose that she either is severed, or was told to pretend to be (and go to the break room) as part of a psychological game.

*there is a chance that Lumon is now installing added elevator security (seen in the end of episode 6), to scan for that; but it is impressive (if so) they had so poor security up to now.

By the way, is Mark, in the end of ep6, going down twice some stairway? I am not sure how he entered his old school either.
 
Dylan did not take it out of Lumon. He hid it somewhere in the office, as he told Milchick in the closet.

I don't think that was an elevator. I think Cobell had them add an electronic door to the Refinery workspace to keep them from roaming about the halls like they've been doing. Ties into Mark defying her order. I expect in the next episode the crew will be locked in at their workspace for most of the day, though I suspect they will find some way around that as well.

I didn't make much of anything about the school. Don't think there is anything odd there, except whoever the person is he met there. Mark appears to be entering the same rabbit hole as Petey did before, but hopefully with better results.

There may be more to Casey than meets the eye, but I suspect she's pretty much a severed grunt like the others based on the meeting she had with Cobell prior to being sent to the break room. Ha..she's too darn serene to be normal.

It's the Senator's wife that I find most interesting, or whatever going on around that one.
 
lymond said:
Dylan did not take it out of Lumon. He hid it somewhere in the office, as he told Milchick in the closet.
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The issue is that Milchick asked him if he smuggled it out of Lumon. Which pretty much means that the elevators wouldn't have stopped that. One has to assume Milchick regarded it as a very real possibility that the print was out of the building.
This gives Dylan the knowledge that they can actually smuggle stuff out - which is rather crucial.
 
That IS a good point. Could be a chink in the armor, and maybe a method the innies use later to communicate with the outties.

At this point we know that outtie Mark is very much questioning the whole Severance program at Lumon. Of course, innie Mark is oblivious to all that but at the same time is starting to get a bit rebellious himself. Outtie Helly is assumed in compliance, but innie Helly has been rebellious from the first second of consciousness. Irv's innie is blissfully content with Lumon and severance though he's had some interesting revelations recently about Lumon and himself. We've not met outtie Irv, but I assume he is compliant and suspect he's probably heterosexually married. Innie Dylan also seems fairly content as well, and have to assume outtie Dylan is in compliance from our brief encounter with him. I think Dylan is "curious" about things but not yet rebellious, so to speak, but he may share this revelation with others. We know for sure Helly would try something out, and maybe Mark.

Basically our main cast of 4 are playing 8 different characters.
 
Ep. 7: IMO the best episode so far. No spoilers, but a great reveal, a great "dance" sequence, and "bat out of hell". :)
 
I swear...and don't read until you watch the epi:

Spoiler Dichen Lachman - holy shnikees! :
Although I may certainly be wrong here, but I swear his wife is Ms. Casey. It's kinda hard to tell with the big smile and ripped pic, but it could be I think. Is this the big reveal, Ferocitus. It's huge for sure! And if true, it opens up a lotta questions.
 
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lymond said:
I swear...and don't read until you watch the epi:

Spoiler Dichen Lachman - holy shnikees! :
Although I may certainly be wrong here, but I swear his wife is Ms. Casey. It's kinda hard to tell with the big smile and ripped pic, but it could be I think. Is this the big reveal, Ferocitus. It's huge for sure! And if true, it opens up a lotta questions.
Click to expand...

Spoiler :
Yes it is. It doesn't take watching the show to work it out: the cast list at IMDB had it all along! It certainly adds some extra weirdness to that scene in the wellness room where Mark was making a plasticine model of the tree that the car ran into. Ms Casey was talking softly and the candle she made was burning in the room. We still don't know if he was in the car at the time.
 
Guys, I am only at half the episode, but I told you it was beyond stupid to wake Dylan/Dillon/whatheisspelled up and then bring him back in. Makes zero sense.
Seems Lumon security takes a beating (literally and metaphorically) to the point of this being more of a plot hole.
Now will return to watch the rest of the episode, but I fear for this series :)
 
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Anyway, now watched the end of the episode.

Spoiler :
Not entirely surprising, but convoluted (you know what scene I am talking about- Cassey).


Lumon security is really terribly stupid, though. And it couldn't even be some masterplan by Cobel, since Milchick apparently didn't get the idea to wake the outie up from her.

In my view, unless there is some good level of double-crossing and a masterplan from within (which sadly I really doubt is the case), the plot has moved through artificial means and irrational behavior (mostly to do with how Dylan was handled in ep6).

I mean, if I had been the writer of the show, at this point it would (for me) only work if the outie-inie is a facade itself, meaning that the "outie" world is just another Lumon-controlled environment entirely, and maybe (?) there are more such worlds too. But, once again, I really doubt this is what is happening here.

@Ferocitus @lymond
 
Yeah, I just don't see it that way at all, and totally get the Dylan thing. It seems your hung up on the card they thought left the building, but it actually didn't. But the waking up thing was really cool, and I totally buy it. Plus I expect it will lead to some really cool stuff with Mark and Helly wake themselves up...inside Lumon next episode, or so I assume.

Now one thing that came to mind based off something you mentioned, is what if Milchick and Cobell are completely severed. It would can of explain there odd behavior and personalities.

Interesting, Arquette is a producer on the show, which does not surprise me. I do think she may be working her way to an Emmy nomination here for Cobell. That lady is bent..ha

Meanwhile:

Spoiler Ms. Casey :


I found some interesting stuff on this elsewhere. Needless to say, fans of the show seem to all have had there minds blown, including me. Here's some theories:

1) First, I don't think whether Mark was in the car or not is all that relevant. I assume he was not, but even if he was he was likely knocked out while his wife was transported to Lumon hospital. (not really theory here but just a thought)
2) Was this something Casey (I'll use that name but also mean's Mark's wife) wanted? Did she want to get away from Mark or something else and lead a severed life?
3) Does she even have an outtie self or is she totally innie? If she does leave Lumen to live as an outtie would be puzzling. I think she lives inside Lumon as an innie 24/7.
4) Or was this totally a Lumon plan all along? For what purpose? Just to setup Mark and make him join Lumen?

Also, another thing. Cobell seems to take a special interest in Mark, and his family. Sometimes it obviously seems creepy. Yet at times it feels a bit motherly as well. I'm not sure what is going on there, but one thing I do feel fairly strong on here, is that Cobell is "key" to everything. She's manipulated all this stuff, and I think she is related to Keir.
 
Well, Mark does have something important as an inie in Lumon, if you recall "Mark's freshman fluke" or how that was called. It was some kind of breakthrough with the numbers, which increased productivity to a very considerable degree.
Still, Petey remained department chief.
I suppose they will revisit "Mark's freshman fluke" in episode 8 or (finale) 9.

But no, I don't see how what Milchick did was anything other that super stupid (I just hope it isn't a plot hole). And how he thought it would work out fine if he allowed Dylan back to work. He literally created this mess, without him the inies would have no idea they can switch to their outies without leaving Lumon (and the other way around).

Moreover: how would a super-rich pharmaceutical company only have so few security personnel?

Regarding your point about the possibility that Milchick, Cobell etc are severed (and live continiously in their "inie" form), this is nice and maybe true, but at least Cobell has a backstory (from the Kier cult; also a picture of her when she was young, if real, and supposedly a husband who died).
Would it really make sense to keep someone in inie form indefinitely, instead of indoctrinating them since youth?
 
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Yeah, it certainly turned out to be a stupid decision on Milchick's part. Not sure it was so much a security thing, but an individual make a poor decision. But sometimes you need a character to do something stupid to drive the plot. It's not unrealistic for human's to do stupid things...ha

Ah..I recall that "freshman fluke" thing. I could be something. Do they test potential candidates? I forget. Is there some genetic thing going on here?

Well, do they really need that much security? Lumon probably does not want to many unsevered folks really knowing what is going on on the severed floor. They have the guy at the elevator. What's name, who was

Spoiler :
offed this episode, runs the general security on the floor...and outside. And Milchick seems to be part security, but basically directly manages all the severed staff, keeping them in line so not much security staff is need.

Yeah, it's not working but maybe speaks to the arrogance of the Lumon board in thinking that it would.
 
Well, to me it comes across as a useful error, to further the plot, given the cataclysmic effects it had. Milchick not following the chain of command for small things (like the fake print with the massacre) is one thing, and quite another to run around waking inies.
I like the show, don't get me wrong. I just get serious "stuff now happen so that other stuff can happen" vibes, which is disappointing :)
 
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Well, stuff has to happen for other stuff to happen. It's a problem when that stuff does not feel organic. But I don't get that feeling here.

And Dylan going

Spoiler :
vampire on Milchick was fantastic!
 
lymond said:
Well, stuff has to happen for other stuff to happen. It's a problem when that stuff does not feel organic. But I don't get that feeling here.

And Dylan going

Spoiler :
vampire on Milchick was fantastic!
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I am not really sure if Cassey is an inie in the first place. Didn't she use the same elaborate candles as outie? (in Mark's basement).

I'd like to think that the town is all run by Lumon. For example, Ricken's friends are pretending to be too dumb (couldn't get how WW1 would be called "The Great War" before WW2? or were they just trying to examine if Mark has enough memories intact?).
 
Kyriakos said:
I am not really sure if Cassey is an inie in the first place. Didn't she use the same elaborate candles as outie? (in Mark's basement).
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I'm confused by your question. Cobell took the candle from storage in Mark's basement. Casey used it at Lumon in Mark's therapy session. We now know why Cobell took that candle...well, at least partly....but not so much the motivation behind it. But the connection is there at least.

I'd say Casey is most def severed...whether she has an outtie is the question.
 
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