The Apple TV Plus series Severance just aired its explosive second season finale, and it blew my mind — no pun intended. This season was filled with answers to some riddles, and more questions about what the cult-like company Lumon is doing. We were treated to gorgeous shots of wintry landscapes reminiscent of Ragnarok, a bleak and artificial goat farm and an animatronic wax sculpture that can’t take a joke.
Beneath the fantastical visuals and dry humor, at its core, Severance is about identity. It asks whether we are better or worse for removing certain parts of our own consciousness, and it explores that idea through a brain-splitting procedure and chip.
And while a consciousness-dividing chip sounds like the type of science fiction that borders on fantasy, the science in the show is rooted in reality.
I spoke with Dr. Vijay Agarwal, the medical consultant for the show, and the chief of the skull base and minimally invasive neurosurgery division at Montefiore Medical Center. He said the showrunners wanted to make the series as true to science as possible.
“I came in and met the team and I met Ben [Stiller] and they told me what their vision was,” he said. “They really wanted to make sure that it was very, very accurate.”
That accuracy extends from how a seizure is portrayed on screen to the terrifying truth that the brain chip responsible for the absurdity and horror of the series might become a reality within our lifetime. And it raises ethical and moral questions about whether or not we should pursue this technology.
