‘Severance’ review: Corporate hell meets dystopian sci-fi in thrilling workplace drama

In the age of technological industrialization, what makes humans superior to machines? Technology has certainly overtaken us to the extent of fully automating some jobs. Then, is it a difference in intelligence? No, the AI ​​definitely wins that round. Well, according to the latest Apple TV+ show, severance, It is our memories that save us from robotic existence.

Memories about our family, friends and partners. Memories that trigger emotions, that bring us joy and drown us in sadness. All of these memories are forbidden at Lumon’s “Saved Floor”, where Mark Scout (Adam Scott) works. An obscure corporation, Lumon serves as a huge place of employment in the city of Kiir (named after Lumon’s founder).

Employees working on the cut floor undergo “severance,” a medical procedure that involves implanting a chip in your brain, after which access to memories becomes “spatially determined.” Simply put, Mark Scout at work can’t remember anything from his personal life; After it ends at 5.00 pm, he will not be able to remember the specialties of what he does for his living.

Consciousness also divides itself in dissecting memories. The self who exists at the workplace and the one outside it (known in the show as “enees” and “outies”) lead two separate lives. Servants joke at workplace, solve problems together and gossip about the boss. Outside, they fail to recognize each other.

Think of it as a coveted work/life balance aided by a memory blackout.

Directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, Separation Avoids reducing the time period in which the story takes place. The characters walk around in modern clothing, and of course technology has progressed enough to accommodate remotely controlled brain implants. However, at Lumon’s headquarters, the bulky computers, flip phones and ’80s workplace aesthetics arrive to confuse us, and the “macrodata refinement” team that Mark heads.

Compared to a highly devoted Irving B. (John Turturro), who prides himself on knowing “all nine main Lumon principles,” and Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), the team is a compact.

After a long weekend, the pace of the show has increased like on Monday morning. It takes time to drive home about the mundaneness of a corporate job, but soon degenerates into a story that naturally fits into murder, undercover Reiki, and a corporate fugitive.

Although primarily a thriller, Separation It also devotes nine episodes of it to making a point about the exploitation of workers. A chronic overachiever, Dylan has amassed a wealth of Lumon incentives that include erasers, finger traps, and caricature portraits. It is fitting that the time period remains undefined, as corporate exploitation is a perennial monster. At Lumon, this monster lurks in the void between the workplace self and the personal self.

Mark is also tasked with training the new joinee, Haley R., who struggles to conform to the drones of the unassuming worker bees, and repeatedly tries to leave. “Am I livestock?” She asks Mark on the very first day of work.

Haley comes in lumen filling for Mark, who has been promoted to department head after the sudden departure of Peter “Petty” Kilmer. As his superiors are secretive about the same, Mark’s restlessness increases. Outside the workplace, Petty meets Mark at a restaurant, discovers that he has managed to bypass the implant, therefore retaining his memories as a result, and urges Mark to dig into Lumon’s inner workings. Is.

This confrontation sets off a chain of events that ends with an employee rebellion, hilariously catalyzed by a banned self-help book.

With a plot that focuses on simplifying science-fiction, and keeping only in the essential bits, Separation While making sure it doesn’t sacrifice character development for an ambitious story, it manages to avoid turning into a self-indulgent show. While seemingly nefarious, the process of separation remains a voluntary choice. Viewers are reminded of how the show explores the various reasons behind employees ending up at Lumon.

Mark wants to escape the grief that haunts him, and Irving wants to escape the loneliness that drives him away. They pursue the ignorance that will bring them joy.

Visual aesthetics also contribute to the overall coherence of the world. Separation, A clinical-antique office devoid of any soothing colors gets sickened with time as the harsh white hallways take away any warmth that the characters personally bring. Cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagne pairs it with extremely symmetrical visuals.

a topical issue

A side effect of the pandemic has increased the interest of the audience as well as the creators, completely leaning into stories that make one uncomfortable. shows like this Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) nine perfect strangers (2021) The White Lotus (2021) , And midnight Mass (2021) found success in actively engaging audiences, giving them pieces to follow the mystery, and ending Crazy Circus with a nail-biting finish. This is the television age of twisted reality and Dan Erickson’s discovery Separation fit in with.

However, Erikson doesn’t search for a distant retreat, an ordinary resort, or a remote island to explore the horrors of humanity. They don’t need it… because they all exist in corporate reality.

Coming in the era of the ‘Great Resignation’, Separation It is aware of the complexities involved and does not throw light on them. Humans in the show are made machines, first of their own accord, and then through constant subjugation at the hands of a company that is only trying to raise its own bottomline.

A sharp separation between professional and personal life is promoted as pleasure, but it quickly becomes worse when an office run by humans becomes devoid of humanity. At a work party, Mark tells Haley, “I hope it turns out that I have things I care about.”

Mark and his colleagues struggle hard to re-member themselves in post-work societies.

In the seventh episode, titled ‘Different Jazz’, Paul Anka shouts in the background: “Memories are the time you borrow,” before Irving suggests that they “burn this place to this ground”. in moments like this Separation reaches its peak when it assures us of the existence of human resilience and harmony.

The break is currently available on Apple TV+ . streaming on