Entertainment
4 Years Later, This Iconic Sci-Fi Doesn’t Have a Single Bad Episode
It’s hard to find a show that is made up entirely of perfect episodes. Even as a series is still running on TV or streaming, sometimes still in its second season, we are bound to be disappointed by an episode or two that doesn’t meet expectations. Some would say that there is no such thing as a perfect TV series, unless, of course, we’re talking about really short, initially low-profile gems such as Adolescence or Station Eleven — artsy projects that are allowed to explore their characters and worldbuilding far beyond what we normally see on television. However, all it takes is one look at Apple TV+’s catalog to find a show that, at least so far, has lived up to every expectation, delivering one amazing episode after another with no hiccups. This science fiction extraordinaire goes, of course, by the name of Severance, and it’s not unfair to claim that it has quickly become one of the most iconic series out there.
With just two seasons released between 2022 and 2025, one with nine episodes and the other with ten, Severance does have a serious advantage over other big shows of its genre. Doctor Who has been basically running since 1963, with its little bumps on the road, so it is bound to have its “Love and Monsters” or “The Interstellar Song Context.” Likewise, The X-Files would eventually deliver something as reviled as “Schizogeny” with nine seasons and a revival. It’s hard to build a perfect show when you have a lot of episodes to make, sometimes with stories that don’t necessarily add something to the overarching plot. Severance isn’t necessarily a better series than Doctor Who or The X-Files, but among the iconic sci-fi shows of our time, it is definitely the most consistent.
‘Severance’ Has Quickly Become Apple TV+’s Most Iconic Series
Is it fair to call Severance an iconic series? Ever since its first season dropped, our way of looking at our jobs has certainly changed because of it. Lines like “The work is mysterious and important” and “Praise Kier!” have become commonplace among fans of the genre, and the show’s visuals are striking and easy to recognize, as well as to apply to the small horrors of our everyday life. If that isn’t enough to convince you of the series’ status, numbers might do the trick: earlier this year, Severance surpassed Ted Lasso and became the most-watched series on Apple TV+, also claiming the fourth spot on Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart for the week of January 13, according to Deadline. That’s the beginning of Season 2 that we’re talking about. Over the course of the show’s second run, viewership numbers would naturally grow.
Severance also garners recognition in the form of critical acclaim and awards. With a whopping 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series created by Dan Erickson has also won ten Emmys so far. In 2025, protagonist Britt Lower, who plays the defiant Helly R. (or the super conformist Helena Eagan, depending on your perspective), and main antagonist Tramell Tillman, known in-universe as Mr. Milchick, the current face of Lumon when it comes to the Macrodata Refinement employees, have been lauded for their performances in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series categories, respectively.
When we take into consideration the fact that Apple TV+ has become the home of cerebral sci-fi ever since its launch in 2019, things get even more impressive. Amidst shows like Foundation, Silo, and For All Mankind, Severance shines the brightest. If Apple TV+ were a band, Severance would definitely be the frontman. Therefore, it is no stretch to claim that, if Severance isn’t yet an iconic science fiction series—or just an iconic TV series, period—it is certainly on the path to becoming a true staple of the genre. Unless, of course, something horrible happens in the upcoming seasons or, even worse, in the series finale.
‘Severance’s Episodes Are Cohesive and to the Point
And it is not hard to understand how Severance became such a tour de force. All it takes is a look at some of its most beloved episodes, like “The We We Are” or “Cold Harbor,” the finales of the first two seasons. Just pick any episode of Severance at random, and you will quickly realize why this is such a great show. You might be a little confused, but you will also be intrigued and, more than anything, disturbed by the unnerving pacing and the aseptic visuals. The cohesiveness of these episodes is mostly owed to the fact that they are almost all directed by the same person. Ben Stiller is the name behind 11 of the show’s 19 episodes, and he has more than proven himself as a director throughout his work on the show. However, the other four names working on the show have such a synergy with him that the show feels entirely cohesive, like the work of a unique mind.
Severance‘s episodes are all to the point. There is a story being told there, the story of a group of employees trying to escape the prison that is their all-encompassing job, as well as the story of a man trying to rescue his wife from the grasp of a psychopathic company. Severance never wastes any time in telling this story. All episodes add something to the overarching plot, even if initially one might get a little lost while trying to understand the significance of the baby goats. In the end, it all makes sense. This certainly helps to make the episodes all the more satisfying, for there is never the feeling that something has been forgotten or added just for shock value.
This One Small Line From ‘Severance’ Has Us Rethinking Everything About Gemma’s Fate
It’s possible that Lumon is even more sinister than it first seemed.
But it is perhaps important to point out that there is an episode of Severance that fans tend to get a little sour on. Said episode is Season 2’s “Sweet Vitriol,” the lowest-rated on IMDb. A trip to the hometown of big bad Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette), the episode is often seen as pointless and distracting from a much more important main storyline. This assessment is simply wrong. “Sweet Vitriol” is a deep exploration of how capitalist interests might get in the way of communities and even families, as well as being essential to setting Cobel on her path to turn against Lumon. Ultimately, “Sweet Vitriol” adds the same to Severance as, say, “Chikhai Bardo.” Every episode of Severance is just as mysterious and important as the next. As Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) would put it, they should all be enjoyed equally.
- Release Date
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February 17, 2022
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
- Writers
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Anna Ouyang Moench, Wei-Ning Yu
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