One of the most original and inventive pieces of content to come out in the last decade, Severance is a refreshing and mind-boggling mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat right from the first moment to the frustratingly brilliant ending. The premise alone is enough to keep you enthralled throughout, set in a world not too different from where ours could head, the series feels like a truly horrifying dystopia, where human life is governed by the politics of severance.
The directing on offer throughout the entire show is something to marvel at. Every detail feels so perfectly crafted and purposeful to the larger story, I mean they manage to make a show that’s primarily set in a desolate office with endless white corridors, that all look the same, some of the most visually striking TV I’ve ever seen. The whole production design is just really impressive, how it amplifies the sort of sickening feeling that Helly is experiencing having just been severed. The directors of each episode are then able to take the locations and manipulate how they’re perceived as the show continues, slowly changing how the viewer experiences this strange world, by using the same locations in different ways and by expanding the scope of the space they explore.
It’s also wildly impressive how effortlessly the show is able to explain such a high-level concept, this can be attributed to how perfect the pilot episode of the series is at explaining the world that we’re viewing, but also not revealing everything all at once, just enough that lets you fully enjoy the ride. Just as one mystery seems to be solved, the show adds more and more layers that complicates things further, or suddenly follow up on hints that were set up in a number of episodes prior. What’s fun is that by the end of it there’s been as much answered as there are more questions, leaving you craving more. It also at numerous times places the viewer in an interesting position of knowing the answers to mysteries before the characters themselves know what’s happening, which makes it all the more satisfying when you get to see them uncover the mystery for themselves.
The acting by everyone in the show is phenomenal. Adam Scott, who I’ve been a long-time fan of, absolutely kills it in the role of Mark, and is able to play both sides of him in a discernible way that feels grounded yet differentiable. Britt Hower is another standout in her role as Helly, who has a lot of the emotional heavy lifting in the series early on but delivers such a brilliant performance that keeps you thoroughly invested. Honestly, there isn’t a single actor who doesn’t absolutely crush their role, but especially Tramell Tillman who is unnervingly creepy towards the end of the series.
If you were wondering if the show is overhyped, it’s not. It’s simply some of the best TV on right now. I do think it becomes a little stagnant in the middle of the series but honestly that’s the only critique I have, this is an incredible show, it takes a brilliant concept and pairs it with inventive filmmaking to make for a gift of a TV show.
★★★★1/2
