Leave it to a show like Severance, the dystopian Apple TV+ hit that’s basically the biggest thing on streaming right now, to follow up last week’s unforgettable outdoor retreat episode with one that switches back to the prosaic — and the show still manages to keep you absolutely riveted.
In retrospect, it actually kind of feels like a stroke of genius that the aftermath of last week’s ORTBO was followed up by something more run-of-the-mill this week: Milchick’s performance review. It once again underscored how much Severance has turned into a masterclass in storytelling, because you actually feel sorry for Milchick by the end of his session with Mr. Drummond (who scolds our favorite severed floor manager over three “anonymous” complaints about him. More about that in a moment).
Here’s a quick recap of the highlights of Trojan’s Horse, which now puts us at the halfway point of the second season of Severance (spoilers to follow).
Helly’s back. After Irving nearly killed her outie during the outdoor retreat last week, forcing her to reveal her charade in the process, Helly returns to the severed floor. Her return followed a conversation between Mr. Drummond, Natalie, and Helena, in which Helena initially resists going back, but it’s determined that Helly needs to be there since Mark is so close to finishing the Cold Harbor file.
MDR demands a “funeral” for Irving. If Milchick thought he could zap Irving’s innie out of existence Thanos-style (for nearly killing Helena) and everyone would just go about their business, he was mistaken. An incredulous Dylan demands a funeral for his colleague. During the ceremony, it becomes clear that Irving’s final words to Dylan, “Hang in there,” actually meant something specific. There’s a poster in the break room with those words on it, behind which Irving has hidden a card spelling out the directions for how to get to the Exports Hall. Dylan studies it, but then puts the card back (for now?).
Milchick uses “too many big words”. As Milchick and Ms. Huang prepare Irving’s funeral arrangements, Ms. Huang confesses that she doesn’t understand why they’re bothering. “The Affections Index for Irving B. was in the high 60s,” Milchick coldly responds. To which Ms. Huang replies: “May I say a question?
“You shouldn’t let them have a funeral … it makes them feel like people.”
His face continuing to betray no emotion, Milchick tells her that was an opinion, not a question. And an “unsolicited” one, at that. So Ms. Huang decides to give him an actual question: “Your first performance review is today, right? … That was a question.”
I say all that, because when Mr. Drummond tells Milchick during his performance review about the anonymous complaints against him that include using too many big words and being weird with the way he paperclips files — we know exactly which child-like employee those complaints came from. Drummond also demands that Milchick’s workers be treated “as what they really are,” to which the chastened Milchick replies that he’s “tightening the leash.”
Irving + Burt (the outie edition). While making a call from a phone booth, Severance G.O.A.T. Irving notices Burt sitting in a car nearby and watching him. Burt confesses that he’s been following Irving since the triggering of the Overtime Contingency in the Season 1 finale, when Irving showed up to Burt’s house banging on his front door. Burt invites Irving to come over for dinner, so that Irving, Burt, and Burt’s husband Fields can talk all this out. That won’t be awkward at all.
Reghabi is living with Mark now. Reghabi, the mysterious and cryptic ex-Lumon employee who supposedly knows how to reintegrate the halves of severed employees, tells Mark something extremely unsettling — you know those cremated ashes of your wife that you have in a box? Yeah, Lumon has connections at the morgue. The last time I saw your wife at Lumon, though, she was fine. The episode ends with Mark seeing a flash of Gemma alive, and OMG why can’t it be next week already.
Odds and ends. Has anyone else out there noticed that the name Dieter Eagan is an anagram of “AI Generated”? That can’t be a coincidence, can it?
And on an unrelated note: If there’s anyone who wants to do a bit of Macrodata Refining for themselves, click right here and your screen will turn into an exact replica of what the MDR team sees and works with. I’ve currently completed 2% of my file, and all I can tell you at this point is that this work seems mysterious and important.
