Severance S2E5 Review – Time For A Performance Review

Hey folks, here is my Severance S2E5 review and like this week’s episode, let’s have a performance review. You should not require a lunch break whilst reading this. However, should it be required a menu will be provided. Okay folks, as always for this show it’s a FULL SPOILERS review. If you want to know what I thought briefly on S2E5 without spoilers, here it is.

Another week of questions upon questions. Yet, all held together by some of the truly wonderful acting, direction and pacing of the show. Adam Scott really gets to shine this week as does Britt Lower, as usual and Trammel Tillman. The show does a great job of simultaneously feeling like it’s moving super slowly and yet at times really jumping along. Another great episode in a high quality Season 2 thus far.

**FULL SPOILERS Below**

After the events of last week’s episode I feel like choosing to start with week with Helena discussing the events with the Lumon hierarchy was perfect. It allows us to keep some sense of anticipation without giving us much information about how things went with the Outties after the weekend’s events. The importance of Mark S finishing the Cold Harbor file is once again brought up. Later in the episode Cold Harbor gets even more hype when it is suggested to Milchick that this will be an exceptional event for Humanity. Intriguing, let the theories continue.

When we do catch up with our main characters it’s through the lens of Helena. The Lumon heir is pretty much forced into reluctantly agreeing to allow herself to be Helly R again. Just till Mark completes his file of course. As you’d imagine once Helly R shows up with Dylan and Mark, but no Irv, they have a ton of questions.

Milkshake

Episode 5 shows some real character development for Mister Milkshake. He has been that sweet smiling, but inherently somehow evil character we all love to hate. Yet Season 2 is showing us there is another side to Seth we don’t fully understand yet.

Throughout Episode 5 we see several details I won’t go into which hint that Milchik actual does want to make life better for his severed employees. There’s also a lot of corporate satire in there this week for Milchick to navigate. Did the Team Building day fail because of his actions, or Helena’s? Yet, it’s all Seth taking the blame for being too nice to his employees. Blame middle management and deny employees anything which could make them happier in their work. That will speak to anyone who’s worked in an office environment. Thus, the shit rolls downhill as they say and Grumpy Milkshake has returned.

Seth also addresses that awkward paintings scene from Episode..(2 or 3) with Natalie. He’s clearly reaching out to her, but in a ‘safe’ way. Her total blanking of his question was cold as ice. As a viewer, I now find myself more curious about Seth’s backstory. What is really going on in there and how did he get involved with Lumon? Seth’s still a villain, for now. However, could there be some redemptive embers still glowing warmly, if not brightly? I guess we will need to wait and see.

Acting

Adam Scott and Britt Lower are equally incredible in Episode 5. Mark is slowly beginning the reintegration process and it allows Adam to play with both roles here. There are times you can see some Mark in Mark S this week. Equally there are bits of Mark S starting to slip through to Mark. One memory in particular will be heart-breaking for him, that of Ms. Casey.

You also have to feel so bad for Helly when you imagine her chain of events. Kiss Mark before the OTC, then wake up as an Egan and get switched off as you announce your plight to the audience. Next direct moment for Helly is waking up under water being drowned by Irv. Then she’s back on the Severed Floor and Mark is cold with her and doesn’t trust her. She doesn’t know what Mark S knows, that they slept together, not yet anyway. Lower does such a good job of reacting to all this as Helly for the first time.

RELATED: Severance S2E4 Review – The Tallest Waterfall In The World

Meanwhile Dylan is, Dylan and his immediate concern is what happened to Irving B? Is he ‘dead’, or his he ‘just not here’? A philosophical question for us all to ponder this week. However, as we all expected Irving was trying to tell Dylan something at the end of the last episode, and he finds a clue.

Luckily for us, Irving B may not show up this week, but Irving does, his Outtie. However, unusually for Severance, it’s a bit of a flashback. Taking us back to the night Irving made the phone call in the rain and Burt showed up watching him. We finally get to see Burt and Irving speak to one another for the first time. I have missed Christopher Walken this Season. Hopefully he’s around for the next few episodes now he’s come back in.

We also learn some key information from Burt, that he didn’t retire but was fired. Specifically, Burt was told he was fired for a romantic relationship. As many suspected from Season 1, Burt was fired because he and Irving became close. Now that we know how important Mark s’s work is for Lumon, it’s no wonder it was Burt and not Irving who was ‘retired’.

Questions to Ponder

Another absolutley awesome episode and once again it will generate debate online among the fans. The key questions being asked and debated online right now are as follows.

What is Cold Harbor and why is it so important to Lumon?

Will the team become expendable once Cold Harbor hits 100%?

Was Seth really just trying to improve moral and productivity in his supervisory role?

Is Burt’s husband Fields, the hidden doctor who came to the Severed Floor for surgical tools? If not, why was his face hidden?

What was Irving and Irving B trying to find that they’ve now passed onto Dylan?

What will Mark do now he remembers the wellness session with Ms. Casey. Will he enjoy each new memory equally or not?

As always, I cannot wait for next Friday evening when I finish work and get to watch a new episode of Severance. In terms of grade, I’m not quite on the level of Episode 4, which was the best of Season 2 so far. However, as Keir would wish, I think it is important to enjoy each episode of Severance equally. I therefore sincerely apologise for my over excitement last week when I awarded an A+. I will return to the mean average this week.

GRADE: A

That’s four A’s and one A+ from me for Season 2 so far. I’d say that over half way through, my performance review for Severance Season 2 so far is a solid A. I call that pretty good. Another brilliantly written, acted and shot episode. The whole team has nailed Season 2 so far.

What did you think of my Severance S2E5 review? Leave your own Severance S2E5 thoughts below.

The post Severance S2E5 Review – Time For A Performance Review appeared first on LRMonline.