Note: While this post marks the arrival of Season 2 of The Relationship, there are no spoilers or details about Season 2 here. However, there are spoilers for The Breakup Season 1.

A few weeks ago, the folks at Apple TV+ sent me screeners for the the highly anticipated second season of their hit show Severance. This was exciting: I was a big fan of the first season, especially the amazing ending of that season. I fired up the Season 2 premiere ... and by the time it was over, I had one main thought: “Me I have no idea what the hell is going on here." While I'm not here to talk about what happens in season 2, I can tell you that the premiere episode isn't too confusing. However, it's been over two years since the first season ended, and with the world being what it is today, two years can feel like a lifetime. It's almost as if most of my memories of the first season have been cut from my mind. I decided to go back and re-watch season 1 before moving on to season 2. This turned out to be a wise decision, as it jogged my memory a lot. But something curious happened: the way I viewed the show as a whole changed.

I don't know about you, but I remember the first season of The Breakup as, well, funny. While the show isn't considered a flat comedy, the humor felt like a big part of the first season, at least in my faded memories. And yet, as I watched the first season, it became clear that my memories were wrong. Sure, there's comedy in the show, but as I watched the first season, one main thought kept running through my mind: "This is dark."

When the first season of "Demolition" dropped in February 2022, I, like most people, knew next to nothing about the show. I knew the cast, and some images revealed a distinct visual style. Out of curiosity more than interest, I decided to show up for the show. I was almost immediately hooked by its unique premise: a medical procedure has been invented that allows a real work/life balance. People who work certain jobs have their minds "switched off": when they head into the office each day, a whole new persona/mentality takes over to experience the workday. When they drift away, their normal/regular way of thinking returns.

As a result, people are essentially divided into two parts: their work personalities, known as "Innies" and their everyday personalities, known as "Outies". Anyone who has ever worked a boring, miserable office job can be woken up by the thought of never he really has to experience the drudgery of the 9-5. But there's a moral dilemma built into the concept: Innies are essentially forever trapped at work. They never experience the outside world. They never spend time with friends or loved ones. They can never see the sky. The workday may technically be over, but the Innies never get to go home. And when and if their fellow Outies quit or retire, the Innie personality essentially dies, ceases to exist.

There is much more to the show than this scenario. Severance, like Lost, is a mystery box saga, and the company the characters work for, Lumon Industries, is mysterious and cultish, with its own wild, sprawling and confusing mythology that slowly unfolds as a show. moves from one episode to another. Clearly Lumon is up to no good, but we don't really know what the company even does, or what their bigger plans are. We simply know that they are exploiting the severance procedure in highly unethical ways, torturing their employees and treating them like slave labor. Why? Because they can. Related articles have no knowledge of what goes on at work, and the company often lies to them instead of giving the truth.

There is an obvious darkness embedded in this premise, and season 1 is loaded with extremely dark moments. We learn that the main character, Mark, played by Adam Scott, was put on severance because he was so devastated by the death of his wife. Cutting off his memories for 8 hours a day was a way to avoid grief. Mark, in Outie form, is even introduced to us sobbing in his car before starting work for the day. In addition to Mark's depressing story (which becomes even more disturbing when we learn that Mark's wife, played by Dichen Lachmanis apparently still alive and apparently being held in prison by Lumon), there's the story of new employee Haley R., played by Britt Lauer. As the newest member of the Lumon team, Hayley is our introduction to the world of the show, and her Innie persona is no happy that she was forced to work until the end of her existence. After trying to quit several times, Healy resorts to threats of self-harm and suicide attempts.

As I put all this in writing, you might be wondering how I could be so dense that I missed the darkness the first time I watched the show only to notice it after watching it again. It's not that I didn't notice the show was dark (I didn't that stupid, I swear!). However, I think re-watching Severance changes the way you approach the series. The first time I watched season 1, I was so caught up in all the elements of the mystery box and the surprising reveal that I kind of floated through the season with a goofy grin on my face. And indeed, the first season is filled with plenty of comedic moments—Mark Ricken's goofy son-in-law (Michael Chernus) is a frequent source of comic relief, and the show's MVP Trammell Tillman's Mr. Milchick garners plenty of laughs. But while watching the first season, I had no idea what the show was going to do next. However, after watching it again, I had a better idea of ​​what was coming. Because of this, I think I was able to focus on the darkness more than I had the first time around. It stood out more, and it hit me hard.

I don't want to give the impression that "Dissolution" is a joyless, lazy, miserable fest. The show is massively entertaining and I can't wait to see where it goes. But it's also interesting that a series that is so often hopeless has gotten so much attention. We're all seemingly hooked on this dark, depressing series and can't help but enjoy the ride. This is a entertainment show to watch, but I can't help but wonder how much darker things will get before it ends.