(Editor’s note: In anticipation of Severance pay’s upcoming second season, The AV Club recapitulated Season 1 of the show for the first time. Expect a new recap daily through September 2.)
A lot of dark, depressing things happen in Severance payis the fourth episode, so forgive me if I don’t want to talk about it for so long. Instead, let’s start with the part that made me giddy. Who knew a TV show with so much horror could also induce butterflies in my stomach? Irving and Burt (John Turturro and Christopher Walken) have such warm chemistry with so little dialogue. It’s all about shy glances, big smiles, and a strong need to be close to each other. Their innies only met a few days ago, but after bonding over shared interests, they already miss each other. In their mundane, secluded existence, they’ve developed real feelings and have one hell of a crush. It’s sweet! (It scares me for them, too.)
This exciting new feeling compels Irving, a staunch Kier supporter, to break out of his MDR routine and visit O&D as soon as Burt stops by to invite him for an informal tour, thoughtfully dropping off the bags he knew Irv wanted. I love how both actors express their interest in each other in unique ways through their performances. Turturro is visibly delighted and his eyes light up while Walken speaks quietly and furtively. Later, as they both admire the artwork rotating through the departments before ending up back at O&D, Irving and Burt gently touch each other’s hands. Irv breaks it off in a brief moment of panic, but returns so both can make it clear that they decided not are embarrassed by their behavior and continue flirting.
As much as I enjoyed their scenes, I’m nervous about Burt lying to Irving about O&D being a two-person team. Granted, he’s following orders, but that doesn’t bode well for them now that Irving knows the truth. When he goes back to meet Burt, he opens a secret door and witnesses him working with five people, surrounded by an endless row of giant printers in a large room. Sigh. Optics & Design lives up to the first part of its name, as the department is an illusion. Hopefully, Irv knowing Burt’s secret won’t hurt their connection, as Severance pay could use their beautiful moments.
The rest of “The You You Are” increases the anxiety with every passing minute. Outie Mark avoids the calls he receives from a blocked number on Petey’s phone. He still attends his co-worker’s funeral and meets his daughter and ex-wife. There he also meets Mrs. Selvig/Harmony Cobel, who claims Peter was a customer in her store. My heart was pounding when Cobel and Mark met because Severance pay makes you think that she is about to find out that he met Petey. Of course, she is there for nefarious reasons. My goodness, how convenient for her that at the funeral there is a clip of Petey and his daughter rocking out loudly to guitar music. The noise allows Cobel to sneak into the room with his coffin and drill into his head to get the separation chipIt feels incredibly comfortable. Severance pay doesn’t usually take the easy way out, so this step is a bit off.
Mark’s conversation with Petey’s daughter June (Cassidy Layton) suggests that she’s mad that her father is spending eight hours a day forgetting his memories instead of facing his problems head-on. Mark can relate. He still claims it works for him, but being at a funeral is so emotionally draining that he drives to the spot where Gemma died in a car crash (next to a tree) and cries uncontrollably. The urge to shake his shoulders and say “It’s OK, cry it out, it’s the only healthy way to move on” is real. And that’s because Scott excels in this scene. Much of his portrayal so far has been about controlling and bottling up his emotions, so it was interesting to see Mark let go for once. Cobel knows Mark is upset, though, so she asks Ms. Casey to take him to a wellness session that she’s observing. Buckle up, because things are about to get weird.
During their conversation, Ms. Casey suggests that Mark use a clay mold to give form to his feelings. He accidentally carves a tree that resembles the one next to where Gemma died. Something prompted him to do it. Was it just an instinct from deep within him or an olfactory reaction to the candle Ms. Casey just lit? It turns out it’s the same red and green candle Gemma made. Cobel stole it from Mark’s house and presumably gave it to Ms. Casey. She watches his reaction to it and wonders if Mark recognizes it. He does recognize it, he just doesn’t know it yet. This further proves what Petey said before he died, which is that feelings are transmitted to the viscera. (Also, we should save Milchick being nervous about a possible interaction between Ms. Casey and Mark for later.)
I love seeing this theory put to the test in a number of ways, as Outie Mark questions his job and that seeps into Innie Mark too. That’s why he doesn’t give up Ricken’s book (the same one Milchick left in the conference room last episode) when Irving discovers it. Instead, he secretly reads it in the bathroom, unaware that he’s consuming his brother-in-law’s words. He also seems to have shredded the map Petey drew of the severed floor, mostly to prove to Helly that he’s playing by the rules. I’d like to point out, though, that Ricken calls Mark a “cartographer of the mind,” so maybe he has a photographic memory — or he made a copy. Either way, Mark may deny it, but Helly’s influence on his Innie is clear to see.
Speaking of Helly, she is in no mood to give up her search, which leads to brutal results. In the break room, she is forced to give this apology speech 1,072 fucking times in front of a screen. It is torture, plain and simple. She is expected to return to her cubicle and sort through numbers as if nothing happened. Lumon assumes this technique will numb her and eventually turn her into a model employee. If anything, this crazy event forces her to make a drastic decision. She threatens to chop off her arm in front of Cobel, Milchick and Mark if she is not allowed to record a resignation video for her outie. What she does not expect is that her version of the outside world will Also rebellious. Outie Helly seemed concerned at first, but now that’s replaced with pure contempt for her Innie’s behavior. So she clarifies, “I’m human, you’re not. I make the decisions, you don’t.” Watching this power struggle between the same person is electrifying. Britt Lower is great and it makes me curious to see more of Outie Helly to understand why she seems so cruel while her Innie is the most “human” so to speak.
But even her spirit is broken afterward. So when she gets off work, she casually says goodbye to Dylan and walks to the elevator, holding a power cord and a trash can. And then her life – her three-day-old life as an Innie – flashes before her eyes. It’s mostly just fleeting glimpses of Mark. She may have been rude to him before, but this proves that Helly at least trusts Mark and considers him a friend. And then she hangs herself. It’s pretty horrific and heartbreaking, but despite the cliffhanger, it’s obvious that Helly is too important to lose. So don’t worry, she’ll come back, as I’ll analyze in the episode five recap.
Scatter observations
- • Color theory: The most striking thing for me is Ricken’s book cover, which is an extremely bright orange/red and represents the outside world. Now it has completely penetrated the job. The work-life balance is definitely disappearing.
- • Kudos to Aoife McArdle for taking over for Ben Stiller in this episode. She does a great job, especially in the scene where Helly leaves after filming her retirement video, knowing she won’t be coming back, only to return in a flash wearing different clothes.
- • I need to know how Milchick feels when he witnesses the apologies in the break room. Is he bored? Is he numb? Is he engaged? What goes on in his head when he sees Helly, Mark and everyone else going through this?
- • “This is the part where I tell you to go to hell, except you’re already here.” “If you want a hug, go to hell and find your mother.” Seriously, there are a lot of references to hell.
- • There are houses on the map Petey drew. Does this mean Lumon is testing something all over town? Or are there houses in the ground? The possibilities are endless.
- • I know I have Lost Comparisons in the premiere summary, but every time they talk about mysterious numbers in Severance payI’m tempted to bring it up again.
- • When Cobel is stressed in her office, she expressionlessly recites the core principles of Lumon. These include words like vision, wit, cheerfulness, humility, kindness, agility, integrity and cunning.
- • Strangely, Devon does not mention to her brother that Ricken gave him his book, nor does she ask if he received it or what he thinks of it.
- • Irv and Burt’s O&D interactions take place as they stand in front of a portrait of Lumon founder Kier Eagan when he was recovering as a child. The show is clearly trying to tell us that Kier’s beliefs about longevity, healing and devotion began at a formative age.
- • I wonder what’s going on when Helly and Dylan hear different background noises in the break room. She hears an old man dying while he says he heard a baby crying the last time he was there.
- • Speaking of Dylan, I can’t wait for him and Zach Cherry to get more attention.
