Severance (Season 2)

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⭐9.5/10

This was an interesting season that made me think a lot. Where the first season was fresh and new, intriguing, mysterious, funny, tight, and all leading to a great crescendo, season 2 was a bit of a mixed bag at times. It was maybe not as consistent, with some true lulls, but the peaks of this season were so high that I wonder if it featured a few of the best moments of TV history. 

It had a bit of a tough time coming off of season 1. How do you make another season where the novelty is wearing off and the audience wants answers? I'm not sure the show runners were always perfect, with a few missteps. They kinda insist on drip feeding answers, all the while creating more questions, and this was becoming a bit frustrating, a bit like cliff-hanger bait like Lost. 

But rather than focusing on the mystery, I think this show did something far more interesting which was to focus on all the human elements of the sci-fi. It asked all the interesting moral questions that I hadn't even considered, asking questions about love, human nature, and sense of identity. I thought this was absolutely mind-blowing and forced me to ask some tricky questions. It was brilliant and I loved that they went in this direction. They traded a bit of season 1s humor for some truly engaging and often emotional moments. 

Again, a few episodes missed the mark, kinda just spinning the wheels and getting us nowhere. I also think a few cracks emerged where the logic was falling apart, which was less of an issue for season 1 because season 1 was just funnier. But then the finale happens and I forgave all sins. Even in the finale, the logic doesn't seem to be super tight, but it was the most intense, provocative, wonderfully framed hour of television that I can remember. This is exactly what you want to experience art for. It was absolutely electric and it made me feel things about as strongly as anything I can remember. 

And that's all I'll say about that. This is going to be a big year for TV, and I wonder if anything will surpass this. If you are not invested in Severance, change that. 

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