Half Loop – The show begins with Helly (Britt Lower) acknowledging her memory access will be dictated while at work and in the outside world. She accepts the fact that her memory alterations are irreversibly comprehensive. Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) stop recording. While accompanying Milchick, she soon learns her workplace will be on the severed floor. He informs her that work begins in a few hours, lasting until the evening. He encourages her to utilize the elevator handrail if she feels lightheaded. They stop in front of a face that appears to be carved out of stone. He admits to enjoying how the sun shines on man’s face. He tells her the face belongs to a man who ingested three raw eggs, with milk every morning.

Helly is undergoing surgery to place a Lumon implant in her brain. When she repeats what others said about the procedure being pain-free, the surgeon encourages her to relax, there will be some vibration. Her scalp is pulled back to expose the brain. The surgeon drills into her brain to make space for the implant. Her picture is taken during the procedure.

After the procedure is complete, she enters the stairwell, where Milchick is waiting. Looking confused, she asks what’s going on. He explains how new hires are brought there to help them adjust to the severed place. When she walks into the facility, she ends back up in the stairwell like it never happened before. Surprised, she says what the heck. Assuring her it is okay, he opens the door to let her try once again, but with some “oomph.” He contacts someone to alert them of his location as Helly walks back into the facility. She rushes through the door, falling to the floor, as he assures whoever he is talking to, it is going okay.

He helps her up and gives her a bit of encouragement, so she will try again. This time, she peeps through the window in the door before walking through into an elevator. She is transported to a floor, where Milchick is waiting, with a potted plant. He refers to her as “old-timer” before giving her a congratulation for making it through the first day.

Mark Scout (Adam Scott) arrives at the severed floor. He flips on the light and checks his mail, where he finds what looks like a to-do list. Completing each task on the list, he makes coffee, fills up the soap dispenser, vacuums, and so on. While wiping a frame, he stops to study the photo of himself, Petey (Yul Vazquez), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving “Irv” (John Turturro). He collects photo frames from each of their desks. Helly approaches as he is storing them on the top shelf in the storage room. She asks if it is tomorrow. He informs her that it is Monday. She admits it feels like she never left work. He tells her Lumon alters the time, so no one leaves at the same time to avoid coincidental meetings. She suggests they are not friends. He agrees.

Dylan gives her a rundown of her job before boasting about his incentives of finger traps, erasers, and caricature portraits. The biggest incentive is a waffle party. He warns her not to attempt to win the waffle party because it is nearly secured for himself. She asks about Mary’s crystal head cube. He assures her it was a gift, not an incentive. While Mark boosts up her computer, Irv asks what Mark did to their office photos. He informs him new ones will be taken today during Helly’s party.

Mark explains how the Siena file works. Its data is divided into four categories. Their job is to group and sort each line of code, so it is evenly distributed in five digital buckets. Irv is not happy with Mark’s decision to move the photos. He wants them to remain on their desks until they are replaced with new ones. Mark doesn’t respond. She asks how the data is categorized if it comes already encoded. He tries to explain, but she just doesn’t get it. He starts to assure her when Irv interrupts to give him a copy of the chapter in the employee handbook about replacing photos.

She wants to know if it is too late to change her mind. Mark and Dylan briefly look at each other before explaining her options. He tells her it is possible to submit a resignation, which is almost always denied. Quitting could change her life as she knows it. Confused, she just looks at him. When Milchick delivers fruit dishes, he compliments Helly for making the office feel whole. He is amazed she is fitting in so well.

Sitting in a circle, each of them takes turns telling Helly about themselves. Irv brags about knowing all the Lumon core principles. When Milchick asks his favorite, he doesn’t know the answer. He stands up with the ball in his hands and falls backward. Milchick hops up to catch him, saying there will be no trust fall at the party. Helly doesn’t want the ball, but Irv rolls it to her anyways. She denies knowing anything about herself, tossing the ball to Milchick who tosses it back to her. She asks if it is possible to write her outside self a note. Laughing, Milchick assures her there are code detectors integrated into the elevator. Mark explains code detectors act like metal detectors, they detect written symbols.

Milchick asks for the ball before providing the others a lowdown on Helly. She is 36 years old and 5’ 6”, with shoulder-length hair, earning a giggle from everyone. Milchick sends the ball to Mark who repeats what he said the last time they played the game. Milchick calls him out on it. This time, Mark admits to breaking company protocol by removing the photo frames from their desks. He tells the others, the photos made him sad and concerned he will never be able to fill Petey’s shoes. Milchick questions why he reacted that way toward Petey and not Carol D. Mark reminds him that Carol D. gave a warning before she left.

Mark says they don’t know what happened to Petey, he could be out there drunk or dead. Milchick orders him to stop, reminding them they should be thankful Lumon protects them from death. Helly is confused as to why they are excited about melon. Mark apologizes for screwing up her game. She asks how he is going to check on Petey. He assures her Milchick is right. Snarky, she says you listen to everything your babysitter says. They all gather for a group photo. Milchick takes a few snaps before Helly decides to quit. She doesn’t like the idea of not seeing the sun or disappearing friends. Mark reminds her of the code detectors. She believes Lumon made code detectors up.

She takes off running down the hall, with her written note. When she enters the elevator, an alarm is initiated. As she tries to keep the doors from closing, Mr. Grainer (Michael Cumpsty) approaches. The alarms switch off and the doors open. Mark thanks him for saving his trainee. He apologizes for not telling Helly about Lumon’s data-smuggling regulations. Mr. Grainer just stares at him. He accepts the blame for triggering the written code detectors. Mr. Grainer calls him the big department head before saying let’s go. A concerned Mark turns to look at a frightened Helly before following Mr. Grainer.

They walk down a network of hallways to a door. Mr. Grainer opens the door utilizing his keycard. Mark enters a dark hallway by himself. At the end of a hallway, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) opens a door. He speaks her name.

Mary is sitting at a table across from Alexa (Nikki M. James) who claims to be a midwife. She is from Montana, where she helped deliver about 300 babies. She asks if he is vetting her for his sister, Devon (Jen Tullock). He assures he isn’t before calling the waitress over for another drink. He discusses his job briefly. She questions if he knows his co-workers. He says that’s the idea. She suggests he could be in a relationship with a co-worker without knowing it. They talk about the weather. Mark forgets what state she was from. She asks if he resides in company-owned houses.

He says yes before walking over to a group of activists (Hudson Flynn and Ruby Stevens) who are protesting Severance. They want the measure added to the next ballot because Lumon and other companies are trying to legalize severance. Mark repeats what the guy says about “forcing” severance on their state. He asks about self-mutilation, describing it as so deluded, they rarely know their victims. He takes it a step further by asking if severed people go to two different hells. An activist calls severance “forced labor.” Irate, Mark questions if he is in high school.

He grabs a beer out of the fridge upon arriving home. A knock on the door brings Ms. Selvig (Patricia Arquette), with a plate of pastries. She admits to struggling with their trash can situation. He pours her a drink. She asks if he was out on a date. He tells her about Alexa. She tells him about her late husband who dreamed of building a home in the hereafter. The home would have a separate apartment for her a man if she found one before she made it there. Mark calls his decision sweet. She tells him the blueprints for her husband’s house are in her purse. Before leaving, she promises him a bath bomb if he wants to stop by her shop.

While getting in his vehicle, Mark finds the “End Severance” activism poster. He returns to his house to retrieve Petey’s note from the restaurant. He contacts Lumon Industries to alert them of his absence. He claims to have woken up ill. Milchick asks if it is serious. He says it is just a minor stomachache.

Irv asks Dylan about Mark. They question if Lumon Industries fired them so soon after Petey. Irv reminds him about the upcoming quarterly deadlines. He doesn’t want to be appointed the chief of the severance department. Questioning his confidence, Dylan reminds him of being disciplined for sleeping at work. He immediately apologizes while Irv says he can’t apologize for being older when he was hired by Lumon. Helly comments to Dylan about it never stopping before asking after Mark. She questions if Lumon fired him because she activated the code detectors. Dylan assures her it wasn’t for that because he was in the breakroom yesterday.

Milchick tells Cobel about Mark’s call-in. She asks Milchick if he sounded ill. He isn’t for sure. Mr. Grainer questions the timing.

Mark drives out the address on Petey’s card. The building appears to be a dilapidated greenhouse.

Helly plays around with the computer while Dylan discusses erasers and finger taps. He explains how it is more their representation and how far you get in the file. She questions why they never complete the files. He says it is because they expire. They are lucky to complete one file out of five. They continue talking as Irv falls asleep. He dreams of a thick, black goo covering running down the cubicles and onto his keyboard. Frantic, he screams until it wakes him up, Dylan calls his name. Irv apologizes just in time for Milchick to enter and calls his name.

Mark walks around the greenhouse until he runs into Petey.

Milchick leads Irv down a network of hallways. He is penalized for sleeping on the job. They deducted the time from his paycheck. Milchick explains how he and Cobel have lost trust in him. Irv apologizes. Milchick tells him he will need to have an assessment with Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman).

Helly continues to play with the computer. She tells Dylan nothing is happening. Goofing around, she says, “Oh my God, a four.” He encourages her to be patient. She asks him about the numbers. He suggests their outies must have gotten desperate due to plague and famine. Their only option was to populate the sea, but they must clean it up by utilizing probes, which they send down. In return, their outies send them the encoded data, so they know what needs to be blown up. She asks about the others. He says Irv thinks their job is censoring movies.

Mark asks Petey about their job. Petey isn’t for sure, but he knows Lumon separates the severance department from the rest of the company. He says they don’t even know how many people Lumon Industries employs. For the past two weeks, he has been creating a map of Lumon. When he breaks down, he claims it is reintegration sickness. Mark asks why their work is so bad. Petey tells him Lumon sends workers to the breakroom when they don’t act right. He switches on a tape recorder. A man says, “I’m afraid you’re not sorry.” Another pleads for forgiveness, “None may alone for my actions but me, and only in me shall their stain live on.” The man doesn’t believe his apology is sincere.

Irv is in a room by himself. He is staring at a painting on the wall when Burt (Christopher Walken) emerges from a room. He tells Irv the painting was initially in the perpetuity wing. Irv recalls when they removed, saying it was hurtful. Burt describes the painting as “calming.” He works in the optics and design department.

Ms. Casey calls him in. She adjusts the lights and sound. She wants to talk to have about his outie. She tells him to be open and enjoy the facts of his outie. He cannot take the facts outside the room. She says his outie is strong, generous, a music lover, and a friend to seniors, the insane, and children. When he laughs, she encourages him to not prefer one fact over the others. She deducts 10 points from his rating. She says your outie was featured in a newspaper, with a trophy, he is fearless, and a skilled lover. Another 10 points are deducted from his rating because he sighs. She threatens to end the session if she has to keep deducting points for speaking out of term.

Dylan utilizes a free token to buy something from the vending machine. Helly approaches to ask if the stairwell has code detectors. He warns her that both the elevator and stairwell have them. She questions if their resignations are being delivered. She suggests if the letters were written funky, would the code detectors work. Helly asks Irv how his wellness therapy went. He gets angry at Dylan for calling Burt a “fuck” when he tells them about their meeting. Helly types on her computer while they argue about the waffle party. Irv reminds Dylan Lumon has treated them well. Helly alerts them of her ability to see the encoded data. She admits to seeing the perimeters. Dylan tells her to bin it. After she refines the numbers, she takes a deep breath. She refers to her experience as “scary.”

Mark invites Petey to stay with him. Petey thanks him before heading to the restroom. He doesn’t answer his cellphone when it rings. Panting, he grabs his head. His nose starts bleeding. When he looks in the mirror, he sees himself taking a shower.  He grabs his head before sitting down in the shower. Mark calls his name, but he doesn’t respond as the episode comes to an end.

 

Severance Review

Helly has been with Lumon Industries for less than a day. Already, she is questioning what the company really does while refusing to accept Dylan’s sea theory. Her suspicion and Petey’s unannounced termination are prompting Mark to question the integrity of Lumon’s work as well.

Irv is heading in the direction of the breakroom if he cannot figure out a way to remain awake at severance. His age makes me question if Burt’s visit to Ms. Casey is not similar.

Mark’s decision to invite Petey to stay with him will not turn out well if Ms. Casey finds out.

The pace is at times unbearably slow. Believe it or not, there is enough action to keep your attention throughout the episode. Something needs to change if they expect people to hang around for 19 episodes. One thing is for sure, the next few episodes need to reveal something of significance.

The episode deserves a 6.5. Get more Severance recaps here. Support ReelMockery by clicking the link to learn more.