Severance season 2 review: The dystopian office drama ‘works the same magic but is even more mind-bending’
Lauer now has a multi-layered role and plays it quite brilliantly as Hilly/Helena, with her very complicated double life. Turturro has never had a better role or given a stronger performance, indicating the fire beneath the seemingly bland Irv. He still loves Bert, a former Lumon employee played by Christopher Walken, who provides delightful, pure readings of Walken’s line. No one else can present a dinner invitation that begins with “We Have Ham” in the same way. Trammell Tillman returns as Mr. Melchik, the head of Lumon, and his smile is more chilling than ever. Ben Stiller directs with visual flair, contrasting the dark, snowy outside world with Lomune’s murky, claustrophobic maze of white corridors.
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Most of the differences cannot be detected yet. Among other things, we learn more about Dylan’s family and discover that it is possible to find a secret sex location within the Lomon offices. The guest actors slip in and out with ease, including Gwendoline Christie, Merit Wever, Bob Balaban, and Alia Shawkat.
Apple TV+ only sent critics six out of 10 episodes, so I can’t say much more about the final part of the season even if I wanted to. But halfway through, the story takes a turn involving the chips in the employees’ brains, and although that raises the stakes, the story isn’t as compelling as it could be, at least not yet. Too much sci-fi threatens to ruin the series’ perfect balance.
And all the while there has been very little attention to the cult-like side of Le Mon, with its 19th-century founder, Keir Egan, being treated as a prophet and whose company handbook being seen as a religious, Bible-like document. The subservient way in which the staff always calls Milchick “Mr. Milchick” as if they were schoolchildren addressing a teacher is just the beginning. Whatever happens in the final episodes, there’s a lot to enjoy, including the utter disdain in Enni Mark’s voice when he says “Praise Kier.”
★★★★☆
The first two episodes of Severance Season 2 will be released on Apple TV+ on January 17, with new episodes released weekly.
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