Severance Season 1

Just a one off piece about a series I watched recently, Severance, directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.

Some spoilers, so you've been warned.

    In a rare mood, I strayed from my typical diet of youtube content and decided to watch a series. Recommended by a friend with some refined taste for cinema, I decided to watch Severance while I worked on other things. 

    The story revolves around the protagonist, Mark who is played by Adam Scott. A seemingly average office worker, Mark exemplifies the white collar man. The series starts out with a rather strange opening to explain, Severance, a form of employment by Lumon, a mega corporation who dabbles in a little bit of everything. Severance is a procedure done to employees employed by Lumon, which separate their work-life by manually splitting the individual by inserting a capsule into their brain, a procedure which can be done in less than an hour. After the procedure is done, the new employee is shoved into a conference room where they are briefed on their arrival of their new life as a Lumon Severance employee. The employee in question will be "born" with no prior memories and only exist during the work hours set by Lumon, which is implied to be 9 to 5, with employees being staggered as to avoid meeting the other during their off time when they switch to their original selves. Individuals with severance call their work selves as their "Innie" and their original selves as "outtie." The Innie only experiences life in the work hours provided by Lumon, and at the end of their shift, they simply go into the elevator just for the door to open again to work another day. Their entire memories only exist as an employee of Lumon, while their outtie lives the opposite, in which they arrive at work only to immediately exit work.

    The initial pull for the show for me was the backdrop and camera angles which immediately sets a feeling of unease, discomfort and tension in the scenario. A soundtrack that melds in with the series so much so that you don't even notice how it impacts the narrative being drawn before you eyes. The show tends to show you the plot rather than tell you, as the amount of verbal storytelling is minimal compared to the scenes which depict the mood and story. All beautifully whisked into a visual treat that has peaks and dips that tug and tow you along through the episodes. 

    The pacing for the show is one of it's strongest suites and prepares the audience well for the story about to unfold. Episodes 1 to 3 serves as an introduction and a gradual crescendo with strategically placed foreshadowing which make you question whether or not it may be a red herring. From Episode 4 and onwards, the introduction has concluded and you begin to take in the deeper and darker elements. Answers only lead to more questions and the questions take a more radical turn for the worst. Character development through out the series gives you insight into what Innie's are as they interact with each other in what's a normal day at Lumon. The co-worker interactions, office parties and even your occasional Wellness Session serves to help the viewer connect to the Innies.

    What was believed to be a single protagonist slowly develops into 2, the Innie and the Outtie. Despite being the same person, the divergence in personality becomes more noticeable. Severance in the show itself seems to be a controversial process, with activists fighting against the abuse the Innie receives. As the viewer, one begin to empathize with the Innie plight as the darker aspects of the Lumon employment rears its ugly head. An existence created solely for the benefit of the other, only to live in a figurative and literal prison. The roller coaster of emotions felt during visits to the break room or tours to the perpetuity wing are those that morally twist the expectation one would have.

    An excellent piece of work by co-director Ben Stiller. I personally never expected Stiller to be such an phenomenal director in a genre far outside of what he has been known for directing, such as Zoolander or Tropic Thunder. The story written by Dan Erickson, which seems to be his first work, has masterfully portrayed a sci-fi mystery that continues to puzzle the viewer with its breakneck storytelling that takes you for a discomforting ride in a surreal premise that hits a little too close to home. As of writing this, season 2 has been green lit for production and is expected to release sometime in the future. Overall a great watch that makes you really consider what makes a human, human and what the ethics and morals are around voluntary abuse and servitude.