With the recent release of the much-anticipated second season of the wildly popular Apple TV+ show, enthusiasm for “Severance” has never been higher.
One might think that any piece produced by a gargantuan media conglomerate like Apple would be riddled with themes of identity politics and otherwise creatively sanitised to a point where it may well have been created by AI. However, not only does “Severance” avoid this danger, but it manages to create a thrilling and utterly human story, supported by superb acting, and founded upon some surprisingly sound morals.
“Severance” revolves primarily around Mark Scout (Adam Scott), who, along with his team of fellow macro data refiners working for the corporation Lumon, has chosen to undergo a medical procedure called “severance”. In the surgery, the employees have a chip implanted in their brain, whereby their memories are separated so that when they enter the severed basement floor of Lumon, they only remember what happens within that floor; and when they leave work again, the day has passed instantaneously, and they do not remember anything that occurred within the office.
The upshot of this is that two separate personalities are created within one person, referred to in the show as the person’s “innie” (or office self) and “outie” (or personal life self).
The show, since its initial release in 2022, has amassed countless viewers, prompted rave reviews, been nominated for three Golden Globes and five Emmys, and has reportedly been streamed for over three billion minutes. In every conceivable metric, the show is popular. And while it displays excellence in many aspects such as cinematography, writing, acting etc., what make “Severance” truly great are the moral themes running through it.
Warning: the following contains detailed descriptions of the events of “Severance” seasons one and two.
“Severance”, through its dramatic premise, portrays in a very literal form the kind of dichotomy that is common to so many humans. A prime example of this is in the use of social media. When a person creates an online platform, they are, in essence, severing themselves between what they actually are and what they show to the world. In order to pass as an acceptable human being on the internet, one must carefully curate everything one says and does, or risk tumultuous backlash. And while it may seem mostly harmless, the truth of it is that by doing this, one is splitting oneself in two. Constantly worrying about misunderstandings or old tweets online affects one’s regular life, and regular life equally influences what is posted on social media.
As a result, the interests of both personae are in conflict, and neither are whole. This was displayed in a much more tangible sense in the final episode of “Severance” season two. When Mark’s innie and outie finally converse, they find that their wants and needs are almost diametrically opposed. Moreover, whatever good is done for one will result in an extreme evil for the other, and as a result they find themselves in a stalemate, where the perpetuation of either one will result in the destruction of the other.
This theme is taken to a climax in the final moments of the season, where innie Mark must make the crucial decision: leave Lumon with his now-rescued outie’s wife, Gemma, or remain inside with his own love interest, Helly, and survive for as long as possible. Ultimately, innie Mark chooses the decision best for himself, and stays inside. Having had his life more or less dictated by his outie up until that point, innie Mark finally takes control. However, while there is some resolution to this ending, it leaves Gemma alone on the outside, and Mark’s life on the line as he tries to evade Lumon while inside their own building. What this shows is that to separate oneself in parts is ultimately to destroy one or both eventually. As long as Mark is not whole, there is no decision he can make that will not have negative effects on himself or his alter ego, and thus he is in a constant phase of self-injury that will have no resolution until he is reassembled.
The theme of dichotomy is also used in the show to display other human experiences, such as coping with grief. Mark’s initial choice to sever was essentially a coping mechanism for the trauma he had experienced over the supposed death of his wife. Seemingly, Mark chose to sever simply to make the days of misery shorter.
This kind of reaction to injury is seen every day in people who choose to abuse alcohol or drugs – anything to make them forget their troubles for a few short minutes. Rather than deal with their injury and learn to accept it – and thus heal – people perpetuate the wound by brooding on the injustice of it, then wondering why they keep brooding on it, and finally resorting to some kind of sensual pleasure to relieve the pain. Likewise, Mark chose to cut himself off from his family and friends, then became so overpowered with grief that he chose to cut his memory out for the working day merely so that he would not have to think about his wife.
Mark was not the only character susceptible to such a temptation, however. Dylan (Zach Cherry), Mark’s severed coworker, was an untalented and unconfident underachiever in his personal life. Disappointed with himself, Dylan chose to sever so that his responsibilities for his family would essentially be handed over to another person at no extra charge. While Dylan was certainly not malignly motivated, the action showed a lack of initiative, as well as a lack of respect for the innie whose existence he clearly did not understand. Ultimately, the separation of him came back to bite when his wife started visiting his innie and found herself more impressed with him than with her husband. While outie Dylan had a wife and family, and freedom, he lacked confidence; and innie Dylan had confidence and initiative, but no wife or meaningful thing to apply them for. Thus, neither personality could thrive, but found themselves trapped in perpetual disappointment.
Fundamentally, what this theme portrays is the need for integrity in man. If a man is to be useful and content, he must be whole. In the words of Christ, “no city or house divided against itself will stand”; likewise, no man severed either in image or behaviour will ever find meaning to his existence. This is what plagues Mark in “Severance” – a lack of any purpose to his life after his tragedy. Dylan, on the other side of the coin, has meaning in his life, but his lack of personal strength and ambition makes him feel undeserving of it.
While there are plenty of ideas to extrapolate from this theme, perhaps the most crucial is the importance of personal responsibility. It is what separates boys from men and the successful from the lazy. In order for one’s life to ever progress, one must accept responsibility for it. This is exactly where Mark in particular falls short after Gemma’s supposed death.
The mere act of severing shows some irresponsibility in the person concerned. The creation of an entirely new mind – a new person, in essence – is not something to be done lightly, and yet the characters in the show seem to go about it without proper consideration. The innies ware created solely for personal convenience to the outies, who are not even fully aware of their humanity. It would be wrong to insinuate that Mark had cruel or malicious intentions when he severed, but his lack of thought on the matter at least shows that he was not taking the responsibility of it seriously.
His lack of responsibility for his life is also seen in his self-imposed isolation. Had he taken up his duties towards himself, he would have grown through his suffering and moved on; instead, his sister had to take on the responsibility by dragging him back into social circles and encouraging human interaction. One could even argue that, having realised the error of his ways in severing, Mark showed some irresponsibility in his method of attempting to reintegrate. While the action itself was a good step founded upon a good motive, the risks he went to called into question the wisdom of the action, especially given the only other person to undergo the procedure had died as a result of it. In the words of producer and director Ben Stiller, “Mark’s choice to reintegrate represents a willingness to destroy himself, because he is so desperate to get his wife back”.
“Severance”, while brilliant as a piece of entertainment, also manages to convey some valuable messages. While the story is entirely imagined, the behaviours displayed in it can be seen countless times every day; perhaps “Severance” is not so much of a science fiction tale as many believe.
Patrick Vincent