'Severance' Season 2 Is Frustrating, Infuriating and I Totally Agree with Its Rotten Tomatoes Rating

Before I fully dive into why the season is great so far, let me explain my frustration. The first ten or so minutes of the episode are hard to watch. Mark (Adam Scott) sprints through the hallways in what seems like a random manner. We eventually get a fun reveal—the wellness room is gone—but that also means we're about to get stonewalled by Lumon (and the Severance writers) when it comes to getting the answers we've been looking for.

Then, adding to the frustration, we get a slew of new characters, including Bob Balaban and Alia Shawkat. But. Where. Are. Helly. Irving. And. Dylan?!?! I guess at least we get the fabulous Tramell Tillman's Milchick/Milkshake from the get-go. But he only contributes to the infuriating lack of answers with his obvious gaslighting of Mark.

Fortunately, the frustrating part of the episode is short-lived and our favorite group of co-workers is reunited. And in a Squid Game-esque moment, they get to decide whether they want to stay as Innies or depart Lumon forever. This is when things start getting good.

Finally, the core four begins to reveal what happened to them when they were in the outside world (during those final dramatic finale moments). And in a fun twist, Helly (Britt Lower) lies. Yesssss, Helly, add to the drama even if I don't know why you're doing it!

Also, is it just me, or is Zach Cherry's Dylan really funny this season? His verbal reactions—often swear words—are spot on, adding levity to what are otherwise extremely tense scenes. (Take, for example, when he finds out that Mark and Helly have kissed.) Even his facial expressions while watching the Lumon video (and his animated self) are pure gold.

The plot itself, while slow moving, creates an intentionally claustrophobic feel that is reminiscent of the early episodes in season one. It's a reminder that Severance at its best isn't always full of fast-moving action. It's more of an onion slowly being peeled with layer upon layer revealing just how complicated and deep the whole conspiracy goes.

And perhaps most exciting is that the new episode already opens up a plethora of possible theories for what is going on. Is new Deputy Manager Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) a clone of some kind (remember the goats?!)? Have five months really passed like Milchick says or has it only been a day? (After all, he's only just moved into his new office and he hasn't even gotten rid of the old screensaver.) There are so many questions and I love it.

So while the lack of answers might be frustrating, at its heart, Severance has always been a slow burn, giving us just enough insight into its complexity to keep us begging for more. And trust me, I'm begging.

New Severance season two episodes hit AppleTV+ every Friday.

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