by Adib El Dada 1 year ago
378
Severance By: Adib El Dada
by Adib El Dada 1 year ago
378
Purple
presents trust and reliability
shown when mark and helly are in party room, bonding between the two characters and the increase of trust in a relationship is shown.
Black & White
present the stale and neutral moments of the show, they are shown every time someone is in the hallways almost everywhere outside of lumen and conveys feelings of emptiness but when its just darkness alone it presents fear.
shows the monotone strict look of lumon
another scene shown is when reghabi and mark are navigating through the school, verything is dark except for them, expresses the light surrounded by darkness, the hope surrounded by despair/ the small against the big and the chance to win.
shown in ominous scenes to convey fear annd darkness/emptiness such as when we see miss casey go through the darkness but the only thing visible is her to illustrate the emotion of leaving.
Green
represents renewal and growth, the color green is almost always seen in the MDR room, in the wellness center, and on carpets in lumon
the color green is shown outside and inside the wellness shelter indicating the renewal/growth of a person after entering or during a wellness session.
The color green was shown mostly at lumon, and in the MDR room specifically, it suggests that everyone in that room is going to grow in someway or another (mostly in mentality and personality)
Blue
represents calmness and responsibility which is shown almost everywhere outside lumon and shown with clothing on certain characters
Blue is also shown as contrast between the inner part of lumon and the outside part of lumon such as when rickens book was put on a blue chair, this exhibits both worlds showing the major contrast between them.
almost all of the lumon houses had the color blue on the external part of it that reveals how calm the neighboorhood was, there was no children on the street, no birds chirping and overall was a silent place unlike the city and other places mark visits.
the Color blue is shown on almost every dress helly wears, in the first and last episode helly was wearing a blue dress which shows how outer helly is not concerned and calm even after all the harm that innie helly ahs caused her.
Orange/Warm colour
resembles calmness and a meditative state and shown inside mark's and Ricken's house/birthing house
some of the furniture at mark's house have the orange/warm color which shows that the feelings that he had are still there somewhere inside him/his sister and brother in law can help him find that warmness he used to feel.
shown on Rickens book that conveys that connection ricken "has" with the readers (the readers must have chose this book for a reason) and when he said that his book can change a person he really meant it (changed innie mark) plus it's a eye grabbing color that makes a person feel at home.
Rickens house has a woody/warm woody color that resembles his personality as a humane and a close to the heart person (same with Devon)
Red
shown in action and heart clenching scenes represents spite and anger and is mostly shown in scary angered scenes
Examples
When Helly broke the window of the door trying to send a message to her outie, all of her surroundings turned red to resemble distress in her and everybody elses emotions
when Dylan's feelings spiked with rage at the party because of milchik, the color red intensifies the tension between dylan and lumon
When Petey went to Mark Scout’s house to get cleaned up and not have to sleep in a cold greenhouse after his shower he put on a blue and red striped bathrobe which was a gift to Mark from his brother-in-law, Ricken. The red and blue stripes represent the war between his Severed innie brain and the cognitive dissonance experienced by his outie after Reintegration.
Burt’s outtie has been revealed, his outtie is happily in a relationship which angers Burt which induces his jealousy.
Burt has initiated interaction with Irving, he has taken him to a green room, where they held hands/almost kissed, Burt has changed Irving and he himself has changed, he transformed from this company loving man to disobeying the rules fully but still having respect for the place he has worked at for 7 years. he eventually "resigns in the end". breaks irving's heart/morals about Lumon that he cared for through out his career.
Burt was introduced in episode 6 of severance, he is the head of O&D department and has a similar personality to irving, company rule person. He shows similar interests with burt (bonding through painting), and we can already see tension between both of the characters, especially when they appreciate lumon architecture/environment)
Dylan is basically the main source/battery of the heist (he keeps all of the characters in their outer self's body), without him the plan would fail, he holds his position as a true friend (warrior) until milchik tackled him in the end.
In this episode Dylan is executing The teams plan but before that, he got a glass photo with his friend etched on to it as a gift for finishing his tasks early (nice bonding moment between the colleages). also reveals that he read rickens book when they were hiding in the storage room, dylan was finishing the line mark was reciting (heartfelt moment showing similarities/trust between characters) and executes the plan by holding on to the levers.(has to keep them down for a long time)
episodes 7
after Dylan found out he has a son the next day he started losing it little by little while working, he is trying to contain all his feelings until the dancing sequence where dylan blows up and bites milchik asking about his son. They decide to make a plan to deal with lumon (overtime contingency heist) and Dylan offers to be the one to stay back (shows more of his caring nature towards his friends) and everyone agrees.
Dylan has not really changed much form the beginning he grew as a character the more he realized that he can break out of cage he is trapped in (crack out of his shell)
i believe that dylan was one of the best comic relief characters on this show, he really brightens the mood with his humor and is usually in a jusxtaposition scene when with irving (are like complete opposites)
observant, decisive and emotional
episodes 4,5,6
Dylan is shown to have conflicts with O&D department and believes rumors about the O&D massacre (anger protrayed later in the series). he has deep feelings for his coworkers and cares about each and every one of them profoundly (when mark shredded petey's map). in the sequence where mark finds ricken's book, Dylan is protrayed as the bad "devil" on his shoulders convincing him to not turn the book in that really captivates his true feelings about lumon (indignant). Dylan gets even more swayed to hating on the other department (O&D) because of the paintings getting printed out (sent by miss cobel). Dylan and irving figure out that the paintings and propaganda which keeps his mind at ease, but feels confused on the whole situation overall. at the end of that episode dylan grows more suspicious of burt (he has been hiding secrets from them) and is a bit overwhelmed. in episode 6 a very important scene comes on which completely overrides the focus on the show and turns it into an escape height. Dylan is woken up outside of the severed floor by milchik (overtime contingency) where he met his son and saw his closet (made him ponder) which made him more curious about what is outside lumon and that basically changes his id.
episodes 1,2,3
when dylan is introduced he comes off as this sarcastic jokester (fun guy), he does his work and says that he wants to go to teh waffle party (they know what it is), he plays a major role in this show as his character progresses throughout and through his actions he is able to tie all the MDR characterrs together. He is a funny character (theory on what their actual job is to helly), a social, kind hearted, and supportive. During the scenes where MDR are at the perpetuity wing he acts ina "disrespectful way towards the eagans showing that he doesnt really have true loyalty such as irving for example. p.s. dylan is a very hard worker and a skilled refiner since he has a lot of gifts/ achievements he earned from completing tasks (the intensive amount of finger traps, the selft portraits etc.)
driven, work-crazy, and a bit immature and has a similar personality to Helly ("doesnt beleive in the corporate bullshit")
he is more decisive and is able to chose what he wants (by deciding to quit lumon.
he is more of a leader and self concsious/aware of his decisions.
In the last episode outtie mark took a big decision of quitting lumon and has started to be more interractive with his sister and such (he is now more appreciative of his sister and wants to spend more time with her). He is content with his decision and i dont feel like he regrets it. He just wants to be happy and wants to live life more.
Innie
Marks transition from innie to outtie is smoother than the others because he starts off in a vaguely familiar situation. He is talking to miss selvig which leaves him confused, he doesn’t find much of it and excuses himself, he meets his sister which makes him happy. in this episodes there are so many small moments that express the innies tentative hopes, he was grinning when he saw himself in the mirror, the house around him, and his sister's daughter. He sits through his brother-in-laws book reading with joy and content and after it was done they had this nice little chat that made Ricken appreciate mark more. when his sister tells him that he used to be a history professor but got the procedure after losing his wife, we can sense a deeper understanding of self click into place within mark.
Outtie mark has been considering quitting lumon for a while and decides to tell miss cobel that he wants to quit. All his decisions has led up to this, him deciding to quit, he in the end is done with dealing with lumon, he doesn’t want to fight it and is over and done with it.
Innie mark is going through his plan (allowing Dylan to go to waffle party) he consulted with miss cobel and got sent to the wellness centre where he shows concern to miss Casey (his wife) since she is being sent away. Mark makes miss Casey break character which makes her talk about her personal experience with them: “the 8 hours i spent with you guys were the best ones” (also talk about if she wonders what her purpose is,that conveys more humane emotions). The chemistry between helly and mark has finally manifested. Their workplace romance has evolved and at the end they leave it off with a kiss (not allowed in workplace) since they are overthrowing the company they don’t have to be loyal anymore. Their plan is almost ready all they have to do is to count on Dylan to go through with it (shows immense trust in characters).
Outtie mark goes through with reghabis plan (even after witnessing the death of graner), and hides the security key in his pocket so the innie mark can find it and use it for their benefit. Outtie marks relationship with Alexa is ruined, he shows us that his greiving efforts are not working and that he cannot get over his wife (now shown as miss Casey) even after many attempts.
Innie mark is done with lumon, after he discovers the news from Dylan (overtime contingency) he fully breaks, he is no longer part of the system, he is agitated and plans , with his coworkers, to use the overtime contingency to their benefit, they leave the room and they were in (through the keycard mark found in his pocket) and without hesitation him and helly go to the security room.
Outtie is acting like the innie very similarily, is going through the same rebellious phase that the innie is going through by showing up to that concert/protest that sends out the message “fuck you lumon” and joining them. At the end of the episode is where his spite is really shown. He puts back the battery for petey’s phone which he threw in the trash and answers reghabi that tells him to go to her and he does without a second thought.
Innie marks character goes through major character developement, as he grows impatient he starts taking action more often and is shown like this. Mark’s consultation with miss cobel has really spiked marks rebellious temptations, he confronts her about the real job he is doing at lumon presenting the message with great anger which he then gets denied for. Mark’s impatience drives him to take matters into his own hands which is where he takes leadership (as head of the department) and goes to the O&D department where they devise a plan (questioning their id) in taking down lumon that gets neglected at the end.
Both the Inne and outtie are starting to go through a rebellious phase, they both convey more interest in lumon and negligence against it.
Outtie mark character’s id has also started to evolve much like the innie version of him. When he “clears the air” with his sister he is conveying the emotion of perplexity which he talks about the lumon situation and Petey.
Outtie mark in this episode gets the chance to go to petey’s funeral (even though he doesn’t know anyone). He gets faced/opposed by petey’s daughter which hates the severance procedure, he doesn’t defend it like last but just accepts it at this point, he sees the problem with lumon but doesn’t really bother with doing something about it at the moment.
Innie marks disobedience is conveyed more in this episode, he is “evolving” unlike on how he was in the beginning. Mark is very concerned about Helly’s mentality, so he decides to bond with her (he drops the coffee so miss Casey gets distracted and they leave to the hallways). Innie mark decides to show her petey’s map he was trying to create (conveys trust) and then they take a “tour” throughout the floor. They find several other rooms that “peeked” their interest and made them feel even more confused and demented.
Innie mark has more interest in profound objects/things such as the book where outtie mark would never consider reading but innie would be more than interested which causes a personal and character change in innie mark
Inne mark had a lot of character developement, his id and superego were challenged in this episode. Petey’s map that mark found has been discovered by the others, everyone questioned “the head of department” mark about what he was hiding so he decided to shred it just to show the others how “careless he is” but in fact he deeply regretted this decision and tries to recreate the map in later episodes. Mark is yet faced with another challenge in this episode where his id was opposed, (he found a book that was meant for him by ricken) and had to choose if he keeps it (Dylan was supporting) or giving it back (Irving was supporting). In the end mark picked his choice abandoned his superego and took the book. At the end of the episode, mark is sent to the wellness centre where he had to sculpt his “feelings”. He sculpted a tree that resembles the exact tree where his wife died at.
Outtie
In this episode marks discusses more about the severance situation with Petey (about how his eyes are red every time he shows up there) mark’s interests arise but then turn to fear after seeing Petey in his situation (went to the hospital since he was in a fatal condition). Mark’s id is still the same by just coping with the severance procedure but with slight interest and fear. petey suggests that this inner pain he is feeling is also passed down to his innie which is manifested in the innies overall personality (content but shows hints of sadness throughout)
Mark in this episode is more responsible (he says the announcements that Petey usually announces). He is still trying to help helly fit in (showing her that there is no point in sending out a message since they can detect it), he doesn’t take much interest in his jobs history (perpetuity centre) as much as Irving but kind of respects it which will change in the future, his attempts on helping helly to break out of a situation fails but he still doesn’t give up on helping her.s
In this episode mark overall becomes a more curious person and wants to break out but superego doesn’t allow it.
The outtie in this episode shows more interest in lumon after his date with Alexa (introduced at dinner party), where they met a bunch of protestors (protesting against lumon and the severance procedure) which he gets into an argument with on if the procedure is good or not where mark sides with lumon (mark is grieving and trying to find any way out of thinking about his wife which leaves him in this desperate position). The next day mark meets up with Petey (showing more interest/breaking out of his shell in lumon). Petey informs mark about what lumon has been doing (recording of mark in break room) which bewilders and leaves mark indignant. At the end he takes back Petey to his own house (which is next to the corporation) since he cares.
Personality of innie and outtie
Both of the personalities are slowly starting to resemble each other as an overall tender and caring person (help with Petey and helly)
Innie mark is conveying the emotion of sadness for the “loss” Of his best friend Peter which resembles his outtie a bit (grieving) by grabbing all the office pictures with Peter on them and hides them in the closet (which the he confesses during a bonding exercise with the group). Mark is very caring towards Helly, he understands the confusion and knows what it’s like to be in her place especially when he gets her from the elevator and puts the blame on him when graner came in (shows more humanity in him).
In the first episode mark just really acts like a robot We get to see both his innie and outtie in the episode. As the main character a lot of information is given to the viewers
Outtie
Outtie mark is depressed sad and lonely, (alcoholic) he is grieving Over his dead wife and seems like he has no energy during the entire episode. Before going to his job he cries and when he comes back home he comes back to a singular light bulb to comfort him. He finished work and saw that he has suffered an injury (got hurt by helly) but isn’t really bothered about it (careless nature). Even at dinner parties (got invited by his supportive sister Devon) and gets pressured by others (impatience) while showing the real reason for being severed but doesn’t really care in the end. Overall mark feels hopeless and I think that the severance procedure hasn’t really helped him but is just taking away parts of his life.
Difference between innie and outer mark
Innie mark looks/feels younger than outtie mark Which is shown when he goes down the elevator. His facial expression changes from this blank face (eyes tired, face looks sad) to opening his eyes wider and turning the corners of his eyes slightly wider, he stands a little straighter and moves more with purpose. (Soundtrack also changes from ominous to jolly)outtie mark overall is more lonely and sad (dealing with the loss of his wife)
Mark is very timid/at ease in this episode, he got informed about his bestfriend’s petey’s resignation and that is where his emotions start to show, confusion starts to arise and a bit of sadness. Mark is animated/acts in a very strict/robotic manner conveying his obedient, scarce feeling to lumon and his upper associates. Mark is usually put in his place by miss cobel but is satisfied in his workplace with the only friends he has known. Mark meets Helly and instead of abiding by the rules of the manual he connects to her as a human (which then is punished for by miss cobel) revealing more about his personality of kindness.
Outtie
Sad/lonely
Innie
Obedient, calm but still curious
there is a very high chance the severance procedure in the modern world would be succesful . 85% of people around the world are unhappy/unsatisfied with their job/workplace (linkedIn.com). , the toughest part of a 9 – 5 is going through each day without hitting someone in the face. Others say it is the constant fear of getting fired not because you are not good at your job, so why not go through the severance procedure and let another person deal with "your" problems and stress.
benefits and disadvantages
Benefits: can take your mind off of work, no stress, decent pay for doing nothing, people with personal problems can deal with them like this (grief like mark). disadvantages: could affect the personal aspect of you, one doesnt know how he acts during the workplace, can have an affair without knowing (like that one scene from the show), can commit crimes without knowing, makes their other personality question. waste of life (8hours every single day, one might as well sit through work to enjoy life the way it is meant to be with responsibilites and such), could arise careless behaviour
the show severance takes place in a world where uncaring corporations seek to control lives. the workers entire identity within the company apparatus, and manipulate them while promising 'work-life balance'. all of these things will feel familiar to office workers in the modern world.
relation to real world
much like office workers in the modern world. Dan Erickson says that Severance explores the "idea of disassociation", where we follow people who want to skip forward in time and not deal with the pain of doing the actual job that they despise only for the sake of it, or to completely disoociate out one's personal mind just to occupy your life with something else to ignore the personal problem one is dealing with. (mark for example, grief). more than half the world’s countries, employment at big corporate companies is so precarious and difficult that the high turnover rate is a feature of employment; routine injuries are a feature of employment; peeing in bottles is a feature of employment. “You’re not a person” the message Helly’s outtie tells her innie. which brutally conveys the loss of dignity and humanity one endures in the workplace.
the executive producer Dan Erickson's went through the experience of working temp office jobs in LA. Speaking to Esquire, the writer/creator said that when he first moved to the city, he was somewhat stunned to go from the nurturing college experience to the bland and uncaring environment of corporate America. "I wasn't important in any way," he said. "Just working temporary office jobs . In those hours on the job, I was resentful of not being in a grander place in life." he felt as if his life is being wasted in those temp jobs which eventually made him come up with the idea of severance.
Mark's character
Beyond that experience of office life, Dan Erickson was going through a "really hard breakup of a five year relationship," which seems to have manifested in the show as Mark S. grieving his wife, Gemma. It's this breakup that seems to have made "Severance" more than just a show about skewering corporate life. the breakup forced him to confront the fact that his temp jobs were providing him with a way of completely zoning out so as to not think about his the circumstance he is in.
examples
When miss selvig is talking to mark/other under associates, miss scobel makes them feel small while she has the power to take control of them ususally shown in the earlier episodes when mark complaining to miss selvig and being obedient
when NAtalie talks to miss selvig/the board and only takle in the information they need regardless of how miss selvig feels, sometimes she stairs at miss selvig like she has all the power in the world makin gmiss selvig feel insignificant
Irving:he finds Burt in the end but sees him with another man, so he is forceful and doesn’t care about Burt and his significant other.
dylan:He morally doesn’t care about anything this company has to offer and is only there just to support his friends on their plant o breaking out.
Helly's outtie:she just wants to take care of her innie self and doesn’t really care what happens to her (innie has already ruined a lot of her reputation etc.) helly's innie:knows everything she is doing is wrong but still goes through with it.
mark's outtie:wants to deal with severance problem so he decides to quit even though he knows the consequences Mark's innie:: is done with obeying the rules and wants to break out even though eh know the consequences for his actions
Irving:knows the consequences if rules are broken and would rather not interfere with them.
dylan: wants to break out but knows the major consequences he will be facing.
Helly's outtie: wants to control innie helly (but I think she kind of feels for her innie but still doesn’t care) but know the power of innie helly. helly's innie: she knows that trying to get out will bring in consequences (when she gets threatened).
mark's innie:wants to know what his job in the severed room is but doesn’t bother with it marks outtie:: wants to know what his job in the severed floor is but doesn’t bother with it
Irving:he wants to see and be with Burt
dylan:is done with working with lumon and instead wants to break out.
helly's outtie:take care of innie helly at all costs helly's innie:wants revenge to satisfy her desires.
mark's outtie:: is done with everything about his job and wants to spend time with his family. mark's innie:wants to expose lumen and feels that everything they are doing in the workplace harms others
in the beginning
Irving: obeys the rules and all he wants to do is his job
dylan:wants to do his work with no troubles but still has faint feeling of interest on his purpose
Helly's outtie:wantts to take care of inner helly/he own personal problem helly's innie: wants to get out at all costs
mark's innie:do his job inn the severance room and be as obedient as possible mark's outtie: deal with his problems and greive over his wife
in the end
Irving:enraged
Dylan: liberated
Helly's outtie: controlling (kind of lost it at the end) Helly's innie: angry (wants control)
marks outtie: content mark innie:: leads/ self conscious
in the beginning
Irving: obedient
Dylan:Trapped and self aware
outer helly:controlling/manipulative inner helly:confused/angry
Mark outtie: helpless marks innie:blurred
End
decisions
when Miss cobel/selvig gets fired from her job this is where she hit rock bottom, if mark didnt knock on the door when she was in the basement what would have happened? i believe that when she got invited to the party she realized that there is more to life than lumon, she can become miss selvig and be a better person (who craves for having a real connection/real family), but no, when she saw a way back to lumon she immedietly went back (even after getting beaten down and spat out by the company that consumed her life) and she was the antagonist once more
relation to the real world
i believe that miss selvig making that decision (going back to lumen even after getting fired in the most emotionless and cold manner) conveys something in modern society. every cult member, everybody in a bad relationship to we have these moments of clarity where we're almost able to see our own dignity and separate ourselves from that bad system but then often tragically as soon as there's a door open again you can't help but go right back in sometimes that's a process that takes years to break out of and sometimes you never do.
miss selvig by the end completely loses it, we see her devotion to keir (lumon) by the shrine she had, the songs she sings (to MDR, and to Devon's baby) or when she put petey's chip in her necklace/when she prayed for the shrine( mentally unstable character) she has. She snaps on Mark (as he develops as a character) on several occasions (throws stapler at him). It is the moment where she gets fired by the board (the gaze) is where she completely breaks, she cries, weeps and destroys the shrine she has.
Middle
In episodes such as episode 4 (peteys funeral) is where miss selvig/cobel's true nature is being protrayed, she drills out the chip out of petey's head during his funeral. it shows how loyal/obedient miss selvig is to lumon (keir), she starts making subpar decisions that lead to her demise in the end. she decides to hide multiple secrets form the board (helly's suicide attempt) thinking she can take care of it all (she really cannot and does not realize how faint her power over the employees are. miss cobel much like the other characters is breaking Lumon code/rules which is shown in episode 5, where she lets MDR roam free throughout the severance floor even though she can immedietly shut their operation, she says "the only way to tame a prisoner is to make them think they are free" which obviously does not work but in fact induces the characters to do more violent things.
Beginning
Sanity
at the beginning miss selvig/cobel is very controlling over her sanity, she is able to hide her anger as much as possible and makes decisive and makes shrewd decisions to control "her" employees.
Miss cobel plays 2 characters, miss selvig and miss cobel, miss cobel is the "manager" in the severance floor while miss elvig is her "outer" personality that is mark's neighbor which spies on him. miss cobel is very controlling in the begninning of the series, she knows who is in power and understands who has the power to control who (The gaze) and accepts it. that is shown in different sequences of the show, for example
when she is talking to natalie and gets shut out (she cannot respond to the board, they posses/control her and can punish her however they want)
when she talks to mark. she makes him feel insignificant (orders him around and suffocates others in a clam manner which changes how she represents her sanity in other episodes
rebellious, revengful, caring, and a frustrated character since he is not able to get what he wants (Burt)
character developement
Irving in the beginning of the show is supposed ot be a comic releif character alongside dylan but much like dylan he became a significant part of the story by the end of the series. he changed from this company, lumen-rule-lover to this man in a rebellious phase covered in mystery by his outtie and is blinded by love
episode 9
Irving wakes up in his Outties body, he checks out the room he is in and finds out his dog's name (radar) which was mentione din a wellness session with miss casey. he finsds out that he was a retired navy marine aswell as his dad which surprises him (isnt the type). finds folders of names, addresses and other information about lumon which he probably have been hiding, which means that he has been investigating lumon adn was staying awake so innie irving could hallucinate on purpose. Irving eventually find's burt's address and decides to go there in a car he has never driven (he ahs never dirven a car before but does anyways for the name of love but then realizes that he cannot get what he wants and is held back.
episode 8
We discover why irving has been having these hallucinations/dosing off in the middle of work (outer irving has decided no t to sleep to make innie irving tired on purpose so their conscioussness can merge together. outer irving has many drawings of a dark hallway (probably the one for the testing ground) while innie irving just sees black goo. He appreciates his friends more in this episode for all of what they have done to help him (ecpecially dylan). after executing the overtime contingency plan, irving wakes up in his house painting more pictures of that hallway with rock music, he realizes that this is not like him at all.
episode 7
After the locking of the Dors, the characters of MDR had no way of leaving until they found out about the security card. the whole milchik event occured and the plan was set but when leaving to the security room irving decides to go to burt since that is his number 1 priority and he cant go a day without him. Irving makes it to O&D department and sees that they are having a "retirement" party for burt (killing innie Burt) which angers Irving and decides to "burn this place to the ground"
Breakage of luman protocol is happening slowly because of the relationship he has with burt (romantic relationship changes both of their characters to transform them on to how they actually are on the outside.
episodes 4,5 and 6
Episode 4 is where romantic tension started to spike between irving and burt (breaking lumon protocol) for example when they held hands which will soon dramatically develop irving's character. Also acts as the "angel" on mark's shoulder when choosing wether to keep ricken's book or not. in episode 5 irving find teh printed painting of the O&D massacre but then they realize it was just a way to scare irving and separate him from burt (painting by miss cobel) but at the end of that episode trust between Burt and Irving is increased and Burt introduces irving to his department (breakage of protocol). In episode 6 Irving and Burt spend more time together, this time Burt takes him to a secret place he found (full of plants) and get really close to kissing but dont (burt does not want to brak protocal and is loyal/obedient to Lumon). after Irving and dylan takes MDR to O&D (more trust between the characters).
thoughts
episodes 1,2 and 3
irving in the early episodes cares about he is perseived from others, he is very self-aware of his actions, is able to control his emotions pretty well when coworkers do something wrong but is overall a kind hearted person (tough love). In episode 2, this is where the black paint is introduced, i Believe it is because of outer Irving's goals, he is sleep depriving himself on purpose (by drinking coffee all night and listening to music) so both the inner and outtie versions of themselves experience the same conscious mind (take in that irving has been working at lumon for about 7 years and the outer irving may have had some questions about the inside). in the same episode we get introduced to burt where some bonding is happening between them foreshadowing future relationships. in episode 3, the appreciation and respect he has for keir really is shown when at the perpetuity wing, very strict around his coworkers (he doesnt like when they joke about keir, takes things pretty seriously.)
Personality
no-nonsense demeanor (efficient, direct, and quite tough.) is very obedient/ respects lumen rules and appreciates keir (the eagans), he also has a gentle nature coupled with his preoccupation for lumen lore make him very interesting character.
Innie helly: malice, she is angry, overwhelmed but controllative and has the chance ot fight back against the ones trapping her. outer Helly: still manipulative but is slowly losing control (because of innie helly's actions)
character development
Helly has not gone through the crazy/major character development as the other characters have, innie helly has gained more control/power close to the end of the series. Her plan at first (from the start) was to escape the severance floor, after many failed attempts she realized that it was pointless and it was better to just go on a full out rebellious phase with all the other characters.
Innie Helly is having a conversation with natalie and another woman (devon met at pregnancy center), she feels out of place but still trying to cope with the conversation. she walks in the main hall and sees all the propaganda of her which leaves her confused/overwhelmed. she looks at all the propaganda being put on that all proclaim that Helly was happy working in the severance room (they don't show finger chopping, suicide attempt etc.), when she discovers that she is Helena eagan(descendant of keir) she loses it, she talks to her "dad" and he tells her the full plan (taking over the world with the severance chips. "everyone will be a servant of keir" he proclaims". angers Innie helly even more). After a little chat with her father it was her time to go on stage, meets up with miss cobel beforehand that threatens her (says she will hurt everyone she cares about) but then helly proceeds to yalk about all the fake propaganda and reveal how she feels (hate, trapped, tortured etc.)
Outtie shown dressed professionally for a big event of some sort while wearing blue (shown in almost every single episode) that is supposed to represent calmness which in the next episode conveys the opposite.
Innie Helly is excited to go through the overtime contingency plan (it occupies everyone's head in the beginning of the episode). Mark and Helly bond in the purple room (color theory, represents trust and reliability) where their romantic relationship evolves and the tension breaks at the end of the episode where they kiss (break the rule of no contact of lips between employees conveys how their loyalty for lumon, keir and everyone is basically gone)
was not shown in this episode
The goats in the goats room represent Woe, which is one of the 4 tempers shown in keirs painting which are being controlled and the amount of goats its almost the same amount of employees that work in the severance floor (all being controlled by keir/his spoils)
innie helly has woke up from her suicide attempt, she was flustered (since she didnt know if she would survive or not) and then had miss casey observing her (to check on her mental health), Mark acting extra nice but she already knows and can see through his facade. she realized that no matter what she does to free herself nothing works so her morals change as she goes out and discovers this other department with mark (it had goats)
Her outtie shows her manipulative persona and reveals her true colors when talking to inner Helly, she does'nt see her as a person but only as a an unsignificant worker and decides to decline her resignation (keeping the fish in the plastic bag).
In this episode the outtie shows who is in power and puts innie helly in place telling her that she "is not a person".
Innie helly gets out of the break/brake room, she is traumatized (learns what lumon is capable of) and hides her anger which is expressed later in the episode. she read that message in the break room over a 1000 times (broke her). helly finally broke and decides to threaten to cut her fingers in front of miss selvig so she can send a resignation message to her outtie which she does and ultimately gets declined (gets put in her place). she finally decides that there is no way out except for death and then she attempts suicide.
her clothing is supposed to represent cleanliness, simplicity, purity and calmnees which is never conveyed in the innie's personality. the innie is the opposite of what the outtie represents and conveys that in many different ways.
Not much has changed with the behaviour of both, mostly thier personality has stayed the same except inner helly has became even more aggravated and on her way to detonate
innie Helly at first feels excited to tell mark about the scary number she was able to hide away but then turns into irritation, she gets notified about the decline of the resignation request which makes her aggravated and even more angry. she attempts on sending other messages out to her outtie (all deflected where mark informs her of how difficult it is to send a message to an outtie) which makes her feel even more trapped/suffocated and decides to send a message a different way (put her head outside the severance floor with a note to her outtie) but then gets sent to the break/brake room.
shown as a calm and collected individual in the first scenes of this episode.
difference between personalities
Outer helly wears colors that convey calmness and growth/renewal but that is not shown in her innies action/behaviour (very aggressive).
Helly is very uncomfortable at the beginning of the episode, she doesn't like the position she is at at the moment, she tries to send messages to her outtie asking for resignment which ultimately fails in the end but a request has been sent. Her clothing changed from blue to blue and green, green shows signs of growth and the blue signs for a calm personality which again is not presented in helly's action, she gets introduced to the "scary numbers" and concerned about the work she is accomplishing, but her main goal/id is to get out.
Helly is the first person shown in this show. she is in the opening scene (on the table) and plays a very important role in changing other character including herself.
outtie
outtie is not shown much in this episode, she is only shown with that message to helly that explains the severance procedure. She seems to be a calm and collective person (shown by her selective clothing) but is actually aggressive and angered on the inside wehich is conveyed in innie helly.
innie
The show introduces us with inner helly, she is in a state of confusion, as any person in her position would be, and decides that she wants to leave, after her attempts she realizes that there is no point in trying "now", she is aggressive with her actions (throws speaker at mark) and more of this aggressive behaviour is shown in future shows. she is also wearing blue which is supposed to represent calmness in a person which is not who Helly actually is.
The outtie has not been shown much in this episode,but the innie has been introduced and she has a very angry/rebellious personality.
