I began watching the Apple TV+ show, Severance, but by the third episode I was thoroughly freaked out and stopped watching. The presumption that an implant could completely separate your work life from your home life was too freaky.
I have long espoused the work/life balance, and this show takes it to the extreme.
But the creepy vibe was way too intense for me.
This weekend, I picked it up again, and I binged through it (with about an hour between episodes to let the freakishness abate).
The good:
It is extremely well written. The premise is a bit obscure, but once it settles in, it is gripping. It is so gripping and so cringe inducing for those of us who work in large corporations that it is jaw dropping.
The casting is superb. When Christopher Walken popped in in episode 3, I thought he took the contract to re-do a bathroom. Not true, he is outstanding. Adam Scott as the main protagonist is perfectly cast. And Britt Lower? Yowsa, she is perfection for the role (especially the final episode).
The filming. They borrowed some of the old Bell Labs sites in New Jersey to be the modern, futuristic setting. The internal scenes were typical of the corporate headquarters.
Just aces across the board. A compelling story across the board, perfectly told.
The Bad:
Not much really, apart from how creepy it is to those of us who toil at mega-corps and how eerily this is the logical termination of the concept of work/life balance.
The fact that it took me a few months to tuck into episodes 4 – 9 is testament to the effect it had on me.
If you have Apple TV+, and haven’t watched this yet, do.
