Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Severance Season 2.
Severance is finally back with its long-awaited second season, and though we’re only one episode in, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences might as well start engraving John Turturro‘s name on the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series now. Irving B. had one of the most compelling – and heartbreaking – arcs in Severance Season 1, and the evolution of Turturro’s performance is on full display in the Season 2 premiere, in which Irving returns to Lumon a changed and traumatized man.
Initially introduced as a docile Lumon devotee in Season 1, Irving’s character served as a major catalyst for what’s now been dubbed the “Macrodat Uprising,” with Turturro delivering some of the most memorable and pivotal lines of the season. Now into Season 2, Turturro is already bringing a different, darker, and more frantic energy to his character compared to the version we saw in Season 1. In just a few scenes, he both reminds us how much room Irving’s character has yet to grow and how effective his performance is.
John Turturro Gives One of ‘Severance’s Most Dynamic Performances
In a series full of talented actors giving career-defining performances, the great John Turturro still manages to stand out as one of Severance’s best. Irving’s character evolution is instrumental to the events of Season 1, and Turturro’s rendition of a credulous rule follower slowly but surely losing faith in the system that has defined him turns Irving into a figure that’s both lovable and tragic. Though it was Helly’s (Britt Lower) rebellious spirit that really made the MDR team question what they’d been told, it was Irving’s romance with Burt (Christopher Walken), as well as Lumon’s subsequent attempt to squash it, that woke him up to the true reality of their exploitation.
This brings about one of the show’s most iconic moments in Episode 7, when Irving calls Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) a “smug motherfucker,” which is arguably the peak of Turturro’s time in Severance up until that moment, but the subtleties of his performance shouldn’t go overlooked either. In the Season 2 premiere, the depths of Irving’s disillusionment with the company are more apparent than ever, and there’s already a noticeable shift in Turturro’s performance as we gear up for a season that’s bound to be full of exciting twists and turns.
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“I think it makes absolute sense that John and I would be playing people who love each other.”
John Turturro Steals the Show in the ‘Severance’ Season 2 Premiere
When Mark (Adam Scott) finally reunites with Helly, Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving, we see just how devastated Irving is by what he saw on the outside — namely, the discovery that Burt’s outie has a partner. He gets off the elevator visibly shellshocked and can’t bring himself to tell the others what he saw, but the moment that really establishes what appears to be a permanent shift in Irving’s character takes place while they watch Lumon’s claymation video depicting the Macrodat Uprising. What little remaining fondness Irving feels towards Lumon emerges when he lets out a hearty laugh as the anthropomorphic Lumon building (voiced by Keanu Reeves) makes a silly joke. But seconds later, the video makes a whimsical mockery of Irving’s declaration of “let’s burn this place to the ground,” which is clearly a sobering and humiliating reality check. With no words, Turturro perfectly depicts Irving’s embarrassment, disappointment, and anger in one brief shot.
Turturro’s scene with Zach Cherry towards the end of the episode is a definite highlight of the Season 2 premiere, as Irving and Dylan are honest with each other in a way we haven’t seen before. Shaken by both his internal and external realities, Irving is determined to leave Lumon for good, but Dylan begs him to stay. Dylan and Irving’s friendship provided some of the best moments of comic relief in Season 1, but they also care for each other deeply, and Irving can’t help but smile when he realizes he’s Dylan’s favorite perk. It’s a sweet and poignant moment that shows the nuances of Turturro’s performance as well as his chemistry with Cherry.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions when it comes to Irving’s character, which will hopefully be explored more in depth throughout Season 2. In 2022, Turturro was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmys, along with Christopher Walken, eventually losing out to Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen. But based on one episode alone, Turturro should be a shoo-in this year.
New episodes of Severance Season 2 are available to stream every Friday on Apple TV+.
- Release Date
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February 18, 2022
- Cast
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Adam Scott
, Britt Lower
, Zach Cherry
, Tramell Tillman
, Jen Tullock
, Dichen Lachman
, Michael Chernus
, John Turturro
, Christopher Walken
, Patricia Arquette
, Sarah Bock
, Marc Geller
, Michael Cumpsty - Seasons
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2
