Hey,I wanted to through this out : should fans of Severance be called Lumon-ati?
Spoilers Severance on Apple+
- Thread starter Commander Troi
- Start date
That term is reserved for the Lumon Board of Directors.
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It's funny that I've seen separate people convinced the events of episode 2 prove it's really Helly R. and that they prove it actually is Helena Egan undercover. I'm still inclined to believe the latter but so far I don't think we've seen concrete evidence either way.
Ricken's never struck me as the sharpest tool in the shed, LOL.Devon and Ricken thinking "She's alive!" referred to the baby had me wanting to bang my head into a wall.
Hey, at least they're not as ridiculous as Ricken's friends/followers like that guy who was hyperfocused on getting credit about finding Eleanor even though Mark walked into that room first. I still can't get over that one.Devon and Ricken thinking "She's alive!" referred to the baby had me wanting to bang my head into a wall.
Great development this week with Mark. I like his and Devon's gumption.
Not in love with the rest of it. Helly is a shell of her former character, she has no goals and takes no actions not led by Mark. If she really is Helena they should have let the audience in on it up front to at least create some tension. Take a page from Hitchcock.
The goat people were weird for the sake of being weird; I'm sure it's setup for later in the season but since it serves no immediate purpose it just draws attention to itself. The man who liked the fact about his outie was the only part that rang true.
Cobel's storyline is starting to annoy me. It was a straight up repeat of last week – she wants back in with MDR, Helena dangles a carrot, she smells a rat and flees. She's in the exact same spot she was at the end of season 1: on the outs with Lumon and with no goals beyond one she and the audience both now know she can't obtain. I hope there's some movement with her soon, because yeesh.
Not in love with the rest of it. Helly is a shell of her former character, she has no goals and takes no actions not led by Mark. If she really is Helena they should have let the audience in on it up front to at least create some tension. Take a page from Hitchcock.
The goat people were weird for the sake of being weird; I'm sure it's setup for later in the season but since it serves no immediate purpose it just draws attention to itself. The man who liked the fact about his outie was the only part that rang true.
Cobel's storyline is starting to annoy me. It was a straight up repeat of last week – she wants back in with MDR, Helena dangles a carrot, she smells a rat and flees. She's in the exact same spot she was at the end of season 1: on the outs with Lumon and with no goals beyond one she and the audience both now know she can't obtain. I hope there's some movement with her soon, because yeesh.
Danger Mouse!
That's it. That's my entire review. Nothing else can be said.
Of course not, but damn that was an awesome little moment.
Just like last week's episode, I loved and mourned Dylan's scenes. Seeing more of his outie life and meeting his wife, Gretchen (the always amazing Merritt Wever!), was a joy that is marked with bittersweetness. Dylan's innie was like a kid in a candy shop but Gretchen had to navigate awkwardly around the fact that this Dylan knows nothing about her, her life with him, their children, everything. And yet that evening, she tried to brush it off like it was nothing when talking to Dylan's outie. With Wever in the role, I can only hope that she continues to play a significant role this season and beyond. I would love to see her meet Devon.
I'm glad we got to the goat farm sooner than later and wow that was wonderfully weird, like we just stepped into some kind of Nordic or Highlands country horror film, and I was all there for it. Gwendoline Christie's Lorne was delightfully menacing and bizarre and I'm glad she decided not to slaughter Mark and Heddy, even though it took Mark comparing his concern for Gemma to Mammalians Nurturable's concern for those goats.
One of the things I'm absolutely loving the most about this show is its willingness to move some story points far faster than I expected, such as Dylan's convalescence with his wife and Mark's reintegration (or at least the immediate attempt at reintegration). For all of my love and forgiveness for its flaws, the one thing that frustrated me the most about LOST was its eager willfulness to deflect, divert, lie, or outward ignore giving any answers at until the last possible point and then explode with a ton of more questions to the point that what meager answers you got don't feel like enough (the exception that were mostly the flashbacks). Severance, on the other hand, has already made it clear that while it won't give us all of the answers right away (and that's fine!), it is giving us meaningful, concrete answers in satisfying amounts without leaving us with too many additional questions. Again, I say this as a big fan and defender of almost all of LOST (including the finale).
Sorry to make the last part of this review about comparing this show to another, but it's something that's been sitting hard in my head, right along with all of the board meetings always reminding me of the exact same set-up in Counterpart (again, everyone needs to watch that show!). Sometimes it's hard to process a crazy show like Severance without comparing it with the shows its clearly sitting on.
Plus, I loved watching a predator leading another predator towards a trap before the first predator realizes she doesn't actually have the upper hand she thought she had. Again, I get your frustration but it worked for me because it all built up to that moment. Cobel needed that humbling.
That's it. That's my entire review. Nothing else can be said.
Of course not, but damn that was an awesome little moment.
Just like last week's episode, I loved and mourned Dylan's scenes. Seeing more of his outie life and meeting his wife, Gretchen (the always amazing Merritt Wever!), was a joy that is marked with bittersweetness. Dylan's innie was like a kid in a candy shop but Gretchen had to navigate awkwardly around the fact that this Dylan knows nothing about her, her life with him, their children, everything. And yet that evening, she tried to brush it off like it was nothing when talking to Dylan's outie. With Wever in the role, I can only hope that she continues to play a significant role this season and beyond. I would love to see her meet Devon.
I'm glad we got to the goat farm sooner than later and wow that was wonderfully weird, like we just stepped into some kind of Nordic or Highlands country horror film, and I was all there for it. Gwendoline Christie's Lorne was delightfully menacing and bizarre and I'm glad she decided not to slaughter Mark and Heddy, even though it took Mark comparing his concern for Gemma to Mammalians Nurturable's concern for those goats.
One of the things I'm absolutely loving the most about this show is its willingness to move some story points far faster than I expected, such as Dylan's convalescence with his wife and Mark's reintegration (or at least the immediate attempt at reintegration). For all of my love and forgiveness for its flaws, the one thing that frustrated me the most about LOST was its eager willfulness to deflect, divert, lie, or outward ignore giving any answers at until the last possible point and then explode with a ton of more questions to the point that what meager answers you got don't feel like enough (the exception that were mostly the flashbacks). Severance, on the other hand, has already made it clear that while it won't give us all of the answers right away (and that's fine!), it is giving us meaningful, concrete answers in satisfying amounts without leaving us with too many additional questions. Again, I say this as a big fan and defender of almost all of LOST (including the finale).
Sorry to make the last part of this review about comparing this show to another, but it's something that's been sitting hard in my head, right along with all of the board meetings always reminding me of the exact same set-up in Counterpart (again, everyone needs to watch that show!). Sometimes it's hard to process a crazy show like Severance without comparing it with the shows its clearly sitting on.
The irony of reading your review on this point after writing about getting answers in my review is not lost on me. I don't feel the same frustration as you do with Cobel (but I certainly understand it) because of the results and movements with Dylan and Mark (and even a tiny bit with Irving discovering that Felicia knows about the "export hall"). I don't mind Cobel's back and forth travel because there was clearly a goal and purpose in her mind and that's partially driven by whatever that tubing in her passenger seat (which was glimpsed last season in her apartment).
Plus, I loved watching a predator leading another predator towards a trap before the first predator realizes she doesn't actually have the upper hand she thought she had. Again, I get your frustration but it worked for me because it all built up to that moment. Cobel needed that humbling.
Lumon knows a sucker when they see one.
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This series is weird, but I'm so enthralled with what is going on I can't wait to see more. It feels so different from Silo Season 2 in that I understand people's complaints about it being a slow burn but I enjoyed that slow burn. This series feels like things are moving so quickly that I might miss something, but every episode just keeps building on the last and I can't wait to see what happens next. I loved the stuff with Dylan and his wife, and the goat room. What a strange scene that was, but I'm glad we are returning to the Goats because what is going on there? I agree with those who say they could have done without the Cobal scenes, but I hope next week we actually get something deeper in that respect. Arquette has been such a revelation on this series that I hope something is worth the wait down the line. As for Milchek and Natalie, I wonder if they too will become disillusioned with Lumen. I thought I saw a little hint of that during that scene and the whole Natalie and Ricken thing is kind of creepy.
I thought for sure that Dylan’s wife would be an actress hired by Lumon (how the hell would he know?).
This show keeps you guessing.
Phasma the Goat Queen…wtf? That whole scene just reminded me of how people on the severed floor only know what’s in that world. I mean, who really thinks people have pouches?
This show keeps you guessing.
Phasma the Goat Queen…wtf?
That whole scene just reminded me of how people on the severed floor only know what’s in that world. I mean, who really thinks people have pouches?
I got so uncomfortable when Milchick was looking at those Blackified paintings! Very nicely done.
He also has to feign that he truly likes them to the Board, via Natalie. I'm surprised he didn't have them mounted on his office wall, to show he was a loyal Lumon manager.
I’m not sure that Natalie was particularly thrilled with the paintings either.
This still applies after episode 3. I too have found it really funny how people are interpreting the same scene as meaning the complete opposite. For example the awkward hallway moment with Mark, I have read people saying that it "proves" it's really Helena because she wasn't being more forward like our brave Helly would have been, and others saying it "proves" that it's really Helly because of the feeling of awkward inexperience and chemistry with Mark. I really don't think we have proof either way at this point.
Helly was not brave in season 1. She was suicidal but she was on a mission where she knew what she was trying to accomplish. Here I think it's the unknown that is giving her pause (same with Mark in the Goat room by the way) and it doesn't really prove if she is Helena or not. I hope it's not based on it being the most popular theory, but now with Mark going through the reintegration process, who knows. This is a series that keeps you guessing.
Didn't love the goat room scene this last episode, which to me felt weird just for the sake of being weird rather than really serving the story (especially since we already had the beat of connections forming between two departments despite rumors and lies that would lead to them distrusting and avoiding one another with O&D in season 1). I also agree that I really hope they do something (anything!) interesting with Helly/Helena soon because she's felt very passive and sidelined in all the scenes we've had on the severed floor so far.
I was pleasantly surprised that they took such a big swing so early in the season with Mark's reintegration. I'm excited to see where that goes next episode.
I was pleasantly surprised that they took such a big swing so early in the season with Mark's reintegration. I'm excited to see where that goes next episode.
Welcome to the Land of the Bizarre. Where we get so many answers and yet no answers at all.
How can the Severance floor be anything but a simulation at this point? Otherwise, nothing makes sense at all.
But we circle back to the main question: What is the point of all of this?
Clearly everything Milchick says is a lie. Tallest waterfall in the world. Biblical tale masquerading as history. And so on.
I am glad they addressed the Helena in the room sooner than later but it has come at a terrible cost.
Is this truly the end of of Irving? And what about his LOST-esque dream?
Mark is going to have some very confused feelings when everyone returns to the office. He thought he slept with Helly but it wasn't her and Helly doesn't know about it. Mark must be wondering who the hell is Helena actually. He said he didn't care before but I bet he does now.
On a side note, did anyone else notice the continuity editing mistake? During the first montage of the four wandering in the snow, Irving is clearly carrying the book...before they've reached the cave. That's one hell of a mistake.
Oh, and of course those damn marshmallows are block shaped.
How can the Severance floor be anything but a simulation at this point? Otherwise, nothing makes sense at all.
But we circle back to the main question: What is the point of all of this?
Clearly everything Milchick says is a lie. Tallest waterfall in the world. Biblical tale masquerading as history. And so on.
I am glad they addressed the Helena in the room sooner than later but it has come at a terrible cost.
Is this truly the end of of Irving? And what about his LOST-esque dream?
Mark is going to have some very confused feelings when everyone returns to the office. He thought he slept with Helly but it wasn't her and Helly doesn't know about it. Mark must be wondering who the hell is Helena actually. He said he didn't care before but I bet he does now.
On a side note, did anyone else notice the continuity editing mistake? During the first montage of the four wandering in the snow, Irving is clearly carrying the book...before they've reached the cave. That's one hell of a mistake.
Oh, and of course those damn marshmallows are block shaped.
Damn, I remember that sign and everything but forgot about during this episode. I even got to the point where I was thinking after I posted my review that perhaps Milchick lied even about Dieter's existence considering Dylan didn't know who he was. But perhaps not. Who even knows with this wonderfully insane show!
My guess is the whole severed part of the Lumon building where Micheal works is all about trying, ultimately, to clone Kier Egan. The severed floor has scientists that practiced the cloning process, starting with sheep. Mark's dead wife Gemma was probably used as a template when the company felt they had the knowledge to clone a human, and created the clone called "Ms. Casey." Macro data refinement is used to create the thoughts for the clone. Mark's project is Cold Harbor. Cold Harbor was a US Civil war battle that occurred about the same time Lumon was created. Could Mark be sorting the thoughts for implantation in a clone of Kier Egan?
The severed floor is compartmentalized so that none of the severed employees working on the severed floor know what any of the others are working on, and they don't have the ability to discuss work after hours, away from the job site, and be able to piece the different parts of what they are working on together. After work, it appears that unsevered managers and security keep an eye on the severed employees to ensure operational security.
The whole setup reminds me of a former job I had decades ago, when I worked in aerospace on secure programs, instead of severing, they used random polygraphs to ensure operational security. Everyone in the secure area wore special badges with each program and clearance listed by a number and colored background, on the badge. You had to look at their badge to determine what you were allowed to talk about with each employee. I was in Quality Assurance and was cleared at the highest level for every program that required quality coverage on my shift. There was a Quality supervisor that had fewer clearances than I did, and he wasn't happy about it. The more clearances you had, the more you got paid, and the less likely you would be laid off first.
