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‘Severance’ Creator on the Season 2 Finale and the Show’s Future - Rolling Stone interview (www.rollingstone.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Warning: Season 2 finale spoilers here!

This is an interview with the show's creator. I'll post my opinion on it in the thread.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thank you for posting! I wouldn’t have seen this otherwise. Just finished the finale before stumbling into this.

Sorry the show isn’t for you! I feel the total opposite haha, I’m thrilled with how things are playing out and the direction going into season three seems awesome.

Actually apple TV specifically, as in the service, has been the worst part of the experience for me. Happily unsubscribed now. Genuinely hate everything about it to the point where I’m strongly considering alternate means whenever season 3 comes out. But I am looking very much forward to it either way

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I have similar feelings. I think different parts of the audience want different things out of the show. Of course I'm invested in the mysteries and want the answers to them, but my enjoyment isn't necessarily tied directly to those answers. Mostly I'm interested in the characters' arcs: things like Ms. Cobel, Mr. Milchick and Natalie's discomfort with Lumon, Mark S's developing sense of a self distinct from his outie, Helena Eagan's jealousy toward Helly R. Those are all elements of the show which are fascinating to me regardless of any underlying mysteries.

The writing is excellent as are everybody's performances. This show has some of the most expressive eye work in the game--the scenes between Milchick and Natalie are tours de force. I was never really a fan of Lost at all and I think part of that was that the focus was more often on the mysteries than the characters. Also, there's no way to say this politely, but Lost didn't have any performers on the level of Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Jon Turturro ... you get the point. I'm happy to be on the ride.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Thank you for articulating it! Yeah the show has me on the edge of my seat. Re-watching it with some new people and actually that’s been incredible, too. The nuances of everyone’s performance, as well as the significance of small details, has been blowing my mind.

Spoilers below!

Tap for spoiler

One thing for example is I noticed Irv’s outie pounding cups of black coffee late at night. I think as a deliberate sleep deprivation tactic, to try and break the severance procedure and leak information between the two of them. He actually somewhat seemed to be experiencing a mild form of re-integration sickness, seeing the black paint overtake the office.

That’s been on my mind, and I’m so sure we’ll be hearing more from him. Ms. Cobel seemed genuinely surprised at the mention of his paintings, and during the Cold Harbor scene they were extremely interested in whether or not the severance barrier would hold.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

The writing is excellent as are everybody’s performances. This show has some of the most expressive eye work in the game–the scenes between Milchick and Natalie are tours de force.

If you're examining scenes divorced from the show, I agree with you. One of the things that attracted me to the show was the fantastic casting and acting. This worked in season 1 because the characters knew as much about what they were doing as the audience, which was not much.

The reason this falls apart especially in season 2 is that big things have happened which should dramatically affect a human being, and our characters mostly shrug it off with "that was weird, I guess we should go back to what we were doing before". The treatment of the Season 1 finale on Season 2 was unforgivable.

Mark found out that his Outie's wife was essentially being held hostage by the entity that controls Mark S's very existence. That should have a profound effect on someone and he went back to work.
I don't think we ever saw Helly R telling Dylan or Mark about what she saw during the OTC event.
Dylan didn't get to experience the OTC, so he gets let off the hook.
Irving was the only one that reacted as a human would to the OTC. He lost the love of his life, fought for truth knowing oblivion would be the reward, and he did it anyway.

I remember watching the screen after the OTC finale in S2 E1 when Mark S is awake again on the severed floor and thinking "okay, shit is going to go down. He's been lied to all this time. A normal human would be pissed beyond imagination." Instead after a conversation with Milchek where Mark S backs down, Mark S goes back to work. WTF?!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

After reading the interview, it confirms for me this isn't a show for me anymore.

They admit to abandoning multiple big in-progress story plot points with no resolution
They aren't planning on revealing the big questions for a long time
They intentionally end each season in a way that makes it really hard to come back from

And this one is a really huge nail in the Severance coffin for me:

Q: Were you a fan of Lost?

A: Yes.

I hope those that are enjoying the show continue to get more of what they like watching. I'm out.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I've been saying this all season, so it's hardly surprising, but it is good to get some confirmation from the creator. I'll keep watching for now but it will make the decision to drop the show a lot easier if it continues meandering in Season 3.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little disappointed to hear that the creators don't have a real timeline in sight. I just watched the finale like an hour ago (have to wait a day for TWs to come in before I watch it with my partner), and I loved it, but knowing that S3 probably won't the the finale is going to sting. I'm fine with questions being unanswered, I think it would be even more unbelievable if everything was explained, but I don't think any of us want to be led along for years on the show before Apple orders a finale

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think it would be even more unbelievable if everything was explained

I forgive world building, such as, "why is there a Lumon branded Sphygmomanometer?". I just assume its to demonstrate the reach of the company. However, it doesn't look like they're planning on going back and answering some of the previously focused on plot lines such as Petey, Irving able to recall the Innie Irving black Hallway, or reintegration. Heck, even the goats don't make sense. Just spiritual sacrifices? Thats it? An entire staff with animal breeding occurring inside an office building underground with employees that aren't allowed to remember what they do all day that is raising goats when those goats are just sacrificed to be buried with someone? This feels like writers of Lost where they put things in they thought might be interesting to develop later when they had no idea what they'd mean when put in initially. Lazy writing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

What gives you the impression that they don't have a timeline?

Finally, how long do you see this story continuing for?

We’ve talked about it, and we’re pretty sure that we know how long it’s going. We’re keeping that close to the chest still at this point, but we have a pretty good sense of it.

They don't have a timeline that they're sharing publicly, but it doesn't sound like they're just going to run out the clock until the show gets cancelled.