The title of episode three of Severance season two, Who Is Alive?, is a question. In a show that is constantly asking questions, this is only the second instance of the title itself existing as a question. The first was in season one, with the episode What’s For Dinner? which saw the Outie’s of the Macrodata Refinement team in their Outie lives before they experienced the ‘overtime contingency,’ which saw the Innie’s take control of their bodies outside of Lumon Industries’ walls.
At the heart of this episode asks the burning question that is eating Mark (Adam Scott) alive, like an electronic parasite feasting on bytes of data: “Who is alive?”. At this point, we know the answer is Outie Mark’s supposed-to-be-dead wife Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) but this mystery has unfolded into Outie Mark’s suspicions of Lumon. The episode even begins with Outie Mark timing his interactions with Lumon staff before entering the severed floor, before the ravishing new opening credits sequence – a genuine masterclass in animation that is perfectly in sync with the show’s surrealist qualities – occurs.
While episodes one and two of Severance season 2 reintroduced the concepts of mental separation and mostly filled in the chronological gaps occurring in between seasons, this episode is the first to snap apart pre-conceived notions of the show that one might have. For instance, what we understand the motivations of Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) to be are not so much revealed, but whatever the mischievous wickedness of Lumon seems to be seems to have lost its hold on her. There is also a return of the goats that showed up in season one, but in more foreboding ways. The show is seemingly able to raise tension and the stakes with the most inconsequential of movements; a shot of a man with a goat hood is puzzling, as the show continues to be and the interactions between Milchik (Tramell Tillman) and the mysterious board entertain a new thematic concept of racism amidst the walls of Lumon.
With the return of the goats – this time as Helly (Britt Lower) and Mark enter the grassy knolls of the Mammalians Nurturable Department while continuing their search for Ms. Casey – we are introduced to a disheveled herder, a goat gatekeeper of sorts. They are played by Gwendoline Christie, who strolls over a hill and onto the screen with the line “are you here to kill me?” while brandishing a stapler. The scene is not dark humour per se, but it is unnervingly witty as she grabs a cowbell and rings it to summon a gaggle of Lumon employees after learning of their role in the company being Macrodata refinement.
Zach Cherry continues to further prove himself as the standout of the show in Who Is Alive?, as his character, Dylan, gets the most emotional scene of the episode. After being summoned to the security room, he finds that a meeting has been set up for an 18-minute visitation with the wife of his Oiutie. Dylan has consistently struggled with the severance of his lives after he accidentally met the family of his Outie during the overtime contingency that occurred midway through season one. It is perhaps the most tangible conflict in the show, due to Cherry’s affability. While the season thus far has focused on Mark and Ms. Casey’s story, it is the plot line of Dylan that one finds themself constantly wishing the show would return to.
That said, if this episode has one standout scene it is the aforementioned broaching of race themes. Milchik enters his office, snatching up Mark’s deflated welcome balloons on his way. He is surprised to find the board – in the form of board point of contact Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander) – waiting for him with a present for his promotion. The present is a mixture of images containing Keir Eagan, Lumon’s mysterious founder and central to Lumon’s almost religious proclamation. However, this image of the white-skinned Keir Eagan has been changed to that of a Black man in what they describe as being an “inclusive re-canonization” to allow Milchik, a Black person, to feel included and represented. They then clarify that Natalie also received this exact same gift upon her promotion. Alexander’s performance here is incredible, achieving a sympathetic brood underneath glistening, alarmed eyes.
The detachment on show, while also being expressive, might indicate Natalie as being a severed employee as the running theme underneath a lot of Severance season two has been this dissemination of mental stability, where the link between the two disparate sides of their personalities are straining. This is no more on show than with the episode’s final scene, a moment that comes so unexpectedly for this stage of the season and is a cliffhanger that can only make next week’s episode all the more enticing. With a cliffhanger set to potentially invert the show, along with so many compelling character threads and uncanny mystery boxes, Who Is Alive? acts as a harbinger for more great television to come.
Severance Season 2 streams weekly on Apple TV+.
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