The primary episode of “Severance” season 2 had the unenviable activity of following the present’s spectacular season 1 finale, and as an alternative of immediately offering solutions, it immerses viewers again into a few of the key mysteries established in season 1. The entire episode takes place inside the Lumon workplace, with no glimpses on the exterior world or what the characters there could also be getting as much as. The one clues we get are via exposition given to Mark S. (Adam Scott) and the remainder of the gang, who’re informed that their short-term escape on the finish of season 1 made them well-known and has led to main reforms in working circumstances for severed staff.
The events of the season 1 finale are recapped in an animated company educational video, which is proven to the Macrodata Refinement (or MDR) staff after all of them return to the workplace. Anybody who’s seen “The Matrix” or “John Wick” seemingly perked up at first of this scene, because the narrator for the video — an anthropomorphized model of the Lumon constructing — is voiced by Keanu Reeves.
You would not know that by trying on the credit, as Reeves goes uncredited. However if you happen to’ve seen any of his films, it is unimaginable to not acknowledge that iconic voice, which just lately introduced Shadow the Hedgehog to life in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” And if you happen to nonetheless doubt that the constructing is voiced by Neo himself, sequence creator Dan Erickson could have given the sport away throughout a latest interview with /Movie.
Keanu Reeves’ Severance cameo comes with some large questions
Whereas talking just lately with /Movie about “Severance” season 2, sequence creator Dan Erickson was coy about Keanu Reeves’ uncredited look. When requested in regards to the cameo, Erickson replied slyly, “I actually do not know what you possibly can be speaking about. I am not really accustomed to that actor.” He went on to ask cheekily, “Is that the man from ‘The Lake Home?'”
The probability of Reeves popping again up in some bigger function appears extremely unlikely, but it surely provides to the present’s absurdity to have such a recognizable voice backing the weird coaching video proven to MDR. The video itself raises lots of questions, because it depicts the innies’ season 1 escape as each a violent revolt (known as the “Macrodat Rebellion”) and a massively influential act for which the corporate is grateful. The “reforms” instituted consequently are actually a type of marginal progress for innie rights, however they do not appear to essentially change issues all that a lot. In a method, the corporate appears to be utilizing the dangerous publicity of their escape to foster a brand new public picture of sort and courteous company overlords.
Keanu Reeves is not the one cameo within the unusual Lumon video
Whereas Keanu Reeves is the star of the claymation-style company coaching video in “Severance” season 2, episode 1, he is not the one notable title to voice a constructing with googly eyes in it. Comic Sarah Sherman, greatest identified today as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” additionally pops in ever so briefly as a water tower on the finish of the academic video. However in contrast to Reeves, Sherman is definitely credited for her one line.
Maybe due to how acclaimed and well-liked “Severance” season 1 was, it appears to have turn into a sizzling ticket for established names in Hollywood. Two of the short-term MDR replacements who seem in season 2 are performed by character actors Bob Balaban and Alia Shawkat, and casting information previous to the season 2 premiere confirmed that “Recreation of Thrones” alum Gwendoline Christie will likely be becoming a member of the present as properly.
With Reeves’ function being uncredited, it leaves open the potential of extra cameos hidden in plain sight in later episodes. That is only one extra thriller for eagle-eyed “Severance” followers to be careful for as season 2 continues.
