Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Severance Season 2.
Apple TV+’s hit sci-fi dramaSeveranceis renowned for its numerousreality-bending qualities, and one of the most trademarked aspects of the show has beenits surreal opening credits sequence. Though they retain their originaluncanny animation style, the show’s opening credits have received an upgrade to match the material of the show’s second season — and, if you may believe it, they’reeven more dream-like than the first version.SeveranceSeason 1’s title sequence gave us quite a bit to process, but now that we have a better idea of the players, the rules, and the stakes, Season 2’s credits mean a bit more to us than before. Here’s what’s going on in that funky new title sequence, and (possibly) what it all means.
‘Severance’s New Opening Credits Expand on Mark’s Relationships
Season 2’s credits revampSeason 1’s little versions of Markrunning around the landscape of his own brain, as Pajama Mark is no longer thesingle speck of redthat he was in Season 1.The updated opening credits expand onMark’s different selvesand explore his changing perception of his innie counterpart.While the original sequence constantly saw Pajama Mark losing himself in hoards of aimless innie Marks, Season 2’s credits see a larger number of Mark iterations, and they all appear to stay close and work together to get each other out of this place (wherever that may be). The new opening credits definitely depicta stronger collaboration between Mark’s innie and outie this season. The miniature Marks are also joined by a handful of fleeting guests, including a miniatureHelly R. (Britt Lower), a miniatureGemma/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), a giant facelessHarmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), and a lone baby version of Kier Eagan (Marc Geller).
Throughout the new title sequence, the characters ofHelly and Gemma consistently seem to mesh together, and it makes perfect sense that this would be the case for poor, messed-up Mark S. Over the course of Season 1, innie Mark and Helly developed a close friendship as he took on the position of her mentor. Before they busted out of the workplacethanks to the Overtime Contingency Protocol, Helly sealed off something of a romantic relationship with a kiss to Mark. But in discovering that his outie’s “late” wife,Gemma, is the same personas the severed floor’s wellness counselor, Ms. Casey, the role of romantic interest is now split between the two women for Mark. The visual blurring between Helly and Gemma in Season 2’s opening credits suggests thatMark may end up having to choose between saving or pursuing one versus the other.
Where Severance Season 1’s title sequence closes out with innie and outie/Pajama Mark“fritzing” together, Season 2’s credits fritz out on one version of Mark prying open the back of Pajama Mark’s head from the inside. This distinction implies thatMark is done settling fora severed lifethis season, and that he’s willing to make bolder moves and take bigger risks to save himself as well as his innie friends.
Our Biggest Unanswered Questions Ahead of ‘Severance’ Season 2
“Unknown, unknown, Delaware, unknown, unknown.”
Mark Isn’t the Only Thing Multiplying in ‘Severance’s New Title Sequence
Per usual, Mark spends the entire opening sequence ofSeveranceSeason 2 bumping into other versions of himself. But in filling out this theme of multiplication,there are also instances of both characters and objects other than Mark repopulatingand crowding the surrounding space. Toward the beginning of the opening credits, reflections of Helly and Gemma appear below Pajama Mark, splitting off in opposite directions. Also, now a prominent symbol in the series, judging fromthis season’s teaser and premiere episode, balloons in the form of Mark’s head spontaneously inflate and float about the opening credits.
Another recurring icon is the Lumon elevator, which is always specifically lit green and set to head up to the severed floor. That is, except for two instances toward the end of the title sequence. In one case, a suited Mark lifts the elevator (now marked by a red “down” arrow) like a curtain to let Pajama Mark pass through, before a different Mark carries him under and through to the other side. The second time, Helly and Gemma become blurred with each other just before being shut inside the elevator, the very same one thatIrving B.’s outie has been incessantly painting. However, the most peculiar of all theSeveranceSeason 2 credit motifs isthe abundant presence of babies.
‘Severance’ Season 2’s Opening Credits Point Toward a Deeper Explanation of Kier Eagan’s Plans
Pajama Mark wakes up in his bed surrounded by faceless babies in suits and is later creepily met by another baby with the head ofLumon’s founding father, Kier Eagan. To that effect, theunexplained goat imageryhas not gone away, as Pajama Mark is also faced with a painting of his innie morphing into a goat.The shared “kid”/“child” imagerybetween baby humans, baby goats, and eventhe severed floor’s new baby-faced deputy manager, Miss Huang,remains the most mysterious and unsettling aspect of the series.
In the latest post-credits feature with the cast and crew ofSeverance, showrunnerDan Ericksonmentions the continued uncertainty as to Kier’s initial mission: “What was it that Kier Eagan told his children so many years ago, ‘This is what we have to do. This is our purpose in life,’ and that his progeny have been working ever since then to make it happen? Like, we still don’t knowthe seed of that mystery.” At least as far as those opening credits babies are concerned, we can safely make the assumption thatSeason 2 will begin touching on the roots of Kier’s mission, as well ashis relationship to his childrenand their loyalty to Lumon.
A few components from the originalSeverancetitle sequence have carried over into this second iteration, like the subtle device of splitting the frame into segments, Pajama Mark’s plummet from his coffee mug (now overflowing with small white brass instruments, by the way) into his innie’s massive halved head, and the deliberate presence of snow. But it’s no secret thatSeverance’s new opening credits aresignificantly more involved, and it’s up to us to start paying closer attention this season. It seems that things might need to get a little more tangled before they can begin to unravel.
New episodes ofSeveranceSeason 2 premiere on Fridays on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
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