Apple TV+Severance is filled with great performances, but one actor is quietly doing incredible work in Season 2 that’s as good as anything on television right now.
Season 2 of Severance is “generational TV,” and everything from writing and directing to costume and production design is unique.
The acting is also pretty special, with multiple members of the cast essentially playing two characters in the shape of their Innies and Outies.
Adam Scott is delivering the leading man performance he’s been threatening for years, Severance has introduced Britt Lower as a talent to be reckoned with, and John Turturro and Christopher Walken continue to amaze as the show’s Romeo and Juliet. But one understated actor just overshadowed them with a powerhouse performance.
Zach Cherry deserves all the awards for Severance
Apple TV+I’m not a fan of awards for artistic endeavour, as I don’t think art should be turned into sport. But if they have to hand out Emmys and Golden Globes and BAFTAs, give them all to Zach Cherry for his work as Dylan in Severance.
Cherry is a funny guy primarily known for comedic turns in sitcoms like Crashing and I Feel Bad. You might also remember him as “Street Vendor” in Spider-Man: Homecoming, where he got a big laugh.
So it makes sense that he’d provide the comic relief in the early Severance episodes, through Dylan squabbling with Irving, his obsession with Lumon’s bizarre little rewards, and his creative profanity through phrases like “he’s a f*ck,” and “revenant as sh*t.”
But as the series progressed, Dylan’s life has become more complicated, and Cherry has risen to the challenge, bringing nuance and depth to a character whose world is expanding, meaning he’s suddenly experiencing turmoil and pain.
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It starts when Dylan discovers his Outie has kids at the end of Season 1, a fact that opens up a plethora of possibilities to Innie Dylan, and gets him thinking about everything he doesn’t have while chained to his desk.
Dylan’s dark storyline
Apple TV+He starts Season 2 angry and rebellious, something Mr. Milchick nips in the bud by giving Dylan what he think he wants, which is access to wife Gretchen. And so begins one of Severance’s darkest storylines.
A bizarre love triangle now forms, with Gretchen cheating on Outie Dylan with Innie Dylan, who has all the joy and optimism that her husband has lost. Cherry plays both the angry and jealous Outie incarnation of the man, as well as his desperate and frustrated Innie.
This story strain builds to a crescendo in Episode 9 of Season 2. Gretchen can’t handle the guilt and decides to stop visiting Lumon so she can effectively break the affair off, which is when Cherry takes it up a gear.
“Was he glad for us?” the confused Dylan asks about his Outie, and when told “no,” he adds, “Well he should be because I’m making you happy, and he’s not.”
Dylan then pleads: “My life started when you came here. I have nothing else. I have this, and f*cking pencil erasers.” It only gets sadder, with Dylan getting down on one knee, pulling out a ring he’s crafted from card, and telling Gretchen he loves her, even though he’s just an Innie.
Dylan’s last throw of the dice is to say “I made this for you, I can give you a life, please.” But Gretchen turns him down and leaves in tears, with Dylan screaming after her while still on the floor.
It’s a heartbreaking moment, one that puts the suffering of Innies into an entirely new context, and the scene works because of the brilliance of Cherry and his co-star Merritt Wever.
Praise for Zach Cherry
Apple TV+When asked about this dramatic turn, Cherry says: “We see a lot more sides of Dylan, and it was a lot of things that I haven’t been asked to do onscreen before, so it was an interesting and exciting arc for this season.”
Director Ben Stiller tries to distil that arc in the Severance podcast, saying: “Outie Dylan can’t take that, because he’s feeling like ‘Great, my wife kissed another guy. That makes me feel great. Maybe I’ll go quit.’ Then, the flip-side, to see Zach have to play the guy who is just so in love with her. ‘Why wasn’t he happy for us?’
“Then he has this little ring that he’s made in MDR. Just hats off to Zach and Merritt who played that scene… those aren’t easy to do, to have to do a proposal out of nowhere, but it’s that desperation. That yearning of wanting. The trajectory of where Dylan started out in Season 1 to this guy who has been exposed to the feeling of love and realizing that everything else just pales into comparison.”
Adam Scott responds by saying, “Zach is unbelievable in this,” and I wholeheartedly agree, as it’s a performance that’s becoming more magical with each progressive episode. So, give him all the Emmys and BAFTAs and Golden Globes if you have to, as Zach Cherry is delivering an acting masterclass in Season 2 right now.
Severance is currently streaming on Apple TV+. Be sure to bookmark our guide to the Severance Season 2 release schedule, and we’ve also got recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, and Episode 8.
