Review: Severance, "The After Hours" | Season 2, Episode 9
Momentum is hard to come by in a penultimate hour that withholds too much to create real tension
I know it’s hard to remember three years ago, and it’s very likely that many of you reading this watched Severance after its first season concluded. But the penultimate episode of season one was a diabolical cliffhanger, with Dylan flipping the switch for the Overtime Contingency and then leaving us in anticipation wondering what was about to happen with each of our characters (two of whom we had never seen outside of the severed floor). The idea of waiting a week for the resolution was excruciating, which was why I felt lucky to be able to at least watch the screener for the finale as soon as I finished writing my review of the penultimate installment.
On the one hand, “The After Hours” is similar in its design, since it delays the climax of the season: Drummond thinks this is the season finale, and the Eagans are lining up to celebrate the completion of Cold Harbor, but they don’t know that Mark is in a car on his way to the birthing center to meet Cobel instead of at…
