*Content Warning* Severance Ep 1x4 Patreon Full Length Reaction!
Added 2025-10-19 22:12:47 +0000 UTCThis video contains depictions, and discussions, of self harm. Please be mindful of your own headspace, and if you need help to reach out to the appropriate resources in your area.
Edited Reaction: https://youtu.be/q6XMdhug81s
Comments
Lumen doesn't make candles and you can't 3D print candles, so it makes sense Kobel would need to break into various people's homes to stock candles on the severed floor.
kevin dale
2025-10-21 06:59:56 +0000 UTCsmall thing I missed the first time I saw this, but the candle they were burning in the wellness session was the same one Kobel took from Mark's basement.
PopeScooby
2025-10-20 20:34:35 +0000 UTCThis series does so much to shine a light on our current system and the moral framework utilized within it. What would corporations do if they could get away with it? If truly no one outside of their company and in the outside world could know? If they had nearly blank slates (in terms of individual identity and history) to work with as their employees, what would they shape them into, how would they treat them, etc.? The concept of not having to experience working can be appealing to some, certainly, but what does one's position on that say about slavery, and how can that translate and reflect our views on exploitation and slavery across global and domestic markets that keep our economic system upright? I've introduced a bunch of people to this show this year, and with everything going on in the world, a fair bit have stared to shake off the "Oh, no one would ever let that happen" and "Oh, no one would ever do something so evil to another person as their job" mindset when taking in media like this. Like, we know for a fact that people would, and that there are people who would do so if it meant keeping their own head above water. Cobel and Milchick aren't uniquely evil characters. Much in the same vein, it explores suicide and self harm. Helly tries to kill herself in that specific way because living in the state she's been living in is suffering, and unjust, and she clocked it quick. She explored other ways out, but she's been looking for the exit sign since jump. Then her outie tells her she's not a person, and can't make choices, that she's condemned to this? She decides to go out and take her outie with her, letting her outie feel the experience of expiring viscerally. And that's a really disturbing and horrible concept of suicide being something of a logical choice in that situation, but one we're forced to confront. What would it take to make suicide in such a work environment unthinkable? And that's not an unprecedented thing, there's been many instances of workplace suicide across the world (I remember the Foxconn suicides like it was yesterday), and with our current system lowering the bar across the board for so many, it's revealing those realities to people who were privileged enough to not be exposed to it. So many people these days are hurting, they're effectively in abusive situations with their employers because unemployment is often the worse option due to failing social safety nets (if they exist at all, depending on region). That state of being isn't neutral, and the impact it has on us, the way it shapes us and our response to others in similar situations, is often toxic and can involve a trauma response to prevent us from taking action. After all, we know from Petey that Mark raised complaints repeatedly. From his conversations with Helly, we know he tried to smuggle out messages, and was abused heavily as a result. It's easy to take those conversations just as "Oh, he's just repeating the abuse he was faced with", but he's trying to protect her. Yes, that does involve getting her to fall in line and not push for change, but he doesn't want her to go through what he's endured. He and Dylan see obedience, if sometimes less sincerely, as the path of least resistance. Mark wasn't able to get out, he wasn't able to force changes, so it makes sense that he'd come to that conclusion. Both Mark and Helly's situations are fraught, and both of their plans of action involve self harm in some form, because the environment they're captured in demands it. This show, through its writing and narrative, asks many questions of the viewer about the world we live in today, and the world we're hurtling towards. And I wish our social media landscape wasn't so sanitized, as it can limit and obscure these questions from being meaningfully and clearly communicated and confronted on a broader scope. It's still important, though. Shows like this should exist, and the people who watch them should talk about it. I really appreciate both of you digging into this show, embracing the discomfort it brings you, and having candid conversations about it afterwards.
Amber A
2025-10-20 12:25:31 +0000 UTC
