Severance: Good News About Hell Rewatch
December 18, 2024 11:49 AM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Mark gets promoted to team lead. Helly wakes up on a conference table.
Season 2 starts on January 17th, so time for a season 1 rewatch! Spoilers from later season 1 episodes are OK this time round. Let's try for one episode every three days.
Rewatching the first ten minutes of this show reminded me why I enjoyed it so much. The way it introduces Mark and Helly, the staging, cinematography and the dawning realization of how messed up their situation is when Helly keeps coming back through that door.
I also hadn't realized how funny it was - I think because the first time through I was so focused on figuring out what was going on. The VIP section of the diner had me laughing out loud, and the dinner-free dinner party and three beds so the child could chose when to upgrade.
(This episode also includes the first passing mention of a waffle party.)
Season 2 starts on January 17th, so time for a season 1 rewatch! Spoilers from later season 1 episodes are OK this time round. Let's try for one episode every three days.
Rewatching the first ten minutes of this show reminded me why I enjoyed it so much. The way it introduces Mark and Helly, the staging, cinematography and the dawning realization of how messed up their situation is when Helly keeps coming back through that door.
I also hadn't realized how funny it was - I think because the first time through I was so focused on figuring out what was going on. The VIP section of the diner had me laughing out loud, and the dinner-free dinner party and three beds so the child could chose when to upgrade.
(This episode also includes the first passing mention of a waffle party.)
In creepy AI news, I asked Claude to figure out the dates on that viewing schedule and make a web page for them, and then told it "Make it themed more like the show, both design and copy" - and I got this. Claude said "I'll revamp the design and copy to match Severance's corporate dystopian aesthetic, using Lumon's sterile, institutional feel.". Transcript.
posted by simonw at 7:10 PM on December 18, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by simonw at 7:10 PM on December 18, 2024 [4 favorites]
One of the things I most enjoyed about Severance the first time through was the pacing - how it started almost glacially slowly and picked up the pace in every episode until the last one felt like a whirlwind.
posted by simonw at 7:13 PM on December 18, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by simonw at 7:13 PM on December 18, 2024 [2 favorites]
I never really believed Christopher Walken had any real actorly range until I saw him in this. All the scenes between Turtorro and himself are just a joy to watch.
posted by Wrick at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2024 [5 favorites]
posted by Wrick at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2024 [5 favorites]
Britt Lower really did a, er, hell of a job playing Helly. They way she went from almost feral with fear, to starting to feel at home at her job, to confident was so well played. Tramell Tillman was so so so good as Milchick, so perfectly polished, so creepy, so “do not fuck with me” and so happy to be all of those at once. Really pretty much everyone was great. But what really got me with the show was the art design and direction. Good lord, it is so perfect. Dystopia has never been so beautiful.
posted by azpenguin at 9:38 PM on December 20, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:38 PM on December 20, 2024 [3 favorites]
Milchick's line about how much he loves watching them arrive on the table like that was such a perfect early character detail.
posted by simonw at 12:20 AM on December 21, 2024
posted by simonw at 12:20 AM on December 21, 2024
The quiz makes so much more sense on rewatch. I'm hoping the series gives that the whole way through. Like Cobel/Selvig having the same first conversation with Mark, but telling opposite stories (My mother's was an atheist/Catholic). Arquette is so good in this.
I might have really disliked Outie Mark if not for his relationship with Devon. She saves him for me in the early episodes.
One of my favorite parts of watching this again was seeing so much of the Bell Labs building. It's gorgeous and works so well for Lumon.
posted by gladly at 9:46 AM on December 21, 2024 [1 favorite]
I might have really disliked Outie Mark if not for his relationship with Devon. She saves him for me in the early episodes.
One of my favorite parts of watching this again was seeing so much of the Bell Labs building. It's gorgeous and works so well for Lumon.
posted by gladly at 9:46 AM on December 21, 2024 [1 favorite]
One of my favorite parts of watching this again was seeing so much of the Bell Labs building. It's gorgeous and works so well for Lumon.
Holy Cow that's why so much looked familiar. I used to work there!
posted by Karmakaze at 4:13 PM on January 7 [6 favorites]
Holy Cow that's why so much looked familiar. I used to work there!
posted by Karmakaze at 4:13 PM on January 7 [6 favorites]
I also hadn't realized how funny it was
Yeah, I might have commented on this the first time through, but I thought it again on rewatch - this show probably wouldn't have worked as well if it were played completely seriously, without the little touches of humor to lighten the mood it would probably get to be too overwhelming or too damn self serious.
posted by Kyol at 7:13 PM on January 10
Yeah, I might have commented on this the first time through, but I thought it again on rewatch - this show probably wouldn't have worked as well if it were played completely seriously, without the little touches of humor to lighten the mood it would probably get to be too overwhelming or too damn self serious.
posted by Kyol at 7:13 PM on January 10
I started listening to Adam Scott and Ben Stiller's podcast on this, and it's surprisingly good. Lots of discussion about the choices on every layer of the show (sets, props, credits, dialogue, shots, pre-production) - it's really great.
posted by neuromodulator at 11:57 AM on January 12
posted by neuromodulator at 11:57 AM on January 12
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by autopilot at 1:30 PM on December 18, 2024