Severance Doubles Down on the Body Horror

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In my latest review, I delve into the captivating world of “Severance” with its intriguing episode titled “Chikhai Bardo,” now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ as of February 28th. Here’s a spoiler-filled breakdown from the perspective of an eager viewer like myself.

As I settled in for this week’s installment, I found myself drawn into the enigmatic atmosphere that “Severance” has masterfully crafted. The episode, titled “Chikhai Bardo,” takes us deeper into the mysterious underbelly of Lumon Industries and their mind-boggling process of separation.

The plot unfolds with a sense of urgency as Mark and Helly find themselves in uncharted territory, navigating through the complex layers of the company’s inner workings. The tension is palpable as they grapple with the implications of their discoveries and the potential consequences for their lives both in and out of the office.

The episode also introduces us to a fascinating new character, Dylan, who adds another layer of intrigue to an already convoluted storyline. His presence serves to further question the true nature of our protagonists’ reality and the motives behind Lumon Industries.

As I watched “Chikhai Bardo,” I was struck by the show’s ability to keep me guessing, to maintain a delicate balance between revelation and mystery, keeping viewers hooked episode after episode. The writing is sharp, the acting superb, and the visuals stunning—all elements that make “Severance” a must-watch for any discerning television enthusiast.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a mind-bending, thought-provoking drama with a dash of sci-fi, don’t miss out on “Severance.” The latest episode, “Chikhai Bardo,” is available now on Apple TV+ and promises to leave you eagerly awaiting the next installment.

The episode “Chikhai Bardo” from Severance, which delves into Gemma’s experiences since her apparent death in a car accident, doesn’t provide all the details about Lumon’s actions at Branch 501. We’re still unsure of Lumon’s ultimate goals regarding the severance process, or if the fertility clinic visited by Gemma and Mark, managed by the same doctor we see working with Gemma on Lumon’s secret basement floor, was a Lumon cover, or if there are other Gemmas caught in different branch facilities. However, similar to how Ricken’s rewritten version of The You You Are was less about its content and more about him agreeing to write it for Lumon, the significance of Gemma’s trials might not lie in their purpose but rather in her unwitting encounter with them.

As a dedicated cinephile, I must say that “Severance” has been unapologetically showcasing its love for body horror this season. The series delves deep into the unsettling exploration of how our bodies can be manipulated without our consent or knowledge, and Gemma is just one character experiencing this twisted reality. This season, expect to encounter doubles, shadows, and watchers; facsimiles, dead ringers, and twins – a veritable feast for Russian literature enthusiasts!

Reminiscent of Mark’s grotesque emergence from another Mark’s split skull in the revised opening credits, this season is filled with abnormal, twisted, Cronenbergian elements that are hard to ignore. It serves as a stark reminder that Lumon’s struggle isn’t merely about minds and ideas, but about flesh and blood, where individuals’ very bodies have been transformed into weapons against their will.

In “Woe’s Hollow,” the MDR team encounters strange counterparts referred to as ‘shadows,’ leading them through the woods; whether these are individuals, illusions, or mentally implanted images remains unclear. Innie Mark is sexually assaulted by Helena disguised as Helly. The aftermath of Outie Mark’s reintegration surgery, vividly depicted in a “Clockwork Orange”-like close-up where Reghabi floods his brain chip, disrupts his perception of space and time, causing him distressing visions, migraines, and temporal disruptions, as if his body is resisting the merger. Gemma has been transformed into a plaything for a delusional doctor, with multiple identities confined within her mind that he can access but she cannot. A group of individuals resembling Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan, referred to as ‘watchers,’ observe each team member from monitors reminiscent of their computer screens, suggesting they might be physical duplicates or hired look-alikes for the MDR team. These people are seemingly connected to Lumon; do they ever ponder on the peculiarity of resembling the person they’re observing?

The TV series “Severance” consistently explores the conflict between Innie and Outie control over a single body, a struggle with deep roots in pop culture: from literature such as “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” and “Altered Carbon”, to comic books featuring Eddie Brock and Venom, to films like “The Substance”. For instance, when Helly is introduced to her Innie body in the series premiere, she questions her origins, expressing confusion about her history (“Am I livestock? … Did you grow me as food and that’s why I have no memories?”). Similarly, Innie Irv’s disturbing visions of black ooze invading the MDR workspace reflect his Outie’s fixation on the Exports Hall. “Severance” primarily builds its character development around this tension between one form and two minds (as Helly poignantly states, “She told me I wasn’t a person. My own self told me that”). The Innie-Outie divide essentially revolves around the unsettling feeling of not identifying with our bodies, despite their familiarity to us. However, the show has also focused on how other individuals and organizations, like Lumon, can make our bodies feel foreign as well, a theme that becomes more pronounced this season.

In the first season, the emphasis is on particular bodily features such as the tooth-row portraits in the Perpetuity Wing and Burt informing the MDR team about alleged internal “pouches” housing “larval offspring that would leap out to attack when we get too close … this theory suggests that the larva eventually consumes and takes over your body. In the second season, there’s more strange bodily occurrences, like the tale Mr. Milchick tells during the ORTBO about Dieter Eagan’s body transforming into a tree after being submerged in pus and blood. However, the idea of replacement has gained significance, becoming something the MDR team needs to seriously contemplate due to Lumon’s extensive influence.

Lumon supplies the MDR squad with eerie, ghostly twins in “Woe’s Hollow” for emotional connection with Kier and Dieter Eagan. These twins are fashioned and styled after Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan. However, they lack speech and cannot communicate, making them not a comfort but a potential danger instead. Adam Jepsen, Mishay Petronelli, Matthew LaBanca, and Quentin Avery Brown bear a striking resemblance to Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Zach Cherry, respectively, requiring a double-take. This similarity raises questions about how we truly discern individuals – is it their likeness or uniqueness that defines them? This theme seems to guide Lumon’s research on Gemma as she is made to relive past experiences with Mark and determine if she responds or recognizes these events as part of her original life. Similarly, the concept arises in the encounters of the “watchers,” who are distinct from the “shadows” in “Woe’s Hollow” (they’re portrayed by different actors; Eric J. Carlson plays “Mark Watcher”), but who fulfill a similar role of maintaining control over the Innies. The shadows observed the MDR team from atop a waterfall, while the watchers monitor them from within their own computer screens. Lumon has built a panopticon to observe MDR everywhere they go and created bodies that could potentially replace them.

The title “Chikhai Bardo” derives from a Buddhist concept signifying the transitional state after death, where consciousness is perceived. This mirrors the ending of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1846 novel, “The Double,” in which the character Mr. Golyadkin fears his doppelganger will usurp his life, eventually leading to his madness and exile from town. In the story, there was no escape for Golyadkin as countless duplicates emerged, causing him to flee with his unworthy counterpart, bidding farewell kisses. This echoes the situation in “Severance,” where Lumon has been manipulating all its employees by replacing their original identities with new ones within them. The desired pregnancy of Outie Gemma was substituted by her being compelled to carry and enact other severed personas inside her mind and body. The MDR shadows and observers are poised to be activated at any moment, while there may be sinister entities lurking in the unexplored white corridors. Throughout “Severance,” grotesque manifestations of body horror can be found everywhere, as within Branch 501, one’s body is no longer personal — a state that Lumon intentionally fosters.

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2025-02-28 21:54