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In Severance, Office Perks Couldn't Be More Sinister
- joe_the_user 2y agoFrom the description, I gotta give Severance credit for a dystopia fully evocative of modern life. That said, it sounds far too stop on for me to want watch it and indeed it gives me the willies just thinking about it.
- barryvan 2y agoAs an Aussie, it terrifies me that it could be anywhere close to what working in America could be like. But having heard stories like the Walmart "smile" failure in Germany, I can only assume it's not too far off.
- kolanos 2y ago"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." ~ Mark Twain
- tristor 2y agoI would describe it as being an improvement over corporate America in some ways because in Severance an employee's work cannot follow them home from the severed floor as they have no recollection of it whatsoever. But the perception of the "innies" of the work never ending, of the sisyphean nature of work, almost torturous, describes the experience of the average corporate drone who is burnt out.
- pstuart 2y agoIt certainly hits home, but it's wonderfully done and worth the watch. Then start binging Silo, as it similarly terrifying and engaging (and book 2 of the series explores a Severance like theme).
- pawelduda 2y agoIt takes a while for action to pick up but well worth it (so far)
- micromacrofoot 2y agoit's outrageously good, I couldn't recommend it more highly
- arrobbiato 2y agoThe other awful thought is that millions if not billions of people would look at Macrodata Refinement and think, "That beats the hell out of my current working environment." And in many ways they would be right.
- Muffinpie 2y agoThe season 1 finale is one of the best episodes of TV in a while.
- darthrupert 2y agoI don't want to hype it too much but S2E7 beats it.
- sfpotter 2y agoThe irony being that the show is made by Apple... How many people are de facto severed by their 9-to-5 soulless tech job, come home and binge watch a TV show made by another soulless tech corp about being severed by a 9-to-5 soulless tech job and... I don't get it.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> How many people are de facto severed by their 9-to-5 soulless tech job, come home and binge watch a TV show ...everyone I know who works at Apple is incredibly proud of and satisfied with the work they do. (They're also richly remunerated.)
- epistasis 2y agoHow could they not be? The work is mysterious and important. Edit: but other than the secrecy I agree that Apple and Lumon have little in common in terms of employees. Apple employees seem generally inspired to be doing the work they are doing, it's not soulless, and it's not 9-5.
- astrange 2y agoI think Lumon is supposed to look like Apple, but Severance Adam Scott just doesn't look like an Apple employee. He's permanently making a face that looks like he's on a BBC adaptation of Hitchhiker's Guide. Maybe it's just the makeup.
- epistasis 2y agoHuh, I can't see a single resemblance between Lumon's workplace and what I know about Apple's. The idea of people in suits at Apple simply does not compute.
- astrange 2y agoThat's because "dressing like a California tech worker" on TV codes as Big Bang Theory, but dressing like an office worker in a way nobody actually does codes as professional.
- refulgentis 2y agoI'd love to be talked into this show. The concept seems tedious and heavyhanded and the article slots right into my confirmation bias — I haven't seen dull meaningfulness like "the finger trap represents how work is a trap and how wellness perks are a trap because you like them but they're from work" since high school AP lit. I'm sure I'm missing something. Maybe I get indignant about it because I don't come from much, I didn't understand this strain of thinking when I was at Google, and I saw it predominantly in people who had lived a whole life where a fridge full of drinks of your choosing was a choice, not a gift.
- boogieknite 2y agoits one of the few shows raising the bar while nearly everything else seems to be intended to churn out "content" its legitimately artistic and the last episode especially so. it was the first thing directed by the show's cinematographer and is roundly celebrated by professional critics its incredible looking satire with quality writing
- arrobbiato 2y agoIf Stanley Kubrick made a television series, he'd make Severance. For some people that makes it a must-watch, for others, not so much.
- hugs 2y agoyes, exactly. some people like "weird" and thus probably would like almost anything by kubrick. (i am that person.) but no matter what, my wonderful spouse does not like "weird" tv or movies, and thus does not and will never like kubrick movies (or severance). she's ride-or-die for the hallmark channel, though.
- brandall10 2y agoWhat you're missing is the people inside this environment are essentially prisoners and childlike versions of their outer selves, with no memories or experiences of an actual life outside of it. For them these perks hold more meaning than you might expect as their life is completely devoid of any real meaning or purpose, although only one particular character actually relishes in them. I initially held off from watching the show as the concept sounded ludicrous and stifling. But it is wildly original and thought provoking, as well the cinematography and sound design is outstanding. Every little detail is like a carefully crafted puzzle piece that eventually fits together into the larger, expanding narrative, with little in the way of cruft.
- beemboy 2y agoApple TV+ is nailing its top shows, so it makes my actual severed life feel good. Oh shit...
- notesinthefield 2y agoThe charm has worn off this season…its gotten extremely slow and I sort of dont care about any of their stories.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mvdtnz 2y agoI loved season one. I'm struggling with this season. [Minor mid-season spoiler ahead] Since they entered the goat room I just feel like I don't want to continue. Ever since Lost finished I have become extremely skeptical of shows that raise more questions than they answer, especially when they are really, really weird questions.
- klipklop 2y agoI was going to make a parallel to Lost as well, but you beat me to it! I am considering dropping off this show too because it seems like they are just presenting us with mysterious gibberish teases instead of actual plot.
- ericwood 2y agoWhen it was screened to critics it was shown as the full season. I get why now; the latest episodes show so much while conjuring up more questions. The most recent one especially; the cinematography stands on its own. It's very rewarding to continue watching!
- viraptor 2y agoI feel like it really depends on how you introduce the questions. Lost made a big thing out of some of them in a way, which can be annoying. On the other hand, twin peaks made some things just a part of the world. What are owls? I don't know, but the fact they're something else is interesting and that's fine.
- klipklop 2y agoI am glad I am not the only one. I feel they are making it as "mysterious" and plodding as possible to pad out the narrative. I am guessing the writers do not really have any idea what direction to take the show. Been burned by too many shows that promise some big reveal to all the mysteries described, but then never deliver. I suspect this will happen with this show as well.
- arrobbiato 2y agoMy teenage son and I have been watching, and loving, this show. And, I wonder if watching it has been innoculating him against a corporate life of quiet cubicle desperation. If so, then thank you, Apple.
- pram 2y agoI wish we still had cubicles!
- ssalazar 2y agoI'm ambivalent about Severance, though folks here may appreciate that it has many excellent establishing shots of the magnificent Bell Labs Holmdel Complex. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs_Holmdel_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs_Holmdel_Complex
- elliottkember 2y agoAnd voiced by Keanu Reeves
- CharlesW 2y agoAfter Obama turned it down: https://decider.com/2025/03/05/severance-obama-turned-down-role/ https://decider.com/2025/03/05/severance-obama-turned-down-r...
- hugs 2y agothe real fun is reading all the fan theories on reddit (/r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus). it gets pretty wild and it's fun to see everyone make their case with the various scraps of "evidence".
- Muffinpie 2y agoIt's such a good show but things like this really hit far too close to home... I can relate to getting average office perks because my employers tried to not pay me my worth.
- chaostheory 2y agoFor me, the show is any but about a corporation. It feels like whoever wrote it, directed it, and designed the set; never worked in a large corporation before. For one thing, there’s so much weird waste like space, art collections, and museums. Then there’s the weird thing about the vagueness of the actual work. The cherry on top is the worship of Dear Leaders which makes me think that this is an inadvertent show about 20th century communism or the 21st century North Korean monarchy. It’s anything but capitalist.