Severance: A Primer

[rionaleonhart]

I've been having an incredible time watching Severance; it's the best new show I've seen in years, and a very strong candidate for my favourite show of all time. In case anyone's curious about whether they should watch it, here's a non-spoilery overview!




What is the concept of Severance?

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to remember work? If you got all the money and benefits without the actual experience of working? With Lumon's proprietary severance technology, that can be a reality.

When you're in the Lumon office, you won't remember anything from outside it, so you can focus completely on your work. When you leave at the end of the day, your memories of work will vanish. No more lying awake, obsessing over that project; your work can't intrude on your personal life when you don't even remember it. It's the perfect way to preserve the work-life balance.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: What am I actually doing at work?
A: That's the great thing: you'll never know!

Q: What's life like for the version of me in the office? The one who doesn't remember their free time or childhood or friends or family? The one who leaves the office at the end of the day and, from their perspective, steps straight back into it and has to get right back to work?
A: Look, don't worry about it. Your work self is doing just fine.



Can you boil the premise down to one sentence?

You don't remember what happens in the office, except when you're in the office, in which case you don't remember your life outside it.

Why is Severance worth watching?

If the basic concept sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend checking Severance out! I originally watched it because I thought the premise had interesting potential, and the show really delivers on that promise; it explores the concept in fascinating ways. It's a great series for anyone who enjoys themes of memory and identity.

I think the show strikes a great tonal balance, too. There's a lot of humour, and I find the characters likeable; it's fun to watch! But, at the same time, it knows how to get serious. It creates tension and suspense very effectively, and the lighter elements don't mean the hard-hitting moments hit any less hard.

It never feels to me like Severance is playing it safe. When it feels like there are a few different directions it could potentially take the story in, it'll choose the most interesting option and explore the fallout. I'm constantly fascinated to see what happens next.

Where can I watch Severance?

Severance is an Apple original and can be watched on the Apple TV+ streaming service; it's currently halfway through its second season, with episodes coming out weekly. If you don't have Apple TV, though, the first season is available on DVD and Blu-ray!

Anything else I should know?

As a heads-up, Severance does occasionally explore some dark themes. If you have any specific questions about the content, or about any other aspect of Severance, feel free to ask in the comments!



Wait, Severance and Succession are different shows?

I was surprised too!

Comments

[necrophilia]

Here's a question:

You have to choose just one of the MDR team to survive a deadly walrus attack. The rest will die. It's Severance's Choice. Whomst? Go.

[rionaleonhart]

This is a very important question! I think that might be one for my own journal rather than tv_talk, though; I've just crossposted this primer to my blog, so you can throw MDR-related (or indeed walrus-related) hypothetical scenarios at me to your heart's content.

[sweettartheart]

Wait, Severance and Succession are different shows?

THIS :D

[rionaleonhart]

I've seen this confusion so many times, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought for ages that they were the same thing!

[flo_nelja]

Oh, it's also funny? I had no idea, it sounded like a very serious show.

If you don't mind spoiling me: how does this "remember nothing" thing work? Do the worksonas know, for example, countries of the world and who Shakespeare is, or is it something they forget too?

[rionaleonhart]

It's definitely a drama rather than a comedy, but it never feels like it's taking itself too seriously! In particular, there's a lot of humour in the constant undercurrent of workplace satire.

The worksonas retain general knowledge, but all personal memories are gone. They're aware of what the sky is, but they don't remember the experience of seeing it; they can answer the question 'name any US state,' but not 'which US state were you born in?'

[flo_nelja]

So they can't be stressed by personal things but they can still be stressed by wars and otherwise stressing politics?

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, this is a good question! They don't actually seem to know much about the current state of the world; they don't seem aware of what month or year it is, and one of them speculates on whether the land outside is uninhabitable, so he clearly knows that environmental threats exist but has no idea what the current state of the environment is. If you gave them a newspaper, they'd be able to understand the words, but the actual events described would be, er, news to them, so to speak.

[flo_nelja]

Yes, it's a hard question, where does general knowledge end and when do news-as-personal-memory begin (I think it's the same in some real life amnesia cases too)

[linky]

I thought severance was related to succession somehow, though granted I only heard some vague things about both secondhand. The premise for this show is so interesting! I know my parents have Apple TV and I think have been watching it there. Definitely keeping this one on my radar and will check out sometime. :D

[rionaleonhart]

I hope you enjoy it, if you do check it out! It's such an interesting premise, and I think the show really does it justice.

[china_shop]

Oof! Such a hard choice.

[wearing_tearing]

I was just thinking of starting the show so your primer came at the perfect time! Thank you for sharing it <3

[rionaleonhart]

I'm glad it could be well timed! If you do give the show a try, I hope you have a great time with it.

[violet_pencil]

I watched the pilot of Severance and was intrigued but then got distracted by other things, but I keep meaning to go back to it, especially since I see glimpses of so much interesting discussion happening on tumblr, reddit, DW, etc.

I have not confused Succession with Severance but I do also have a lot of Delicious in Dungeon fans on my tumblr dash... so I keep seeing meta posts about Milchuck and Chilchuck and getting REALLY confused about what's going on with that guy, because I always forget which one is from Severance and which one is from Delicious in Dungeon. :D

[tinny]

I've been meaning to watch it for ages - ever since it came out and friends started raving about it - but i never got around to it. I should bump it up my list.

[rionaleonhart]

I hope you enjoy it, if you do go back to it! I've really been enjoying how lively the discussion is. (And, wow, I can definitely see how those names would be confusing!)

[rionaleonhart]

If you do check it out, I hope you have a good time with it!