Series Review – Severance Season 2
Creator: Dan Erickson
Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Christopher Walken
Year: 2025
Three years. THREE YEARS we waited for this. And you know what? Worth it. Every goddamn day of waiting was worth it.
Severance Season 1 ended with one of the greatest cliffhangers in television history. I’m not being hyperbolic. Mark discovering that his wife is alive, Helly revealing herself at the Lumon gala, Irving finding the address — all of it happening simultaneously while the overtime contingency expires. I watched that finale twice in a row and then couldn’t sleep. That was 2022. I’ve been holding my breath since.
Season 2 picks up. Well. I can’t tell you exactly where it picks up because that would be spoiling things and I’m not doing that to you. But I can tell you that Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller — who directs several episodes again — understand that the worst thing they could do is resolve everything too quickly. The tension from that finale carries through. The questions multiply before they answer.
Adam Scott continues to be perfect as Mark. Both versions of Mark. The beauty of this show is that Scott is essentially playing two different people — Innie Mark who’s discovering the horror of his situation and Outie Mark who’s buried his grief in compliance — and both feel completely realized. There’s a moment in episode four that I can’t describe but when you see it you’ll understand why I’m bringing it up. It’s the kind of acting that should win Emmys but probably won’t because the Television Academy is allergic to sci-fi.
The new season expands the world in ways I didn’t expect. We learn more about Lumon. We meet new characters. We see different departments. And somehow none of it feels like bloat — it all connects, it all matters. The show respects your intelligence. It trusts you to keep up without explaining everything three times.
John Turturro and Christopher Walken. God. Their storyline this season. I’m not going to spoil it but there’s an emotional core to their relationship that the first season only hinted at and Season 2 makes it central. Walken in particular does some of the best work of his career here and I’m including The Deer Hunter in that statement.
Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel remains terrifying in ways that are hard to articulate. She’s not a mustache-twirling villain. She’s a true believer. Those are always scarier.
The production design continues to be immaculate. Those Lumon hallways — all that white and green, that corporate purgatory aesthetic — it’s become iconic for a reason. There’s a visual language to this show that no other series has replicated. Every frame feels intentional in a way that most TV doesn’t bother with.
Okay complaints. I have one. There’s an episode midway through the season — episode five — that feels like it’s stalling a bit. It’s still good. It’s still better than 90% of television. But compared to everything around it, it drags. That’s my only note. One episode in ten that’s merely good instead of great.
The ending. I’m not going to tell you what happens. But I will say this: it made me feel things. Deep things. The kind of feelings you get when art actually reaches you instead of just entertaining you. And it sets up a third season that I NEED. Desperately. Immediately.
Severance is the best show on television right now. I don’t think it’s close.
My rating: ★★★★★
