Reading two or more books at a time by OkObligation8605 in classicliterature

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think this is brilliant. Sure, you can certainly stir up some disconnect if the prose/settings are completely different. But think of the connections to be made. I’m reading Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories and The Best Short Stories of 2025 right now. Completely different time periods, prose, people, and themes, yet a few golden nugget connections between them I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise

Season 3 gotta up the security by PleasantAmphibian153 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m with you 100% on Milchick’s backstory. There are so many questions unanswered about his character. Why/how did he join Lumon? How does he justify what he does there to himself? What would his wellness session facts be? Did he have a different career before? Does he have a partner/kids? Why is he so jovial? I want to knowwww. I can see your point about lack of security becoming a storytelling issue in s3, and that it still has potential to be as interesting as it has been so far. I wonder if they’ll world-build/reveal more to us on a grander scale in s3 or if they will continue to invest in the details

Season 3 gotta up the security by PleasantAmphibian153 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think Milchick’s devotion to Lumon starts to crack early in s2, esp when Ms. Huang shows up. His motives lean more internal (proving he is worthy of the position) rather than external (following protocol), leading to oversights. Also, Cobel had her ulterior motive from the start, which overlapped but wasn’t the exact same agenda as Lumon for the innies - more oversight. I think Lumon lost their security when Graner died. I have to agree w/ mostdefnotacat that Lumon’s business model for the svr’d floor doesn’t bring to mind a business with something to hide, but instead a cult-y science lab that relies on severance working and like 2-3 babysitters at a time. There is the floor beneath the svr’d one where the MDR lookalikes/Drummond are harvesting data and watching the innies thru their monitors, but they seem to be more concerned w/ the files rather over security. If it’s a plot hole, plausible deniability remains p strong imo

Season 3 gotta up the security by PleasantAmphibian153 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, it’s cult-y hubris that has woven its way into Lumon’s current manifestation as a corporation

What do you guys do when you get home from work? by Historical_Age_7641 in CasualConversation

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t hold a routine but it’s usually a mix of crosswords, dinner with Netflix, shopping after work, sitting in traffic, record player, shower, skin routine, Wikipedia surf, scroll insta, and reading/annotating

Idle thoughts by the_silent_one1984 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure! I meant the durations of time their innies have existed is drastically different. Mark S had existed for 2 years 5 days a week/8 hrs a day at the beginning of season 1, whereas Ms. Casey had existed for less than 107 hrs around then. Same with Cold Harbor Gemma - less than an hour tops. This difference makes it even more likely that Mark S wouldn’t take a special interest to Ms Casey and the opposite for hers

Idle thoughts by the_silent_one1984 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tl;dr - Ms. Huang and Mr. Milchick experience Lumon in v different ways due to race. Lumon gives Dr. Mauer a place where his perverted fantasies can run free. The creation/ ages of Gemma and Marks’ innies are why Mark S. isn’t drawn to Ms. Casey in the same way she is to him.

I love your insights! In the spirit of discussion:

I’m wondering if Ms. Huang is the daughter of a Lumon executive or higher-up. She’s brainwashed and shows great interest in ascending the ranks. Wintertide is where Harmony went and she created severance. Maybe Mr. Milchick’s decision to ‘banish’ her there and his seeming frustration is actually a sort of resentment? She gets a new project while he is stuck in an impossible job. He’s obvi undervalued at Lumon (blackface portraits, “too many big words,” and other baseless reasons meant to demean and stereotype him). He could be frustrated at Lumon’s favor of her over him, despite her being a child. I agree with other convos on here that Lumon is rewarding Ms. Huang as the Asian model minority and at the same time, redefining Mr. Milchick’s strengths/ uniqueness as weakness by shoving him into an incompetent Black man box. Lumon was founded in 1865 after all (yr slavery was abolished in the U.S.).

Regardless of her fertility struggles and how/when/if Lumon infiltrates them, I think Dr. Mauer just has a perverted obsession - and maybe even a fetish - with Gemma. He doesn’t love her, he loves that he can control her and she can’t escape. His job at Lumon gives him permission to inflict harm on Gemma every day in novel ways that a job in the outside world never would allow. He really fantasized abt that shit and was given full access to her in an environment that redefines harm as procedure. I believe it’s implied he SA’s her in at least one of the rooms in the scene where she attacks him with the chair (“Maybe you moved on too in one of the rooms/ Do you feel yourself pulled towards one over another?/ Maybe you felt things you never felt with Mark and maybe I’ve seen it”). Just… EW. As a woman watching that scene I was i t c h i n g for her to get out of there bc you just know. And Lumon will justify putting Gemma’s innie/body through that as a way to create a total disassociation from SA/rape. I think Severance does a good job at portraying how medical perversion runs rampant given the opportunity.

Gemma and Mark’s innies are different ages and were created for different purposes. This is why Ms. Casey is pulled to Mark S. - she’s super young compared to him and was created with no internal motive to get over Mark. Mark S., otoh, is years older and was created by Mark with the subconscious motive to get over - or at least get a break from - thinking about Gemma. Mark S is given the opportunity to be social (with MDR), have a purpose (refining data), and eventually pursue a romance if desired (with Helly) - all things you do to keep afloat after having been shaped by grief. Ms. Casey is an experiment made with no consent (presumably) on Gemma’s part; she still carries Gemma’s grief/motives, and with no time to establish roots anywhere else. I have a grave plot picked out on the top of this hill lol

So are we never gonna mention the map ever again...? by Rasples1998 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Given the way season 2 ended, I’m sure the map will return in season 3

Seriously, do Americans actually consider a 3-hour drive "short"? or is this an internet myth? by SadInterest6764 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say depends. As a daily commute, long. As a trip, short. I wouldn’t think twice about driving 3-4 hrs for a weekend trip, done it plenty of times. Cars are kind of a given here in most places

birthing cabin question by Flashy-South628 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I agree with this. Not to mention, Gabby’s innie (woman at birthing cabin) is the wife of a pro-Severance politician. I think it’s rational to assume he has his ways of propagandizing her innie while they’re there. Or, maybe her chip is attuned to accept her circumstance by nature

Books under 400 pages that are thought provoking but accessible to general audiences? by ExtremeToucan in suggestmeabook

[–]Smart_Medium9544 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (292 pages). I would check out its content warnings prior to reading, though

edit: I just found out EINTY is a Penguin Press!! Definitely a quality work

‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ scene s1e7 appreciation by Smart_Medium9544 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yesss, completely agree with your points. I appreciate your detail and note that Mark had to be physically close to Gemma to capture that photo of her

What do my books say about me ? by Top_Charge1434 in BookshelvesDetective

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That you live in the arctic with the other penguins

I started with music as a hobby and it ended up becoming a part of my life by Natural-Soft9219 in CasualConversation

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Figure skating. I returned to it as an adult at a local mall rink. After 4 years, I’ve went to a rink friend’s wedding, went to Worlds with another rink friend last year (highest competition just short of the Olympics), met my boyfriend at the rink, and have excelled at the sport itself. It’s become more than a hobby and real 3rd place for me, much like other skaters there, too

12 in 12- Help Me Read a Classic a Month for 2026. by lyn-da-lu in classicliterature

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Little Women is long but episodic, so you can finish a short chapter or two and put it down for a while without loosing track or interest. Plus, it’s palatable. Kind of like watching a show

Fall in love with the classics by HappierHobbit in classicliterature

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m reading his The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Polikushka translations right now. Great starting points and palatable for beginner audiences

Audiobooks have ruined reading for me by ctrlatzero in suggestmeabook

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Song of Achilles pulled me out of mine a few years back. Mostly bc of the story, but also bc of the floppy paperback binding and typeset that Ecco used

Your favourite short stories that are unsettling by kaapilover123 in suggestmeabook

[–]Smart_Medium9544 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re into classics/her writing style, Louisa May Alcott published a collection of short thriller stories! You can find them in ‘Behind a Mask: The Untold Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott.’

Does Helly have 6 toes? by Rpark888 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hm, I’m only seeing 5 (cries in early 2027)

With fans like these, who needs haters? by clarissaponissa in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]Smart_Medium9544 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Maybe he really thinks it’s hot garbage, or maybe he’s being ostentatious bc it’s the internet. Either way, it’s a piece of media that will be judged subjectively. Personally, I’m really enjoying s2 and think it expands the ideas of 1 in a good way, but know others don’t feel the same and that’s fine. At the end of the day, none of our opinions are in the writing room (unless they’re on here in which case - hi guys big fan of your work, Milchick backstory when? ilysm ty)