Laci R. and Matt S. provide a spoiler-filled recap and analysis of season 2, episode 7 of Apple TV+'s Severance: "Chikhai Bardo."

So, we finally get some answers. Kind of. Unfortunately, it comes in the form of that most dreaded trope that every prestige TV series engages in around the seventh episode of a season: the flashback episode! At the same time, the show has never been more adversarial toward its viewers in terms of withholding information that would make the whole thing make a lot more emotional sense.

Luckily, this is still a very interesting episode that lets Dichen Lachman take the lead as Gemma. And what a challenge she has before her, because this is our first real exposure to Gemma as a character, and Lachman has to let us know who she is and what she really wants, while also playing a dozen or so innie variations, in the show's most horrifying reveal yet. But she handles it extremely well, and gives us a much-needed look at Gemma that lets us see her as more than the Dead Wife of the Main Character™.

Next week: Laci R.'s outie is taking an elongated cruise voyage, so Management is sending in a replacement co-host from the Utica office to help Matt S. navigate episode 8, "Sweet Vitriol."

"Chikhai Bardo" was directed by Jessica Lee Gagné and written by Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman.

Severance stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, and Patricia Arquette.

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Music credit: "Winston-Salem" by Rural Route Nine. Listen on Spotify (https://bit.ly/40SvexA), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/4hvL48d), or YouTube (https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM). 

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