The way I read the end of the episode, Helly was already good with non-existence since she realized that's what not coming back means. But she still believed her other half was a good person who deserved to go on. Once she realized that person is ok with her endless torture, other means to stop her own existence were suddenly on the table since she no longer had any reason to care about the source of the torture.
I think when Helly put the note through the window last episode, she was still trying to get a message to her outie. I think she was hoping that she could get far enough out so that her outie would read the message and quit. When she did get a message out and they ran the video from her outie, I felt so bad for her. “I am a person. You are not”. Wow! What kind of person is she? That was horrific. I don’t blame her one bit for what she did at the end.
I REALLY loved this first season, but man watching it again in hindsight with others truly makes me appreciate how well this show sets up everything in the past episodes. Honestly one of the best seasons of television ever, and it just gets better the more I watch it.
I think Cobel genuinely cares about Mark in a same way spoiled child would care about their pet guinea pig. She loves him as long as he does what he's told and does not try to leave his cage or bite her. But she is ready to correct all unwanted behaviour with torment if needed. Because, you know, it's for his own good. 😀
I also think she NEEDS him a bit more than we're let on. Perhaps that she needs someone under her boot that she can control. But I'm not quite sure about this take.
@@lockekappa500 Agreed, but I think maybe she needs him not just psychologically to be under her boot, but she needs him for some specific goal of hers. He might be special in some way.
Because of the candle and the tree, I get the sense that Cobel may blame herself for Gemma's death. As in something Cobel did led to the crash. I might be reaching and end up way off, but she does seem to fret over Mark's sorrow.
i really appreciate the thoughtful intros and outros, the way you break down the show is very insightful. I have watched severance 3 or 4 times over and you have pointed out several different big connections that I never noticed before.
while in the break room Milchick had Helly place her hands on the table, the quick cut showing the table had places for the hands and Milchick was looking at printouts so it's probably some kind of bio-feedback device kind of like a lie detector, and that's further backed up when Dylan mentions that it helps to think about something you're really sorry about, so something that is measuring stress, BP, what have you. It's also personalized to induce some kind of feeling in them, perhaps from tests that were done to them before the severance procedure and that could explain why Dylan has a baby crying while Helly had someone mumbling.
About the side vs. back drilling, The skull is much thinner around the temple area. I'd assume that there's medical reasons to do the implant from the rear, like not ruining the brain. After the person is dead, she's going in in the most expedient way possible. It could also be just that it'd require turning the whole body to the side to get at the back of the head. One of the subtle things I realized on a second watch is *why* there's blood thirsty rumors about the art guys (and why the art guys have rumors about other departments). If MDR (and by extension all other departments) aren't allowed to make maps of the severed floor, it would make sense for the company to create a reason to have other departments avoid interaction with the art guys, who know their way around the floor in order to distribute art.
From the depiction of the insertion process, it appear that they are trying to insert the chip between the two hemispheres of the brain. It looks like it goes deep (almost between the eyes) Perhaps there is less chance of damaging other parts of the brain this way?
"I need to know why" Your frustration takes me back to when I first watched this. It's so fun watching you go through the thoughts, speculations, ideas, just wondering what's going on. This show is so compelling! Also, take that break, if you feel like you might need it, you need it. After that we'll love to see you back at it with reactions of Black Sails, because that's what you're going to pick as another show of course.
Without spoiling anything, Severance reminds me of Andor in how they both deal with an oppressive regime and the personal reasons individuals have to rebel.
this isn't a spoiler but the fact that she doesn't hear the mumbling voices in the break room until a certain amount of time reminds me of how she didn't see the numbers.
Some speculate that they start hearing things from their ‘outie’ lives. And if so, maybe that’s when Milchick knows when to stop - when they’re so exhausted (and ‘broken’) that they’re brain hallucinates things from their outie lives. Then, even if Milchick wanted to torture them further, he wouldn’t be able to bc it would be too risky to let them hallucinate further.
@@nicholasleemarks I had assumed that the noises were something that Lumon were playing to psychologically torture them further, but I really like this theory… Kind of ties into the theories about what Irving’s outtie might be trying to do (forcing Irv to doze and have his outtie’s memories “bleed through” to innie irv)
Essentially what you're describing at 4:13 is my lived experience. I have both an axiety disorder and clinical depression, in addition I learned recently that I am on the autism spectrum. Being autistic often means you have trouble identifying your feelings, so sometimes I'm just really really sad and there's no identifiable reason, or I can be on edge and not know why. I say all this to basically tell you that while it's frustrating and hard sometimes, it's really not all that different from what you're used to.
I'm thinking the machine in the Break Room is a polygraph. You do not sound dumb, you're a smart person trying to assemble a complicated jigsaw puzzle with no idea what the picture is or even if all the pieces are still there. You're working with incomplete information trying to catch things on the fly. I'd say you're doing better than a lot of folks. A rest is always a good idea. You're doing this on your free time, you should regularly take what you need...otherwise folks will demand you sacrifice all your free time and squawk for more, at twice the speed. Please take the time and work at a pace that isn't taxing with your work life. Be well, be rested and I'll see you when I see you. :)
I figured Petey was stressed by Cobel because he knew Lumon was looking for him and he knew it would be game over if she caught him. You are asking great question!!
this is the episode that really sunk its teeth into me. It finally really clicked and I was 1000% invested after this. There's so much subtext and foreshadowing in this episode. Amazing series.
"Do we get to see her outside of Lumen?" Me: *Vibrates with self restraint.* When you finish this show I'm going to dump a 32 page essay in the comments for the final video, just on theories alone. I think a lot of people are. :)
Milchek has a vibe to him that reminds me of an actor who was considered for the role of The Terminator but didn't end up getting the part because he was "too nice"... OJ Simpson.
15:38 That moment reminds me of Mr. Smithers from the Simpsons wielding a stapler as a weapon and shooting out staples. So funny. I suppose the levity is warranted knowing how the episode ends. 😢
There's many things about this show I don't understand. Like why Helly kept going into the break room, instead of sitting in hallway and refusing to go in. Most of this show doesn't allow for ppl to resist this kind of environment, even though Helly tries.
i’m new here, what molecule is on the necklace? at first, i thought a disaccharide, maybe sucrose (appropriately sweet ;0) - or maybe a nuclei acid base, but none check out when i refreshed my memory on their structures. so what am i looking at??
Ha, I've watched this entire series twice and then have checked out every reaction for it, and I just realized something about the break room. Can't say what it is though, can't give away spoilers! But your reaction helped! I think I just figured something out! Woo hoo! 😆
My thinking is that the innies are so deprived of any sort of art or philosophy that they get exited about those terrible paintings and Dickon's insipid book.
When I initially watched this I was so disappointed by the self harm disclaimers before this specific episode, it completely ruined the reveal. I understand the important reasoning behind the warning, but could they not just place them before every episode so they don't give away obvious and important plot points before they happen?
The way I read the end of the episode, Helly was already good with non-existence since she realized that's what not coming back means. But she still believed her other half was a good person who deserved to go on. Once she realized that person is ok with her endless torture, other means to stop her own existence were suddenly on the table since she no longer had any reason to care about the source of the torture.
I think when Helly put the note through the window last episode, she was still trying to get a message to her outie. I think she was hoping that she could get far enough out so that her outie would read the message and quit.
When she did get a message out and they ran the video from her outie, I felt so bad for her. “I am a person. You are not”. Wow! What kind of person is she? That was horrific. I don’t blame her one bit for what she did at the end.
I REALLY loved this first season, but man watching it again in hindsight with others truly makes me appreciate how well this show sets up everything in the past episodes. Honestly one of the best seasons of television ever, and it just gets better the more I watch it.
I love how Rickin basically reinvents The Communist Manifesto but writes it using the most scientifically annoying prose imaginable
He's a pseudo-intellectual douchemotel. Like a really well-meaning mix of New-Age quackery and Carlos Castenada who sorta got "Animal Farm".
I think Cobel genuinely cares about Mark in a same way spoiled child would care about their pet guinea pig. She loves him as long as he does what he's told and does not try to leave his cage or bite her. But she is ready to correct all unwanted behaviour with torment if needed. Because, you know, it's for his own good. 😀
I also think she NEEDS him a bit more than we're let on. Perhaps that she needs someone under her boot that she can control. But I'm not quite sure about this take.
@@lockekappa500 Agreed, but I think maybe she needs him not just psychologically to be under her boot, but she needs him for some specific goal of hers. He might be special in some way.
@@ondrejvasak1054 Yeah that is what I mean but I can't say more because of spoilers.
Because of the candle and the tree, I get the sense that Cobel may blame herself for Gemma's death. As in something Cobel did led to the crash. I might be reaching and end up way off, but she does seem to fret over Mark's sorrow.
i really appreciate the thoughtful intros and outros, the way you break down the show is very insightful. I have watched severance 3 or 4 times over and you have pointed out several different big connections that I never noticed before.
while in the break room Milchick had Helly place her hands on the table, the quick cut showing the table had places for the hands and Milchick was looking at printouts so it's probably some kind of bio-feedback device kind of like a lie detector, and that's further backed up when Dylan mentions that it helps to think about something you're really sorry about, so something that is measuring stress, BP, what have you. It's also personalized to induce some kind of feeling in them, perhaps from tests that were done to them before the severance procedure and that could explain why Dylan has a baby crying while Helly had someone mumbling.
About the side vs. back drilling, The skull is much thinner around the temple area. I'd assume that there's medical reasons to do the implant from the rear, like not ruining the brain. After the person is dead, she's going in in the most expedient way possible. It could also be just that it'd require turning the whole body to the side to get at the back of the head.
One of the subtle things I realized on a second watch is *why* there's blood thirsty rumors about the art guys (and why the art guys have rumors about other departments). If MDR (and by extension all other departments) aren't allowed to make maps of the severed floor, it would make sense for the company to create a reason to have other departments avoid interaction with the art guys, who know their way around the floor in order to distribute art.
Oh, I didn’t think about that! Irv has inside information… Or at least more information than the rest of the group does
From the depiction of the insertion process, it appear that they are trying to insert the chip between the two hemispheres of the brain. It looks like it goes deep (almost between the eyes) Perhaps there is less chance of damaging other parts of the brain this way?
"I need to know why" Your frustration takes me back to when I first watched this. It's so fun watching you go through the thoughts, speculations, ideas, just wondering what's going on. This show is so compelling!
Also, take that break, if you feel like you might need it, you need it. After that we'll love to see you back at it with reactions of Black Sails, because that's what you're going to pick as another show of course.
Rewatching this show with you, makes me realise how much they set up certain things, especially in this episode, that play into the grand finale.
This episode was the real catalyst to the rest of the season for me. Get ready!
Without spoiling anything, Severance reminds me of Andor in how they both deal with an oppressive regime and the personal reasons individuals have to rebel.
this isn't a spoiler but the fact that she doesn't hear the mumbling voices in the break room until a certain amount of time reminds me of how she didn't see the numbers.
Some speculate that they start hearing things from their ‘outie’ lives. And if so, maybe that’s when Milchick knows when to stop - when they’re so exhausted (and ‘broken’) that they’re brain hallucinates things from their outie lives. Then, even if Milchick wanted to torture them further, he wouldn’t be able to bc it would be too risky to let them hallucinate further.
@@nicholasleemarks I had assumed that the noises were something that Lumon were playing to psychologically torture them further, but I really like this theory… Kind of ties into the theories about what Irving’s outtie might be trying to do (forcing Irv to doze and have his outtie’s memories “bleed through” to innie irv)
I cannot wait until the next ep of your reaction. This has been a great treat
I love your breakdown of this amazing show. Can't wait for season 2!
Essentially what you're describing at 4:13 is my lived experience. I have both an axiety disorder and clinical depression, in addition I learned recently that I am on the autism spectrum. Being autistic often means you have trouble identifying your feelings, so sometimes I'm just really really sad and there's no identifiable reason, or I can be on edge and not know why.
I say all this to basically tell you that while it's frustrating and hard sometimes, it's really not all that different from what you're used to.
I'm thinking the machine in the Break Room is a polygraph.
You do not sound dumb, you're a smart person trying to assemble a complicated jigsaw puzzle with no idea what the picture is or even if all the pieces are still there. You're working with incomplete information trying to catch things on the fly. I'd say you're doing better than a lot of folks.
A rest is always a good idea. You're doing this on your free time, you should regularly take what you need...otherwise folks will demand you sacrifice all your free time and squawk for more, at twice the speed.
Please take the time and work at a pace that isn't taxing with your work life.
Be well, be rested and I'll see you when I see you. :)
The view from above the lumen building looks just like apple headquarters lol
I slept on this series for a while, and then binged it in like two days. AMAZING.
I figured Petey was stressed by Cobel because he knew Lumon was looking for him and he knew it would be game over if she caught him.
You are asking great question!!
God I love this show so much. So glad you're watching it. Me and my friends can't wait for the next season.
Angela, have you ever watched The Leftovers? That's a show worth watching
this is the episode that really sunk its teeth into me. It finally really clicked and I was 1000% invested after this.
There's so much subtext and foreshadowing in this episode. Amazing series.
"Do we get to see her outside of Lumen?"
Me: *Vibrates with self restraint.*
When you finish this show I'm going to dump a 32 page essay in the comments for the final video, just on theories alone. I think a lot of people are. :)
Milchek has a vibe to him that reminds me of an actor who was considered for the role of The Terminator but didn't end up getting the part because he was "too nice"... OJ Simpson.
I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he was told to give off "OJ vibes" for the part. Never have I seen an actor give off such polarizing vibes.
15:38 That moment reminds me of Mr. Smithers from the Simpsons wielding a stapler as a weapon and shooting out staples. So funny. I suppose the levity is warranted knowing how the episode ends. 😢
There's many things about this show I don't understand. Like why Helly kept going into the break room, instead of sitting in hallway and refusing to go in. Most of this show doesn't allow for ppl to resist this kind of environment, even though Helly tries.
i was so confused when she actually found Petey's chip, i thought the reintegration process was that they took it out.
Ricken is a GOD
I don't understand why they showed that video from outie Helly to everyone. That was depressing.
I thought it strange that they showed the outtie videos in front of everyone.
i’m new here, what molecule is on the necklace? at first, i thought a disaccharide, maybe sucrose (appropriately sweet ;0) - or maybe a nuclei acid base, but none check out when i refreshed my memory on their structures. so what am i looking at??
caffeine i think?
yeay finally xD
I truly think Cobel cares for Mark. That is all I will say
Ha, I've watched this entire series twice and then have checked out every reaction for it, and I just realized something about the break room. Can't say what it is though, can't give away spoilers! But your reaction helped! I think I just figured something out! Woo hoo! 😆
Watch "Killing Eve". I'm sure you'll love it...
My thinking is that the innies are so deprived of any sort of art or philosophy that they get exited about those terrible paintings and Dickon's insipid book.
When I initially watched this I was so disappointed by the self harm disclaimers before this specific episode, it completely ruined the reveal. I understand the important reasoning behind the warning, but could they not just place them before every episode so they don't give away obvious and important plot points before they happen?
I think for wine at a church funeral they can save some money by just using Christ's blood.
I take it you are a money changer at the temple. how much does thirty … get one these days?
You don't sound stupid
It'll be odd if either Burt's or Irving's outie are straight, won't it?
Since one’s orientation is something innate rather than learnt, I highly doubt that can be the case
"That took one hell of a dark turn." Don't you mean one helly of a dark turn? 🤣🤣
INDEED
Get all the rest you need, you deserve it.🤍 I'll be waiting patiently for your return.