GQ: I understood where Mark was coming from, because if he opens that door, his life has effectively ended.
Adam Scott: Maybe, but there’s a chance he could reintegrate.
But I don’t think he believes that. And then the idea of keeping Mark and Gemma apart breaks me. Mark has become his own worst enemy, and it’s really heartbreaking and frustrating, but then at the same time, you can understand why he would make that decision. What did you think when you read the script for the first time?
[Creator] Dan [Erickson] had a perfect place to end the season, and it was just a matter of how to get there. I think that was always thought of as a great place to leave it—or, maybe end it right before the choice is made. But we all were thinking it would be great to let the audience experience the decision to go through with it. When it was time to actually shoot it, it was like, “Wow, OK, we’re really doing this.” This is a bold way to go, and a heartbreaking way to go, particularly since I have so much admiration for Dichen [Lachman] and Britt [Lower], and I love those characters so much.
I think Innie Mark spent a good amount of the season trying to figure out how to find Gemma and get her out of there for his Outie. His Outie was doing the same, and they had the same mission, but at a certain point they diverged a bit. It put them on a collision course, and so at some point there had to be a decision for someone. It’s agonizing, but I think by the time the choice is in front of him, Mark has grown up a bit and knows he’s in love with this person.
Throughout the season, it feels like Innie Mark has been weighing up this loyalty he has to his Outie with wanting his own autonomy. That conversation his Innie and Outie have in the beginning of the episode helps him realize where his priorities lie.
He has to really fend for himself and make a judgement call or two that he wouldn’t have been able to do in season one. He’s gathered information and life experience. The Helena thing shaped him. I think that was an experience that matured him.
I love that whole sequence of them having this back and forth through the camcorder. How did you film that?
It was challenging. When you’re in a scene with another actor, you get into a groove together and you’re responding to each other. So that ends up dictating, for lack of a better word, the vibe. [When] you’re by yourself and not actually talking to someone, you have to come up with what you think the vibe would be, so I just tried to vary it as much as possible so they could have a number of choices. I was just afraid of it being bad and corny. That’s always my worry with anything, but particularly a scene where you’re acting opposite yourself. It took a few days. We were in there for a while, we just did it tiny chunks at a time.
Dan Erickson has talked about how the Innies are almost like children in season one, and in season two they become adolescents. Watching that conversation felt like a father telling off his rebellious teenage son.
It’s not the way I was thinking about it, but it’s true. Sometimes when I’m talking to my son or daughter, who are teenagers, I say something and I’m like, “That was so condescending. I can’t believe that just came out.” Or I overplay my hand by thinking they’re still five years old, you know, and say something that’s completely out of tune. And I think Outie Mark certainly makes that mistake.
It felt like the turning point of that scene is when Outie Mark mentions Helly and says her name wrong. How do you think Innie Mark’s view of his Outie changes in that conversation?
All along Helly’s been talking about the Outies, like, “Don’t buy into their bullshit.” So that’s in his head, but I don’t think Mark’s ever felt that way about his Outie. But I think when he starts hearing about these signifiers, like Outie Mark pushing a bit hard when selling reintegration, and then getting Helly’s name wrong. It’s like, “Is this guy completely fucking bullshit? He thinks he’s so much smarter than me. Maybe he is.” It’s like when you have a sibling and you can just tell they’re bullshitting because it’s like, “Oh, that’s how I do it.” I think Outie Mark obviously underestimates this guy and doesn’t think of him as a fully functioning adult human being. And he’s become one, at least in the limited capacity. Him getting Helly’s name wrong is certainly the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Another great sequence in this episode is when Mark runs into Mr. Drummond when he’s looking for the elevator to the testing floor. I imagine it has to be uniquely challenging to do a fight scene in a narrow hallway. How much of that was you?
I mean, the truly dangerous stuff that requires skill was stunts, and they were incredible. I did hit my head on a wall at one point. Afterwards, I was like, “Wait, wait, wait,” because I got slammed into the wall. I was supposed to bring my arm up—we practiced it over and over again—but I just got caught on my suit. [We] called a doctor and all that stuff. Ben [Stiller] was making sure I’m OK, then he came up to me a little later and he goes, [whispers] “By the way, so good,” so it’s in the show.
Right before Mark and Helly split up to rescue Gemma, she tells him that she’ll see him at the equator. Severance feels indebted to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in a lot of ways and, to me, “See you at the equator” was their “Meet me in Montauk.” What do you think Mark took from her parting words?
I think it just meant, like, I hope we see each other again. And hopefully we will somewhere in the outside world, if the stars align and your Outie wasn’t bullshitting and is actually going to get reintegrated. Who knows?
So you don’t think that was the catalyst for Mark choosing Helly in the end?
Certainly, it could be an ingredient. It’s up to the viewer. For me, the way I thought about it is the primary reason he ends up making that decision is because she’s right there, and she’s diverted from the plan. And she’s saying, “Fuck whatever we planned.” At least this is maybe what Mark is getting from this. I think Mark is only thinking about putting one foot in front of the other. I don’t think he has a plan. I just think he loves her.
Do you think if Helly hadn’t shown up at that moment, he would’ve gone out the door?
I don’t know! That’s really cool that you say [“See you at the equator”] ended up being the thing. I don’t want to say anything that would dissuade that.
I love the final shot of the season. The performances from you and Britt Lower feel so precisely calibrated. It felt reminiscent of the ending of The Graduate or The 400 Blows in the way that Mark and Helly are initially elated and then they start to look unsure. How did you approach that?
I think they made a game-time decision. I am not a sports-metaphor purveyor in any way, shape or form, but I take a game-time decision to mean that you have a plan, and then the game is going and you’re like, “Oh, fuck, let’s do this.” And so that’s something that you don’t have time to really analyze. We did a lot of running, and I don’t know about Mark and Helly, but if I was running for a certain amount of time, at some point I would start to wonder where I’m going.