Severance 2.7: Gemma and the Dentist

One of the best things about this season of Severance -- I don't think the first season quite had this -- is that each episode is like a little movie in itself.  There is a progression, of course, from one episode to the next.   But each episode not only has its own story, related to the other episodes, but an ambience, a cinematography, all its own.

[Spoilers, of course, ahead ... ]

In the case of Severance 2.7, we finally get the back story of Mark and Gemma.  Not only is Mark really happy, but the cinematography is really happy, too.  And I was happy to see that, too.  The episode had plenty of unhappiness -- it wouldn't be Severance if it didn't.  But the splashes of normal love and joy were a tonic, especially welcome in the world we're all living in now, offscreen.

Not this episode made anything very much clear.  The episode, again, couldn't and wouldn't be part of this series, if it did.  That's why I put the the dentist in the title of this review (also because Gemma and dentist almost rhyme).  The dentist -- who likely a little later was also a doctor -- does something to make Gemma's mouth hurt.  This is presumably part of an overall probe of Gemma by Lumon to find out ... what?   We get nothing from the dentist.  Getting information out of him, out of Lumon, out of Severance the series itself is, well, like pulling teeth.  (I'm going to resist the temptation to apologize.  I like puns.  I'll therefore also give in to the urge to point out that sometimes things get so quiet on Severance, you can hear a pun drop.)

Anyway, back to the story:  I see a big conflict looming.  Both Helly and her outie Helena really want Mark.   His outie still deeply loves Gemma, though.  And if and when his innie and outie are integrated enough, Mark's innie, who's very attracted to Helly, will have to choose between her and Gemma/Ms. Casey.  For that matter, Mark's outie isn't exactly averse to Helly/Helena, either.

So we'll likely have some good refracted triangles ahead in Severance.  And I'll be back with my review of the next episode next week.

See also Severance 2.1: Ultimate Fake News? ... Severance 2.2: Multiple Dylans ... Severance 2.3: Innies<->Outies ... Severance 1.4: Innies Out in the Snow ... 2.5: Watermelon Man ... 2.6: Tables

And see also Severance 1.1-1.2:  Erving Goffman Meets The Prisoner ... Severance 1.3: The History and the Neighbor ... Severance 1.4: Deadly Ambiguity ... Severance 1.5: Second Lives ... Severance 1.6: Lumon on the Outside ... Severance 1.7: Overtime Contingency ... Severance 1.8: Fired, Kissed, Almost Fired ... Severance: Season One Finale: Stunning Revelations Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music