‘Woe’s Hollow’ Was an ORTBO for Severance Production, Too

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Spoilers follow for Severance season two episode four, “Woe’s Hollow.”

The distinctive sound of an elevator serving Lumon’s disconnected level echoes, as John Turturro’s character, Irving B., stirs awake amidst a frozen, snow-covered lake, encircled by ominous mountains. A chilling wind whips around his head and body, swathed in fur.

In the fourth episode of “Severance” season two, we find ourselves starting with a scene that was originally conceived by Dan Erickson, the show’s creator, during the writing process for the first season. He had envisioned this image of one of the Innies waking up in an expansive, frozen landscape, puzzled about how they ended up there.

In this episode titled “Woe’s Hollow,” Erickson had the opportunity to expand and twist the concept presented. The bizarre journey finds Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan in an ORTBO, or Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurrence, a setting specifically designed to reinforce their allegiance to Lumon. Filming this episode felt like its own retreat for the cast and crew of Severance, who ventured to the Catskills for the entire 23-day shoot, making it the longest period Severance has spent in production on a single episode (typically 18 days are needed to film an installment according to Stiller).

The filming took place in March 2023, which happened to be during a significant snowstorm in the Northeast, where heavy snowfall blanketed upstate New York. This was beneficial for production as they needed real snow in numerous scenes, but it also posed difficulties in navigating to hard-to-reach locations. In certain instances, reaching the set necessitated using a snowcat – something the MDR Innies might have found useful during their journey to Woe’s Hollow, an area within Dieter Egan National Forest famously known as Kier’s twin brother’s “sacred ground.

Stiller describes the process as quite a complicated task, referring to the logistical challenges he faced when creating the 51-minute segment in the Severance plot. The final product, however, has a cold and often eerie appearance.

Trial by Television

After I stirred back to consciousness, I found myself reaching out to my three colleagues, each of us miraculously stranded in a vast, frozen wilderness, miles away from civilization. The details of how we ended up here remain hazy, but it seems plausible that instead of exiting the elevator into our usual office setting, Lumon’s technology might have whisked us away to this towering forest.

One enjoyable aspect of this program is that it frequently places us within the personal realities of the Innies,” Erickson explains. “A thought struck me: what if they could awaken somewhere unaware of their arrival? And if we, as viewers, shared the same disoriented state, we could jointly unravel the mystery with them.

The group starts pondering their environment, spotting a television and DVD player arranged on the brink of a cliff. A video begins playing, featuring Mr. Milchick instructing them to travel to Scissors Cave to find the Fourth Appendix – an essential text detailing the connection between Kier Egan, Lumon Industries’ legendary founder, and his twin brother Dieter, whom employees were previously unaware of. Instantly, things appear suspicious, not just due to Milchick’s peculiar commands, but also because the TV setup appears to have been transported from a high school science lab to this cliff without any power supplies needed for operation.

In a clever move by Hindle’s team, they secretly placed a phony socket into the rock next to the TV set, but decided that the scene worked better without it. As Stiller puts it, “Sometimes we focus on the logic of things. But other times, we trust viewers to fill in the blanks themselves, because we simply want to immerse ourselves in the visual experience.

A Double Bind

On their trek towards Scissors Cave and ultimately Woe’s Hollow, Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving are directed by their counterparts – individuals who bear a striking resemblance to them, emerging sequentially at a distance, gesturing in the direction the team should proceed.

As a passionate movie enthusiast, I’d rephrase it like this: In the making of our film, we transformed the cast members to look like Steve Carell, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, and Bobby Cannavale, complete with masks. We experimented quite a bit with how we wanted them to appear on screen, even deciding how much of them we wanted to reveal. Unfortunately, a scene where my character encounters his double in the woods was later removed from the final episode.

In his words, “The plot of that particular episode primarily revolved around Irving unraveling mysteries concerning Helly.” However, he adds, “It was essentially a tale of him grappling with his own subconscious, which felt quite profound. Yet, it seemed to deviate slightly from the main theme that the episode aimed to portray.

Seal Team Four

Erickson observes that throughout this episode, there’s an overarching feeling suggesting Lumon is attempting to instill fear in the Innies about both nature and uncontrolled human nature. This is achieved by their visits to a frightening location where death is prevalent, which is deliberately designed by Lumon to portray a certain image of the outside world and humanity.

At first, Erickson and his team weren’t certain about the type of deceased creature they would discover in the woods. They pondered over crafting a “mixed species” entity that would be scarcely recognizable to both Inners and viewers. However, they decided on a seal because its existence in this climate appeared so improbable. He explains, as an Inner, are you aware seals don’t inhabit snow? This situation provided another chance to delve into the query of what data does and doesn’t pass through the severance barrier.

The sculptor Penko Platikonav, who works on the series, was responsible for crafting the seal itself. By examining photographs of deceased seals, he fashioned multiple versions from foam and other synthetic materials, as Hindle notes, possibly including numerous fake furs, lacquer, and latex. After presenting these options to Hindle, Stiller, and props master Cat Miller, they would comment on details like potential bones, creating an illusion of decay that seemed almost reverse-engineered.

The Tale of Woe

I had the pleasure of staying at the ORTBO lodging, a remarkable campsite tailored for the MDR team with individual tents provided for each member. It comes equipped with complimentary torches and four-ply toilet paper in the outdoor bathroom, adding a touch of comfort to the wilderness experience. What sets it apart is its location nestled amidst a rugged mountainous terrain that can only be reached by utilizing snow vehicles, making it an unforgettable adventure.

Sarah Bock, who plays Miss Huang, mentioned that the episode they filmed was likely her favorite due to the fact that they actually traveled up there, and it was snowing and quite chilly. Unlike her usual routine of going back to base camp for school between takes, this time she got to stay and listen to people sharing tales by the campfire. John Turturro was among those who shared stories about his experiences as a young actor.

Hindle, who was tasked with arranging items like set pieces and props in a remote location, found it particularly challenging and expressed it as, “That was truly difficult.

The set designer devoted considerable thought to creating temporary dwellings for MDR staff members, aiming for collapsible tents that offered a semi-enclosed living space. As he put it, “I wanted them to have the feel of a cage inside.” Custom-made by the production crew, these tents incorporated unique features such as an unusual, pod-like structure intended for a restroom scene that ultimately didn’t make it into the final script. “It was quite elaborate,” he notes, “but unfortunately, we didn’t get to film it.

They indeed captured and included a segment of Miss Huang’s theremin performance, which was part of the campfire entertainment. According to Bock, he managed to learn how to play it. Given his skills on piano and guitar, he thought he could grasp it easily, but it turned out to be more intricate than anticipated.

Erickson appreciates the unique sound of a theremin, as he puts it: ” frankly, its melodies appeal to me immensely; if I could secure a performance from one, all the better!

In the end, the crucial points in this series unfold when Milchik peruses the sections of the Fourth Appendix that discuss Kier and Dieter Egan. This passage reveals an intriguing detail: Dieter’s choice to masturbate in the wild leads him to be bound with the forest eternally. Initially, Helly erupts in laughter at the absurdity, while other MDR devotees treat this tale, as if it were scripture itself, with great respect, thanks to Mr. Milchik’s serious delivery.

According to Erickson, it’s clear that Dieter being expelled back into the forest due to his sinful nature (lust) carries a message from Lumon’s point of view. In essence, their intention is for the employees (Innies) to yearn for Lumon’s comfort once more.

The Fourth Additional Item – referring to a real, physical object – came in various shapes and scales to suit diverse camera perspectives, as stated by Hindle: “This book is about two and a half feet wide. It’s quite large,” he notes. “This allows for capturing intricate, up-close images of the pages, watercolors, sketches, and all the meticulous craftsmanship and typography. It’s astonishing to consider the effort put into creating numerous versions for just one book that appears onscreen.

Dream Girl

When Irving suspects Helly of fabricating her experiences outside, she retaliates by suggesting that his loneliness stems from his inability to meet Burt again. This comment hurts him deeply, leading him to venture into the woods at night and fall asleep. In his dream, he finds his Lumon desk situated within Woe’s Hollow. Burt and Woe, the emaciated bride who scolds Kier for Dieter’s transformation in the Fourth Appendix, also appear in this dream. Woe’s appearance serves as a shocking moment, increasing the eerie atmosphere of Irving’s slumber, further emphasizing the ominous nature of his dream.

For filming this particular scene, the team behind “Severance” creatively placed a desk amidst the woods – more precisely at Sam’s Point, nestled within a recently charred dwarf-black-pine forest following a controlled fire. This setting was intended to convey the eerie, deserted ambiance that the director desired. As usual, the team had to employ snowmobiles and tracked trucks to access this remote location. “We constructed about a quarter-mile of scaffolding raised above the deceased, small trees,” Hindle explains, “to prevent anyone from walking on the ground. This is how we managed to transport the desk as well as all our equipment.

The entire scene was filmed within a forest on an unusually misty day, with John Turturro present. “Every bit of that fog was genuine,” comments Stiller. “It turned out to be quite advantageous for us as it added to the mysterious atmosphere.

The scenes featuring Christopher Walken as Burt and Faith Vaughn as Woe (who underwent changes through visual effects later) were filmed at a compact, indoor stage in the Catskills at a later time. Hindle explained that Vaughn was fully dressed for her wedding scene, but they made significant adjustments to her appearance during post-production as well. Additionally, the props team constructed an oversized desk and keyboard specifically to make the actress playing Woe appear smaller.

Fans of the series “Severance” might ponder over the mysterious images that flash up on Irving’s computer screen. At first, they seem like the typical list of numbers used by refiners, but then they scramble and, for a moment, resemble an eye. The visual effects team was responsible for creating these images during post-production. Stiller remains tight-lipped about the meaning behind these images, only hinting that there are certain aspects on that screen that deserve closer scrutiny. He’s well aware that many viewers will be doing just that.

Mission Terminated

As a firm believer that Helly is her Outie, I contemplate a dangerous plan: drowning her to force Milchick to bring back the genuine Helly. I’m aware that such actions might result in my dismissal from the isolated level – and potentially, my own demise.

At Burt’s retirement gathering, Irving made a remark that was more about letting him pass away rather than let him retire, Erickson noted, referencing a significant scene from the first season. The character’s growth includes viewing himself as a person with a life. If he’s being dismissed, that’s not retiring, that’s essentially accepting an end to his existence in that instant, according to Erickson.

In those final moments, Mr. Milchick’s statement to Irving – “It will seem as though you, Irving B., never lived or took a breath on this planet” – aligns with this notion. Similarly, the closing scene of the episode, depicting Irving being drawn towards Woe’s Hollow’s waterfall and cliffs, suggests he merges with the earth much like Dieter Egan did earlier.

2025-02-07 22:55