Do we all remember where we were when we watched the conclusion of Severance‘s (2022–Present) first season? For me, it was in South Dakota around Christmastime. My sister mentioned some sci-fi show we should watch—considering its premise of characters who “sever” their work brain from their home brain, I expected a workplace satire—but suddenly, just days later, we were at its conclusion, and I was reeling. 

The four main characters had hatched a plan: trigger an override device that allows their inside, or “innie,” selves to wake up in the outside world. Usually confined to the suspect and ominous Lumon offices underground—where even they do not know what kind of labor they perform as “Microdata Refinement” workers—Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Irving B. (John Turturro), and Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) awake in varying locations to tell the people around them that they must investigate Lumon. 

In that ending sequence, never forget Helly’s violent stare as she promises Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) that she, the daughter of the Lumon CEO, will destroy the company. Irv banging on the door of Burt, another severed worker and the man he loves,’ and yelling his name. When Dylan is tackled by Milchick (Tramell Tillman). When Mark howls “She’s alive!”

That brief winter visit out West resembles the cozy couch I watched many moves upon and the blistering cold blizzard that blew through the morning before we were set to depart. Our flight was canceled, and we stayed an extra day, we left instead from Wyoming and its minuscule airport, where security hadn’t even opened an hour before departure. That slow movement from state to state—just one more stop before I returned to New York, then another to Mississippi—had all the usual strenuous tribulations of travel. I trekked according to schedule, one day at a time. In the meantime, I was haunted by this mysterious TV show, with its few answers, and slips of understanding that yielded only more questions. I was desperate for its return, but the days moved slowly still. 

I watched that first season in 2023, and the following year passed with a regular speed—which is to say it moved molten when I wanted things to speed up and my most cherished times swept by with inexhaustible speed. I taught a college class for the first time; I took a few more delayed flights. And I watched a lot of new television: The House of the Dragon Season 2, The Bear Season 3, and The Last of Us, none of which struck me as positively as that first season of Severance. I was struck in particular by some shows’ dependably unsatisfying seasons. When I recovered from my wisdom teeth removal in May and tore through a rewatch of the first two seasons of The Bear, I was disappointed to watch the third season later that year disintegrate into a series of vexing set-ups. Other shows lacked engaging pacing, stripped their characters of their essential traits, and leaned on the promise of another season.

In some ways, The Bear holds a similar premise to what Severance offers: a workplace dramedy and chosen family friendships that buoy the characters through strife. Both also successfully flesh out these characters—yet in The Bear’s third season, any promises of emotional change or self-reflection rapidly yield to the plot’s meandering attention. The restaurant, usually the show’s epicenter, becomes a glossy backdrop for overwrought emotional drama and repetitive humor. The Bear was once my favorite show; now, I cannot separate the lackluster third season from its brilliant first two installments. 

Troubled by this failed pacing from what was originally an excellently paced show, I dreaded the pitfalls of Severance, a show I loved as dearly. Still, my high expectations for its second season only intensified the further in time I was from my first watch. I rewatched Severance like I rewatched The Bear, but rewatching does little when the prospect of the next edition is nowhere in conclusive sight. 

Then the Hollywood writer’s strike caused further delays. The usual waiting interval between seasons had protracted, elongated. Meanwhile, Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan’s fates were stuck in those confined nine episodes that I could rewatch only.  Though time languished around me—and sometimes I forgot I was waiting for the best show of all time to return—I was always jolted by the reminder that one day we might get insight into the suspenseful plotlines from the first season. I empathize even more with those who waited since the show’s release in 2022 for the second season; how did you make it?

So when season two’s first episode aired on Apple TV+ last week, it felt like the triumphant return I’d hoped for years ago. My fears of disappointment dissipated from the moment a distraught innie Mark awoke in the elevator and tore through the whitewashed hallways of the Severed floor, a thrilling nonstop opening sequence that director Ben Stiller and Adam Scott said took them five months to shoot. It was a strong, unusual feeling to conclude the opening episode with excitement instead of worries. I feel as thrilled, intrigued, and bewildered about this new season (an extra episode longer, no less!) as I did when I sat down on a cold evening to start the show for the first time. 

In good fashion, this first episode answers some of our inquiries: a possible outside-world fallout from the innie’s plot and the changed atmosphere inside Lumon’s offices in reaction to these consequences. Of course, there’s the distinct absence from Mrs. Harmony Cobel, the silver-haired, hell-bent Lumon boss fired at the conclusion of last season. Meanwhile, the silent board of Lumon listens on. Meanwhile, Mark plans to find Ms. Casey—the wellness counselor who might (or might not) be outie Mark’s late wife. And, seriously, what the hell is up with Helly?

The remainder of Severance season two airs weekly on Apple TV+, and its finale comes out on March 21. And if you’re starting now, congratulations: your torturous waiting for more information and new episodes only lasts a week at a time. 

Editorial Courtesy of Arleigh Rodgers

Feature Image Credit to Apple TV via Forbes