Severance S2E6 Review – Shared Vessels

Here’s my Severance S2E6 review, the one with shared vessels and Atilla the Hun, but we’ll get to all that in a minute. As always folks this is a FULL SPOILERS review. That means I am getting into the weeds a little. However, if you just want a quick soundbite of what I thought…

This may have been overall my least favourite episode of Season 2, just. However, when I scored all the others A or one A+, that does not mean episode 6 isn’t a good episode. The acting, as always is delightful and the cast get some scenes to really get their teeth into. I guess the flow of Episode 6 is a little jumbled and busy, but it is never clumsy. Therefore, whilst the overall package was less satisfying, there were still some really great items in the box to make it worthwhile. In fact, some of those items are quite valuable indeed.

**FULL SPOILERS Below**

Let’s start with shared vessels shall we. A brand new euphemism that I had never yet come across. I’m not sure it’ll get used in the wild, but it will be remembered by fans of the show. There’s an element in Episode 6 of all our MDR crew getting it on as it were. Mark S and Helly, literally, Dylan G and Dylan’s wife…probably and Burt and Irving psychologically.

I have no criticisms as such. All the scenes were necessary to show both sides of these characters growing independently. It’s a very important theme this season. I guess maybe I’m just not into long kissing scenes? Again, though, it’s not a complaint. The scenes between Mark S and Helly R and Dylan G and, (oh you know what I mean,) were necessary and well shot. Yet, because the scene between Burt and Irving (and Fields) was non-physical, it just spoke to me more. Plus, there’s a lot more going on in Irving and Burt’s scenes. 

Everybody get’s some time in the spotlight this week except Irving’s Innie and Dylan’s Outtie. That’s a lot of characters to progress in one episode. Probably why I felt the flow was different this week. 

I also spoke about some outstanding scenes and acting, so let’s get to those.

Milkshake Mirror Man

Tramell Tillman always gets a shout from me every episode, but this was something else. After last week’s performance review Milchick takes a day to reflect. There’s not much of him in Episode 6, but wow to what we did get. Seth has an awkward (as always) chat with Miss Huang, who totally snitched on him. He tells her to look after the floor as he will be busy, and also has a small jibe at Huang. Clearly Milchick is establishing his authority and making Huang aware that he knows she grassed him up to Lumon. 

However, it’s what Seth does next which I think was one of the best scenes I’ve seen in a while. On his own, in a dark office, Milchik spends the day practicing putting paperclips on the correct way. Yet, as much as this would indicate him breaking and submitted even more to Lumon, Tillman plays it with a controlled rage. You can literally feel Seth’s internal conflict as he works on the feedback he was given at his review. This culminates in Milchick doing a Tax Driver De Niro scene in a mirror. Seth is trying to work on his other fault listed, that he uses too many big words.

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As the words he originally used to Miss Huang are refined, to a base level, it becomes ‘Grow Up!’. Then finalises as just the word ‘Grow!’ I think, perhaps the showrunners are trying to highlight Milchick’s growing disillusionment with Lumon. It’s little small pieces of a puzzle being added one square at a time. I’ll also add that it has a bit of a meta angle as well. The writers strike happened during filming of S2. Miss Huang literally looks much older in Episode 6 than the last time we saw her in Episode 5, yet it’s been only days. ‘Hey, hey, what can you do?’, to quote Led Zeppelin. 

Tillman just owns this scene and it’s got in in-Universe meta quality to it as well. Episode 6 see’s the MDR team do literally no work. They even take a moment to show the empty seats in MDR. What Miss Huang is doing, we have no idea? However, Milchick, instead of making sure progress is being made on Cold Harbor, is dealing with his feedback. It’s a satirical look at office culture. Upper management wants results, but their feedback to middle management (Seth) is completely irrelevant to achieving that task. Therefore, instead of making sure the MDR team are working, he spends the day alone working on his pedantic feedback. [Side note: I once got into trouble off a schoolteacher for saying she was being pedantic. She didn’t know what the word meant. Eesh.] 

Brilliant scene on the context of the show and the themes of the season, if brief. 

Helena and Mark

Another brilliantly acted scene, which worked so well n contrast with Helly and Mark’s sex scene was the first meeting between Helena Egan and Mark Scout. It’s not easy for the same two actors to play two scenes so differently. There’s an innocence and caring connection between Helly and Mark. Therefore, despite what we know, they really are just behaving completely normally and naturally to who they are as Innies. 

The opposite is true of the scene between Mark and Helena. It’s so uncomfortable at times, then feels like it’s developing only to get uncomfortable again. The way Helena was looking at Mark to get his attention, it was just weird. It’s like Helena simply has no feelings and is acting like she thinks someone would act in this situation. Yet, once they begin to talk, there is that easy chemistry and the pair almost feel like a match. Is Helena trying to ‘play Helly’ here to see if Mark is still attracted to her like that? 

Then, with what seems like clumsiness, but feels planned, Helena makes things awkward again. Asking Mark about Gemma and quite purposefully getting her name wrong as Hannah. Add to this that Mark is starting to have some issues with integration and the scene is just wonderfully put together. 

Irving and the Attila’s

Our third absolute banger of a scene in Episode 6 is the dinner set up last week with Irving, Burt and Fields. The rumors were true and the wonderful John Noble is playing Fields. Torturro, Walken and Noble as three gay men round a dinner table. You’d have to write a piece of absolute crap for this not to be amazing. Luckily for us, the scene is written really well also. 

What I love? That despite the fact we know nothing about Irving’s Outtie, he was not the focus, it was more learning about Burt and Fields. We feel like we should know Irving but we don’t. Which, does make me wonder why Burt never tried to question Irving at all? There’s a feeling with Burt that wasn’t there with his Innie. He claims he was not a good person in his younger days, I think there’s more to learn there. I just got the feeling throughout that Burt was not to be trusted, or had important secrets. 

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Perhaps what adds to this is the final scene between Burt and Irving as Irving is leaving. Burt is clearly suggesting that he and Irving meet again without Fields. I’m not sure what Irving is really thinking when he agrees to see them both again or just Burt? I guess we don’t know enough about Irving yet to know if he is smitten by Burt or just advancing whatever goals he has. Equally, just because Burt and Irving’s Innie had that real connection, I’m not sure that’s what we’re seeing with this version of Burt. Is Burt even Severed though? Is he reintegrated? The whole story of his severing and the fact he clearly worked for Lumon before severing is a key breadcrumb planted for us to follow. I just don’t know where it’s going?

Lastly, the scene also had some really great dialogue about the nature of Innie and Outties and how the church views it. The show really wants us to understand that the Innies and Outies are individuals and should have rights of their own. Which, of course makes the whole process pointless from a Lumon point of view. Yet at the same time, with both Helena and Dylan, we are seeing people find perhaps a better side of themselves as Innies. It’s all thoroughly thought provoking.

Wrap it Up

I was going with A- on this one folks, I really was. However, as I wrote about how good those scenes above were, I think I’ve talked myself out of it. Yeah, the episode may not have flowed quite as well and there were a lot of scenes and characters to cover. Yet, with so much to process, it’s amazing how effective the script was in developing the characters and teasing us with the knowledge we do not yet have. 

Maybe Ms. Casey words that I should enjoy each wonder in life equally are starting hit home? 

GRADE: A

A collection of great scenes rather than a great episode for me. Yet, those moments are good enough and the rest is good enough quality that I can’t really criticise it. Can’t wait to find out what happens in the final two episodes. 

What do you think of my Severance S2E6 review? Let me know of leave your own thoughts on Severance S2E6 below in the comments. 

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