severance season 2 has been fine on the whole but i really don’t think you should do the “one episode ends on a cliffhanger and the next episode is entirely unrelated” thing like three times in one season
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I think it's the limited episode season format. When seasons are 15-20somehting episodes I want character building, world building, and just random episodes but with only 8-10? We ain't got time for all that. Hate it.
I just randomly started watching ER and the difference in character building and pacing is just wild. Every season has multiple holiday episodes, a few characters sprinkled in, and an actual feeling of time passing. Somehow these 9 episode prestige TV shows are the worst of TV and movies combined.
Exactly this. Severance Season 2 is the manifestation of one step forward, 2 steps to the right. If they released episodes 2 at a time, it wouldn't feel so bad, but overall, I somehow feel like I know less about world of Lumon than I did at the end of season 1.
The hard pull away from the ORTBO one was especially frustrating because at that point I was just getting confused about how basic logistics worked, where was the “boundary” for it, etc
the total lack of explanation for how they got there or where they even were was too much for me. you have to at least acknowledge it even if only briefly
I’m convinced they can put severed people in a sleep state and just move them. When Dylan is looking for the OTC program in the first season one of the systems listed is called “Lullaby”. It’s the only theory I’ve held on to through all of season 2.
yeah man the Cobel episode was a mistake on every level. it’s a 30 minute sidequest with an underwhelming reveal starring the worst-acted character in the show. you can’t do that as episode 8 of 10
I wanna mock up that Vince McMahon meme with "working in a Kier factory was bad", "Cobel's family were a bit weird", "Lumon tells fibs about things" and finally "Cobel might have had a non-Kier tingly feeling once in fifty years".
the bit in last week’s ep where Cobel is *finally* gonna explain Cold Harbor, then it cuts away for a while, then we see the same three people standing in silence as if they’ve been doing that for hours drove me nuts
They really need to nail this finale. I think Season 1 probably also had some meh-episodes we just forgot them all because its been so long/it ended on such a high note.
I was happy last week that the finale was meh and I can stop watching now and in 5 years when S3 drops I won't remember it. Then I found there's one more episode.
Milchick and Irv are so worth watching. Absolutely amazing in every scene. Everything else has gone so meh.
this most recent ep was fine but i got really annoyed when it seemed like we were finally gonna get an info dump from Cobel, then it cut away to a bunch of other shit, and now we have to wait for the info dump for no real reason
100%. I don’t even know what Cold Harbor could be at this point that would be satisfying? I’m sure it won’t be BAD but it’s wild how much uncertainty they’ve generated in me.
i think that works for, like, one episode or a brief arc, but not as the construction for an entire season. they’re dragging things out in ways that feel extra contrived
What gets me is the contrast to season 1. I loved the show because it was different in that every episode had loads of stuff going on, you were constantly learning stuff, it was so refreshing. Now it's slowed down and it's just like any other show, which is disappointing.
The ending of the penultimate episode of season one had Dylan flipping on the OTC which built up so much excitement for the finale (one of the greatest ever). I don't feel anything like that this time, and don't even know exactly what this finale will deal with.
there's been some really great stuff in the second half of the season (i think the gemma/mark ep is remarkable) but its really difficult to get past how outie mark has not really progressed at all since the end of 2x03 - why drop that bomb so early in the season if it's just going to sit?
storytelling is obviously about more than just plot points, but if you charted out how many events have occurred since the start of season 2, it would be like…3 or 4 things that matter in 9 episodes so far
this does feel like kind of a lame complaint, but also i wish that they was more of them working together! in the most recent ep when they were like cold harbor is 4% away from being done I was like... wait for real? he's still working on the numbers? it seems like all they do is run around
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arguably the last two.
I'm not trying to ruin things for other people, I am an enthusiastic enjoyer of things, but come on at this point.
Milchick and Irv are so worth watching. Absolutely amazing in every scene. Everything else has gone so meh.
But...
We'll always have season one.