Severance fans aren’t ready to quit just yet, but season 2 has us all scratching our heads: 'I feel a bit let down'

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  • Carly カーリー、 @ScoutSailorV Me trying to remember what outie Mark knows and what Innie Mark knows and what Helena knows and what she thinks outie Mark knows but what outie Mark actually knows #severance
  • "This tweet sums up my thoughts on season 2 perfectly…"

    Corey Atad @CoreyAtad Follow Severance season 2 is a fascinating situation where on an episode-by-episode basis i've liked them all, even the Cobel one, but structurally there's a problem. not a show-sinking problem, at least not yet, but a problem. 5:13 PM Mar 17, 2025 137.8K Views
  • TheHangedKing My biggest complaint is we've basically been pump- faked on reintegration twice Oh and there is no reason for cobel not to explain. what cold harbor is there, like cmon Otherwise it's been solid
  • ColourfulToad The only major issue this season has is that its pace does not match its length. If this were a 22 episode season, the slow burn wouldn't be an issue. But it's the fact that the entire season almost has been a
  • slow burn build up and we have very little hope of resolving even a third of it in one more episode. If we had another 10 to go, nobody would have anywhere near the same degree of issues as they do.
  • jimglidewell The lack of development of those outside Lumon has struck me as well. We saw people protesting severance during the first season. In the S1 finale we saw the heir-apparent of Lumon stand up at a well- attended PR event and clearly say the word "torture". And... crickets.
  • The fact that the refiners are still mostly battling the situation (whatever it is) by themselves with no outside support seems odd. The show can do whatever it wants, I still love it, but it does feel like the S2 world is smaller than S1.
  • dark_holes I think the reason people think like this stems from s2e9. There was a lot of build up for mark and devon to meet cobel in the woods, and it was almost nothing. She said his wife could di and then they
  • stood around in the woods without discussing any of the other things we could've gotten answers on for like hours. Such a waste of a scene.
  • The_Firmament I think we've gotten to the point where less answers doesn't mean more intrigue, it means more frustration and convolution. I don't think they're over the brink with that yet, but audiences are attuned to that sort of thing now and
  • can sense when a show is starting to drag or you begin to wonder if they know where they're going. I still love the show and am excited for the finale and believe in the makers of it...but they are beginning to skirt the edge of that a little. I hope we'll be proven very wrong!
  • Betty_Freidan The main issue with Season 2 (which I still consider very good TV) is the pacing and the obscurity of its arc. Throughout Season 1 you were building up to the MDR crew completely turning on and ultimately acting against Lumon. This
  • drove the entire narrative of the season and each episode sequentially built on the idea while also offering up mysteries and building out the world. Season 2 builds out the world, offers mysteries, and even some answers, but the
  • Far-Gift3418 I feel a bit let down by the whole Irving/Burt plot and I hope we haven't seen the end of it. I remember Ben and other show makers saying they casted Turturro for a reason that we'll see this season, and of course
  • episodes do not all feed into the narrative arc surrounding the completion of the cold harbour file. Episodes like 2x8 and even the amazing 2x4, are unrelated to that through- line and, yes, may prove crucial in understanding the characters and the world, but ultimately muddy the driving narrative force of the season which has often felt sidelined.
  • had a lot more written for his character this season involving his backstory and his investigation into Lumon, I hope we're able to see more play out.
  • mb4828 The problem is it's an ensemble show, dripping with talent, and it's at its best when the core ensemble is doing scenes together. The back half of this season pivoted to stories based on individual characters, which I can understand why the writers thought would work, but has turned out to not be as engaging. I think this is an easy fix for S3, as virtually everything else about the show is excellent
  • doublethink_1984 Characters acting a little wrong. Reintegration level and timeline not being well communicated to the viewer. Pete, Grainer, Olrving, other departments are woefully set aside. These three issues I believe are the core problem with season 2.
  • Adequate_Ape I don't think this situation is at all uncommon. The example that springs to mind is season three of Succession. I think it has some of the strongest episodes of the show, taken individually, but it's clearly the weakest season (in my opinion) because of the overall arc.
  • In narrative arts, in general, excellence requires getting things rights on all scales, from down at the sentence level to the arc of the entire thing. This is the main thing that makes it very hard, in my opinion, because it is hard to be good at all of that. There are people who are excellent at sentences and s k at whole-arcs, and vice-versa.

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