What's Making Me Happy Today: Severance 2x07

[delphi]

I felt very validated when I looked up the director for this episode (which was put together stunningly, even by the standards of this show), saw her name, and confirmed that she's from Quebec. Because the whole time I was watching this one, it 100% felt like someone gave a good piece of Québécois cinema a Hollywood budget.


• Wow, what a performance by Dichen Lachman. I've spent most of the series hoping to know more about Gemma, and in an hour she delivered more than I ever expected. Also, god, she is beautiful.

• Mauer is the fucking worst and I have never been so happy to see someone hit with a chair.

• Okay, so in terms of the rooms/files, we have ones for common fears like going to the dentist or plane crashes. I'm guessing from the Mouth Wall that we're supposed to conclude that many other test subjects on that floor go through those ones. But Allentown is a very Gemma-specific torture, and we know that's the file that Mark got the special prize for—likely the "freshman fluke" that Dylan referenced. We also know the scary numbers are the first to jump out at a refiner. I'm not even going to speculate on how things work mechanically, now knowing the degree to which the refiners themselves are data (are their 'twins' microdata refiners?) but I'm wondering whether all of the other categories actually matter or are just blinds. Are there any rooms based around positive feelings, or is the point of this solely to give everyone their own twin that absorbs all of life's unpleasant experiences without any trace except the physical bleeding over to the version of you that's allowed to be a person?

• There are a few things I'm not sure how I feel about yet. The first is Devon's reaction re: calling Cobel. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be suspicious behaviour, a clumsy setup for how Cobel will get back into the story, or a perfectly reasonable bit of characterization from someone who is married to Ricken. The second is a combination of not being inherently jazzed about the fertility plotline (although it makes sense for the story, especially because cults are going to cult) and the way Mark and Gemma's focus and motivations have been set up to mirror each other exactly when it feels like Gemma's should be different owing to her captivity. I'll see what I think after we see more.

• I remain powerfully attracted to Reghabi. I didn't end up having the time to post a reaction for last week's episode, and while I originally had a lot to say about Irving's dinner with Burt and Fields among other things, really my main takeaway is that I'd let that mad scientist live in my basement eating frosting out of the container any day. (Although I would not let her drill a hole in my head.)

Comments

[conuly]

• Mauer is the fucking worst and I have never been so happy to see someone hit with a chair.

Oh, fuck yeah. You can say that again.

[delphi]

Kudos to Robby Benson for the performance, because I mostly associate him with roles where he played a sweet young man.

[luthien]

When I realised the actor was named Robby Benson, my reaction was: that Robby Benson? And yes, indeed, he is. It's hard to try to fit Severance and Ice Castles into my brain at the same time. 😂

[delphi]

For me, my first thought was The Chosen! (With a little mental detour about how while I understand the trope largely came about through anti-Nazi subversive casting, I could admittedly do with a break from having Mengele-reminiscent doctor characters be Jewish.)

[walgesang]

I did watch the behind scenes episode with a little bit of her talking about the scene and I'm glad they gave her that air time because, wow! It's very rare to see such cinema in a TV show and it stood out beautifully. I really hope she does more this season.

-YES. Uh, yes. But such a great performance and I like younger Mark a lot more than I like current Mark, but there's probably reasons for that.

-the rooms/files was so Twilight Zone coded and that dental one. Eesh, I'm glad I don't still have dental phobia but was that ever memorable. :O Good points about the rooms and whether these are the negative experiences being shunted off to the twins.

-yeah, I was really confused about Devon calling Cobel especially with the whole scene where she thought she kidnapped her baby?! The infertility stuff does hit pretty close to home and I hope that's not the biggest focus that they have for Gemma, because clearly there's so much more to her. But I also share that ambivalence.

-I'm not so quietly shipping Reghabi/Gemma, that's for damn sure! :D

[delphi]

I've really got to catch up on the behind the scenes stuff! I haven't been skipping it on purpose, but I've been in the habit of watching the show right before bed and tapping out as soon as the credits roll.

And yes! I really appreciated how just with some different styling/setting/direction and a slightly tweaked performance from Adam Scott, we got such a different impression of who Mark was a few years ago and why someone would be drawn to him. (While still showing how his reaction to stress is still to compartmentalize, isolate, and destroy.)

Yeah, I'm really not sure what we're meant to think of Devon immediately dying on the hill of calling Cobel instead of insisting on a hospital. I know we've seen glimpses of Lumon-looking goat stuff in her and Ricken's house, but I'm not sure the show could successfully sell me on her having been a double agent this whole time. I'm wondering if maybe it'll just turn out that Cobel's been in touch with her during the time she's been away.

Ahhh, I'd mostly been noodling over the thought of Devon/Reghabi after we found out Devon's queer the episode before last, but Gemma/Reghabi - YES. The notion of all this work having been spurred by wanting to get Gemma out is a delicious one, and Reghabi is affiliated with the university and could have known her before. :D

[silverusagi]

Mauer was SO creepy.

And to think that Gemma has been doing this for two years (at least, I assume(?) voluntarily at first) while Mark thinks she's dead... Not to mention the fact that he didn't even work there when she 'died' so how could they have known that would work out?

I have mixed feelings about Devon calling Cobel. Part of me is like are you CRAZY? Also don't do anything to run off this brain doctor until Mark is conscious maybe? Though I kind of don't blame Reghabi for being all 'I'm out' at the mention of Cobel.

[delphi]

That's a great point - I'm hugely curious as to what the plan was with recruiting Mark and who was involved there! Despite seeing that goat-imagery stuff at Devon and Ricken's place, I don't currently feel like they're going to be revealed to be consciously involved with Lumon to a significantly bigger degree. But with Mark, Gemma, and Reghabi all having been affiliated with the university (and Mr. Graner having been able to get inside info about Reghabi holing up there), I wonder if Lumon has people on the inside there who were monitoring the situation. If someone reported how Mark was breaking down after Gemma's death, or if the therapist he mentioned seeing in season 1 was through his work insurance and on Lumon's payroll - if something triggered the opportunity to bring in a "volunteer" test subject's spouse and they took it once it was clear that Mark wasn't going to be able to keep teaching.

Though I kind of don't blame Reghabi for being all 'I'm out' at the mention of Cobel.

Same! I think Reghabi has a bigger movement and network to protect, and I don't blame her one bit for packing up the moment someone threatening the operation was in the picture.

[luthien]

I felt very validated when I looked up the director for this episode (which was put together stunningly, even by the standards of this show), saw her name, and confirmed that she's from Quebec. Because the whole time I was watching this one, it 100% felt like someone gave a good piece of Québécois cinema a Hollywood budget.

Yeah, this ep had a feel all of its own, and not just because the flashbacks were shot on film. The podcast has an interesting interview with the director, who is also the show's cinematographer. Sounds like she hasn't really directed before, but I really hope she does again. She brings such an interesting and individual perspective to everything.

There is so much in this episode that I need to unpack and think about. I think I need to watch it again and pay careful attention. But yes, I thought the Devon thing felt almost clunky - which is not something I usually associate with this show, so now I'm wondering if there's more to it that we will find out about in a future episode.

[delphi]

Ah, I really need to check out the podcast! I'd definitely be interested in seeing more episodes or other work from her, and I know this is an episode I'll be going back to in order to take a closer look at how it's all put together.

Clunky is a good term for for the Devon thing, and it really only stood out because the show so rarely clunks. It feels like there were more elegant ways to get the same information and effect across if they needed to remind us about the birthing centre, establish that Devon has Cobel's number and has been wondering if she has answers, and drive Reghabi back underground. I don't want to go down the "everything means something! rabbit hole," because everyone does just fumble things on the writing front sometimes, but I'm definitely wondering if we'll see more about what Devon's been doing since discovering Ricken's on board with writing Lumon propaganda.