„Severance” – Do You Know Your Shadow? [Series Review]

Title:”Severance” (TV series)

Release Date: 2022, 2025

Cast: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillma and others

“Severance” is one of Apple TV’s more intriguing series. The story of Mark, who takes part in an experiment to separate his professional and private identity after the death of his wife, certainly makes you think about the bureaucratic corporate world of our time. However, when I watched the production, I couldn’t help but think of psychoanalysis. For me, “Severance” is primarily a story in the Jungian spirit: about getting to know and integrating one’s own Shadow.

The series “Severance” – a science fiction thriller

The first season of “Severance” premiered in 2022 and left viewers with a real feeling of dissatisfaction. They had to wait three years for the next part. Dan Erickson’s production surprised viewers with its original concept, austere style and well-developed characters. To date, Ben Stiller’s production of “Severance” has won two Emmys: for best opening credits and best music composed by Theodore Shapiro.

The series combines two genres: thriller and science fiction. The plot takes place in the future, the main feature of which is the eponymous process of separation, which is the leitmotif of the film. It is a revolutionary surgical procedure on the human brain that completely splits the mind into two independent and mutually unaware parts. The separation is promoted and performed by Lumon Industries, which heralds the dawn of a new era for humanity. By completely separating their professional identity from their personal life, people can focus on their work tasks without being burdened by memories. On the other hand, any concerns related to their job responsibilities completely disappear from their private life.

This seemingly ideal solution, which promises to maximize profits in both aspects of life, is starting to raise many ethical dilemmas. The same body is being “used” by two completely independent personalities. One of them is clearly privileged: the private person makes the final decisions on every issue, while his alter ego can only ask, for example, for time off work, which his “supervisor” does not have to recognize.

“Severance” – in the demonic corporate world of Lumon

The life of the main character, Mark (Adam Scott), therefore takes place in parallel on two levels: in Lumon, where he moves in the narrow circle of his colleagues, and in the outside world, where he has to deal with the mourning of his deceased wife, but also has the support of his immediate family. At the same time, we follow the adventures of other characters employed at the well-known corporation: Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro). The team is led by the demonic Mrs. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and the mysterious Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman). The structure and customs of the company resemble a kind of cult, in which the semblance of normality, referring to commonly known practices such as “Fruit Thursdays” or the employee of the month competition, only intensifies the terrifying face of the sociological experiment.

Lumon’s ascetic scenography, i.e. a network of labyrinthine corridors bathed in a cool, almost hospital-like light, impersonal offices equipped only with the essentials such as desks, chairs and computers, and claustrophobic elevators, create the impression of the characters’ imprisonment in the corporate world and their dehumanization. The characters in the series “Severance” are reduced to their function as employees and become part of the machinery of a bureaucratic, almost artificial world. It is not without reason that androids are not recognized as full-fledged individuals with their own decisions and dreams.

There are many bitter reflections on contemporary work culture, straight out of David Fincher’s “Fight Club” (1999). And the ominous resemblance of Lumon’s surreal situations to quite real forms of company organization and the pressure to separate private identity from professional relationships provokes some truly disturbing questions. Do modern corporations resemble sects with their own mythology and ideology?

The series “Severance” – A Jungian story about the integration of the Shadow

I must admit that I followed the episodes of “Severance” with real fascination. I was drawn in by both the plot, which is full of twists and turns and sometimes borders on a seasoned horror film, and the unraveling of the symbolic clues that the creators throw at the audience at every turn to stimulate their interpretive curiosity. And I must admit that the psychoanalytic key appeals to me the most. I perceive “Severance” as a metaphorical story about the integration of the Shadow. Carl Gustav Jung discovered that a person has not only a Persona, that means a Mask shown to the world, but also a Shadow – a part of the personality of which they are not aware, and which is usually a collection of characteristics completely repressed by the conscious Ego. The entire individuation process, which according to Jung is the goal of inner existence, consists in the gradual discovery and integration of these hidden aspects of personality. This is the meaning of the spiritual maturation of the human being, which takes place regardless of whether or not the person participates in psychological therapy.

The series “Severance” contains a whole host of Jungian tropes. The most important iconographic symbol is the mandala, which appears in many scenes of the series. The mandala is formed by the Lumon building and its surroundings filmed from above – a kind of circular structure with a clearly separated yin and yang sphere. The contrasting colors themselves: the white of the Lumon world and the black of the outside world (most of the outdoor scenes take place at night) remind me of this well-known Far Eastern symbol of the union of opposites. In addition, the eponymous “separation” and “reintegration”, i.e. the reunification of the corporate and private personality, seem to be taken directly from Jung’s theory. It is also significant that the characters’ personalities change completely depending on whether they are inside or outside Lumon. Helly or Dylan, whom Mark knows from work, are completely different people than those who live outside the company.

The Alter Egos from “Severance” could therefore be interpreted as the Shadow, which breaks into the consciousness of the individual in sudden flashes, dreams and premonitions, and also speaks the language of art. The entire realm of intuition, which is devalued by our culture, turns out to be the only tool with which we can make contact with what is hidden within us and which can enrich our lives with previously unknown resources. In the series, recognizing the Shadow becomes a great, fascinating, but also dangerous journey into the depths of oneself, the effects of which can surprise us greatly.