Over the course of the winter break, I needed to fill my free time and so naturally I
searched for a new show to binge-watch. I had heard that season two of Severance
was being released in the new year and so I decided to sit down and watch the first
season. I feel like Severance is a fairly niche show because it is on the Apple Tv+
streaming platform, which is not as well-known as other services, however, for those
in the know Apple Tv+ has consistently been making some really great shows.
Hopefully, they begin to do more to promote the content on this platform to a wider
audience because they have the potential for a real hit show with Severance.
Severance is a futuristic series fundamentally built on the idea of a person being able
to lead two separate lives at work and home: playing on the extremes of a work-life
balance. It is directed by Ben Stiller and stars some great actors like Adam Scott and
Patricia Arquette. Though the premise of the show is futuristic, the characters,
themes and social commentary ground it in reality and it is also just a thrilling,
sometimes confusing, but overall entertaining watch. While I have explained the
general basis of the show, it is only from watching it that you can learn the depth of
the narrative and become completely engrossed in the character’s lives.
The show does centre around people who have undergone the severance
procedure, but in a wider context it provides a commentary on the dangers of
capitalism and a surveillance state. The ‘villain’ of the show is Lumon, a company
that has grown so large in this world that it seems to penetrate every aspect of the
characters lives; it is not just their workplace, it is also the houses they live in, the
clothes they wear, and with the severance procedure, their entire minds and bodies.
In this regard, the show appears to be making comments on the dangers of
advancement in technology, and the issues that arise when one entity is given so
much power that they are able to manipulate and control people without them even
realising. Furthermore, the show covers themes of surveillance, both known and
unknown, which ties into the company’s ability to control people, but could also
reflect the impact of social media and how difficult it has become for things to remain
private when everyone has a camera and a connection to the world in their pocket.
Privacy has become a massive issue in the last few years, and even more recently
with the brief TikTok ban in the USA, people are becoming very paranoid about
having their information stolen through the use of technology. Severance does a
great job of exploring these real-life fears and provides a good message that none of
these large corporations, no matter who they are or what country they originate from,
should be able to access your personal information.
The political commentary in the show is important and well-executed, but Severance
also manages to be entertaining and incredibly addictive. Every episode shares
insights into this weird world that Dan Erickson has created, but you also leave each
episode with twenty more questions that you did not have originally which makes it
even more fun to watch. From this, it has garnered a great community online who all
talk about each episode and share theories with one another which is evidence that
a really interesting show has been made. I am fascinated to see where they take
Severance in season two and you can get a 7-day free trial to Apple Tv+ so I highly
recommend watching the whole thing after the finale of season two has been
released on the 21 st of March.