From a Marxist perspective, what could be more frightening than not even knowing what you do for work, or what injustices are perpetrated on you there? What more villainous than an owning class who can’t be held accountable because they’re never seen or spoken to directly? What more ominous than an organization that refuses you all knowledge of the means and ends of production? Lumon is not just a Marxist nightmare, but a perfect one, one that refuses to be interpreted any other way.
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spoilers for severance
I was shouting at the screen, the way that they contorted characters to the exigencies of the plot. Like Mark’s sister forgetting that Corbel kidnapped her child and suggested she was the only person who could help. And Corbel’s face turn as the unlikely ally. All ham fisted. s2 suffered from the lack of levity from characters like Ricken and the rounding of the world and narrative through scenes of Mark S’s interactions with the world outside of Lumon and how the town and society as a whole regard the company/concept of severance. It just veered away from any larger themes in service of a pretty predictable main A plot. Really disappointing. Still, better than most slop.
spoiler
Yeah, I agree that Mark’s sister going to Cobel wasn’t well justified by the story, but I feel that Cobel’s turnabout was a little more justified yet not completely. I think they emphasized how wrongly Cobel was treated by Lumon in many ways, which would cause most people purely motivated by corporate loyalty to sour on the company. The problem is that we’re dealing with religious fanaticism in addition to corporate loyalty, so I think it would probably take even more than she went through to get someone to turn against their religion. But who knows, I give them the benefit of the doubt on that one for now. I agree with people who say that season 2 hasn’t been as fresh and satisfying as season 1, but I’m still liking the show.