Rating: 5/10
The February 2022 premiere season of Apple TV’s “Severance” took both the commercial and critical worlds by storm. From showrunner Dan Erickson and executive producer/primary director Ben Stiller, the workplace drama’s sci-fi leanings and tinges of absurdism made for a gripping watch, culminating with “The We We Are,” the first season’s knockout finale.
While the show’s success made for a swiftly greenlit follow-up, production on “Severance’s” second season seemed to drag. The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike meant that production on the series would be halted until its eventual settlement, roughly five months after WGA members first began picketing.
Rumored disagreements between Erickson and co-writer Mark Friedman allegedly tied things up even further. It wasn’t until 2024 that “Severance” finally reentered production.
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A sporadic — albeit fun — marketing campaign led to the show’s triumphant return in January. Viewers were quickly folded back into Erickson’s eerie and half-anachronistic corporate mystery. But was “Severance’s” second season as strong as the first?
The series’ initial success can be attributed to its myriad strengths, from its superb cast of dual-role characters to the impeccable production and direction from both Stiller and financier Apple TV.
These strengths aren’t absent with the second season. However, “Severance” is seemingly trying to outdo itself, and the show suffers for it.
“Severance” was a monument for the more analytical TV fans, “Lost”-esque in its mystery box of a story. Even off the screen, the ensemble’s exploits against forbidding corporate antagonist, Lumon, supplied ample material for online speculation and Monday morning water cooler talk.
The first season of “Severance” is arguably one of the most successful mystery series put to screen this decade. The second season’s premiere makes clear that Erickson intends on preserving that reputation.
Mysteries abound with this batch of 10 episodes, from the bizarrely imposing child manager Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock), to the promise of “reintegration.” Reintegration is a risky and consequential medical procedure that promises to change the show’s playing field. Everyman Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) reintegration is the driving force behind the season’s core mystery.
It’s an odd dichotomy for “Severance” to be as mysterious as it is while so rarely answering its questions. This dissonance eats away at the season’s impact, with several episodes near the finale feeling frustratingly roundabout and under-delivering. Where its first season was propulsive and promising, “Severance’s” sophomore effort feels more frantic and disoriented.
Serving as a microcosm for the season’s fracturing is fan-favorite Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman). Milchick’s role as a disarmingly sinister manager has made for some of the series’ best scenes, but his character feels stifled this season. He’s relegated to a lesser role, becoming the vehicle for conveying “Severance’s” unfortunately shallow corporate-American commentary.
The season’s lower points are fortunately buoyed by the rest of its pitch-perfect cast. Series regulars like Zach Cherry and John Turturro are given the room to develop their characters past their initially trite characterizations. Britt Lower works overtime as Helly R., with the show’s unique sci-fi conceit allowing for both a villainous and romantic turn.
The below-the-line aspects of “Severance” remain strong. Composer Theodore Shapiro’s paranoid string score returns in full force and in great harmony with directing newcomers Jessica Lee Gagné and Uta Briesewitz.
“Severance” looks and sounds as good as ever, making use of its extraordinary budget to immerse viewers in the same world as its initial run.
It’s these high standards that make this season’s shortcomings all the more glaring. The show’s quality can vary significantly from episode to episode, leaving each week feeling like a roll of the dice. Standout pieces like “Woe’s Hollow” and “Chikhai Bardo” rival even the highest points of the initial season. However, they’re often paired with standalone or filler episodes so redundant and inconsequential that they could be cut from the season entirely.
These contrasts feel symptomatic of “Severance’s” larger mission; its transition from a perfect — but limited — series to a more sweeping mystery-drama saga. The “mystery box” style of television popularized by “Lost” seems to be the series’ trajectory. Sadly, the more intimate character-focused beats are lost in the shuffle.
It’s hard not to ask for more of a good thing, but Erickson and Stiller struggle to steward their work through a wider commercialization.
How does one build on a perfect first season? “Severance” might not have the answers for fans yet, but viewers would be hard-pressed to find a show that does. Though the show’s second season can drag its feet and was muddled by expectations, its strong foundation remains. The glimpses of brilliance bring audiences back to the first season and suggest that the best of “Severance” is yet to come.
