The Severance Season 2 Finale Introduces The Strangest Lumon Department Yet

Praise Kier! This article contains major spoilers for the season 2 finale of "Severance."

No matter what you might have had on your "Severance" Bingo card for the final episode of a phenomenal second season, we're going to go out on a limb and say nobody predicted that. The cross-cutting conversation between Mark Scout's (Adam Scott) innie and outie, his innie's highly-anticipated completion of the Cold Harbor file, and their combined attempt to free Gemma (Dichen Lachman) before his innie ultimately chose to stay behind with Helly R. (Britt Lower) are undoubtedly among the biggest reveals and most significant developments in this series to date, of course. But don't let all the ceaseless demands for our entertainment to do nothing but "advance the plot" distract from one of the funniest and most bizarre additions to Lumon Industries yet: the musical department known as Choreography and Merriment.

It's impossible to say whether "Severance" creator Dan Erickson purposefully set out to outdo the famed Music Dance Experience (MDE, for short) from the first season, but that's exactly what he and his creative team pulled off in the season 2 finale. Following Mark S.'s unparalleled achievement (touted as the most important event in the history of the world, naturally), things start to get downright weird — even by Lumon standards. A creepy animatronic of company founder Kier Eagan begins celebrating Macrodata Refinement for their accomplishment, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) engages his "boss" in a cringey (and occasionally terse) comedy routine, and all of it leads to the arrival of an actual marching band strutting through the hallways and performing a bravado musical number right there in the middle of the office.

The chaos of Choreography and Merriment becomes the perfect diversion Helly R. and Mark S. need to start their mission to save Gemma, but the stunt serves an even more crucial narrative purpose. The writers could've come up with anything to facilitate this turn of events, but they intentionally opted for something as hilarious and over the top as this. Even amid its darkest storyline of the season, "Severance" reminds us that this show can be as fun and funny as anything on TV right now ... and, most importantly, that Tramell Tillman deserves all the flowers.

Who has two thumbs, an immaculate mustache, and has been consistently knocking every one of his scenes out of the park this season? Tramell Tillman's Seth Milchick wasn't exactly a minor character back in season 1, but it's safe to say that season 2 of "Severance" has improved upon the previous episodes by giving the severed floor manager a much bigger spotlight. We've seen many more insightful glimpses into his daily routine at Lumon, not all of which come together to paint a rosy picture. He's had to deal with some ridiculously tone-deaf paintings involving blackface, a humiliating performance review, and even lashed out at his own superiors with one perfectly-executed insult. Through it all, he's tried to run a tight ship with Macrodata Refinement while overcoming all the nonsense that Lumon has thrown in his way ... but all of that pales compared to his moment to shine in the finale.

Who else but Mr. Milchick would go above and beyond to help deliver a piece of performance art as intricate as the one he does here? I thought I'd seen some impressive acting throughout the season already, highlighted most emphatically by Dichen Lachman's unexpected starring turn in episode 7 as Gemma. But watching Tillman stomp and gyrate his way through his baton-twirling sequence — something that might make Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock) and her aborted theremin performance turn green with envy — is unlike anything else this series has had to offer. His utter commitment to the bit and his total lack of inhibitions, all while never coming close to breaking character, only made the entire act even funnier than it already was. That's the true sign of a season-long MVP, folks.

Major props to the entire Choreography and Merriment department, in all honesty. I have no idea when those severed employees or Mr. Milchick could've ever had the time to properly plan all this out with everything else going down in Lumon, right down to the instrumental refrain of the "Kier, Chosen One, Kier" anthem. And you know what? We couldn't care less, because maybe some things simply aren't meant to be explained.

It's a shocking thing to say about a mystery-box show like "Severance," where almost every episode seems to pose more questions than answers and the plot practically invites the viewing audience to come up with as many fan-theories as possible. But as enjoyable as it can be to go full tin-foil conspiracy theorist, the finale might as well have included a flashing neon sign — one that's as vivid and unmissable as the lightshow we're treated to in the middle of Macrodata Refinement. For those discerning viewers among us, it's telling us not to focus too deeply on the details at the expense of missing the bigger picture. Is it tempting to fall down a rabbit's hole to figure out where Choreography and Merriment has been hiding all along, what their day-to-day activities have been like in Lumon, what their outies' stories are out in the real world, and how long they've been practicing this whole schtick with Mr. Milchick in preparation for this day? Absolutely. Is it more enjoyable to just ... go along with the absurdity? You bet.

There's something admirable about a sequence that's little more than a burst of dumb fun amid an otherwise dark storyline. "Severance" has cultivated one heck of a unique identity by this stage of the series, sucking viewers into its creepy world-building details by maintaining a deceptively light touch — think of poor Irving B. (John Turturro) and his bizarre watermelon head during his "funeral" a few weeks back. How many other shows could sustain both tonal extremes? On one hand, we're rightfully preoccupied by Mark S. saving Gemma/Ms. Casey from a horrifying fate. On the other, let's almost literally kick down a door at the bleakest moment, pump up "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project, and have a marching band stroll through with zero explanation whatsoever.

Season 3 of "Severance" can't arrive fast enough.