If Severance is a slow drip of corporate horror and existential despair, Attila turns the tap ever so slightly, flooding its characters with revelations that threaten to consume them entirely. It’s an episode that leans hard into disorientation, both for Mark (Adam Scott) and for the audience, as the lines between identity, memory, and control blur into something truly terrifying.
Mark’s reintegration journey is now accelerating beyond his control. Haunted by visions of Gemma (Dichen Lachman) that don’t quite fit his expectations, he begins to crack under the weight of his two lives. His grief, confusion, and desperation collide in an unnerving performance from Scott, who expertly portrays a man untethered from his own reality. His eventual decision to surgically expedite the process, despite Reghabi’s (Karen Aldridge) warnings, is both inevitable and catastrophic. The final moments—where a disoriented Mark collapses just after the procedure—hit with gut-punch intensity.
Meanwhile, the severed floor has its own chaos to contend with. With Milchick (Tramell Tillman) stepping away to address his failures, Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock) is revealed to be part of a Lumon fellowship, suggesting she has a deeper, more ideological commitment to the company’s mission. Her presence immediately shifts the power dynamic, adding an unsettling rigidity to an already fragile ecosystem. Helly (Britt Lower) and Mark’s decision to act on their unresolved tension, despite the lingering implications of Mark’s past encounter with Helena, only adds to the spiraling sense of loss and control. The moment is not romantic—it is transactional, an act of desperation from two people struggling to reclaim something that was stolen from them.
Dylan (Zach Cherry) continues to be a standout this season, and his storyline in Attila is both tragic and oddly tender. His growing bond with Gretchen (Merritt Wever) is quietly devastating, particularly as she chooses to lie to his outie in order to preserve their connection. It’s a small, human rebellion in a world that erases autonomy at every turn, but like all things in Lumon, it is unlikely to end well.
The most haunting subplot belongs to Irving (John Turturro), whose outie meets Burt (Christopher Walken) and his husband Fields (John Noble) for dinner. The revelation that Burt has been with Lumon for 20 years—despite severance supposedly only existing for 12—adds another layer of eerie contradiction to the show’s mythology. Burt’s belief that severance might be a pathway to heaven is especially chilling, reinforcing the idea that Lumon’s influence extends far beyond the workplace. As Fields pointedly asks whether Burt and Irving’s innies had unprotected sex, the scene teeters on absurdity before landing as something deeply sad: a reminder that the lives of the innies are treated as separate, lesser, and unworthy of the same considerations as their outies. The notion that their love, no matter how real it felt, may have been orchestrated by forces beyond their control is quietly devastating.
Milchick’s subplot, though brief, is revealing. Struggling with the fallout of his performance review, he is reduced to practicing his speech patterns and perfecting the placement of paperclips in a supply closet. It’s a brilliant piece of character work that exposes the immense pressure he is under—he is not just a company man, but a man being watched by Lumon itself. His intensity in the mirror suggests a breaking point is approaching, and it’s only a matter of time before Milchick finds himself on the wrong side of the company he so loyally serves.
By the time the credits roll, Attila has delivered some of Severance’s most emotionally charged and unsettling moments yet. Mark’s reintegration is no longer a slow process—it’s a runaway train. The threads of deception and control are tightening around every character, and as the past and present collide, Lumon’s grip has never felt more absolute.
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