Right away, there’s an air of uneasiness. It’s not just because Lumon’s office vibes are too symmetrical and creepy (more on that later). As Mark takes the elevator down to his floor, his face contorts oddly, as if an internal switch is flipping. And that’s exactly what’s happening. He has undergone Lumon’s infamous severance procedure. It means once he’s at work, he has no memories of his real life. His “innie” knows only the world of winding crystal white hallways, closely-attached desks, lame jokes with his coworkers, and promises of corporate perks like a waffle party. This version of Mark doesn’t remember that outside of his day job, everyone’s wondering what his confidential gig is (if it’s top-secret at all—it could be just an experiment of some sort). He doesn’t know he’s got a pregnant sister, Devon (Jen Tullock), who drags him to thankless events like a dinner-less dinner party with her husband, Ricken (Michael Chernus). He also doesn’t recall that his neighbor, Mrs. Selvig (Arquette), is his peculiar boss, Harmony Cobel, who is hiding her identity from him outside. Most importantly, innie Mark has no clue that his outie is grieving the death of his wife, Gemma.
As we will learn, Lumon’s severance practices have rightfully led to legal troubles, including protests from the people about its moral efficacy. But for now, it’s not hard to understand Mark’s decision to go through with it. He lives a lonely, drab existence that he can leave behind temporarily along with the thoughts of his dead spouse. Who wouldn’t find the idea appealing, no matter how questionable it is? Heck, the notion of blissfully not thinking about work when you log off itself is compelling, as impossible as it sounds.
This extreme work-life balance, in Mark’s case, leads to a fresh start two years after he severed and started this gig. In the premiere, he gets a promotion after he learns his boss/work friend, Petey (Yul Vazquez), isn’t with the company anymore—or so he’s told. His immediate task as the new boss is to initiate newcomer Helly R (Britt Lower) into his group. In fact, we meet Helly before anyone else during the sinister cold open. She’s lying face down on a massive conference room table, with no idea who or where she is. The visual is distinct: She’s spat out as if she’s a newborn, waking up in odd, unfamiliar territory. Talk about feeling properly disoriented and annoyed. All she hears is a man, Mark, asking her silly survey questions as she runs around, screaming to be let out.
Once she answers, Mark gives Helly a tour of her new employment digs (not before she throws a speaker at his forehead), and, well, she hates it. Can you blame her? For all she knows, she’s been kidnapped and trapped in a corporate purgatory. Helly’s attempts to leave via a stairwell keep leading her back to the floor, where a patient Mark awaits and tells her, “You chose to come back.” What the hell does that mean? Eventually, Helly learns from her “outie” that she’s willingly undergone severance. Like it or not, her personality is fractured into two. Her innie is understandably volatile, while on the outside, Helly is happy to serve Lumon…and someone named Kier.
Kier is a name that keeps popping up in “Good News About Hell.” Mark hears it from Cobel when she promotes him and says they’re “conferring upon him the freedom to serve Kier.” He’s also the man whose giant sculpture adorns a wall in Lumon’s reception area. Kier Eagan, as it turns out, founded Lumon in 1865. It doesn’t matter that he’s long gone (or is he?) because all the employees worship him with a cult-like reverie. Innie Helly is the only one in the premiere who’s alarmed by their blind faith situation. Mark, Irving, and Dylan have happily attuned themselves to the monotony of their day, encouraged by Cobel’s right-hand man, Mr. Milchik (Tramell Tillman), whose fake-ass smile masquerades his agenda.
It won’t stay that way for long because outie Mark is approached by his work BFF, Petey, even if he doesn’t recognize him. And Petey is a treasure trove of information because he’s somehow unsevered himself. It means this dude remembers both his lives, so to speak, and has secrets to spill about Lumon’s monstrous practices. He ropes Mark in while confronting him, leaving him a note inside a birthday card. Does Mark believe Petey? Or does he want to risk ruining his perfectly curated spatial dichotomy? The episode spends time teasing fascinating questions like these while establishing the show’s emotional spine through Mark and Helly. Two sides of the same coin, they’re both about to be involved in a problem that’s way bigger than themselves. They just don’t know it yet.
Before ending this recap, it’s crucial to acknowledge that, color-pallet-wise, Severance is spectacular. It relies heavily on conformity and color blocking to tell a story beyond words and expressions. Through distinct sets, outfits, and props, the show positions its clues smartly. (Keep an eye out for the ways blues, greens, reds, and yellows show up.) Cobel’s clothes, office walls and decor, and even her speaker are all dark blue, basically screaming “She’s corporate!” Even her Mrs. Selvig outfits are in an azure shade. All the houses in this Lumon-subsidized town, including Mark’s, are also blue. Meanwhile, the severed employees work on a floor with heavy notes of green. (Helly’s garb is an interesting mix of the two colors.) Outside of Lumon, Mark’s life features shades of red. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind going forward.
Stray observations
- • It’s commendable that for one and a half minutes in a series premiere, all that we see is the main character strolling through seemingly never-ending, extremely bright hallways just to get to his desk.
- • Shoutout to Theodore Shapiro, whose background score for Severance is so damn eerie. Those piano tunes can give anyone palpitations.
- • Severance‘s opening credits are a work of art. There are plenty of clues to be deciphered from it, but the big focus is, of course, on how Mark S. is being controlled.
- • The one other thing Severance nails is the facade of perks a corporation touts to motivate its employees. They’ll do anything—give you free pizza or whatever—instead of listening to your problems or raising your salary.
- • Since I mentioned production design, it’s worth looking closely at Devon and Ricken’s house because some of the items they have in there are very weird, especially for expecting parents. And yes, there’s some goat-related stuff in there. Let the conspiracy theories about how involved they are—if at all—with Lumon begin.
- • We don’t see much of Irving and Dylan yet, but they’ll be important players in this game. Still, it’s nice that “Good News About Hell” gives us enough information about their innies’ personalities.
- • Similarly, Mrs. Cobel and Mr. Milchick only get a few scenes, but it’s enough to be scared of them. Arquette’s delivery of “A handshake is available upon request” while offering Mark his promotion is perfectly creepy.
- • If you or anyone you know has ever attended a dinner-less dinner, you may be entitled to compensation. That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard, but is such a key insight into the friend group Ricken has cultivated for himself: know-it-alls who know nothing.
- • At least this dinner reveals that Mark used to be a history professor teaching World War I and that his late wife taught Russian literature.
- • A big mystery that’s also set up in the premiere is how the hell Petey bypassed the severance. How easy or painful was it? Who helped him?
- Also, hello. I was a huge Severance fan when it released and I’m excited to dive back into it with a more focused lens for these recaps. I’m also counting down the days till season two releases, but until then, let’s chat all about season one—theories, characters, twists, feel free to discuss it all below.
