In Season 2, Episode 7 of this Apple TV+ series’ best-in-show season, titled “Chikhai Bardo,” the show gives us one of its most devoted chapters, which re-examines what the characters are up against and how Lumon Industries works.
This episode, directed by Jessica Lee Gagné, examines the complicated between Mark and Gemma a lot of their shared history, and the unsettling activities at Lumon.
About Mark and Gemma’s Past
“Chikhai Bardo” begins with a series of flashbacks that detail how Mark and Gemma’s relationship developed. They meet during a blood drive at Ganz College, where Mark is a history professor and Gemma teaches Russian literature and is particularly taken with Leo Tolstoy. They connect right away and form a deep loving bond.
As their relationship goes on, Gemma falls pregnant, something the couple welcomes with open arms. But tragedy strikes in the form of a miscarriage, which deeply impacts both people.
They seek out the Butzemann Fertility Center in their attempts to conceive again, but they do not succeed. A combination of these stressors fractures their previously amicable relationship, leading to Gemma heading out to an event and having a car accident that was engineered by Lumon Industries itself. This event convinces Mark that his wife is dead.
Gemma’s Ordeal Within Lemon’s Industries
Gemma survives the faked accident and falls into involuntary work in Lumon’s underhanded experiments. Inside the strict confines of Lumon’s world.
She went through a series of psychological and corporeal tests in a series of rooms designed to divide her identity into separate selves. These rooms intriguingly named after cities like Wellington and Allentown become the backdrop for her harrowing experiences.
Dr. Mauer (Robby Benson), the scientist overseeing these experiments, develops a disturbing fixation on Gemma. This unprofessional, unethical behavior hot extra coal to throw into the flames of Gemma’s already horrible and traumatic situation.
Despite her best efforts to break free, like a bloodcurdling one involving an elevator to the shuttered floor, Gemma is still entangled within Lumon’s basilisk-like building. Interaction with people like Seth Milchick makes the corporate.
What Is “Chikhai Bardo”?
The episode title “Chikhai Bardo” is a Tibetan Buddhist term describing the intermediate state between death and rebirth. This concept parallels metaphorically with the experiences of both Mark and Gemma.
Gemma exists inside Lumon’s experimental structure in a sliver of stasis, inhabiting various predicated selves and forming herself without ever becoming anything.
Directorial Vision and Cinematic Execution
This episode is directed by Jessica Lee Gagné, who is primarily known as the series’ cinematographer and makes her directorial debut here. This gives the narrative distinctive visual and emotional depth that only she can offer.
Reflecting on past events and the trauma suffered through them is also symbolically evident from the bottom of the screen; the choice of shooting certain flashback segments on film brings a tactile difference between the present day and trauma-infused past.
Gagné’s direction deftly captures the subtle acting flourishes of the cast, most notably Dichen Lachman whose role as Gemma carried a deep, flawed sense of vulnerability and tenacity despite the character’s angst.
Exploring Lemon’s Sinister Agenda
“Chikhai Bardo” ratchets up the series’ investigation of Lumon Industries’ sinister practices. This is a corporate manipulation that goes beyond just the severance process into coercion, fragmentation of identity, and psychological control.
Glimmers of insight about Lumon permeate their linear lives as employees, and the euphoric possibility of multiple identities shrouds Gemma’s descent into a world of unsettling questions and real breaches in ethical rights on human senses, identity, and consciousness.
Getting Ahead Future Developments
The sprawling quilt of character connections and corporate conspiracies deepens throughout “Severance.” The mysteries presented in “Chikhai Bardo” establish a foundation for more in-depth explorations into the individual histories of the main characters and the broader aims of Lumon Industries.
What makes the series so compelling is questioning the depravity of what the company does and what it means for Mark and Gemma to be together or apart.
Release Schedule and Episode Count
Season 2 of “Severance” follows suit, releasing new episodes weekly on Apple TV+. Episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo,” was released on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at 9 PM. ET. There are 10 episodes in total this season.
Responsibilities of Principal Investigators
The episode is a testament to the creative team working together. Writing with Dan Erickson, Friedman shows a talented sense of pacing and a sophisticated grasp of how to bring together different stories that play out in the past and present.
Jessica Lee Gagné may be new to directing, but her way behind the camera, coupled with her cinematographic experience, gives this episode plenty of visual anthesis and emotionality.
Dr. Mauer, played by Robby Benson, is not only in a position of power as a leading surgeon but also a bit of a weird guy in terms of the authority that he wields over human lives, as evidenced throughout the series.
Conclusion
Chikhai Bardo is a pivotal episode in “Severance” Season 2, providing crucial insights about the characters’ backstories and Lumon Industries’s nefarious operations.
What here is brought out without boasting is the episode’s subtle commentary on identity and agency, making it both a richly extended play on the theme of the show (which knocks corporate overreach through the lens of human psyches) and a beautiful weaving of well-paced structure, direction, performances, and writing.
