Warning: This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2, episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo.“Severanceis gradually approaching the end of its acclaimed second season, and the show only continues to get better week by week. The seventh episode, “Chikhai Bardo” finally gave audiences a glimpse into the beginning of Mark’s (Adam Scott) relationship with Gemma (Dichen Lachman), exploring how their romance developed and what led to her ultimately being taken prisoner by Lumon and held captive on the Testing Floor. Therevelations about Lumon’s experiments on Gemmaare some ofSeverance’s most disturbing twists, but the episode does an excellent job of making it engaging.
Since the episode’s release,“Chikhai Bardo” has also been widely praised as one ofSeverance’s best-looking outings so far.It blends gorgeous cinematography with some loaded direction and poignant visuals to give real thematic depth to Mark and Gemma’s relationship. The flashbacks are woven so neatly into the story that it never feels jarring or disorienting, which is something that’s always a risk with montage episodes such as this.The meaning ofSeverance’s flashbacksis also extremely loaded, and director Jessica Lee Gagné reflects these ideas in the visual style.
Severance Season 2 Episode 7 Has The Most Powerful Visuals Of The Entire Show
The Severance Episode Has Some Mind-Bending Transitions
There are many scenes in “Chikhai Bardo” that rank amongSeverance’s most visually stunning moments yet. The entire episode is an extended montage of Mark and Gemma’s relationship, jumping seamlessly between the past and present as both characters continue their search for each other despite Lumon’s attempts to keep them apart. Gagné employs some brilliant transitions to make these time jumps even more powerful, using very complex camera movements to mimic Mark’s disorientation as his memories drag him back in time.
Severance’s Horrifying Doctor Mauer Explained: Did You See How He Targeted Gemma?
Severance season 2, episode 7 introduces a disturbing new Lumon character, Doctor Mauer, who has dark ties to the central mystery of the show.
“Chikhai Bardo” also features many shots that have obvious double meanings, mirroring scenes from earlier in the series in a different context. Among the most powerful of these is when Mark and Gemma are both told they’ll never see each other again, and their reactions blend together to create the impression they’re saying goodbye to each other. There are more scenes like this in the episode;the visuals paint such a tactile portrait of Mark and Gemma’s lovethat it comes to life on the screen.
Severance Season 2 Episode 7 Was Surprisingly Jessica Lee Gagné’s Directorial Debut
The Director Previously Worked As Severance’s Cinematographer
Unbelievably, “Chikhai Bardo” is Jessica Lee Gagné’s debut as a director. She’s served asSeverance’s cinematographer for several episodes, but this was her first attempt at directing an episode herself — and it’s a staggering effort. While theending ofSeveranceseason 2, episode 6raised many questions about Mark’s health and Helena’s (Britt Lower) villainous plans,Gagné made the bold decision to set these queries aside and focus on a completely separate aspect of the story.It was a risky choice, but this self-contained episode ended up being one of the show’s best so far.
“Chikhai Bardo” is also one ofSeverance’s most important episodes yet, answering many crucial questions that audiences have been holding onto since season 1’s ending — so putting it in the hands of a comparatively inexperienced director could easily have backfired. However, Gagné has been responsible for much ofSeverance’s beautiful style since the beginning, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that her talents clearly extend to directing.
Why “Chikhai Bardo” Was The Perfect Severance Episode For Gagné To Direct
The Visuals Play A Crucial Role In This Episode’s Story
The excellence of “Chikhai Bardo” may leave audiences questioning why Gagné hasn’t been assigned a directing role before, but in truth, this is the perfect episode for her to make a name for herself. It is driven by its visuals, and the unique montage style is supported perfectly by Gagné’s existing work as a cinematographer. The story is told through the lens of Mark’s reintegrating memories, so it needs these masterful transitions and thematically rich shots for that illusion.Gagné has been doing this since the start ofSeverance,so it makes sense for her to helm this episode.
These fluid visuals are a brilliant storytelling device to duplicate that sense of nausea and disorientation in the audience.
Gagné’s cinematography has always been one of thebest reasons to watchSeverancein the first place, and the success of “Chikhai Bardo” will hopefully inspire the show’s production to give her more directing opportunities in the future. Especially because at this point in the story ofSeverance, as Mark’s memories are beginning to bleed together and his reintegrated personality is causing reality to collapse around him, these fluid visuals are a brilliant storytelling device to duplicate that sense of nausea and disorientation in the audience.
