Irv visits Burt and Mark reveals a secret to Helly in Severance season 2 episode 6. Here are some thoughts on the latest instalment.
Severance is not a relaxing show. This isn’t a criticism, just a personal observation. It requires your full attention in a way that Agatha All Along or The Office doesn’t – again, these are not criticisms – and each new episode is enough to make your head spin. It’s intriguing, intricate and most importantly, entertaining. But again: not relaxing.
It’s a real testament to writer Dan Erickson and regular director/exec producer Ben Stiller for keeping it as engaging and compelling as it is, but the real trick here, in season 2 episode 6, is that there’s now a newfound tenderness. Severance has never been a cold, emotionless series, but season 2 taps into something new.
Mark is still tinkering around with reintegration. It’s starting to work, and the line between his Outie and Innie selves is starting to blur. Severance seems to be getting more and more surreal each week, and I can’t say I’m opposed to that. Mark also opens up to Reghabi about grief and the bargaining one does after losing someone. Adam Scott is really wonderful here, as he has been this whole season. Mark’s role has changed quite drastically this season, becoming more of a balancing act as both versions of his character deal with the aftermath of the season 1 finale’s events.
Inside the Lumon offices, Mark S decides to tell Helly he had sex with her Outie, Helena. Helly is obviously devastated, and while Mark was definitely raped by Helena, Mark’s insistence that he thought he was having sex with Helly isn’t helping. Helly wanders around the office, trying to make sense of this new piece of information. She sits down on the floor after removing her shoes, trying to come to terms with the realisation that the man she has feelings for had sex with someone else. Ladies, we all know just how severe things have to get for us to take our shoes off at work.
Dylan and Irv are also connecting with their Outie loved ones. Dylan asks his Outie’s wife for a hug, saying he quite likes those, and Irv goes for dinner with Burt (Christopher Walken) and his husband. Irv brings a bottle of wine and even combs his moustache in the car before going in and almost blushing as Burt opens the door. There’s that tenderness again.
If this is making you think episode 6 is all about romance and things that make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, don’t worry. Mark is finally ready to move forward with his reintegration, allowing Reghabi to access the severance chip in his mind. Watching someone insert a huge needle into a hole in your brain makes your own head feel really weird, I’ve found.
Severance is still posing more questions than it can currently answer, but that seems to be the show’s mission statement. My fear is that it’ll result in a hugely heavy finale, leaving the season feeling unbalanced, but I have a lot of faith in Erickson and Stiller. There’s still four more episodes to go, so things could easily change and Severance could provide us with all the answers next week. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Severance premieres new episodes on AppleTV+ every Friday.
