The One Who's Never Seen The Sky.

[rionaleonhart]

I wrote this short Severance primer for tv_talk, but I thought I'd crosspost it here as well, in case anyone's wondering what this show I won't shut up about actually is. Sorry to anyone who's seeing this twice!


I've been having an incredible time watching Severance; it's the best new show I've seen in years, and a very strong candidate for my favourite show of all time. In case anyone's curious about whether they should watch it, here's a non-spoilery overview!




What is the concept of Severance?

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to remember work? If you got all the money and benefits without the actual experience of working? With Lumon's proprietary severance technology, that can be a reality.

When you're in the Lumon office, you won't remember anything from outside it, so you can focus completely on your work. When you leave at the end of the day, your memories of work will vanish. No more lying awake, obsessing over that project; your work can't intrude on your personal life when you don't even remember it. It's the perfect way to preserve the work-life balance.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: What am I actually doing at work?
A: That's the great thing: you'll never know!

Q: What's life like for the version of me in the office? The one who doesn't remember their free time or childhood or friends or family? The one who leaves the office at the end of the day and, from their perspective, steps straight back into it and has to get right back to work?
A: Look, don't worry about it. Your work self is doing just fine.

Can you boil the premise down to one sentence?

You don't remember what happens in the office, except when you're in the office, in which case you don't remember your life outside it.

Why is Severance worth watching?

If the basic concept sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend checking Severance out! I originally watched it because I thought the premise had interesting potential, and the show really delivers on that promise; it explores the concept in fascinating ways. It's a great series for anyone who enjoys themes of memory and identity.

I think the show strikes a great tonal balance, too. There's a lot of humour, and I find the characters likeable; it's fun to watch! But, at the same time, it knows how to get serious. It creates tension and suspense very effectively, and the lighter elements don't mean the hard-hitting moments hit any less hard.

It never feels to me like Severance is playing it safe. When it feels like there are a few different directions it could potentially take the story in, it'll choose the most interesting option and explore the fallout. I'm constantly fascinated to see what happens next.

Where can I watch Severance?

Severance is an Apple original and can be watched on the Apple TV+ streaming service; it's currently halfway through its second season, with episodes coming out weekly. If you don't have Apple TV, though, the first season is available on DVD and Blu-ray!

Wait, Severance and Succession are different shows?

I was surprised too!

Anything else I should know?

As a heads-up, Severance does occasionally explore some dark themes. If you have any specific questions about the content, or about any other aspect of Severance, feel free to ask in the comments!

Comments

[necrophilia]

Here's a question! It's exceptionally poignant and you've never read it before.

You have to choose just one of the MDR team to survive a deadly walrus attack. The rest will die. It's Severance's Choice. Whomst? Go.

[rionaleonhart]

A very important question, as I'm sure you've never heard before!

Even if I choose Helly to survive, she will intentionally fling herself onto the walrus's tusks to spite her outie. Helly gets walrused, without question.

I choose Dylan to live, I think. The walrus incident is inevitably going to cause a great deal of bereavement, but people are dependent on Dylan in a way they aren't with Mark or Irving, so I think his death is the one his loved ones would find hardest to survive.

[necrophilia]

And now, a follow-up!

Dylan survives. Applause, etc. You're given the option to save a second MDR team member by sacrificing Milchick to sate the walrus's bloodlust. Whomst? Go.

[rionaleonhart]

I don't want to sacrifice one person to save another! I don't think I can justify killing Milchick if he would otherwise have lived.

If the walrus just happens to eat Milchick, though, thus giving me time to rescue another member of the team, I save Mark because he's my favourite ♥

('What happened to all those high principles of a second ago?' shh shhh shhhhhhh)

[necrophilia]

Has this inspired you to write fic where a walrus gets loose on the severed floor and everyone dies?

[thenicochan]

I've really wanted to watch this show since it was first announced. The concept is so interesting, and I will literally watch anything my husband Adam Scott is in at any time. I watched Hellraiser 4 for him. And that movie is pretty damn terrible (and he's doing the worst English accent and has ridiuclous long hair, it's all so amazing.) I'm mad that it's on Apple+ though. I have almost every other streaming service under the sun, I can't justify the cost of Apple+ adding onto the budget.

Yeah, I can buy the first season on Vudu/FandangoatHome, but the second season is out of reach and that stingsssssss.

[rionaleonhart]

If Adam Scott is your husband, I think you'll have an incredible time with Severance; he's so good in it! I can understand the 'Jesus Christ, there are so many streaming services' struggle, though. I'm very glad they're releasing Severance on disc; it can be so hard to find physical copies of shows these days!

[necrophilia]

Why would you ever cast Adam Scott to do an English accent? That's like asking David Tennant to sound American. The brain re-circuits trying to reconcile the auditory experience.

[militarypenguin]

I'm also glad I'm not the only one who's mixed up Severance and Succession.

So many of my friends adore this show and this was a great primer! I don't think I can justify getting Apple TV+ for it, but that's alright because I have, ah, perfectly legal ways of watching it.

[rionaleonhart]

I hope you enjoy it, if you do manage to watch! And I'm very reassured by how many other people have made the Severance/Succession mixup.

[tellshannon815]

I'm two episodes in to this so far, after having seen it recommended by quite a few people, liking it so far and sometimes think the idea of not remembering work has its appeal. (Maybe No-Worker had a procedure gone wrong and now doesn't remember she's actually meant to work on the job...)

[rionaleonhart]

I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and I hope you have a good time with the rest of it! Condolences on this show feeling weirdly applicable to your own life, though.

[emmzzi]

I LOVE THIS SHOW. Wake uo at 3am on drop day to watch love it.

The reddit community for it is awesome.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm impressed by your dedication! Our household isn't quite at 'wake up at 3am' levels, but, when I spent a few weeks at my parents' house to help my mum recover from surgery, I did drop back home every weekend just to watch Severance with my housemates.

[apiphile]

Have you considered writing advertising copy fulltime ;)

[rionaleonhart]

That... is an element of my job, come to think of it. It's more fun when I passionately believe in what I'm advertising, though!

[apiphile]

Apple TV+ shoulda hired you!

[trepkos]

So, do you leave your beliefs and moral framework behind when you step into the office?

[osteophage]

Pretty much!

[rionaleonhart]

Yes and no! I don't get the impression that the people inside the office hold substantially different moral values from the people outside it; if you don't want to hurt people when you're outside work, you won't want to hurt people when you're inside work. (If you are willing to hurt people, the people you're prepared to consider targets might be different when you're inside work, because that version of you will have different priorities and different relationships.) You do seem to leave your usual religious beliefs behind in the office; the workers are encouraged to worship the founder of the company like a god.

[trepkos]

Leaving religion at work ... well, religion is weird to me anyway, but to worship the boss! A capitalist's dream come true!

[walgesang]

This is a great primer! I had to laugh at "wait, Severance and Succession are different shows" because I did that at least twice.

I keep meaning to jump into the conversation posts since I've been consuming the show ASAP on Fridays. Will do soon!

[rionaleonhart]

Severance and Succession were just 'the business show beginning with S' in my head for such a long time; it took me ages to realise there were actually two business shows beginning with S going on!

[kissed]

You've convinced me to give the show a try later tonight, as I knew nothing about it before your post, though I've read how hyped people are for it in general. You sold me on it really well (and it /does/ sound damn interesting)! c:

Much appreciated for the primer! I also believe any show with as passionate of a fanbase that this one has at the very least deserves to be checked out.

[rionaleonhart]

This is so good to hear! I hope you have a great time with it.

[seeingpenguins]

I've been meaning to watch Severance for a while but with all the buzz around s2 I figured I finally should, I inhaled s1 pretty quickly and haven't caught up with s2 yet but ahguhhjggjhfhjg it's so good ♥

[rionaleonhart]

It's so good. I'm absolutely captivated. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[driftwood_thangs]

one of my irl friends started severance recently and she's been totally obsessed, i feel like this is a sign i should actually get round to watching it lol

[rionaleonhart]

I can definitely recommend it! What a show.