Gretchen is not the main character, nor part of the supporting cast. She doesn't have an arc. She barely gets screen time. But she broke my heart more than anyone else in Severance.
I hadn't fathomed Gretchen to this degree as her existence (as you pointed out) was a plot device - the audience clutching their pearls at oDylan while sidelining his counterpart's grief.
I'm so glad i convinced you to watch it! The central themes are about work and identity, especially in big companies, so i think it'll be right on your alley!
Just a warning, because i'd feel bad otherwise: season 1 is excellent in my opinion, but season 2 leaves a lot to be desired in terms of pacing, mystery, and overall in its themes and reflections.
I was a 9-1-1 (emergency) operator for a short time (among a multitude of random nightshifts) and the exhaustion is not just from the work, or trauma-- it's having your adrenaline spent every day... and so many in that field keep Gretchen's exact exterior at home.
My own relation to her aside, this was an astute look at an unsung character that goes straight to the heart of the quiet imbalance and sexist expectations in a relationship. This was an excellent read.
Ooooo… okay, I have to ask, what were your gripes? I’ve stayed away/ignored most online discussions on this show, but I’ve vaguely heard that some were not happy with it
Ok, so, my main gripes were with the pacing and the handling of the mystery. (spoilers for Severance seasons 1 and 2)
I LOVE that it's a high-concept scifi show, with lots of mysterious bits, lots of references to irl tech companies, interesting details that pertain to bigger theories, ... I'm 100% the audience that stays on reddit after hours to look for clues and try to piece it all together.
However, i very much despise mystery for the sake of mystery, and that's what season 2 has been. I would have liked them to close some of those loops they opened, to give some answers, and they just didn't. Worse, they added MORE mysteries, more threads. So it's very unsatisfying to follow.
It feels like a waste to have such attention to details, and to have writers who are openly proud of it, just to not address them or do anything.
The biggest offender was the watch thing: they told us in interviews to pay attention to the timing, and they gave us close ups of watches and clocks. So i did the math and saw that Mark spent an extra day on the severed floor. The writers added bits of plot around it: Mark is confused about garbage day, Mark doesn't realize the party is tonight, ... And yet, by the end of the season, there is no payoff, no revelation, no nothing!
The second problem is the pacing. I understand why they needed to have Mark reintegrate at the start of the season, so that they could move the plot forward and have the Gemma episode (which was fantastic btw!) but then they had to drag it out and it felt a bit boring.
The Cobel episode was 100% filler, and should have been put in with other stuff in one episode, not have an entire one for itself. Especially right after Gemma's, which was one of the best episodes of the season, and i wanted to go back to saving her right away, not have another background sob story.
And since we're not resolving the mysteries, we can't really move forward either in any of the plot threads, if you see what i mean.
Some characters were also badly handled. Reghabi for one, who is a badly written plot device (as opposed to Gretchen who was great!) and just pops off from nowhere when she's needed. Or Irving, who's story ended how? Wtf was that train thing? Like there was no update into his investigation, no reveal of who he was talking to on the phone, ...
And the final criticism i have, is that the writers have somewhat lost the grounding plot: this was a satire of big companies, and a reflection on work and identity. When you start adding so much "magic", you significantly move away from that.
They had some good moments with the Lumon propaganda thing, or some of Dylan's story, or even Attila and co. But they removed the dynamic of the quatuor at the office, they stopped showing oMark interact with outside people, ... and so they kinda stopped interrogating what it means to work, especially for such a big, sprawling company, with evil goals.
Sorry for the wall of text, and the slightly (slightly?) discontinued train of thoughts, but that's generally my problem with season 2. I will still watch season 3 of course, but i'm much less enthusiastic about it than i was after season 1.
I'd say all of your complaints are valid, though some of the issues you've listed don't bother me.
I'm a heretic, I greatly enjoyed the Cobel episode. It was a nice break from the massive MASSIVE episode that came before it, and was a great character study on Cobel and the company/cult that is Lumon. Seeing her hometown, a literal "company town" now in ruin as Lumon moved on gave us a better sense of Lumon's effect and place in the world and it humanized Cobel who until then was just a shadowy antagonist. The scars of poverty that large companies leave behind in the States are MASSIVE, and these scars are created, at great human cost, because a company's "line must go up", and there is no concern for the communities that relied on them. In its place, you usually find desperation, no safety nets, and addiction. I thought it was good satire that those left behind and forgotten were still addicted to Lumon's product. But again, I'm a heretic.
Ok, i love the Cobel episode, for exactly the same reasons, but i disagree that i was well placed in the flow of the season.
After such a big episode as Gemma's, i wanted to go back to present-day Mark, to see how his investigation is moving on, especially since he's been stuck since the beginning of the season.
I'd have loved this Cobel episode, but later on, maybe when we get to see her again. Two character study episodes, right after the other, to me it kinda cheapened the emotional connection? I mean that i was already a bit exhausted after Gemma's since it was so hard-hitting, so i didn't have much left inside to empathize with Cobel.
But i'm really glad you enjoyed the season. Selfilshly, if everyone thought like me it wouldn't get renewed ahah, and then i wouldn't get to see the rest of it -- and i do want to see it to the end, if only to complain on reddit lol
I hadn't fathomed Gretchen to this degree as her existence (as you pointed out) was a plot device - the audience clutching their pearls at oDylan while sidelining his counterpart's grief.
Astute analysis.
thank you troy! I'm glad i made you see her in a different light :))
Love this analysis of Gretchen, been there. Painful.
Thank you Melissa!
Now this has gone onto my watch list!!! Such insight, Rose. "She barely gets screen time. But she broke my heart ..." what an opening line.
I'm so glad i convinced you to watch it! The central themes are about work and identity, especially in big companies, so i think it'll be right on your alley!
Just a warning, because i'd feel bad otherwise: season 1 is excellent in my opinion, but season 2 leaves a lot to be desired in terms of pacing, mystery, and overall in its themes and reflections.
I actually watched Severance because of this post
hehe my ultimate goal has been accomplished!
I was a 9-1-1 (emergency) operator for a short time (among a multitude of random nightshifts) and the exhaustion is not just from the work, or trauma-- it's having your adrenaline spent every day... and so many in that field keep Gretchen's exact exterior at home.
My own relation to her aside, this was an astute look at an unsung character that goes straight to the heart of the quiet imbalance and sexist expectations in a relationship. This was an excellent read.
I'm glad to hear her portrayal of emergency operators was also relatable!
I have so many gripes with the writing of that season, but her character was just one of the best! I'm glad you enjoyed your read :))
I did! This was a thoughtful article!
Ooooo… okay, I have to ask, what were your gripes? I’ve stayed away/ignored most online discussions on this show, but I’ve vaguely heard that some were not happy with it
Ok, so, my main gripes were with the pacing and the handling of the mystery. (spoilers for Severance seasons 1 and 2)
I LOVE that it's a high-concept scifi show, with lots of mysterious bits, lots of references to irl tech companies, interesting details that pertain to bigger theories, ... I'm 100% the audience that stays on reddit after hours to look for clues and try to piece it all together.
However, i very much despise mystery for the sake of mystery, and that's what season 2 has been. I would have liked them to close some of those loops they opened, to give some answers, and they just didn't. Worse, they added MORE mysteries, more threads. So it's very unsatisfying to follow.
It feels like a waste to have such attention to details, and to have writers who are openly proud of it, just to not address them or do anything.
The biggest offender was the watch thing: they told us in interviews to pay attention to the timing, and they gave us close ups of watches and clocks. So i did the math and saw that Mark spent an extra day on the severed floor. The writers added bits of plot around it: Mark is confused about garbage day, Mark doesn't realize the party is tonight, ... And yet, by the end of the season, there is no payoff, no revelation, no nothing!
The second problem is the pacing. I understand why they needed to have Mark reintegrate at the start of the season, so that they could move the plot forward and have the Gemma episode (which was fantastic btw!) but then they had to drag it out and it felt a bit boring.
The Cobel episode was 100% filler, and should have been put in with other stuff in one episode, not have an entire one for itself. Especially right after Gemma's, which was one of the best episodes of the season, and i wanted to go back to saving her right away, not have another background sob story.
And since we're not resolving the mysteries, we can't really move forward either in any of the plot threads, if you see what i mean.
Some characters were also badly handled. Reghabi for one, who is a badly written plot device (as opposed to Gretchen who was great!) and just pops off from nowhere when she's needed. Or Irving, who's story ended how? Wtf was that train thing? Like there was no update into his investigation, no reveal of who he was talking to on the phone, ...
And the final criticism i have, is that the writers have somewhat lost the grounding plot: this was a satire of big companies, and a reflection on work and identity. When you start adding so much "magic", you significantly move away from that.
They had some good moments with the Lumon propaganda thing, or some of Dylan's story, or even Attila and co. But they removed the dynamic of the quatuor at the office, they stopped showing oMark interact with outside people, ... and so they kinda stopped interrogating what it means to work, especially for such a big, sprawling company, with evil goals.
Sorry for the wall of text, and the slightly (slightly?) discontinued train of thoughts, but that's generally my problem with season 2. I will still watch season 3 of course, but i'm much less enthusiastic about it than i was after season 1.
I'd say all of your complaints are valid, though some of the issues you've listed don't bother me.
I'm a heretic, I greatly enjoyed the Cobel episode. It was a nice break from the massive MASSIVE episode that came before it, and was a great character study on Cobel and the company/cult that is Lumon. Seeing her hometown, a literal "company town" now in ruin as Lumon moved on gave us a better sense of Lumon's effect and place in the world and it humanized Cobel who until then was just a shadowy antagonist. The scars of poverty that large companies leave behind in the States are MASSIVE, and these scars are created, at great human cost, because a company's "line must go up", and there is no concern for the communities that relied on them. In its place, you usually find desperation, no safety nets, and addiction. I thought it was good satire that those left behind and forgotten were still addicted to Lumon's product. But again, I'm a heretic.
Don't apologize for the wall of text, I love it.
Ok, i love the Cobel episode, for exactly the same reasons, but i disagree that i was well placed in the flow of the season.
After such a big episode as Gemma's, i wanted to go back to present-day Mark, to see how his investigation is moving on, especially since he's been stuck since the beginning of the season.
I'd have loved this Cobel episode, but later on, maybe when we get to see her again. Two character study episodes, right after the other, to me it kinda cheapened the emotional connection? I mean that i was already a bit exhausted after Gemma's since it was so hard-hitting, so i didn't have much left inside to empathize with Cobel.
But i'm really glad you enjoyed the season. Selfilshly, if everyone thought like me it wouldn't get renewed ahah, and then i wouldn't get to see the rest of it -- and i do want to see it to the end, if only to complain on reddit lol
I'm really looking forward to this (I'll read it tonight 😁)