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Severance Season 2 Super Cut

• Hope and Daniel

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 Welcome to another super cut! A super cut is a combination of all our thoughts on a specific show from previous episodes, cut together into one long episode. So, if you’ve been listening week by week, you may want to skip this one. But if you’re new, or love listening to Hope and Daniel as they discuss their favorites shows, then join them as they discuss Severance Season 2.

Please note these are spoiler heavy episodes.

Music by yourtunes from Pixabay

Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/wewatchtvpodcast

SPEAKER_02:

Hey, everybody, and welcome to We Watch TV. It is the podcast about the TV that we watch. I am Daniel, and this is yet another Supercut. For those of you that are new here, a Supercut is where we take our various conversations over the course of several different podcast episodes about a specific show and smush them all together into one long Supercut that covers that show, usually about a season's worth from start to finish. And this week, we're talking all about Severance Season 2. We began our conversation on Severance Season 2 back in Episode 92, Coffee Game.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay guys, so you know what would have made our coffee-less day and my frustrations with FedEx a little better? If I could have just severed myself until we got to that point. Do you not agree?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Especially like everything going on in the world. I'm like, what would happen if I just severed myself for a bit? Had an innie and an outie life. What do you think? Would you be severed?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know. It's an interesting question. It brings up a real moral question about is that other person a person with rights who, you know, they're going to be suffering for you. Is that fair? I

SPEAKER_00:

feel like you are a vibe check because just like the other day over the weekend, you're like, you know what? I want to sever myself right now. So I think it really depends on Daniel's mood.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it comes and goes for me.

SPEAKER_00:

all right well if you guys don't know what we are referring to we are referring to the apple tv plus show severance season two premiered on january 17th and we were excited we had our pizza daniel actually went and got waynes at another restaurant to go with the pizza i

SPEAKER_02:

didn't like the wings that came from the pizza place i wanted the pizza from the one place i wanted the wings from the other place because i wanted to watch my special show and have a nice time

SPEAKER_00:

it's Like Gilmore Girls, like the way they would always get food from different places. But that's how excited we were for our Friday night Severance back in our lives. We watched Severance about this time last year. So we have not been waiting as long as you guys that are OG watchers. And I can't imagine having to wait that long because I felt like we had to wait long enough. But this show is particularly pretty meaningful to this podcast here that it is back because it is one of your– candidates for the best thing going is that correct

SPEAKER_02:

yeah the only reason the only main reason I didn't throw it in harder when we had that discussion earlier last year was because it only had one season and I you would a show really needs to show me something in season one to get it out there that quickly I think you'd have to show that you can sustain it through multiple seasons before I will consider you the best thing going because it's got to be going and so if this first episode was anything to judge by I think they're well on their way.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it definitely came out guns a-blazin'.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That first scene with Mark just walking around the halls at Lumen Industries. So what did you think about the premiere? Do you want to catch people up? What happened last season?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So, um, yeah, again, spoiler warning, spoiler podcast. We're going to talk about spoilers from here on out throughout the episode, not just severance, but everything that we watched. So be aware if you haven't watched severance or severance season two yet, we're going to talk spoilers. Um,

SPEAKER_00:

and skip to that next chapter. We do put chapter markers on for that very reason.

SPEAKER_02:

So in general severance, the basic idea is you have to understand the concept of an any and an Audi, which is there's a company called Lumen and they have developed a technology that allows you to essentially shut your consciousness down and open up a new one within your own mind. And so your outie person is you as your normal person, but your innie is the person that goes and does all the work at your job, but you don't remember any of it.

SPEAKER_00:

And it doesn't necessarily have to be a job either. We saw examples of people that chose to be severed while they gave birth last season. Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

Intermission from our Audis here, our non-podcast Audis. We paused the podcast because the noise that we heard earlier in the episode that we thought was the FedEx guy was actually a car hitting a deer. And we paused because then somebody came along and dispatched the deer with multiple shots, which I feel like is a little bit of overkill, but whatever. So anyways, let's sever back into the podcast, shall we?

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

So anyways, the story of season one severance is you meet four innies doing their job and they start to slowly kind of uncover the weirdness of the place that they work. And they discover a way to activate themselves when they're not at work. And so the final episode of the season one is they have activated. One of them stayed in the office and the other three went out to activate to try and figure out what in the world is going on. Like

SPEAKER_00:

what the real world is like. What the

SPEAKER_02:

real world is like. And we discover some very interesting things about them. Because

SPEAKER_00:

they don't even know anything outside of the walls

SPEAKER_02:

of

SPEAKER_00:

Lumen. Their Ennies don't know any of that. And a lot of this curiosity came on when they had a new hire, Helly R. come in, because she kept trying to quit and quit and quit. Then she would see videos from her Audi that was like, you're not a person. You suck. You're not going to quit. You're stuck. And that, your Audi is making your decisions for your Ennie. So as Daniel said, at the end of that season, we've got three of them with the Audis, Mark W., Who is the...

SPEAKER_02:

Barton Fink. Barton Fink. I never remember what his name is. Is it Burt? Burt, I think it is, yeah. And then... No, Burt is Christopher Walken's

SPEAKER_00:

character. Oh. Okay, well, we don't remember this guy's name. You know how... Thank goodness we're not a TV podcast. I hope

SPEAKER_02:

you're not listening for the first time, because if you're a long-time listener, you know we don't know. Barton Fink and Helly R.

SPEAKER_00:

Helly

SPEAKER_02:

R. Mark ends up at a party with his sister. Of course, he doesn't know he has a sister. Yes. And his boss is there.

SPEAKER_00:

And his sister's husband wrote the book that somehow got into Mark's innie bag. And they were all obsessed with this book. They thought it was like a religious experience. Yeah, when really his brother-in-law kind of means well, but sort of a nerd. So he's like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02:

His major discovery at the end of season one is that the therapist's innie looks exactly like outie mark's wife

SPEAKER_00:

who we presume to be dead yes and that's probably a huge reason reason why he chose to be severed because he was still grieving that loss

SPEAKER_02:

burton fink is discovers that the person he liked on the inside

SPEAKER_00:

that's burt

SPEAKER_02:

yes is married on the outside and so it's kind of just a heartbreak for him and he also discovers that he paints a lot and everything he paints are stuff from inside from the any world so there's some weird like is there cross is there something subconsciously crossing over between the two minds and then the big reveal is helly are she finds out she is actually the ceo in waiting of lumen company and that her audi volunteered to go in at to show that that severing is fine and it's a good thing to do

SPEAKER_00:

she's like the daughter

SPEAKER_02:

yeah the daughter of the ceo and she's going to become the ceo because it's a family company And

SPEAKER_00:

then when she goes up to give her speech, she started talking about how it's actually a terrible experience and they shouldn't do it. So we obviously know there's repercussions. And then I think the season ended with Mark looking at the picture, like you said, of Miss Casey. And then it was just nothing. And

SPEAKER_02:

then they got snapped out of it. And season two picks up exactly there. Mark shows back up in... the severed floor he goes looking for his wife or well it's not his wife but it is kind of his wife he goes looking for her and does not find her in fact the room she used to be in is completely gone

SPEAKER_00:

and his regular co-workers he has a new team who one of the he's kind of like the classic I guess the old man and Daniel and I were like who is this guy why do we know him and we IMDB'd and we're like okay he is Frank Buffay Phoebe Buffay's dad who shows up in one episode of Friends and Sleepy girl, sleepy girl. And the fact, it was just the voice. And he does, I think he does do a lot of voice work, but like, that's what we, we're just like going down the list and we're like, oh, that's what we know him from. So I had to get that off our chest because both of us were like, where have we seen this guy? But we don't really see this team very much. We see Mr. Mike, is it Michael check? I always call him milkshake

SPEAKER_02:

milkshake. That's what they call him is milkshake.

SPEAKER_00:

What's up with this guy? He's clearly not severed. What's wrong with him? I'm starting to think they took a piece of his brain out. Something's up with him. I

SPEAKER_02:

think everybody that works down there or something.

SPEAKER_00:

Like brainwashed. Something's off. And they've got, okay, please explain to me the child.

SPEAKER_01:

I have no

SPEAKER_00:

idea. Now they have a supervisor. So he's taking over for Ms. Cobell.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Who we don't know where she is because she kind of exposed everything at the end, but she's still got, you know, she's three fries short of a Happy Meal. She's screwed up anyway.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, not just she's gone because she screwed it up. The company is pinning all of the things that took place on her, even though that's not what happened.

SPEAKER_00:

But she was crazy. She's just crazy. Oh, yes, yes. Anyway, everybody's crazy. So now they also have this girl, like a young girl that looks like a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And I'm like, okay, so Miss Casey was of Asian descent. This little girl was of Asian descent. If you notice, she wears her hair and barrettes exactly the same way. I don't know if there's a connection there or what, but I'm wondering. Because that is an intentional styling change. It was

SPEAKER_02:

very intentional. But

SPEAKER_00:

where did this kid come from? I'm very confused.

SPEAKER_02:

And so I won't recap the entire episode, but eventually the team gets back together and they're taken in and shown a video to say, hey, you guys are famous. You changed the way severance works. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And sus

SPEAKER_00:

yeah

SPEAKER_02:

sus sus sus

SPEAKER_00:

and they Mr. Milchak I can never say his name I'm just calling him milkshake creepy dude the way like they kind of referred him in the show he shows them newspaper articles about how they're famous are you buying that no not one bit me either not even a little bit me either so yeah that's where kind of the premiere no outies

SPEAKER_02:

at all we saw nothing

SPEAKER_00:

of the outside world none of the outies none of that world and they have to make the decision if they want to go ahead and continue to stay they're letting them make the decision

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00:

yeah, yeah. Do you think, and I feel like this is probably the obvious choice, that and why they don't get back together, that that's not really the hellier any, that is hellier running the company, and she's infiltrating because there's something off, or could it be that it actually is our hellier, and they've let her go back down there, but she is so ashamed and embarrassed because of what her... Audi does that she's not ready to admit that to the group. Which of those do you think it's going to be?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sitting 70-30. 70% chance I believe that it is just the real person, the Audi. infiltrating to see what she took for information. 30% chance it's Hallie R who is just so embarrassed that she is essentially the bad guy on the outside world that she can't bring herself

SPEAKER_00:

to tell everybody. Maybe she thinks she can still tear it down. I just have to wonder, I'm the same way of you as you are with these percentages. I just feel like there's a reason why they're allowing them to get together, and I think a lot of that has to do with Helly. But that being said, I would love it if it would actually be the Helly R we came to know, and she's just kind of covering that up.

SPEAKER_02:

I agree. I still would need a really good reason why that CEO would ever go back in there. After what happened at the end of season one, why would she go back on the severed floor and let her troublemaker of an any join back in with the other troublemakers?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, they're already trying to plant the seeds of doubt. among them like they're taking Adam the one guy he was the one that was doing the control so he actually didn't get to see

SPEAKER_01:

yeah

SPEAKER_00:

but he knows he has kids and I think they said like hey your wife could come see you you're the only one that's married she could come see you so they're like and I don't buy that at all but they're trying to like plant these seeds of doubt and I'm really interested to see where this season goes

SPEAKER_02:

yeah yeah I am too I'm interested to know what the Because we never really found out what the work they're doing is. is

SPEAKER_00:

yeah I think it's all one big experiment

SPEAKER_02:

yeah I think that's the case so it's like they're continuing the experiment so the work doesn't really matter they really it's almost like it's just a social experiment to see what how far they can push people yeah because they're wanting to push severed out

SPEAKER_00:

yeah

SPEAKER_02:

into the mainstream

SPEAKER_00:

that's why we saw the thing with like pregnancy I think they're wanting to see how much like it basically just like squid game which we'll get to I think of the show is a huge metaphor about how you you're not a person

SPEAKER_01:

yeah

SPEAKER_00:

to some of these companies you're just supposed to be a worker bee. And then when you die, they replace you. Quit. They replace you. You don't matter. And I think that's kind of what the message of the show is sending. Is that what you kind of think? Oh, I agree

SPEAKER_02:

100%. Yes, that is a different way of, like you said, with Squid Games, it's a different way of going about it. But it's the same. It's really the same story showing you like you are nothing to these capitalist companies.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. And I'm really interested to see where the season goes. Do you think we'll see the Audis in the next episode?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, we will see them next episode. I don't know. Cause like, like this show, I don't know where they're going to go with it.

SPEAKER_00:

I kind of hope we do because we had some drama with Mark's sister because Ms. Cobal had been like kind of helping be there like nanny or their night nurse or something. And we thought she took their baby, like his sister has a baby, that brand new newborn. We thought that she might've taken that baby, which she didn't. But so she obviously knows what Mark's, um, any said. Yeah. So there's, there's, there's these plots that we have to kind of answer. And I'm like, please, I want to, I wanted more. I was really hoping that Apple would get like gift us with the first two episodes. And they were like, no, you got to wait.

SPEAKER_02:

I think the reason we're not seeing the Audis right now is because they're actually the three of them. The three Audis that are not involved with the company are just being held hostage.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

The, the Heli, her citizen, obviously, cause she's a CEO, uh, But the other three are just being held

SPEAKER_00:

hostage. Ask me another question for you. What if all this time Mark's actually not left? Do you think he's even gone back to being out? Do you think they're just keeping them in that building?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, they could just be shutting them down. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

There's a lot going on. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_02:

Just the first episode in, but I'm right back into it. I might need to do Pizza and Wings from two different places again this Friday.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought we talked about Chipotle.

SPEAKER_02:

Ooh, Chipotle could

SPEAKER_00:

be good too. Do you think we are going to see any more egg parties or waffle parties?

SPEAKER_02:

Milchick was definitely bribing Dylan with a lot of different treats at the end of season one. And then again, in season two, he's bribing him with like the family visits and stuff. So I think we'll see a lot of special parties for at least for Dylan.

SPEAKER_00:

And we had to look up that his name was Dylan because I caught him Adam earlier. I

SPEAKER_02:

thought you were talking about Adam, like Adam Scott, the character that plays Mark W. We continued with episode 93, what we're looking forward to in 2025.

SPEAKER_00:

Severance season two, episode two. Here's a thing that you can tell that we're so used to these short season is I have a note in my notes. I don't know if you thought that. I'm actually excited. That's 10 episodes.

SPEAKER_02:

I know it's crazy. 10 whole episodes.

SPEAKER_00:

Man. 10 whole episodes. Because sometimes, I feel like sometimes I've been like eight episodes.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Or like you're going to be like Agatha all along and just have nine

SPEAKER_00:

for some weird reason. It's a very odd thing to deal with, but Anyway, this second episode, our first episode of the premiere was called Hello, Ms. Colbell. And it was all about the innies. And then the second episode was called Goodbye Miss Selvig because that was her Audi presence, even though she knew what she was doing. She wasn't severed. And this episode was just all about the Audis. And I did look up, by the way, we can never remember the old guy's name, Barton Fink. His name is Irving.

SPEAKER_02:

Irving. Okay, I'll move on from Barton Fink because no one has any idea what I'm talking

SPEAKER_00:

about. Go watch that movie, though. With

SPEAKER_02:

that reference.

SPEAKER_00:

Go watch that movie and give us a fan mail about what you think.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, go watch Barton Fink and tell us

SPEAKER_00:

what you think. All right, Daniel, you want to catch us up with the latest? Yeah, I mean,

SPEAKER_02:

it essentially is exactly what you said. This is the same version of what we got in episode one, except it's the outies. And I think you can immediately see that basically everything they're telling the innies is a complete lie. Total lie. Their time frame is a complete lie.

SPEAKER_00:

But they said it was five months, and it was like, what, two days?

SPEAKER_02:

It's like three or four days in succession with each other.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

They did not answer the helly question about who is down in the severance floor. I'm on the fence. I'm

SPEAKER_00:

on the fence, too. I'm on the fence a little more now than I was.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we talked about it last episode, and we've seen some people talking online. There's people online who are not sure... See, they're not sure from like, oh, is it Helly R or is it really the Audi woman? And we're on the opposite side of that where we were almost immediately like, oh, she's lying. That's not Helly R. And then we were like, but is it Helly R? And she's just ashamed

SPEAKER_00:

of

SPEAKER_02:

her Audi presence. And we still don't know the answer to that question.

SPEAKER_00:

And apparently there's some project that they need Mark to complete the project. So they drop that detail. And you see that Helly watching herself. And I think she's really... like interested because Helly R and Mark kissed at the end of season one. I think she's almost jealous.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. I mean, I think cause, cause her life, like she's

SPEAKER_00:

high power. She has like a social life as an Annie where she doesn't.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So it's interesting.

SPEAKER_00:

And she clearly, she has pressure from her dad to do better, but like, so we know at one point she's watched cause she's watching and they tried to put them with that new team and they really did fire. They really did fire the other people. They fired Dylan, they fired Irving and they made him think they fired Helly and And they were like, no, Helly's got to go back in for the project. So that's where we're at. Does she actually let herself become the Annie to go in there? Or is she a really good actor? I thought what stuck out to me about this episode was Dylan going out to apply for other jobs. And they were like, oh, wait, you've been severed? never mind

SPEAKER_02:

and then he got basically discriminated against

SPEAKER_00:

a Doors company and you brought up a really good point you're like the whole world that they're in the Audi world is weird and I'm like I think that's an intentional decision by the show to make the outside world robotic too but it is a weird vibe

SPEAKER_02:

yeah it's a weird vibe I don't think it's anything more than that but if they went a direction where the Audi world wasn't necessarily what they were really experiencing either

SPEAKER_00:

that'd be cool

SPEAKER_02:

I could see that working Very well. And I think the main comment I would say for this episode was it was good, but I think they should have released episode one and two at the same time. I agree. I think that would have flowed better. And then we could get excited for episode three to see the because really all we were doing for these past two episodes was. an extended season one a season one of every of every show ever where you've got a cliffhanger all it's doing is catching you up

SPEAKER_00:

yeah and we had which you could argue that that's a reason why again a lot of people had problems with the bear season three yeah because it very much did the same thing i liked it that they had the whole episode on the innies the whole episode of the outies but i definitely agree as a viewer i think it would have been really nice to release those both at once now i don't know i didn't check the runtime but i felt like the episode went by really fast maybe i was just really enjoying myself I think

SPEAKER_02:

the second episode was much

SPEAKER_00:

shorter okay so it wasn't just that I was just enjoying myself and can I ask again about the whole Dylan job interview thing was it intentional that they cast somebody who interviewed him that looked like Dylan because they even the camera even panned and they were both sitting in their chairs looking each other the same that was odd to me was that an intentional choice

SPEAKER_02:

I think it was intentional it was weird so I think what they're trying to show is like they were very much similar people you could tell they were getting along just Until they found out he was severed. Everything was good. He had that job. And then when he mentioned that he was severed, that was it. That was it, yeah. And I think that might have been what they were going for there. But it was definitely off-putting. And what's even more off-putting is those two actors, if you go look them up on IMDb, don't actually look like each other. Oh, okay. So they made choices made in wardrobe and makeup and everything to get them looking more like each other.

SPEAKER_00:

And then we have Selvig, Cobell. Do we think she's still... working because they were like we're going to offer you another job in our company do you think she's still in it at all they they didn't fully say but she indicated like she

SPEAKER_02:

scoffed at it because she thought i think she saw through it i think she is correct in seeing through it that it's not really a promotion but i don't know if she's taking it or not

SPEAKER_00:

and she also kind of scoffed at mark yeah for going back the audi she gave kind of giving some crap for it

SPEAKER_02:

and and she also threw some fuel on the fire for audi mark

SPEAKER_00:

yeah

SPEAKER_02:

because the simple fact is he He finally confronted her and he asked a question about his wife. And her reaction is all he needed to know something's going on. It doesn't even mean his wife is alive. All it means is something is going on.

SPEAKER_00:

And now we heard this whole project thing. I started going real dark. I was like, okay, his wife was, we know she was a professor. Then I'm like, oh my gosh, what if she's been working for the sever of the whole thing? And she like faked her own death and she is, but that I don't think that's what it is. I think if anything, maybe she was pronounced brain dead and they can put chips and brain dead people to make them work as like a corporate robot, so to speak. Maybe that's probably more what it is but I'm not really sure I'm excited to find out though so I'm definitely looking forward to the next episode and do you think we're going to get the Ennies and Outies like how we used to we're going to see both in the next episode or do you think they're going to keep separating it

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know what they're going to do format wise I really don't

SPEAKER_00:

and it's exciting

SPEAKER_02:

and it's exciting I think it's good to have a television show that you cannot predict episode 94 the superb owl there's a lot of TV shows out there We should talk about them.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, let's do it. For

SPEAKER_02:

instance, Severance. We missed last week, so we've got two episodes of Severance to talk about tonight. Episodes three and episode four. I feel like, for me, because we watched these at the same time, they really blended together. They did. And I'm having a lot of trouble recalling episode three because episode four was a monumentally excellent episode of television.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, let's go through the titles of it. Episode three is Who is Alive? Mark, Kelly, Irving, and Dylan search for answers. So they're all together again. I think that's where, no, where they went, they would have been showed the video in the previous episode too, right? They are blending together. And then episode four is Woe's Hollow. The team participates in a group activity. I can't believe that we're only four episodes in and some people could be like, oh, well, the pacing, yes, the timing is going slow but the information reveals that we have had is a lot it's a lot for

SPEAKER_02:

it's a lot for only four episodes so before we get to episode four quickly episode three dylan got to meet his outie wife

SPEAKER_00:

who you i i heard the pet and immediately you're like big guy i'm like what that's elizabeth from new girl who schmidt two times cc with yeah And we're really liking Schmidt and Cece still over Nick and Jess best. When you recall that storyline. They grew up a lot, both of them. It's okay. It was a journey. It was

SPEAKER_02:

a journey. Mark and Hallie go looking for Audi Mark's wife and they meet the goat people.

SPEAKER_00:

Who want to see their belly buttons.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that was weird.

SPEAKER_00:

That was weird. That whole scene was weird. Game of Thrones lady

SPEAKER_02:

shows up as a goat person.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, Brienne of Tarth. Yeah. I like her hair dark like that. It looked really pretty, even though she

SPEAKER_02:

was rude. And Irving goes back to the art department to see what's going on there, even though Bert is no longer with the company. He gets some answers. He gets some answers, and he has some conversations and talks about the paintings that he's been... see that his Audi has been painting.

SPEAKER_00:

We also see Mark's Audi talking to his sister. Yeah. And they're trying to do an act. He's trying to like burn stuff into his retina. So his, any Mark can remember stuff. And then he's met with that woman who we saw in season one that used to work for the severed people. And apparently she like confirmed that Gemma, the last time she saw Gemma, Gemma was alive, whatever that means. And she's going to work on, she says she's perfected it. So she's going to work on doing to try to unsever him, what she did with his one coworker that, unfortunately, it didn't take and that died in season one.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And so that's where that episode leaves off.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you trust that lady?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know. I don't know either.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know who I trust. I don't know if I trust Gemma, his old wife.

SPEAKER_02:

Before we get to episode four, let me just say, and I've been saying this for a while, I don't entirely trust the Audi world. Maybe it's just the vibe they're going for. But there's just something very strange and off about the Audi world.

SPEAKER_00:

I could see it being an artistic choice to make it very clinical and robotic because we're all just corporate people, whether we're any or Audi. So I could see that being an artistic decision. But the more we look into it, the weirder it gets as well. It's weird.

SPEAKER_02:

So anyways, episode three ends with Mark kind of starting the journey of... I don't remember the term they used for it, but basically unsevering. Yeah. And then... It's not addressed except for like a split second in episode four where they all go on a nice little hiking camping trip.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, you forgot another important thing of season three before we get into the group retreat. Milchak. is on Talks to the Board. Oh, that's right. And he gets some gifts from the board members. They have taken paintings of their past board members that were of Caucasian white race and turned them into a black person. and gave it to him. And I think he was, even though you didn't, he's a very robotic person. I think he was just a little bit freaked out by it. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02:

When he put them away. There was a weird vibe. Yeah. Instead of putting them up on the wall, which I assume is what they would have wanted, he put them up on a shelf. And so to me, that was a signal that that was not

SPEAKER_00:

exactly the validation he was looking for. The girl that's always talking to the board. Natalie. What is her name? Natalie. She kind of had this plastered-on smile, like, I got the same thing. Yeah. And then she's talking also to Mark's brother-in-law, who wrote that book that somehow got in. Yeah, yeah. And she wants him to write one, but to make it... They

SPEAKER_02:

want to change some of the language around Justin so it's not upsetting to the innies, right? But I wonder if that means they think that book could help a little bit more with some cult activities.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, so you're chomping at the bit here. Let's get right into it then. The crazy one, episode four, the group retreat. They all just wake up in a snowy, mountainous... place wearing they're all wearing black like coats with hats and Mr. Milchak has quite the set he's got quite the look on like a white coat and a white hat when he finds them and there was really no explanation about how they got there that's how the episode opened and that's where we were the whole time

SPEAKER_02:

were they actually out did they actually were they actually gone from the severed floor

SPEAKER_00:

I don't think so, but at the same time, it's weird for what happened at the end. Why would you blow your cover like that at the end, which we'll get to if we weren't? Even if they can simulate that and they're still in the building, because I don't think they were in a real park or actually outside, maybe you can still get hurt even in the simulation or something. Well, you can still be drowned in water. Yeah, that's true. I'm

SPEAKER_02:

not saying it was a holodeck situation. Like that all that's like from... No, I'm not saying it was like a Star Trek holodeck where all that stuff is actually not there and just it's visualized but not real. I'm just saying something seemed off enough and also they take such... precautions to protect the outies the innies from the outside world and to take them to a place like that in the outside world where you know anything can happen like

SPEAKER_00:

we've never seen the innies like fall asleep and they had yeah

SPEAKER_02:

exactly yeah they never slept before which was a weird thing um so they march them through this place and they're supposed to be like following a But they may

SPEAKER_00:

see

SPEAKER_02:

themselves in the distance. Like holograms or something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Then they got their marshmallows taken away from them. They got

SPEAKER_02:

their marshmallows taken away from them. And finally...

SPEAKER_00:

The creepy little girl supervisor is still there.

SPEAKER_02:

Still there. Still unexplained. But finally we get to the end of the episode and Irving is suspecting something that Helly might not

SPEAKER_00:

be Helly. You're missing a major plot point. So we have the tents. Helly and Mark hook up. Oh, yeah. So... Based upon our reveal, that's...

SPEAKER_02:

yeah that's not uh that's not great

SPEAKER_00:

so as you said irving suspects heli who she is basically so we have a we have a confirmed now

SPEAKER_01:

it's confirmed yeah

SPEAKER_00:

and we kind of figured this i thought maybe there's a chance they could go the other way and actually have our heli go back in but we thought and for the most part we figured like that we are not going to see hell our version at the any version of heli are for a while and that actress is doing a good job oh

SPEAKER_02:

she's doing such a good The

SPEAKER_00:

eyebrows. You know what she reminds me of? And you are going to roll your eyes at this. But Nina Dobrov did such a great job on The Vampire Diaries when she would be Catherine and Elena. And there were some times where Catherine was impersonating Elena and she would try to do Elena's mannerisms, but it was always a little off. And stuff like an eyebrow flip, a hair flip, just a tone of voice. And I feel like this actress has done like... a very good job at like basically playing like two characters at once like a character playing another character playing another character and Irving our dude Irving like like he was still he had asked her in that first episode about like with Night Gardener what do you mean and he brought that up again and Then he's like, you guys are making goo-goo eyes at each other, Mark. That's why you can't see it. So what Daniel and I were saying about the drowning, so they get their marshmallows taken away. Mark and Helly hook up. It's kind of creepy and weird, but we think that maybe the unsevering might be working because while they were hooking up, a flash of Gemma's face showed up. So that would be

SPEAKER_01:

taken.

SPEAKER_00:

So then Irving just decides that he's going to– drown Helly to try to get... Well, he sleeps

SPEAKER_02:

outside. Yeah,

SPEAKER_00:

he falls asleep outside. He almost freezes to death. And then

SPEAKER_02:

when he wakes up and ends up finding Helly, who's also just wandered off from camp in the morning by that waterfall. She's looking at the waterfall. Now, this is supposedly like a significant waterfall to the owners of the company.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, which we know are related to

SPEAKER_02:

her. And they joke about it being like the tallest waterfall in the world to the innies, which they wouldn't know, right? But it was kind of a funny thing. But she's there admiring it. I think that might go back to the fact that she's not actually Helly R. She is Helena. And he finds her there and they have a discussion and he talks and he says that line about Helly was never cruel. And then he, so he just grabs her and starts drowning her. And that middle chick shows up and she finally is like, flip the switch.

SPEAKER_00:

Seth. She got him. She called

SPEAKER_02:

him Seth. And then, and then Irving says, yes, Seth flip it. And then he flips her back to Helly R. To get him to stop.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's the first time Helly R.

SPEAKER_02:

Has been in the season.

SPEAKER_00:

Has been in the season since she realized that she wasn't Egan and was on stage.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Being like, no, they treat us like crap. So she's, that's the last thing she remembers getting turned off. And suddenly she's waking up being drowned. So that's what gives the ick of, first off, with Helly, you know, impersonating Helly R. That like goes a whole thing of like, consent from that perspective because that's not the hell he knows but then over her own that's where it comes in that like is your any a person that comes in like the whole even though it's her it's not her in a sense so like a whole thing of like consent and I feel I do really feel like if it was flipped and it was like Mark like a man and a woman like I think there'd be way more outrage over it what do you think

SPEAKER_02:

yeah well I mean Mark has something to say in this too because he was not no

SPEAKER_00:

I mean if it was if Helly was a man yeah

SPEAKER_02:

yeah no yeah I see what you're saying there

SPEAKER_00:

but like Mark also people would have made a big deal Mark

SPEAKER_02:

also is going to have some trauma from this because he thought he was doing it with one person yeah who is not the person he was doing it with

SPEAKER_00:

but I what I'm telling you if like Mark had been the person knowing the whole time sure like Kelly is I think more people would be icked out by it and I think so you know you know it shouldn't matter what your sex is for that so that's a whole weird thing and now I don't with that reveal and i thought they were going to strain us along for that a little bit so now it's like we've got irving who they drug out of there who knows what's happening they

SPEAKER_02:

terminated him according to what they've said so as far as we're aware we don't know he's coming back now i'm

SPEAKER_00:

gonna go out on a limb and say description said they the team deals with a loss or they yeah yeah

SPEAKER_02:

like they have turned him off now i don't know if that means they turned it off and can just turn it back on whenever they want to if they're or if there's something they can do to just actually kill the Yenny. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

So what do you think about that being revealed so early? Like we have, I think we said 10 episodes. Yeah, we've still got six episodes

SPEAKER_02:

left.

SPEAKER_00:

Like the cover's blown for Helly. Mark knows now. It's just... Where do we go from here?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know. I think they've mentioned multiple times that Mark in particular is working towards something that they need to see finished. Well, I have the... Like if they've gone so far as to have... Helena impersonate Helly and come into the floor. And now at this point, what has happened has happened. I feel like they're going to just bring Helly R back and let her go back in because Mark will just refuse to

SPEAKER_00:

Work with the other one. Work with the other one. Like even Selvig, who we don't think she did take the offer because she had a scene with Heli in episode three. Yeah. Even she's like, we need to finish this project. So that brings me to my next. I have a couple different working bizarre theories. I don't know if any would be true. We know that Gemma, his wife, was a professor. I am almost wondering if she's in on the whole thing. and that it was intense. I have two different theories with Gemma. One, that she's not, that she's actually low-key evil, and she's a professor, and she's like, well, let's test my husband to see the grief process, why someone would want to get severed, and that she's a part, she's actually one of the driving forces behind the project thing. And then my other explanation is maybe they knew that she was a professor, and maybe she was against severance, so they were involved. They were, like, she was in a car accident. They were involved in that car accident, took her body, basically, She's basically brain dead, put a chip in her, and made her into Miss Casey. So I have those two running theories. And then my other theory that doesn't have anything to do with Gemma, where you talk about the outside world, we keep seeing this stuff like vegetation with the goats, is what if they are secretly pumping stuff in to make the outside world more controlled, and that's all part of the game. So there's my word vomit about some wild theories I've got going on. What do you think about my theories, and what are some of your theories?

SPEAKER_02:

I could see Gemma slash Mrs. Casey being in on it. I'm not so sure about manipulation on the outside world. I'm more on the side of I don't know that we're seeing the outside world. But I will say I don't have theories, but I have things that I've noticed that are weird and I don't know how to put them together. So Dylan's wife is a cop.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Why is that detail? What's the point of that detail?

UNKNOWN:

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

Because Gemma was in a car accident. And maybe the cop showed up. What's the new

SPEAKER_00:

assistance? They did prove that that was his wife, though, because we were distrustful about that. We're like, what

SPEAKER_02:

if it's not her? The new little girl. She said before she came to work in the severed floor, she was a crossing guard.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Again, related to traffic and cars.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. You're on to something. There's

SPEAKER_02:

something weird going on here. Something fishy. I don't know what it is, but it is very strange.

SPEAKER_00:

And I am excited to see where they go with it. As

SPEAKER_02:

am I. Episode 95, Flowers in the Attic, White Lotus Edition.

SPEAKER_00:

So moving right along in some other weird shows, Severance, Episode 5, picked up pretty much where we left off. The secrets are out. Helyar, or Helena, has been compromised. And... we now got some more information about really how important Mark is to the whole project because basically they told, they're like, you're going to have to be like Helly R again. And she was like, absolutely not. I'm not going to be that woman again. Those people tried to kill me. They're animals. And I'm just sitting here like, I was so disappointed because I had hoped, I had really hoped that maybe her being down there and aware of it, maybe she would start to view the severed people, the innies, a little differently because I felt like she was jealous of the connection that Helly R, her innie, had with Mark. And I felt like she, I don't know. I didn't think she was going to come around and not be a villain, but I thought she might have felt more empathy. Absolutely not. None

SPEAKER_02:

whatsoever.

SPEAKER_00:

Stone cold. But they're making her, they're like, Mark's so important to do this project that the board is saying you have to go back in as Helly R. So now we have Mark. Suspicious.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. I think we were unsure. Very unsure. So when we left, it didn't get touched on in episode four. But in episode three, Mark was working with that doctor to... merge himself back together.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And so when we come back to season, episode five, at first, we weren't sure whether Mark was being distanced from Hallie because he didn't think he could trust her.

SPEAKER_00:

He was cold to all of them.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Or he was, maybe something else was going on in the merge and it was actually Audi Mark and he didn't really know what to do. We thought it might be Audi Mark. I think by the end, with what happened, and we'll get to that in a little bit, I'm leaning towards he was just being cold because now he doesn't know who to trust.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. He was cold towards Dylan, too. So basically, they wanted Dylan to demand it, that they have a funeral, even though he didn't die. And

SPEAKER_02:

not a retirement party. Because usually when the Ennies leave, they have a retirement party. But in this specific case, because Milchick was forward with them and said, yeah, he's not coming

SPEAKER_00:

back. He said he's never coming back. So they wanted to have a funeral for the Ennie of Irving. And Mark was just like, well, make it quick. And we were like, oh. So I think the unsevering process is working. And it's making it. But I think you're right. He didn't know who to trust. We've got Milchik. More Milchik goodness. That actor deserves awards.

SPEAKER_02:

He's excellent.

SPEAKER_00:

And so does the actress playing Helly. Because, wow, talk about diabolical. So Milchik also had his performance... review up, and I'm never going to think about the way I put a paperclip on a stack of documents again.

SPEAKER_02:

That was pretty good.

SPEAKER_00:

They noted that. He tried to talk to Natalie about the photos. I'm starting to think that Natalie is always on the board. The board is always in her eyes, and that's why her eyes change and are so expressive. I think the board is always on with Natalie. I'm

SPEAKER_02:

trying to figure her out. I'm starting to wonder, is she just 100% severed? All she is is that.

SPEAKER_00:

I have no idea. But yeah, kudos to that actress. We still don't know what's going on with the little girl.

SPEAKER_02:

No, we have no idea. She really wants to play that weird instrument, the pheromone or whatever they call it, because she got real mad.

SPEAKER_00:

She and Milchuk got a little snippy with each other, though, because she didn't want to have the funeral. And then outside of it, we have Audi Irving meeting Audi Burtz. We have Christopher Walken's character back, and he's like, you came to my house, and they talked about it, and we know he's married, or maybe not married, but with another person, but they're feeling that connection. And so we've got that plot going on. And

SPEAKER_02:

Irving's also... Also talking to somebody on the phone. He did a little bit last season. He has continued this season. And we've never seen who he's talking to

SPEAKER_00:

yet. But we did see the drawing of the place that he was drawing. We saw that on the show, right? Like the hallway?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, more importantly, he left a message for Dylan. He drew a picture of that black hallway. And he put a note on it. And he said the last thing he said to Dylan was hang in there. And then Dylan sees that poster hanging in there, checks the back of it. There's the note. We didn't get to see what the note. the content of the note contained, but he saw the note. He saw the paint, the painting of the black hallway. So Dylan knows some has information to go forward with.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm a little worried for Mark's sister and her husband, because clearly Lumen is like, like trying to get her husband and he's based to basically rewrite his book entirely to fit their narrative. And he's like, this is the most like financial incentive I've ever been given. And she's like, at what cost now, like, Another thing I want to say about this show, and I forgot to say it last week, and I absolutely can see them doing this, ending the season, maybe as your season cliffhanger, with Helly being pregnant.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I could see that. I could see him doing that. And that does a whole... Milchick made it... When Milchick had his confrontation with Mark in the elevator... Oh,

SPEAKER_00:

he knew about it.

SPEAKER_02:

It was a very strong point to point out that he had those relations with the future CEO of Lumen Industries.

SPEAKER_00:

He was like, does LER know what you guys did in the tent? Yeah. So obviously we know Mark is very important to this project. But now, if Mark is potentially the father of the next Egan heir... Right. Like... I think that sometimes that's a cheap way to do pregnancy things and storylines, but in this case, then you have the whole thing of who's the mom, consent, all this stuff. It's like you have so many things you could build off that. And I really do think there's something up with Gemma slash Miss Casey, his wife, that she was somehow– Maybe if she's not villainy in it, somehow was involved with this supposed project because there's got to be a reason why Mark is so important.

SPEAKER_02:

So let's get to that. End of the episode. Mark is leaving the work for the night. No, he's already at home. That doctor who's doing work on him is in his basement, but she said, hey, we can't do it tonight. Let's hold off. I think she's a little gun shy because of what happened the last time she tried this. So Mark goes up his steps and he starts phasing in and out of his house versus Lumen. I have a comment to make about that, but I'll describe the scene first. And as he's going up the steps, he's in Lumen, then he's at his house, then he's at Lumen. And he finally gets up to the top of the steps and he's looking down the hallway. He turns around. He sees Miss Casey behind him. Mark,

SPEAKER_00:

your outie is, or your Annie is, where she's talking about all these things that he is.

SPEAKER_02:

And so in my mind, that confirms for Mark. He and his sister, outie Mark and his sister, had been trying to answer the question, what does she's alive mean? Which is the last thing he said at the end of season one. I think this solidifies in his mind what that meant.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm so glad you brought that up because I totally forgot about that scene because I was so fixated on one, I don't know, a minor detail where he's like, we don't have any eggnog, probably because it's not seasonal. And Daniel's always making comments about how weird the outside world is. And I'm like, why would you want eggnog? Like, it seems like it's perpetually winter. And then like, did you, I was so fixated on the eggnog comment. I was like, what a weird beverage to ask for at someone's house.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. It's a strange, it's a strange thing to ask for. Um, I will note, so I've seen some TikToks, and the outside world, I'm not sure what to make of it right now. So first of all, several people on TikTok have noticed that in this season, documentation has been on screen long enough for us to see people's addresses and their state abbreviations.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh.

SPEAKER_02:

P-E. P-E is not a state. I was like, I don't know what state is that. There is no state in our current... Because P-A is Pennsylvania, right? There is no state in our current... Allotment of states. Are we in the future? Is this some kind of dystopian universe? Yeah, so I'm wondering if it's a dystopian universe. But then, so I want to get back to Mark seeing his wife and the phase switching between Lumen Industries and his house. That could have been them trying to display to you through the visual medium that is television the hallucinations that are happening as he's beginning to merge Mark S and Audi Mark together into one person. Or it could be revealing to us something else about the nature of Mark's entire existence.

SPEAKER_00:

Are we having a Truman Show on our hands? Where everything has been going, oh, oh. I just want to know, I want more of Milchak, because I think he's the best character.

SPEAKER_02:

He is so excellent. The actor that plays him is doing such a great job of putting... layers to his character without saying anything. He's just layering him. I do want to go back to Natalie. The actress that plays her is also excellent. She says so much without her eyes alone when he's talking to her about those paintings. She just completely ignores it. Everybody's doing a great job. I agree. I think we're going to get more Milchick. We did not get any... What's her... Korbel.

SPEAKER_00:

Korbel. Korbel this episode. I think she's got some screws loose. She's about three fries short of a Happy Meal, regardless of what's going on.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I know. I wonder, I almost wonder if we don't see her again until the end of the season. We'll see. And she comes in. About halfway through now. She wants to be in charge of the MD floor.

SPEAKER_00:

And she has a worshipping thing.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. And I don't think she has a lot of respect for Helena. I'm sorry, for Helena. And I think she has to do what Helena says only because Helena is an Egan. Yeah. But I think that... Helena might screw up enough by the end of this season to get herself demoted and they put Miss Korbel back in charge of the whole severed

SPEAKER_00:

world. The whole outside world thing, those theories could come, like why do they have the goats? Why are they doing all this testing inside? There's a lot that could come into play with that. A lot of stories that they can tell. And I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. I saw

SPEAKER_02:

one theory that I think has some weight to it. Basically suggesting they're trying to figure out a way to bring back their original Egan, Keir Egan, the original founder of the company.

SPEAKER_00:

Like bring him back to life?

SPEAKER_02:

With all of his memories into a new vessel. Body. I hate that. I know. I hate that. I hate that too. I do too. I do not like that. I do not like that. But they do have a lot of worship of that character.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

It's

SPEAKER_00:

the tallest waterfall.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. That's it. So I could see that being a plot point, but I kind of don't like it.

SPEAKER_00:

You know all the TikToks lately of the Kendrick Lamar, like, not like us dance? Yes. Somebody put that over the episode where Milchuk's dancing around. It was perfect. Oh, from season

SPEAKER_02:

one, yeah. So anything else for Severance?

SPEAKER_00:

I think that's about it for Severance for now. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go with it, and I think it's about to get a little crazy. I

SPEAKER_02:

mean, this show's always been crazy, but yeah, I think they... I enjoy... Apple seems to be giving their shows freedom to just kind of do what they want to do and let them be the creative... outlet they want to be and I think that you end up getting stuff like this because of it and Apple has been less trigger happy to pull shows and so you know I don't think they've announced season three Severance yet but I can't imagine with five episodes left we get any kind of resolution to what's going on here oh yeah I can't see that either like I just don't see it I don't see it happening so I will be interested to see how they wrap this season up and what kind of thing. What somebody online said, and I agree, every episode they give us more information and it only makes the mystery deeper. Like, we get a little bit more, but it's like so confusing. Yeah. The information is so confusing.

SPEAKER_00:

Let us see your belly button. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02:

the information is so confusing. It's like they're giving us more and it doesn't, but it's not, the puzzle isn't getting any closer to being done.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02:

Episode 96, that is Rapunzel.

SPEAKER_00:

So if you've had to sever yourself to get through the beginning podcast, because you are one of the people that did not want us to talk about Disney or Special Forces, now we're going to talk about our next show, Severance, if you know, you know. So we watched episodes six and seven of Severance, and what a ride.

SPEAKER_02:

This is the best show on television.

SPEAKER_00:

You're going to put it above the bear?

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

See, I'm still thinking hacks for me. The reason I didn't say

SPEAKER_02:

The Bear or Severance during our deliberations last time we had them is because we didn't know. It only had one season and we weren't sure how they were going to come out in season two. And folks, they have come out. They are strong. They are powerful. Season two, episode seven.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02:

Maybe the best episode of television ever.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, I'm not going to go as far as say that. That's a little much. But you're willing to say that when we still have a few episodes left. Correct. Yes, I am.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, without hesitation. I'm willing to say that.

SPEAKER_00:

Episode six, I think, was more about Mark getting his reintegration. His sister now finds out what they're doing. Honestly, I can barely remember. He and

SPEAKER_02:

Heli-R got it on. Oh, yeah. Like the actual, yeah. And it was a really awkward situation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That was weird.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

But the reason why I just, episode six is slipping my mind because you said episode seven was so good. We finally got information on Gemma, his wife, what she's doing. It seems to me they're holding her captive.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Down there. She started to see this guy, Robbie Benson, who's the voice of the beast from Beauty and the Beast, people. What? He plays this doctor and we assume she's going to him for fertility treatment. So my question is this. When she signed up for the fertility treatments, did she sign up knowing what she was doing, or did they literally convince her or coerce her into joining this program? Because it seems to me they'll send her to... She has multiple different personalities. She has one that... Imagine waking every time you open your eyes, you're at the dentist. That's all you do

SPEAKER_02:

for a couple hours.

SPEAKER_00:

What kind of hellscape life is that? There's one, every day is Christmas, and you have to write Christmas cards.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00:

until your hand hurts. So they're doing different things with her. How do we think she got... I

SPEAKER_02:

don't know. I'm along for the ride at this point. But the way they wove the... So they gave us background on Mark and Gemma and how they met. They gave us updates on what Mark and Gemma are doing right now because Mark is really suffering through the process of reintegration. And Gemma's been in this purgatorial hell for... And

SPEAKER_00:

she wants to see Mark.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and then she gets told by the guy, oh, he remarried last year and has a kid.

SPEAKER_00:

Because we do see regular Gemma.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we do. Yes, which is even more confusing as to how she got there because we thought she died in a car accident and Mark even made a comment in season one, I verified the body.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So it's interesting. I'm... They're going to need to explain some more, but the way they wove this episode together with the cinematography and the edits and the cuts and everything. It was great. It was beautiful. The way they use music, everything. It was a, it was a, it was a all. Okay. Maybe I think saying best individual television episode ever is really difficult because taste comes into a lot of that. Yeah. It's an all timer.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. It's really good. It

SPEAKER_02:

isn't when, when you point back and think about a show, you're, I'm going to think about this episode.

SPEAKER_00:

See, I always think about the episode with the suitcase on Mad Men, with Peggy and Don in the suitcase. That's one of the, when I think, and it's not even like you say taste, because that's not from a beautiful, but from a storytelling perspective. Right, right, right, yeah. That's an episode I always remember. So, yeah, I want to know why she's down there. I have a lot of questions. I need to point it out, or I'd be remiss. Mark, pre-Severed Life, whoo, looking good, looking good. Wow. You know, bravo. So I really want to know, like this doctor, like clearly is shady. Like at one point he's playing a dentist and he's pretending to be her husband. Like, did she, I want to know if she thought she was signing up for like a way to help conceive a child. And I want to know if she knew what she was doing. Or if they actually captured her and promised she'd see Mark later.

SPEAKER_02:

I think the fact that she's asking about Mark and they're lying to her about what's happened to him suggests that she's not there. Willingly. In my opinion, I believe the car wreck was... Set up. Yeah. But then they

SPEAKER_00:

said something weird. They said when... So the two guys are talking... like the fake doctor and this other guy, and they're like, well, when Cold Harbor or whatever is complete, that's Mark's project, then we're going to get rid of her.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I need to know about that. And, Daniel, I looked. There are 10 episodes of Severance, and the final episode, according to IMDb, is titled Cold Harbor. Do

SPEAKER_02:

you remember when early in this episode where they asked her what would scare you more, suffocation or drowning?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. And

SPEAKER_02:

she said drowning. Yeah. What's a harbor? I'm worried. I'm

SPEAKER_00:

worried. The vibes aren't there. I'm

SPEAKER_02:

very worried. Episode 97, Spring Forward. Next up... We watched episode 8 of Severance, a.k.a. the episode that everybody complains about.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and I still love Severance. I think that if I was watching this the way I watched Severance last season, where I had all the episodes at once, I wouldn't have even blinked about this. And I do think this episode, because it was, let's call it what it is, it was focused on Mrs. Cobell. It was basically, we only saw Mark at the very end. And I think it was essential to the story that they're telling because we did learn a lot about her and some of her intentions.

SPEAKER_02:

And world building as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, because we got to kind of see what a place was like that was run by Lumen and then Lumen left and it's really in disarray and terrible and almost like third world-ish and just awful. But I think they could have taken this, fragments of this and sprinkled it in other episodes. Like we were so happy that we were getting a 10 episode season. This episode while it wasn't filler because it did serve a purpose, I felt like all weekend that I didn't actually watch severance. And I'm going to say that. And I don't think that makes me a hater. I just completely being honest about it.

SPEAKER_02:

I think there's a couple of points to that. Like first, this was the shortest episode of the season by far. It was only like a 37 minute episode. Um, and it just, yeah, it really felt completely disconnected from everything. Cause it was, um, it was interesting. I'm, I understand what they're doing with... So, spoilers for everybody watching Severance. The big reveal of this episode, really. The piece of information they wanted you to get out of this episode was Harmony Cobell is actually the person that came up with the Severance procedure.

SPEAKER_00:

And not only that, they made a comment in a previous episode, like, she's a soldier. She was raised by them. Literally. Yeah, literally. It seems to me like they handpicked kids, forced them into labor, which now it makes sense why we have the little girl that's working with Mr. Milchak. Yeah. And so She was chosen as a child to go work for Lumen. So we had that reveal as well. And so

SPEAKER_02:

because she's... It's

SPEAKER_00:

like Ross's Jurassic Park napkin, only real.

SPEAKER_02:

So she came up with it, but she was convinced

SPEAKER_00:

by... Do you remember when Ross came up with the idea for Jurassic Park? Don't make me show the napkin. I

SPEAKER_02:

did. So anyways... So she was convinced by Luman, you know, brainwashed by Luman to, you know, say it was for the better. Nobody gets credit for the good works, even though they all everybody now, including Helena, credits her father. for coming up with

SPEAKER_00:

the severance protocol. And did they invent the god within the company, Kier? Or is this just a god-like space? Kier is the

SPEAKER_02:

original founder of the company.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Who's the one they were telling the

SPEAKER_02:

story about when they went to the retreat?

SPEAKER_00:

Because they, like, pray to Kier.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Kier Egan is the original founder of the company. I think what they're trying to do is bring Kier Egan back from the dead. And I think that...

SPEAKER_00:

That's a good theory.

SPEAKER_02:

Gemma is their first... Yeah. I think she actually died. And they brought her back. So now we're trying to... Do

SPEAKER_00:

you think they were involved in her death then? Because in that flashback episode, we saw the guy that's working with Lumen, like her doctor. That was the doctor at the fertility clinic. So do you think they planned the whole thing? Yes, I do. I think that's what's happening. Why was

SPEAKER_02:

she chosen? I don't know. But... So it was an important information, but I agree with you. They could have spliced this in with, give us a 50-50 episode where half of it's this and half of it's our crew back at Lumen having their shenanigans.

SPEAKER_00:

I just didn't feel like I got my severance fix from it. And I know that Patricia Arquette, she's done a lot of... you know, she's been nominated for Academy Awards. I don't know if she's won anything, but she's been nominated for a lot of awards. So I know that, like, bringing her in, like, she's not just going to have a bit role, but... I'll be honest with you. I find her the least interesting. I'd rather even see his brother-in-law interact more. But Milchak, like if they had given me like a Milchak, what's Milchak's like when he's not at Lumen? What's his day like? I would have been way more interested in that like in a one-off episode. Because he is the most interesting character for better

SPEAKER_01:

or

SPEAKER_02:

worse. You said earlier in the episode, two years from now, somebody watching this show without any pre-knowledge is going to blow through this episode and they're not going to think anything of it because they can go right on to the next episode.

SPEAKER_00:

And it It is relevant to the story. It's not like where they had that episode of Stranger Things where Eleven goes and finds like her sister that we've never heard about since. Right. That just seemed like a why did they do this plot? Like this actually like the story was important. I just feel like it could the execution wasn't my favorite.

SPEAKER_02:

That's correct.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. Anything else you want to say about Severance?

SPEAKER_02:

No, I'm looking forward to the last two episodes. I think they're going to probably put their foot on the gas here in Episode 8. I hope so. Or 9 and 10 and really blow our socks off.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't want them to have another kind of quieter, focusing episode and then finale to be bananas. I want the last two episodes to be chaos. I do

SPEAKER_02:

think it's going to be difficult for them to recreate the tension of the season finale from Season 1. I think that was an all-time great season finale. But I'm expecting a lot. In episode 98, we had a crash out, but also continue to talk about Severance in March Madness Crash Out. Well, let's switch over to Apple TV here real quick.

SPEAKER_00:

Speaking of stress, devour feculence.

SPEAKER_02:

Episode 9 of Severance, season 2, which we're finally back to seeing what everybody... We took a break last week to see some backstory on... What's her face? Miss Cobell. We're back to seeing what the gang is up to.

SPEAKER_00:

And it was a wonderful, amazing episode. Why don't you tell us what devour feculence means if people haven't put context clues together? It

SPEAKER_02:

means eat shit, Mr. Drummond.

SPEAKER_00:

Mr. Melchick's crash out I think might be better than my March Madness crash out and he is my favorite character in the show for better or worse because he's not he's not he's definitely villainy but I don't know if he's necessarily full blown villain like the Egan's and it's just I don't know what it is that actor the delivery that entire scene I felt like we were both like I'm pretty sure I was clapping like audibly clapping. All right, so go ahead and circle us back, start of the episode, where it kicks off with Mark, and they're meeting up with Mrs. Cobell, Mark and his sister. We

SPEAKER_02:

get a brief opening conversation between Helena Egan and her father, which was just off-putting and strange.

SPEAKER_00:

That was odd. The way she was eating it, no one can make, you always make fun of the way I eat things. She was eating a deviled egg weird, or no, a hard-boiled egg.

SPEAKER_02:

And she also said something that I didn't pick up until after seeing some TikToks on it, that she said we're having, Somebody with a last name of B taken care of, which I think we should interpret that that's Irving.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And so later in the episode, we see Christopher Walken pick him up and we find out that Christopher Walken, essentially, his character was either in a... A strong man that takes people out or at least he drives them to the place where they're going to be taken out. But he chooses instead. That was sad. He chooses instead to take Irving over to the train station and give him an opportunity to try and escape.

SPEAKER_00:

What about chemistry, though, with that ship?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, man, gosh. That is just like

SPEAKER_00:

top notch. I think they have more chemistry than Mark and Hallie. What about you? Yeah,

SPEAKER_02:

the actors, Christopher Walken and I can't remember his name. Barton Fink. Barton Fink, yeah. Their chemistry is off the charts. Yeah. So we got that going on. Mark and his sister... meet up with cobell and kind of have a conversation about what can we do here and they don't i mean they don't really accomplish much

SPEAKER_00:

they're on their way to one of the birthing cabins that you could go to if you were severed and you didn't want to you know experience the pain of child labor and they know that if they take him into that cabin they can wake up his any

SPEAKER_01:

yep

SPEAKER_00:

So that's, so we kind of, I felt like that he had to call in sick to Mr. Milchak cause they're all like, and they're all angry with Milchak. Like where the heck is Mark? Where the heck is Mark? So Milchak's dealing with all that while also having Mr. Drummond done his back. And basically Mr. Drummond's like, this is all your fault. And that's when we got the, I've said it like 50 times. You say it.

SPEAKER_02:

Devour of eculence. Yeah. Yeah. Because essentially what Milchak says is, Hey Drummond, I'm responsible for the severed floor. You're responsible for everything outside the severed floor. So Mark not showing up to work is not my problem. That's your problem. Exactly. So I'm interested to see where that leads.

SPEAKER_00:

And then Helly's trying to figure, what is Helly? Helly's trying to hang in there, Dylan. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02:

Helly got the note from Bert, or from Irving, and she is attempting to memorize the map that he wrote for her on how to get to the black elevator that takes you down to a different floor. And we know that Gemma is on that floor. Yes. So... It was a setup episode, but it was a good episode. But it leads off with her down there on the severed floor memorizing the map. Somebody approaches her from behind, and we think it's Milchak at first, just trying to be like, probably like, hey, why are you still here? But in the very last moments, it's revealed it's actually her father. Creepy daddy. And he says, you tricked me, addressing her as if they've spoken before. Yeah. And then that's just, that's where they left

SPEAKER_00:

it. Oh, and speaking of crashing out, Dylan, Annie Dillon. Oh,

SPEAKER_02:

yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Basically kissed. Can't forget that. whatever his wife's name is. We just call her Elizabeth from New Girl. And she finally came clean to Audi Dylan, who got mad about it and was like, no, no more. Because it's going back to the thing of your Annie and your Audi. Are they you? Are they two different people? I really think that my Annie and Audi would hate each other. Don't you think so? I feel like the stronger your personality is, and I can admit it, if you guys haven't noticed, I have a strong personality. Sorry. I feel like we would not get along. Do you think you would get along with your innie outie or would you just be more like Mark

SPEAKER_02:

I'd probably be more like Mark I don't know but it goes to the central themes of the show which is like what makes you you

SPEAKER_00:

yeah exactly is it

SPEAKER_02:

just your memories and your lived experience that makes you you is that it

SPEAKER_00:

so is Dylan done did he they showed him turning in his stuff This is our Dylan that we've gotten to come to know any Dylan. It's almost like he's essentially like offing himself. Yeah. I mean, when

SPEAKER_02:

you request what the request he's made is essentially a suicide.

SPEAKER_00:

Did we see him completely walk out of the building?

SPEAKER_02:

No, we saw him get on the elevator and the elevator shut and we never, we don't know what happens after that.

SPEAKER_00:

So we'll see

SPEAKER_02:

him again. And again, we also have to remember that Audi Dylan really needs that job. Yeah, exactly. So it's not just as easy because they said, we won't see you again unless your request is denied. So, It's not just as easy as quitting for the innies.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. So what do you think was going on with the whole thing to bring in the wives? I felt like they thought they could manipulate Dylan for their good. They did. And it backfired. It

SPEAKER_02:

backfired,

SPEAKER_00:

for sure. So much. So let's see here. Oh, we have the question of the little girl. What's her name? The little girl manager? Oh, Mrs. Wong. Mrs. Wong answering. I felt like they sort of answered that in the Miss Cobell episode, that they essentially take children as fellowships, interns, and raise them within the company. So her fellowship ended and she gets on a bus. So I felt like they did kind of answer why was there a little girl working there.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. But I also saw something on TikTok and I haven't gone back to explore it myself. So again, be careful with TikTok theories. TikTok can have some wild theories. Mrs. Wong is not one of these, but I do think we have one of these on the show that hasn't been revealed to us yet. It was noted, and I can't remember, I think Mr. Drummond may have said it, that somebody is one of... Oh, no. Cobell said it as they were going into the birthing retreat, because what they tricked, how they tricked to get in there was just Devin is pretended to be pregnant. And it's and she said, it's one of Jan's Jamie's, as in Jamie Egan, as in he gets women pregnant on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_00:

I

SPEAKER_02:

think Cobell

SPEAKER_00:

daughter

SPEAKER_02:

is actually his daughter.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's

SPEAKER_02:

why there's even maybe more rub against Helly and Cobell. Now, maybe that's not

SPEAKER_00:

true. We got one episode left. But

SPEAKER_02:

listen, we know that from the Cobell episode last week that the mother was devout. Yeah. But the sister hates.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So what do you think, though? What do you think is going to happen in the finale? Oh, I have

SPEAKER_02:

no idea. I want

SPEAKER_00:

to know where the goat people come into play with everything. Oh, you're not going to

SPEAKER_02:

find anything else out about the goat people. What

SPEAKER_00:

is going on

SPEAKER_02:

there? A lot of people on the internet seem to think, and I think this is a reasonable way to go, but I also think it just could be completely, utterly useless. I think a lot of people seem to think that Gemma is an experiment to try and see if they can transplant... the consciousness of a dead Egan into a live person and bring them back. The manner in which they're taking to get there seems completely ludicrous.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the final episode is called Cold Harbor.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we've been building to that all season. I don't know what's going to happen. But I'm excited. Because like last season, I couldn't have told you. I couldn't have expected what they ended up dropping on us last season. I

SPEAKER_00:

did, though.

SPEAKER_02:

With

SPEAKER_00:

Helly?

SPEAKER_01:

I did, I did. I never trust anybody. You're always the greatest of all time.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I'm right, unlike the selection committee for March Madness.

SPEAKER_02:

And we completed our conversation about Severance in episode 99, Peanut Butter Egg Drama.

SPEAKER_00:

Too bad they can't sever themselves. Ha ha. To listen to the parts of the podcast they don't know. All right, Severance, season two finale. Let's just go with first reaction. I'm going to go with, and this is going to sound extreme, I'm not talking about series finales, because that's a whole different ballgame to navigate a series finale. Season finales in general, maybe even just an episode of TV in general, best thing I've ever watched.

SPEAKER_02:

I wholeheartedly agree with that. I thought they would have a hard time topping Severance Season 1's finale, and in a completely different way, They just blew it completely

SPEAKER_00:

out of the water. The season one finale was still amazing, but this just elevated it. The whole episode, and it was a long episode, right? What was the run time on it?

SPEAKER_02:

About an hour 17. I would sever

SPEAKER_00:

myself. Oh, I thought you said it was an hour 40. So it wasn't an hour 40. It was an hour

SPEAKER_02:

17. No, an hour 17. I would sever myself just to be able to watch Severance season one and season two again for the first time.

SPEAKER_00:

and you'd have your two different people.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and you know what? I wouldn't feel guilt like the other people do because my Annie, all he does is watch Severance all the time and have snacks. Like, what a time that would be.

SPEAKER_00:

That would be pretty cool. Unlike some of the

SPEAKER_02:

other Annies that

SPEAKER_00:

have... Like, maybe at last weekend, I was like, can I sever myself to go to the dentist, please?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Honestly, I don't know even how to begin to break that episode down because there was... So much going on in there, and it didn't feel long. Like, it did not feel

SPEAKER_00:

like a long episode of television. The whole episode, I was on edge, but in a good way. Like, it was almost like I was holding my breath. I was just so much anticipation. It delivered. It had everything. So we'll just go ahead and start off. It kind of begins... at least the most memorable scene sticks out where we have Mark at the cabin and the cabin is one of like this, where they bring people that are severed to give birth. So that's how they were able to get Mark S and Mark Scout. Like, And they basically pulled a Parks and Rec like where Ron Swanson recorded a video of himself when he was back with Tammy 2 and be like, this means you've fallen for that evil woman again. But they basically were able to keep the innie and the outie mark were able to communicate. And I absolutely loved everything about that scene. What about you?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it felt like the writing felt natural. You know, you felt both of the characters. You could see the difference in the two characters. They're two different characters. He was using a camcorder to record messages back and forth. But as the scene went on, they started cutting faster and faster and faster to the point where it felt like they were just talking to each other in the same room from our perspective.

SPEAKER_00:

And it really did feel like even though they are these same people, body, person. They are two different people with two different experiences, which really is the whole point that Severance is trying to drive home with the innies and outies. And I have to say, I knew, I knew Audi Mark was cooked. The moment they, so basically he's telling him about like why it's so important if we do this so he can be reunited with Gemma. And he's like, oh, I see. And the way he talked about to Annie Mark was just so like the way you talk to a child condescending he was like so condescending he's like well I hear you found love down there with what's her name? Helene? yeah and it reminded me of the episode where Audi Mark was at the bar and Helena came up to him and was talking about Gemma and she's like oh right Hannah

SPEAKER_02:

yeah the same condescension the

SPEAKER_00:

same condescension and it's to show you the class the

SPEAKER_02:

class markers that the show is trying to point out to you yes so and it was really well done when you put it together with those earlier scenes from the show

SPEAKER_00:

absolutely and we are rooting obviously for both versions of Mark's like we feel for both of their stories but it was just in that moment you see that Mark Audi Mark had that same amount of like being condescending and probably didn't even realize it because he is still not really thinking of his any as a person no which was like the whole theme of it and our boy Dylan I think his Audi is the only one so far to see his any as truly

SPEAKER_02:

yes I agree

SPEAKER_00:

a person because let's just go ahead and get to that scene another fantastic scene we have so we when we last left off Dylan any Dylan was he was so upset about what happened and where he can't see like the his Audi wife anymore that he wanted to terminate and I guess to like your Audi has to agree with that so he comes back and he's like oh so he's not gonna let me do it and Mr. Milk Check delivers him the letter that Aldi Dillon wrote and I don't know what he had to go prepare for his basically he needs to get to that in a second

SPEAKER_02:

we'll get to that in a

SPEAKER_00:

second he had to go prep so he lays the letter down sprints out of the room and for people that don't think severance is funny it's little moments of physical comedy like that

SPEAKER_02:

really funny in a dark way in a dark way but I think severance is very funny

SPEAKER_00:

were you expecting to lay the letter down and turn around and sprint

SPEAKER_02:

no that was kind of out of left field

SPEAKER_00:

my man's had rehearsal yeah What can I say? But that letter from Audi Dylan was basically like, first off, F you. I thought that was funny. But then he was like, you know, you do what you got to do. And I feel like that's just what a good guy Dylan is all around.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and before we go on, we didn't get any Burt. or any Irving in this episode. I don't think that's to suggest that that is gone, like that Irving's never coming back, because we still never found out who he was talking to. We just didn't get that payoff in this episode. That's probably a season three thing.

SPEAKER_00:

There's still lots of stuff to answer about his character, because he was the one that was drawing the door. Why was Audi Irving drawing the door? There's still a lot of unanswered stuff with him, and I think, like you said, that could be for season three. So we got Ms. Cobell. She was with Devin and Mark trying to be a that they're going to help with the plan on the outside. Do you think Ms. Cobell is done? Or is she still trying to do something with this and work her way back in? Bring a new era of Keir? A

SPEAKER_02:

new era of Lumen? I think Cobell's ultimate role in the show will be villain.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I agree. And I

SPEAKER_02:

think that in this season, because of how Lumen treated her at the end of season one, pegging basically all the problems on her, she turned heel and... or turned not turned healed but turned good for the selfish purpose of pushing her forward yeah and so ultimately next season I think she will turn back. I

SPEAKER_00:

think her character makes so much more sense now that we had her background episode and we found out that they are taking, you know, literal children or why she is that way. I think ultimately she was doing this to kind of stick it to him and so that she can use it as a power play.

SPEAKER_02:

Correct. I believe so. In fact, you know,

SPEAKER_00:

I don't think Devin should trust her.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So, and for all we know, you know, Gemma, Gemma gets out. We'll get to that in a minute. But for all we know, Devin and Miss Cobell are waiting out in the parking lot to pick her up. And for all we know, Cobell turns right back around and said, look what I caught. I don't think it's going to go down that way, but it could.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. So we have Mark, who any Mark does agree that he's going to go back in to Lumen to go to work. Or Audi Mark does. And he's just going to trust that... Even though he's like, I don't know. There was that little conversation about it. Like, do you believe me? Like the no, that part. But whatever be the case, Audi Mark's going to show up to work. Hope that any Mark goes with the plan. So we've got any Mark completing Cold Harbor, which we found out. that basically cold harbor each time they put numbers in the little box is that's another like kind of personality another any of jemma

SPEAKER_02:

it's unclear still what they're testing in this case it's obvious that this isn't the first person they've done these tests with before

SPEAKER_00:

yeah

SPEAKER_02:

this is another step in whatever whatever their ultimate goal is which is a back seat ultimately

SPEAKER_00:

and it's a good thing you said that because like the scientist lady that was kind of working with jemma she runs out at one point when everything's going down and she's like it's the freaking husband makes me think definitely that this is not the first couple yeah they've done something like this with so we got mark we've got um helly we assume it's helly with him and they're talking about and helly's down to go with the plan but helly does say something very like she's kind of encouraging any mark to go in with the plan to go forward get jim out and she basically says i'm her

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, she says, I'm her, and what I took that as is that I'm never going to be what you want because they will not put

SPEAKER_00:

her back down here. Like, Helena's ultimately a part of me. That's kind of how I interpreted that, too, because we had her daddy say that he saw more Egan in her than he did her outer self. counterpart, I guess. So all the while this is going on, we have Mark complete it. At one point, I'm like, okay, it's completed. Why aren't we running off with a plan? The

SPEAKER_02:

greatest scene ever in television history takes place.

SPEAKER_00:

Can we please get him, Mr. Milchak, to perform for the Super Bowl halftime show?

SPEAKER_02:

So a marching band just shows up in the severed floor. An entire severed marching band. And just starts marching down the hallways towards him once he finishes it and comes into the room. Um... Even what's-his-face hears it from wherever he's at.

SPEAKER_00:

First, you missed out how we came out here with that doll of...

SPEAKER_02:

The Montag?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, of Egan, and who was definitely messing with him. What were you saying?

SPEAKER_02:

I said Montag instead of monologue.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, so he's got this statue guy who was ever doing the voice of it. I'm assuming that'd be Mr. Drummond.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what it sounded

SPEAKER_00:

like. Was definitely trying to screw with Milchak, and Milchak wasn't having it. My mans was ready to dance again. So we didn't get a waffle party this season, but we did get the most extraordinary dance song number I've ever seen in the history of television. And I'm just sad that it got cut short in a way. It

SPEAKER_02:

got cut short. I want to see the whole thing. Helly goes and grabs Mon... Milchek's radio and runs into the bathroom to distract him, giving Mark the chance to run off and try and get on to the next floor down, which is where Gemma is being held.

SPEAKER_00:

And my man's Dylan shows up. Shows in. Just in the nick of time.

SPEAKER_02:

Comes in in the nick of time, just like in season one. Helps keep Milchek.

SPEAKER_00:

Didn't he, like, shove the vending machine in front of

SPEAKER_02:

it? Yeah, in there and saves the day. Mark.

SPEAKER_00:

And you guys, or Dylan, Daniel is usually the type of person where he has his, like, sports watching stance where I sit on the edge of the couch and he starts to pace but when it comes to shows he's typically not a shouter not an animated person and when I tell you we're watching this and Daniel rises off the couch fist in air and goes yes in the middle of it when Dylan showed up it was great because you know you don't react even to your beloved Star Trek you don't react like that when you watch TV or much whereas I'm like pause the TV I must process this and I dramatically like my head back. You were full-blown excited, and I love the rare moments where I get better than, you know, it was fine.

SPEAKER_02:

All I've heard from this is that you're more dramatic than me, so I'm going to move forward. Shocker. Mark makes it to the door. He has a brief mix-up with Mr. Drummond and with the help of Brienne of Tarth. Don't tell me that wasn't Brienne of Tarth just severed onto the severance

SPEAKER_00:

floor. The fact that I've seen her, Gwendolyn Christie, beat up two men On a TV show, two different shows, it's just chef's kiss.

SPEAKER_02:

So he gets down to the floor where Gemma is

SPEAKER_00:

at. You're not even mentioning the goat part? You know, I

SPEAKER_02:

don't know what to make of the goats. All I can think of is they sacrifice a goat each time in any... But she was so happy that she didn't have to sacrifice her. But she was happy not to have to do it. So Mark makes it down to the floor where Gemma's being held. He chases off the lady who says, it's the spouse or the husband or whatever she said.

SPEAKER_00:

Spouse, I think that's what she said.

SPEAKER_02:

Gets in, gets Gemma out of the weird room, the Cold Harbor room.

SPEAKER_00:

And Gemma doesn't know that that's Mark at this point. That's the thing. They have her in there assembling their crib that they tried to build in the Gemma-focused episode that was supposed to be for their unborn child. And... This is what I felt was so compelling is that she doesn't know anything about him. And this is still... Which mark is this right now?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I forgot to say it. So when he gets down to the lower floor... through the black door, it goes back to Audie

SPEAKER_00:

Mark. Audie Mark, yes. But she doesn't know Mark at all at this point. Not any Mark, not Audie Mark. She doesn't know who she is. He still convinces her to get out of that room. She

SPEAKER_02:

trusts him more than she trusts the voice and the voices speaking. When she comes out of the room, finally for the first time in the series... Up to this date, we've seen Mark meets Gemma again for a brief moment.

SPEAKER_00:

It was so beautiful, like such a moment of passion, happiness, joy, like not like shock. It was a gorgeous moment only to be shattered instantly. They get in the elevator and suddenly they both turn into their severed floor things where she's Miss Casey again. Yep. And he is Mark S. And the acting was incredible with this.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, because they were mid-kiss as the elevator's going up and the ding goes off and they both switch over. And you could just... The actors did such a good job of being like, all of a sudden be like, oh, I've just woken up kissing this person that I really don't know very well.

SPEAKER_00:

I feel like Miss Casey personality though was, you know what? I've done well. So...

SPEAKER_02:

They run to the door. Yep. Miss Casey gets out the door and turns back into Gemma. And any Mark is standing there and suddenly he starts to... Hesitate. And then Helly comes around the corner. And then slowly he turns and goes with Helly. And I know you're going to latch on to this and you're going to talk about it for a million years, so I'll just say it. Helly and Mark go to run off, but before she does, Helly gives Jim a some kind of look.

SPEAKER_00:

A look.

SPEAKER_02:

And then they leave because there's a window in the door.

SPEAKER_00:

It looked to me like Helly was giving a bit of a smirk, but maybe re-watching it, I've zoomed in on her face. And it still looks like a little smirk to me. Maybe not quite as smirky as Helena could have been. But she gives her a look. And I think that's... It could have easily been interpreted that that was Helena. The actress has come out since that plays Helly Helena and said that it's not. And the reason why even I was questioning, I was like, Helly was never cruel. The fact that they gave that look. But one of the main things why I was questioning, even though she gave the look, it was weird. And I was like, is it really going to be Helena? Because that would be a repeat of season one. And I think based off of interviews, going back, re-watching the scene at ad nauseum, I think that you can justify that it was Helly, but Helly and Mark both realizing that while they have those counterparts, they have a life to live as Ennies. And I think part of Helly being like, I'm her, also was maybe her dad got in her head a little bit about the, you know, you have more Egan in you, and maybe that doesn't mean to use the Egan for bad, but she realized that she does have some power. So I don't know. I think the look was confusing. I think it was done intentionally to mislead viewers. I

SPEAKER_02:

think it was very intentional. I bet they spent a lot of time getting that look right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, because it really... That was the main thing they stressed the whole time, that Helly was never cruel. And I feel like the Helly we have come to know would have insisted that he go ahead and be with Gemma, but at the same time, wouldn't it also be cruel to collectively... You'd be ending our Enimark's life. No matter what he said about the reintegration, them coming back together, and I think... Mark S., any Mark in that moment, made the most moral choice he could do. He didn't let Gemma die. He assumes that she's going to go to safety. But he knew if he walked through that door, he was never going to get to see his love or his team or his friends again. And he did make that choice for himself. So I think for me, as obviously a married person, I felt Gemma's pain so much. But I also understand why... any Mark made the choice he did. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02:

Do you think that if Helly hadn't showed up there at that last moment, he would have still made that choice? Or do you think he would have went out the door?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. Honestly, I think he might have still chosen to go find Helly.

SPEAKER_02:

That's my thinking. I agree with you that Mark made a decision for himself for the first time ever because it was finally a time he got to choose. My only concern is, did his choice get... taken away a little bit by helly showing up there at the last minute was she being kind of selfish and making her own choice

SPEAKER_00:

i don't know because i think he we saw that he was still conflicted about the whole thing

SPEAKER_01:

yeah

SPEAKER_00:

and about he knew that he'd be collectively no matter what he mark scout said about integration reintegration he still knew he knew the right on the law and the way he was spoken to i think it definitely helped him make the choice to go with helly But I don't know. His judgment could have been clouded in that moment. I think he did prioritize getting Gemma to safety. And then one of the other things that I noticed... And a lot of fans were, like, Gemma was told by the one dude that, like, when she was asking about Mark, that Mark had moved on. And we all thought that in that moment that Gemma had no idea that Mark was severed and that made it even more painful and worse. But since then, the actress who plays Gemma, I believe, has come out and said that she realized that Mark was severed, but she still kept trying to scream to get him to come to her. So these are just going by what the actors are saying with the role. You know,

SPEAKER_02:

I take that at its face value from the actors, but I also, at the end of the day, with season three not being written yet, the writers could change that to, like, that's the stuff that the actor has in their mind when they're trying to act the scene, right? Yeah. That doesn't mean that that's how it's going to be.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think in the case of Helly, that she was told... that it was Helly. Like, from what she said in an interview.

SPEAKER_02:

And that's important. And I don't doubt that the actress that plays Gemma was told that as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Regardless, so painful. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02:

yeah. They could change

SPEAKER_00:

it. She suffered so much. They had that brief moment of happiness. And I keep seeing, it's a funny thing, because I keep seeing, like, ship wars. And I'm like, or people that are so mad at Annie Mark for the choice he made. And I'm like, you guys missed the entire

SPEAKER_02:

point

SPEAKER_00:

of the whole season in this show that

SPEAKER_02:

these

SPEAKER_00:

are different people and that while they are like as one it's the innies like what this the moral the ethical dilemma what we're doing and if you've been if you watch this finale and you were like well we learned nothing about Lumen I'm not sure we're ever gonna

SPEAKER_02:

that's not what this show's about

SPEAKER_00:

that's not the point

SPEAKER_02:

that's not what the show's about

SPEAKER_00:

and I'm not trying to say we're not trying to say that to sound like elitist or something because i've seen some people criticize severance fans for like coming off that way the

SPEAKER_02:

show's ultimately about like i mean really deeply down to it it's about the nature of you know who you are as a person what makes you you but it's also a commentary on our current work culture here in this country and how employers view their employees and all those kind of things

SPEAKER_00:

and like i was saying that a lot of people have criticized severance fans for saying All right. Again, we'll get in the White Lotus in a minute. Any show has fans that gatekeep and think they're the smartest ones on the universe. So don't let that be a reason to stop you from watching this show. It's really good. Even though we've spoiled everything. If you're like, I don't care. I'm never going to watch Severance and you've heard us talk. What are you doing here? Watching it's going to be even better. Who would you have gone with? Because if you say you're Annie, knowing that I'm your outie wife, I will

SPEAKER_02:

smack you. This is a traps question that wives are asking their husbands after this episode. And I will not be a party to it.

SPEAKER_00:

Just say you'd pick me.

SPEAKER_02:

I'd pick you. Who would you pick?

SPEAKER_00:

You. I

SPEAKER_02:

don't believe that for a second. So anyways, Mark and Helly turn the corner, run off down the hallway into whatever in the world they're going to be doing, and then the episode ends.

SPEAKER_00:

Do we like how the season began of Severance of Mark running, trying to find Gemma, and then it ended with him running away from Gemma?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And I've seen criticism that are like, what do Mark and Helly think is going to happen, that they're running away? What does he think is going to happen? No, that's, again, not the point. It's that moment of, you know, I'm going to spend my– if I'm going to live, I'm going to spend my last few moments with somebody I love and care about deeply and see what happens that way.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So anyways, I'm ready to call it right now. I don't need any further debate. I don't need any further conversation. Severance is the best thing going. Over the bear? Over the bear.

SPEAKER_00:

And you're not going to wait until you see the bear season four?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, the bear season four might be the last season of the bear. Yeah. And if it is, it doesn't matter anyway. And that's why I can't pick hacks, right? That's why I'm saying it now. Before The Bear season four comes out, that this is, for me, taking the place of The Bear as the best thing going.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's why I can't pick Haxo, correct? Because you can't have the last. It's got to be a show with knowing that we're going to have ongoing

SPEAKER_02:

seasons. Yeah, correct.

SPEAKER_00:

I think I'm going to tend to agree with you for now. I got to wait and see what comes down the pipe because if I can't pick Hacks because it's ending. And I feel like while I know I'm getting more of the White Lotus, the White Lotus is a hard call for that because each season and cast and story is different with some remaining through points connected. And while, again, I liked season two of the White Lotus, I'm a season one purist and it would not have been in my pick, but season three is knocking it out of the park so far. But I feel like that's one I can't... How do you feel about putting... I know you said Severance, but just in terms of a show like The White Lotus that's so different, do you think that even can go in that category?

SPEAKER_02:

I think you could make the case for something like that, but I think the reason you put behind it is that season two wasn't as good for you as the first and what we're looking at here in the third. See,

SPEAKER_00:

I just feel like you can't, because one of the things that I like so much about shows is character growth and development, and each season of The White Lotus is different. So that's why I would not put it in a category to be the best thing going, because it's always going to be different.

SPEAKER_02:

I understand that logic. It makes perfect sense to me.

SPEAKER_00:

So circling back before we get into the White Lotus about severance, the music in the ending credits was also a chef's kiss. No notes.

SPEAKER_02:

Before we even get to the music at the end of the episode, Milchak's entrance music from the Bulls. intro music, and then the band playing some really intense music, just over making the entire scene so much more intense because they kept the band music going the entire time. And then, yes, like that song there at the end, which I saw somebody on TikTok say it was a reference from another movie. That's how that movie ended, but I don't know what the movie is.

SPEAKER_00:

Nice. Great. We all know a lot from what you just said. I think

SPEAKER_02:

it might be The Graduate. Okay,

SPEAKER_00:

that would make sense because I have seen a lot of pictures of... Is it Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate? Of The Graduate with him. Because he ends up choosing a daughter, right? Right. Not Mrs. Robinson. I've never seen that movie either. That's correct. And I've been seeing that image with Helly and Marcus side by side. That's probably where it's

SPEAKER_02:

from then.

SPEAKER_00:

Context clues, baby.

SPEAKER_02:

It was, like you said, every element from the cinematography to the music to the acting to the script to whatever set design. It was a perfect season finale. It was a perfect television episode, in my opinion. I don't rank them, but if I was giving anything a 10 out of 10, it would be season two finale of Severance.

SPEAKER_00:

I saw something that was like, oh my gosh, I hated the end of that finale, but I absolutely loved it. And it was like, yes, same. We felt the pain, but it was so good. So season three... Do you think Mr. Milchuk's going to crash out or am I going to get some more boogie in from my dude? Some little dance moves.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I think they'll have him dance again just because now that's the expectation from the fans. We have to have a Milchuk dance every season. Where do we go from? I don't know where we go. I didn't like when I would think about where are we going with season two before we got to season two, nothing that happened ever crossed my mind as the possibilities. And to be honest, I, It's really nice. As somebody who sits around and thinks about what's possibly going to happen in these shows, and those things happen usually, it's really nice to not know. And I'm just going to let myself not know. I'm not going to go read theories. I'm not going to go do all the stuff I would normally do for other people. shows. I'm just going to let them writers cook and watch what they have. Hopefully not three years from now.

SPEAKER_00:

I think at the end of season one, you still had the whole Annie versus Aldi train of thought, but there was still so much focus on the mystery of Lumen. Season two just flipped that and was like, no, this isn't what this show is about. I think that they're going to have to figure out some different... They were able to justify how we could see Helly again. He needs to complete Cold Harbor. We Got to put her back down there. I'm not sure how we're going to get around because if I'm Mark. Audi Mark, I'm not going back in there if they've managed to get me out of there after what Mark S. did. So we're going to have to. And you know what? I think they can do it. I trust the team of writers. I just, like you, Ben Stiller said, that we don't have to wait as long.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I hope it's not three years. And that is it for Severance Season 2 Supercut. And we are looking forward to Season 3. We hope you are too. And we'll see you next week.

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