This article contains spoilers for Severance Season 2.
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In a show known for its plot twists, Tramell Tillman and Zach Cherry both agree the biggest curveball so far during Severance’s long-awaited second season came back in Episode 4.
Apple’s biggest streaming hit follows a group of office workers at Lumon Industries led by Mark Scout (Adam Scott) and his colleagues (Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry), who all have undergone a surgical procedure that allows them to divide the memories they have at work from the ones in their personal lives.
The nefarious day-to-day tasks these “Innies” fulfil under the watchful eye of the velvety-voiced Seth Milchick (Tillman) and the sinister Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) remain a secret, and their “Outie” personas have no knowledge of what is going on in their 9-to-5 lives.
In a surprise neither of them saw coming, earlier this season in an episode titled “Woe’s Hollow,” viewers learned Helena Eagan (played by Lower), the offspring of the company’s founder, had insinuated herself among the group pretending to be her severed self, Helly R.
“I remember when I read those episodes and I got to the end of that reveal and I thought, ‘The whole time? She was her ‘Outie’ the whole time? What?’ I felt lied to,” Tillman tells Postmedia in an interview at a Toronto hotel on the edge of the entertainment district. “I felt betrayed. I almost threw my laptop.”
“Nothing can beat that,” adds Cherry, who plays the quirky Dylan G. “When I read it, I was excited to go make it.”
Jessica Lee Gagne, the show’s Quebec-born cinematographer and director of Episode 7, which centred on the relationship between Mark S and his missing wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman), says the Helena/Helly R. twist also caught her off-guard, but adds the biggest surprises are still to come as the show’s 10-episode sophomore season wraps this week.
As snow flurries began to swirl outside, Tillman, Cherry and Gagne, who were in town for a special screening of Severance at TIFF Lightbox, discussed the wildly popular show, Episode 7’s much-talked about one-shot sequence, and dropped their three-emoji response to this week’s season finale.
One of the things I appreciate about Severance is how much people are invested in it. There are countless theories online debating what exactly you all are up to at Lumon. Why do you think people have connected so strongly to the show?
Tillman: I think timing had a lot to do with it. It was released as we were coming out of the pandemic, and people were trying to figure out if they were going back to work or working from home … I think this show also speaks about identity. It’s interesting to me that the first few lines of the show are, “Who are you?” … But I also think these characters are accessible in a way. These ‘Innies’ feel like real people that we would work with, or have a drink with … But we’re a series that requires active watching. A lot of other shows you can watch while you’re doing your laundry, but this one you have to lean in and pay attention to, and that’s what makes it so special. We’re asking the audience to participate.
Cherry: I also think it’s a show that’s so filled with detail that it rewards a close viewing. People love talking about it … Sometimes my wife and I will watch episodes together and she’ll pick up things that I didn’t pick up on, even though I was in it. It’s a fun show to talk about the next day … That’s a huge part of it.
Jessica, you’ve been the cinematographer behind Season 1 and 2 and you made the leap to director for Episode 7, titled “Chikhai Bardo.” What’s been your favourite shot in Severance so far?
Gagne: My favourite shot is the final shot of the season … But in the episode I directed, it’s the shot of Gemma’s eyes … it’s her going into hell in that moment.
How did you pitch yourself to direct Episode 7?
Gagne: There were no scripts written when I decided to do 7. But when I read a synopsis, and saw Episode 7 was going to be Gemma’s story, I wanted to direct that one … Things happened in my personal life where I was working on myself and I realized this was something I should at least try. So I decided to take the risk.
There’s an incredible one-shot scene that a lot of fans loved in “Chikhai Bardo” inwhich the camera jumps from the office setting with Mark to one of the lower floors with no CGI involved. How did you do that?
Gagne: There’s no trickery involved, but there are stitches and one tiny bit of CG when you come out of the cables. But the entire first part of it, there are no CG elements. The camera is moving through cables and going along the ground … Originally, I wanted them to build me a Honey I Shrunk the Kids set, but the cost of that was insane.
Tramell and Zachary, when I met you in December, I asked you to compare Season 2 to a theme park ride. Tramell, you likened the episodes to Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Zachary, you said this season was going to be like riding the Kingda Ka in New Jersey. I want you to give me your three emoji reaction to this week’s season finale.
Cherry: The roller-coaster emoji. The smiley face emoji mile and smiling devil emoji.
Tillman: I’m going to say the sweating emoji, a surprise emoji and a running emoji.
Jessica, Episode 8, titled “Sweet Vitriol,” was shot in Bonavista, Nfld. It’s a beautiful part of Canada. What was it like to film there?
Gagne: It was amazing. I shot another film there a decade ago called Boundaries with director Chloe Robichaud. When (executive producer and director) Ben (Stiller) started talking about this storyline, I pitched it. I think it’s such a unique place with its own landscape and the Canadian crews are great.
Tramell and Zachary, you both work in professions where you have to deal with rejection. Tell me about a time where you wanted to quit your life as an actor and how you talked yourself out of giving up.
Cherry: It’s been something I’ve done my whole life. I’ve always been doing it, either professionally or not. So it was always going to be a part of what I was up to.
Tillman: I was working four jobs when I first got to New York. I was grinding the pavement, just trying to figure out how to do this as an actor. It’s hard and there is no specific route to get there, because everyone has their own journey. They don’t prepare you for that in grad school. They don’t teach you that … everything was just up to me. I was doing all these incredible gigs, and financially it just wasn’t sustainable. I was living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. So you start thinking about family and what you’re sacrificing to do this … thing. I felt like I was banging my head against a wall. And I do remember having conversations with close friends of mine and telling them I didn’t know if I wanted to continue. It was a lot of disappointments; a lot of letdowns. But my community supported me and told me to not give up. Give it one more try and I was so grateful I did. I think it’s so important to have people around you who believe in your dream and believe in you because this industry is tough and this world is cold. But to have a support system is really valuable in this work.
The Season 2 finale of Severance streams Friday on Apple TV+