Re: Severance - Gigem
I'm going to try to keep this as concise as possible, and Mike already did a good job of addressing most of your posts. But first, I'll pile on and say half-heartedly watching the episodes cannot lead to a full understanding and appreciation of the show. There are multiple instances where a line or two of dialogue provides a great deal of context going back (or forward) several episodes, even across seasons. The use of color (blue, red, and purple) creates a theme throughout the show. The use of sound, or in one specific instance, the lack of sound provided a significant clue to what is happening.
OK, moving on to larger themes.
First, why was the chip created? I agree with Mike that it hasn't been completely explained, and fan theory has morphed as the episodes were released. After first learning Gemma was alive, I think it was assumed Lumon is trying to reanimate Kier's consciousness and Gemma is a guinea pig for that. That may still be the case, but by the end of S2, it seems Lumon is trying to create a mass market procedure that will allow the public (or maybe just the elites who can afford it) the luxury of outsourcing their pain.
But what was the initial intent? Was it to merely isolate and block pain from a person's consciousness and the creating of a new consciousness in the person was an unintended consequence? Or was the new consciousness part of the product design? I personally think it was unintended, and the elders saw this as an opportunity to resurrect Kier, while severance floor managers and testing floor are dealing with the realities of the situation.
S1:
a) Introducing a new, weird world. More and more questions are introduced with very few answers. I understand why some viewers have difficulty getting invested.
b) We see the innies move from childhood to early adolescence.
S2:
a) We start to get some explanations for the questions introduced in S1, but also open new weird doors into what Lumon's world is. I think the writers get a little too broad with this and should have focused on fewer themes. I'm sure even more will be explained in S3, but I understand where this could lose some folks.
b)We see the innies move into full-on teenage mode. Indignant, rebellious, arrogant.
Remaining questions / plot holes:
a) If iMark is working on Gemma, and that's the only project that is essential, who/what are the other innies working on? And why is Mark's department so successful at MDRing while other MDR departments around the world are so bad at it?
b) We got backstories on all the innies and Cobel, but Irving's motivation for severance was not completely explained. His outie was clearly trying to infiltrate Lumon, but why? It is unclear whether Irving has been written out of the show, or if will get some flashbacks. I have been wondering how long John Turturro could commit to this project...
c) Plot hole: If iMark shows up at the birthing cabin, that would mean he should show up in all severance places. Yet, oMark rescues iGemma from Cold Harbor. That shouldn't have happened, and it was the only major gaff I've noticed.