Hey, Kids, What's For Dinner?
I'm so glad I watched Severance. It blends two of my absolute favourite themes in fiction, 'weird memory issues' and 'characters developing intense relationships while isolated together in strange circumstances'. It's perfect.
Plus it has multiple versions of the same character, which is always a bonus!
It's interesting to see the different ways characters think of their 'other selves'. Outie Mark says in the first episode that there's no 'other' him. He's the one who shows up and does the work; he just doesn't remember it.
The innies generally seem to think of their outies as more or less separate people, though, with varying levels of relevance to them. When you're aware of just how much you don't know, I imagine it's harder to think of the person outside as still being 'you'. Perhaps they have friends, perhaps they have a family, but you have no way of knowing, and all of those people would be strangers to you.
I suppose it's also harder to think of your outie as you when you're aware of how much power they have over you. From the outie's perspective, they go to work, they forget what they did at work, they go home. The actions of their innie don't really impact them, unless they experience physical harm at work or leave the office late. When you're an innie, though, someone else is choosing the clothes you wear; someone else has the power to refuse your resignation request, or could make the decision to resign themselves, effectively ending your existence; someone else drank too much last night, and now you have to drag yourself through the work day with their hangover.
All this helps to explain why the innies constantly throw around the words 'innie' and 'outie', whereas I don't think we ever hear outie Mark refer to his work self as his 'innie'. It's just him at work; why would he need a term for that? They're terms that the outside world seems to be aware of, but we only hear them in regular use inside Lumon.
Riona: The trouble with Severance is that it's really hard to make the different versions of the same character make out.
Rei: Yeah, that doesn't really seem possible.
Riona: I mean, I'll find a way. I'm just saying it's a challenge.
Despite my best efforts, though, I suspect I may have to admit defeat. I don't think I can get Mark to make out with himself. He hates himself too much, and not in a sexy way; Mark is self-loathing in a quiet, wet, pathetic way that doesn't have any sexual tension behind it.
Helly, however, absolutely hates herself in a sexy way. I'm not saying I'm going to write hideous noncon selfcest about the two versions of Helly, but I do think someone should.
Plus it has multiple versions of the same character, which is always a bonus!
It's interesting to see the different ways characters think of their 'other selves'. Outie Mark says in the first episode that there's no 'other' him. He's the one who shows up and does the work; he just doesn't remember it.
The innies generally seem to think of their outies as more or less separate people, though, with varying levels of relevance to them. When you're aware of just how much you don't know, I imagine it's harder to think of the person outside as still being 'you'. Perhaps they have friends, perhaps they have a family, but you have no way of knowing, and all of those people would be strangers to you.
I suppose it's also harder to think of your outie as you when you're aware of how much power they have over you. From the outie's perspective, they go to work, they forget what they did at work, they go home. The actions of their innie don't really impact them, unless they experience physical harm at work or leave the office late. When you're an innie, though, someone else is choosing the clothes you wear; someone else has the power to refuse your resignation request, or could make the decision to resign themselves, effectively ending your existence; someone else drank too much last night, and now you have to drag yourself through the work day with their hangover.
All this helps to explain why the innies constantly throw around the words 'innie' and 'outie', whereas I don't think we ever hear outie Mark refer to his work self as his 'innie'. It's just him at work; why would he need a term for that? They're terms that the outside world seems to be aware of, but we only hear them in regular use inside Lumon.
Riona: The trouble with Severance is that it's really hard to make the different versions of the same character make out.
Rei: Yeah, that doesn't really seem possible.
Riona: I mean, I'll find a way. I'm just saying it's a challenge.
Despite my best efforts, though, I suspect I may have to admit defeat. I don't think I can get Mark to make out with himself. He hates himself too much, and not in a sexy way; Mark is self-loathing in a quiet, wet, pathetic way that doesn't have any sexual tension behind it.
Helly, however, absolutely hates herself in a sexy way. I'm not saying I'm going to write hideous noncon selfcest about the two versions of Helly, but I do think someone should.