‘Severance’ Season 2 Episode 6 review: ‘Attila’

At the beginning of Severance Season 2 Episode 6, Mark remarks to Reghabi about the bargaining stage of grief, about all the things one would do to get someone back. In Mark’s case, that reality is closer than he ever thought possible. But that bargaining sentiment is an underlying theme through a lot of Season 2 so far. Even if no one died, how far would someone go to get what they want?

Mr. Milchick continues to be a standout this season as the show dives deeper into Lumon company lore on the management side. His performance review last episode was a great example of how corporations can tear you down while looking down on what you bring to the table. The intricate rules and nit-picked grievances are manipulation tactics designed to get you to conform to arbitrary standards.

This deeper look into Mr. Milchick’s life as management on the severed floor, especially as a Black man working for a very white company is a great commentary on the way white supremacy can show up in corporate workplaces. A lot of Mr. Milchick’s life outside of Lumon is unclear, but his struggle with keeping Lumon happy while being horrified at the lengths they go to in order to control him is one of the highlights of the season.

Meanwhile, Severance Season 2 Episode 6 Helena remains a fascinatingly complicated character. Her misguided undercover trip to the severed floor has left her with an even bigger disdain for severed workers, except for Mark. But make no mistake, her feelings for Mark are guided by her own self-interest. Growing up under the reign of Kier and her family’s company turned her into a reserved, fierce woman, most likely a result of an emotionally abusive household. Considering also she doesn’t seem to have the kind of company pull that she implies she has to Mark S. if her conversation with Natalie and Mr. Drummond is anything to go by. Whatever Cold Harbor is, it’s more important than what Helena, the supposed head of the company, wants.

Seeing herself be so free, unrestrained, and rebellious as Helly R. has perhaps, for the first time, made Helena aware of what she can be capable of. But her desire to understand that part of herself is coming at the cost of Helly R. and Mark S., who she violated in the pursuit of that freedom. Helena stalking Mark to the diner is just another violation she’s committing. But as Mark told Reghabi in the beginning of the episode, the lengths someone would go to get someone back are varying, and terrifying. After all, grief changes you.

The layers this show is able to create within the same characters is truly remarkable. Britt Lower’s amazing work creates so much empathy for Helly R. as well as sympathy for Helena, even as her robotic and emotionless exterior can be terrifying. The same goes for Adam Scott’s Mark, who’s balancing the subtleties of reintegration well. With some slick editing work, the flips between innie Mark, outie Mark, and their joint recollection of both worlds made for a thrilling watch.

Helly R. takes back her autonomy by asking Mark S. if they can sleep together, so she can have her own memories after Mark S. confesses to her the events of the ORTBO. Despite the fact they are on the floor of an abandoned office, it’s a scene full of intimacy and love between Mark S. and Helly R, something they both clearly needed after Helena’s violation.

Irving B. may be dead, but his outtie is still kicking, though perhaps not for long. Mr. Dummond snoops through his apartment while Irving is at dinner with Burt and Fields (played by the great John Noble).

Dinner is an interesting affair. Burt’s explanation about why he decided to get severed puts a religious spin on the procedure. In fairness, Burt and Fields both consider innies to be their own selves, which is a step up from the Eagons. However, there’s a strange aurora about, and some confusion about how long Burt has been at Lumon. Is it twelve years or 20 years? If it’s 20, then what does Burt know about the time before severance? Who is telling the truth? Were Burt and/or Fields distracting Irving from the fact that Mr. Drummond was at his place, finding all of his Lumon information?

People go to great lengths to have what they want. Dylan is lying to his friends so he can keep visiting the family room. Gretchen is lying to outie Dylan so she can spend more time with a better version of her husband. And Mark risks a brain hemorrhage and/or a stroke in order to find his wife.

Severance 2×06 keeps pacing out the mysteries of Lumon’s work and Irving’s underground operation, but it’s still doing fascinating character work.

New episodes of Severance drop every Friday on Apple TV+

Images courtesy of Apple TV+

Katey Stoetzel

Katey is co-founder and tv editor for InBetweenDrafts. She hosts the “House of the Dragon After Show” and “Between TV” podcasts and can be read in various other places like Inverse and Screen Speck. She wishes desperately the binge model of tv watching would die, but still gets mad when she runs out of episodes of tv to watch.