This will be mostly negative, so let me save you time if you don't suffer haters: IDGAF about these crackers.
Severance has all the right ingredients and I get why it's popular. The concept is compelling, everything in the show is meticulously thought out, the actors are talented, and I understand the bland-ass corporate purgatory aesthetic is essential to the subject matter. So I've powered through that soul-sucking tone to see what the hype is about. I want to like it, I really do, but I've been in a foul mood since I started watching a few weeks ago. What is it exactly that irks me so?
Small Gripes
The Theme Music. It's an okay theme but they use it way too much throughout the show. Those piano notes are hitting the same raw nerve time and again. Switch it up please, you're taking my brain back to the opening credits for no reason. Give us an actual score or would that be too much effort? Oh wait, I get it, they're trying to evoke a sense of monotony to make viewers feel like Innies every time we watch. How innovative -_-
Procrastination. I won't complain about predictability - though many of the big twists are predictable. My problem is how long it takes for these reveals to finally happen. Do they not have enough material written so they have to stretch out these plot points? Oh wait, are they dragging out each reveal to make the viewers feel like an Innie waiting for 5PM? Ground-breaking -_-
Cinematography. The shots are incredibly intentional which would normally be good except they’re so obviously intentional that it’s annoying. Maybe I'm just overstimulated by the heavy-handed camera movements and symmetrical shot compositions, or maybe I’m just sick of the over-used dolly zoom in the elevator. We get it. They're now SEVERED, "ding."
Big Gripes
Information Delivery. I heard people were really into the Ms. Casey episode so I was excited to see it. Well, it came and went. A chunk of that episode was an extended flashback of the same exact events Mark had already described about his wife in previous episodes - infertility issues and whatnot which felt redundant. Sure, they showed us what she's been up to on the testing floor, but, like, I don't care. Then I sat through an entire episode of Harmony delivering excruciatingly "cryptic" exposition in the dilapidated company town from whence she came. This brings me to my biggest issue...
The Characters. Idgaf about them. No matter how much I want to and how badly I want to like this show in general, I just can't bring myself to care about these characters or what happens to them. They're so dry. The only emotion the main characters elicit from me is a lack of respect because they chose to condemn half of themselves to a lifetime of servitude with the exception of Dylan. Dylan's Outie cannot hide his keen awareness that all jobs are bullshit so Severance is the only way he can provide for his family without getting fired. He is also the only one who truly considers his Innie to be an actual person (this was a great take someone else had, btw, and it's an excellent observation). The rest of them? Weak af and boring af. I don't care if the story fridge'd (killed off in service of the male lead) your wife, Mark, you knew your Innie would never see the light of day when you signed up for Severance. Spare him grief? BS.
Actually, I do care about the Innie's but that's it. Everyone else sucks.
The Phantom Severance Stan. For all of these points, there is a counterargument going on in my head at all times. It says things like, "it's a satire of the corporate workforce, yOu JuSt dOn'T gET iT," and "the chosen one trope where EVERYTHING revolves around a white man is permissible because society is still oPERatiNG tHAt wAy." Sure, Phantom Severance Stan, you're right, but aren't you just a little bit irritated that Apple TV+ is RAKING IT IN and you're EATING IT UP? Apple itself is one of these giant corporate entities with a cult like following and historical (or "iconic"?) figurehead. I feel like this show is telling me to eat shit and to love the taste which infuriates me. "but art is a catalyst for real change nO matTeR hoW iT's DiStrIbUteD." I know, Phantom Severance Stan! stfu.
Oh, that must be my Innie who still enjoys things. I'm sorry, Suzi N, you can like Severance if you want to.
Highlights
Ricken's Book. I love how pretentious yet stupid the passages are in his book. Hilarious. It was also a delight to see how Mark's Innie responds to the book since he's so sheltered - much like Suzi N. Damn my Outie is jaded.
Waffle Party. Fuck yes. Finally. Something intriguing to jolt me out of my coma.
Season 2 Finale Tidbits
Mr. Milchick talking shit to the animatronic Kiel. Hell yes, get it Milchick. Also, we love a good marching band.
The Last Sequence of Shots. Slow-mo run through the hall, then freeze-frame, then 70's style push-in. Why? Some kind of film nerd homage, I suspect - not inherently bad, just super annoying if it's unjustified.
Overall, I feel drained every time I watch and the show gives me headaches. Much of the time it's too aware of the audience which makes it feel contrived. Dylan's Outie is the only character worth a shit (besides the Innies). Mr. Milchick will be cool too when he finally snaps - which will likely be dragged out until Season 4 at this lethargic-ass money-milking rate.
Comments