Rhombus Rota

I watched this based on a recommendation from a friend at work which is very fitting considering the subject matter of this show. If I was severed I wouldn’t be able to watch the show cause I wouldn’t remember him telling me about it. I would hate him because I wouldn’t be able to consume art whatsoever and the fact that he could would make me very jealous and angry. Anyways let’s me summarise the premise of this amazing show so you aren’t as confused. 

Severance (2022-) is about the office life of Mark, Dylan, Irving and newcomer Helly (my favourite) who all work in the Macrodata Refinement department at Lumon industries where they separate numbers into different boxes based on how they make the refiner feel.  This is as stupid and pointless to Helly as it sounds to you right now but this is all that they have because they have been severed. The process of separating an individual so they lose any memory of the outside world once they reach their work floor. Producing what the company refers to as a working “Innie” and an “Outtie”. Essentially it’s the question of What if you could literally leave your personal life at home and not bring it to work taken to its logical extreme.

As I said the show is great! I was told that this series takes everything from its concept. Explores it at every angle and that was absolutely the case. It’s got a really unique awkwardness to it which I really like. It’s simultaneously funny and depressing. There’s a lot to chew on thematically and they give you the breathing time to really soak that all in. The characters are likeable enough to make you want to keep coming back and the cliffhangers work at pulling you back in.

The show asks every question you could think of surrounding this concept and examines it thoroughly. It examines how a doppelgänger of you with different experiences can be so different, both through the actions of each characters’ respective innie and outtie and even their outfits. Irving’s outtie gives off such a different vibe from his stuffy innie just through the leather jacket that he wears.

It ponders what a life would be like where you had no art to consume besides whatever the company you worked for deemed appropriate. It takes into account how being fired is the equivalent to being killed and quitting is equivalent to suicide. The innies have no families. Their work situationships become the closest they can get to dating. It asks questions like can you cheat on someone with their outtie? How would child labour be regulated in a system like this? There is plenty of satire with the company managers being treated as celebrities and founders being treated as Gods. The company makes its own branded instruments, pens and toys none of which seem to have any relevance to anything. This comedy is balanced with the absolute dread of how Lumon treats it’s staff like resources and pits the innies against their outties, trying to convince them that outties are the enemy and Lumon is their friend. The takes are nuanced and examine how even characters who are higher up professionally are victims of the system. Even the structure of the show adds to its themes in that it’s a tv show and you have to keep coming back like clocking into work everyday. 

This show takes a hard look at corporate culture and it’s clearly intentional how the white offices of the Lumon building are so reminiscent of Apple’s iconic simplicity. [1] This begins to come across as disingenuous however. I’m sure the artists behind the show are genuine in their critiques of capitalism but there’s an everlasting sense of dread in how that voice can only be heard through the speakers of one of the biggest companies in the world. I wish I could treat this as a “Separate the art from the artist” issue but this trickles down into my other issue. Both seasons end on cliffhangers with no attempt at a satisfying resolution for the plot or themes. The focus is on dangling carrots to get the spectator to keep watching as opposed to just making something good that stands on its own. There are three outcomes of seasonal cliffhangers: The show ends when it’s still good with the ending that the creators want, which is great. It gets cancelled at some point so we don’t get an ending or even worse the show takes a nose dive in quality and the ending we get is bad. I don’t like having to take that emotional risk. This concern grows when I consider Apple’s place in all of this. I find it hard to imagine Apple would just let go of a show like this regardless of what the artists want or intend. This is the biggest show on Apple TV and probably the only one you’ve ever even heard of [2]. 

So far the show has maintained a high standard. In the second season the budget had a noticeable increase so the cinematography did as well, especially the lighting. There is also a lot of great character development in this season. We get to see a lot more of the other characters’ outties rather than just Mark’s. Because of this we get a lot more time outside, rather than in just the Lumon building where most of the first season takes place. The show makes great use of this, featuring plentiful wide shots that feel so free and liberating compared to tight Lumon building. The show has been great so far. I could see it becoming a new favourite if it keeps this up and lands a good ending but regardless I think it’s worth watching what we do have right now

Mark

References:

[1] Barton Creek – Apple Store https://www.apple.com/retail/bartoncreek/

[2] Severance finishes near the tops of the ratings charts https://www.cultofmac.com/news/severance-ratings