Severance: What’s for Dinner? Rewatch
January 8, 2025 3:36 PM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe
Irving's outie paints. Helly hits 100% and earns the team a waffle party. Ms. Casey gets retired to the testing floor, as seen in Irving's paintings. The board fires Cobel, via Natalie. Dylan skips out on his waffle party and activates the overtime contingency.
What's the "testing floor"? How many times has Irving been there such that his outtie paints it obsessively?
Ms. Casey: I really liked being in the office with you all that day. I know I vexed you. I know I’m… strange.
Mark: No, you’re not strange.
Ms. Casey: My life has been 107 hours long. Most of that has been these half-hour sessions.. For me, my favorite time was the eight hours I spent in your department watching Helly. It’s the longest I’ve ever been awake. I suppose it’s what you could call my good old days.
(Gives a whole new impact to Ms. Casey’s line “Upon request, I can also perform a hug.”)
Now we know what a "part-time innie" is: it’s someone who’s stashed away on the testing floor and only brought out for a few hours at a time.
Helly: Jesus, this is actually good.
Dylan: Yeah, the egg bar is coveted as fuck.
On Ricken's book:
Mark: But I kept this. And there was a part of it that— Well…
Mark: “Our job… is to taste free air.” Your so-called boss may own the clock that taunts you from the wall. But, my…”
Dylan: “But, my friends, the hour is yours.” Page 197 slaps.
Milchick on Dylan: “A man whose mind is as sharp as his incisors.”
What's the "testing floor"? How many times has Irving been there such that his outtie paints it obsessively?
Ms. Casey: I really liked being in the office with you all that day. I know I vexed you. I know I’m… strange.
Mark: No, you’re not strange.
Ms. Casey: My life has been 107 hours long. Most of that has been these half-hour sessions.. For me, my favorite time was the eight hours I spent in your department watching Helly. It’s the longest I’ve ever been awake. I suppose it’s what you could call my good old days.
(Gives a whole new impact to Ms. Casey’s line “Upon request, I can also perform a hug.”)
Now we know what a "part-time innie" is: it’s someone who’s stashed away on the testing floor and only brought out for a few hours at a time.
Helly: Jesus, this is actually good.
Dylan: Yeah, the egg bar is coveted as fuck.
On Ricken's book:
Mark: But I kept this. And there was a part of it that— Well…
Mark: “Our job… is to taste free air.” Your so-called boss may own the clock that taunts you from the wall. But, my…”
Dylan: “But, my friends, the hour is yours.” Page 197 slaps.
Milchick on Dylan: “A man whose mind is as sharp as his incisors.”
The title of the episode, "What's for dinner?", is also Irving's first spoken line on the show:
Irving: Hi, kids. What’s for dinner?
posted by simonw at 4:40 PM on January 8 [3 favorites]
Irving: Hi, kids. What’s for dinner?
posted by simonw at 4:40 PM on January 8 [3 favorites]
After she was fired, Cobel seemed like she was done with Lumon. She even supported Mark's decision to leave.
When she realized the overtime contingency had been activated, though, she rushed to help. Is she trying to earn her way back in? Or is she actually trying to help?
posted by cmerrill at 5:55 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
When she realized the overtime contingency had been activated, though, she rushed to help. Is she trying to earn her way back in? Or is she actually trying to help?
posted by cmerrill at 5:55 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
I interpreted that as her seeing an opportunity to get back into Lumon again. She clearly has a very complex and disturbing relationship with that company, hence the shrine in her basement.
Her whispering "Get away from them, Mark." (to his outie) was a very interesting moment.
posted by simonw at 6:46 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Her whispering "Get away from them, Mark." (to his outie) was a very interesting moment.
posted by simonw at 6:46 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
Just started re-watching last night, with episode 1. I'm so stoked for all of this. Easily the best show of our time.
posted by Smedly, Butlerian jihadi at 11:53 AM on January 9
posted by Smedly, Butlerian jihadi at 11:53 AM on January 9
I stuck it out with this show because everyone told me to, and I almost bailed as late as episode four or so. BUT, everyone was right. I just finished the season last night and pretty excited to see what happens next.
I was pretty relieved that the cliffhanger didn't kick in before the revelations for Mark that Gemma/Alice were the same person, and Gemma was alive, or before Helly could speak her piece to the gathered board and power brokers there to hear about Helena's personal story of how wonderful severance was. Helly's Outie's identity also provides a lot more understanding for why Cobel was summarily terminated the second the board found out she had allowed Helly to almost kill Helena in the elevator.
I was watching on my small phone screen, but did it look like Irving's Outie was engaging in some kind of investigation of Lumon? More so, it was Irving's cliffhanger that I found kind of rough to watch because he was basically getting ready to make Outie Burt and Outie Burt's partner extremely uncomfortable. Imagine if a stranger appears at your door and shouts they were the innie persona of someone who had fallen in love with the innie persona of your parter? And that your partner had reciprocated those feelings? I'm at least relieved that it appeared Irving didn't get the chance to shout that out.
I was half wondering if Burt's character would be in a straight relationship and the writers were going to make some play into Burt being closeted in a way that only his innie can express his true identity.
The kiss between Helly and Mark. Mixed. Seems partly design to cause a bit of chaos down the road with the Alice/Gemma realization for Mark.
I wonder if Cobel felt that if Mark got away from Lumon, that increased her own chances of remaining involved in his life. She's obviously obsessed with him, going so far to quasi-Hand that Rocks the Cradle by inserting herself in his sister's life in a way to make her a regular within the intimacy of his family life. My only thought that if she wasn't trying to get back in the good graces of Lumon, she was thinking of the potential ramifications toward Mark (Outie) if it was discovered his Innie had been involved in this plan to use Overtime or could be a witness concerning the ability to trigger the severance process remotely.
I also agree, props to Dylan. They really turned his character around in a good way. Ultimately, he found that there were more important things than the trivial baubles being thrown out to MDR employees.
And uh, the Waffle Party.
posted by Atreides at 7:50 AM on January 10
I was pretty relieved that the cliffhanger didn't kick in before the revelations for Mark that Gemma/Alice were the same person, and Gemma was alive, or before Helly could speak her piece to the gathered board and power brokers there to hear about Helena's personal story of how wonderful severance was. Helly's Outie's identity also provides a lot more understanding for why Cobel was summarily terminated the second the board found out she had allowed Helly to almost kill Helena in the elevator.
I was watching on my small phone screen, but did it look like Irving's Outie was engaging in some kind of investigation of Lumon? More so, it was Irving's cliffhanger that I found kind of rough to watch because he was basically getting ready to make Outie Burt and Outie Burt's partner extremely uncomfortable. Imagine if a stranger appears at your door and shouts they were the innie persona of someone who had fallen in love with the innie persona of your parter? And that your partner had reciprocated those feelings? I'm at least relieved that it appeared Irving didn't get the chance to shout that out.
I was half wondering if Burt's character would be in a straight relationship and the writers were going to make some play into Burt being closeted in a way that only his innie can express his true identity.
The kiss between Helly and Mark. Mixed. Seems partly design to cause a bit of chaos down the road with the Alice/Gemma realization for Mark.
I wonder if Cobel felt that if Mark got away from Lumon, that increased her own chances of remaining involved in his life. She's obviously obsessed with him, going so far to quasi-Hand that Rocks the Cradle by inserting herself in his sister's life in a way to make her a regular within the intimacy of his family life. My only thought that if she wasn't trying to get back in the good graces of Lumon, she was thinking of the potential ramifications toward Mark (Outie) if it was discovered his Innie had been involved in this plan to use Overtime or could be a witness concerning the ability to trigger the severance process remotely.
I also agree, props to Dylan. They really turned his character around in a good way. Ultimately, he found that there were more important things than the trivial baubles being thrown out to MDR employees.
And uh, the Waffle Party.
posted by Atreides at 7:50 AM on January 10
I was watching on my small phone screen, but did it look like Irving's Outie was engaging in some kind of investigation of Lumon?
My guess is that Irving was investigating Lumon prior to applying to work there and that he interviewed employees and they, especially Burt, convinced him to apply. He'll snap out of of OTC and become outie Burt as he knocks on the door and outie Burt will recognize him from those interviews.
posted by dobbs at 3:16 AM on January 11 [1 favorite]
My guess is that Irving was investigating Lumon prior to applying to work there and that he interviewed employees and they, especially Burt, convinced him to apply. He'll snap out of of OTC and become outie Burt as he knocks on the door and outie Burt will recognize him from those interviews.
posted by dobbs at 3:16 AM on January 11 [1 favorite]
On rewatch: Irv and Mark's overtimes are so engaging -- and Mark's is so tense with the will-Cobel-catch-on threat hanging over it -- that you barely notice that we see only one quick glimpse of Helly's overtime; just enough to connect the dots that she's probably at the Eagan gala. It's really sly.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:26 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:26 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
The severed-employee panels in the security office show other departments' initials: CE, TA, W&A, D&R, EQP, CL, WN. Oddly no O&D.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:43 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:43 PM on January 14 [1 favorite]
In the official podcast episode to accompany this one John Turturro joins Adam and Ben and tells a fun story about how Stanley Kubrick wrote a role for him in Eyes Wide Shut which he didn't end up taking (due to the two year time commitment).
posted by simonw at 6:20 PM on January 15
posted by simonw at 6:20 PM on January 15
The only part of the whole story of season 1 that I've never quite bought into is how the hell would the board not know that Helly had tried to kill herself? Cobel tells Mark she's in the hospital, and she's an Egan! That doesn't seem like the sort of thing that Cobel would have had any capacity to keep secret.
posted by dry white toast at 7:04 PM on January 15
posted by dry white toast at 7:04 PM on January 15
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He even asked for a crystal statue of his team, presumably knowing he may never see them again.
Helly's kiss: "In case we don’t come back. Or, I don’t know, in case we do?"
posted by simonw at 3:39 PM on January 8 [7 favorites]