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lil skippy #22: severance season 2 thoughts [spoilers]
Added 2025-03-27 22:47:58 +0000 UTCi don't know what this show is about anymore
Comments
These ads feel like when Mr beast did Squid Games. They've somehow missed the entire point
J. Smith
2025-04-23 02:30:33 +0000 UTCfinding out that ben stiller is a zionist pretty much killed any interest I had in actually watching season 2 myself (I watched s1 back in 2022), but I'm still checking out some people's thoughts on the show bc I do think there are lots of interesting conversations to be had about it. I really liked your breakdown of the shift in the writing and funnily enough I had the thought of 'it's like what happened with the bear' right before you said that ๐ also, I watched this video just last night about Milchick's arc in season 2 and it might be of interest. https://youtu.be/J7Y-VrvwA7Q?si=IVp33skQG6913GOU
Rachel LME77
2025-04-19 06:22:31 +0000 UTCI think there are lots of things that could be interesting about the Mark/Gemma storyline, like how Lumon has essentially kidnapped Mark's wife and then sold him the solution of severance for the pain, "solving" a trauma that they created in a way that further serves their interests. But I didn't really think about that from anything the show said or did but from conversations with others about it. I think that concept is in the show somewhere, but I don't feel like the show actually made that point. I do really appreciate your read on the Gemma/Mark stuff as well. Perhaps too much time had passed since I watched season 1 and I forgot just truly how much her death shaped his character. But I also think that in many ways she was never really allowed to be a real character and not just an accessory to add depth to Mark's character. In season 1 we only see her as a brainwashed innie, and in season 2 we only get the one episode of flashback to really understand their relationship. I think I personally just need more to invest in her!
Skip Intro
2025-04-03 01:39:07 +0000 UTCI definitely agree with your whole second paragraph there. I can think of all sorts of ways in which the company town or ms. wong could have worked, or all the points that the show could have made with them. But I think ultimately that would be me doing more work to make those points than the show did. There are lots of good critiques they could make with those mechanisms, but they do have to actually, like, make those points. I did also like the ways in which Lumon tried to incorporate the uprising of season 1 into serving the business again, and the ways in which they attempted to use small carrots and sticks to turn the innies against solidarity (dylan's family visits for example) but I just wanted more of that!
Skip Intro
2025-04-03 01:34:09 +0000 UTCI've definitely felt very mixed on this season. I agree that there's a lot that felt unfocused. I didn't know about the behind the scenes stuff cause I don't usually follow that kinda stuff personally, but it makes a lot of sense why it felt that kind of unfocused. I think a lot of it could still be made into something in a future season, but it should never be up to a new season to fix an old one for sure. Let me give a piece of my personal criticism, as well as one of my favorite things from this season you didn't mention. So my criticism is it felt... rushed? I'm not sure if that's accurate, but to me it felt like they had some good ideas of where they wanted to go in this season, and those are the strongest moments of it, as they felt like they were continuations of themes and ideas of season 1, but most of the rest felt almost like it existed to fill the time needed? Like with Ms. Wong/the little girl. There's definitely stuff you can do with her character, and I think they had some intentions beyond it just being super weird to have a child as a manager. I feel like there's probably meant to be a message about stuff like business scholarship programs and unpaid internships, but it's barely touched on. Similar issues with the destroyed company town. There's so many things that could be done with that but it felt rushed by instead. Again there's a lot they could still do with these in the future, but they should have really been more focused on if that was the intent. As for the thing I really liked, it was the way the way they had Lumon, as the stand in for capitalism, took the events of season 1 and used them as a commodity. The obvious example is the little claymation video that felt ripped right out of Community, but also all the work posters were made from events of season 1. I felt like this was one of the things that stood out most to me about this season.
Pinball Witch
2025-03-28 07:50:59 +0000 UTCGreat video! I agree with so much of what you said. The marketing was frustrating and a little horrifying. I didn't see that zip recruiter one but ew. I saw the state farm one and that was how I learned that they're getting all this corporate partnership and marketing and season 2 is going to be so much more popular. That would probably be my number 1 criticism because I hate when my shows with great themes and messages get co-opted by big ugly corporations. I thought the first couple of episodes were so great. The end of the ORTBO episode had me so excited for the rest of the season and it just fizzled out. I loved the finale but compared to all the insane reveals from the first season it wasn't quite as good. I will say, even though we didn't see a lot of interactions between Mark and Gemma, I was still rooting for their reunion and for Gemma to be saved. Mark spends the entire first season so depressed because of that loss. And in the second season he suddenly has hope again. I liked the decision of iMark having to choose and obviously choosing Helly since he doesn't know Gemma. But as a viewer it was still heart-wrenching. Lastly, I'm glad you said a season should have a beginning, middle, and end. I've seen a lot of people on reddit respond to criticism with, "There's another season. It's not over." I think things should be paid off within the season. Season 1 was incredible because the finale answered sooo many questions while prompting new ones.
Bruna
2025-03-28 03:53:35 +0000 UTCThis is a really interesting take! I appreciate hearing your thoughts even if my opinions on the season were much more positive. Totally agreed on the marketing of the show though. That state farm ad was so creepy and I hated it. Hadn't seen the ziprecruiter one! What the actual fuck were they thinking? What's next, ads for Healthcare sponsored by the umbrella corporation from resident evil? Getting back to the show itself. For me I really liked season 2 because it dove deeper into the characters. I really enjoyed episodes like the one where we see mark's life with his wife. And for me the capitalism/work metaphor still worked because lumon is no longer portrayed as a business with cult like tendencies. In this season we can see it is a full on religion/cult which for me felt super timely and relevant given the way christofacism is intersecting with america's tech sector. Obviously we saw aspects of it in season 1 but i like the increased focus on it in season 2. Season 1 was about the workers, season 2 is about work culture and how it echoes religious culture/structure. Hopefully season 3 is about the lumon workers seizing the means of production! Also the part about milchick using big words hit my mom hard on a personal level because she literally got that exact criticism in her performance review one time. And I loved the finale! I believe the showrunners have said in an interview that this is a show about a man (mark) trying to heal and bring two different conflicting sides of himself back together and i think they are succeding in that respect. Innie mark is still ethical enough to save Gemma but he has started to realize that he deserves happiness too. I love the philosophical/ethical conflict created in that moment. One final note. Have you read film critic hulk's recent essay on severance? Would be curious to get your reaponse to it! If you haven't here is a link to it. https://www.patreon.com/posts/125084627 Thanks for sharing your thoughts on season 2!
RedX2099
2025-03-27 23:30:46 +0000 UTCRlly appreciated your thoughts, articulated some of my critiques far more eloquently! Obvious ties back to fisher's capitalist realism which you brought up in the s1 vid (iirc) and I think viewing big commercial productions that (by s2 in severance, s3 in the bear) co-opt or twist the generally workered-centered media into more glorifications (or less direct critiques) of the corporation/business. The Bear bringing on folks that have turned eating into a business for the wealthy and their celeb chef cameos, and severances muting of the worst part's of lumon and possibly phasing out of the show's core is quite the (tragic) departue from s1. Interesting to view these in contrast to the independently financed The Brutalist (or Anora) where I felt Corbet (Baker) could be unapologetic in their message about the myth of the american dream
Daniel Racz
2025-03-27 23:11:03 +0000 UTC
