The new Apple TV+ series Severance, which features exceptional leading performances from Adam Scott and Britt Lower, provides excellent commentary on capitalism and corporate culture as it follows the hellish professional lives of its core cast.

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These characters respond to their seemingly-hopeless circumstances with various methods, with some actively resisting their situation while others find means to cope with the horror. Each of their respective levels of intelligence is apparent as they attempt to survive the crushing isolation and hopelessness of life within the walls of Lumon.

Dylan (Zach Cherry)

Dylan from Severance in the office, wearing a suit.

Dylan is the primary source of comedic relief throughout the series – a role that Severance's Zach Cherry also fills in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – but his general contentment with his horrific situation and his reluctance to challenge it until he sees his son render him the least intelligent of main characters.

When asked for his theory as to what the Lumon employees are working toward, Dylan hypothesizes that they are aiding humanity in colonizing the oceans by fending off dangerous sea life. Dylan's charming obliviousness is enjoyable for the viewer, but it would not be helpful for a coworker aiming to escape the employees' collective entrapment.

Irving (John Turturro)

Irving from Severance in the office wearing a vest and tie.

One of the four core Lumon employees whom the series primarily focuses on, Irving is a somewhat aloof and disoriented figure who remains irrationally loyal to the company for longer than any of his peers (despite the hallucinations that the psychological toll of the severance procedure has plagued him with).

When Ricken's book arrives in the office despite Lumon's protocol against outside texts, Irving brings it to Mark's attention rather than reading from it, saying that he decided against alerting higher-level officials so as to respect the chain of command. Such obedience to a corrupt institution – which did not end until Burt's potential assassination – does not reflect well upon his intellect.

Milchick (Tramell Tillman)

Milchick from Severance reading Ricken's book.

Milchick presents as a mature and cerebral leader, but his baseless obedience to the Lumon operation and his willingness to subject his subordinates to abject psychological torture suggest that he is not reflective enough to recognize his destructive behavior and correct it.

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A more intelligent person in his position would understand that they were being subjugated by their superiors and would consequently refrain from harming their subordinates, regardless of the orders that they had been given. Were Milchick to recognize that he was a victim himself, he would work to resist the regime of which he had found himself part of rather than enable it regardless of the consequences.

Burt (Christopher Walken)

Burt from Severance, walking down the hall in a lab coat, his employee behind him.

Burt is certainly competent to a degree – as he has been placed in charge of his unit of the workplace – but he does not appear to be able to apply that ability to more self-beneficial behavior (such as that which Cobel and Helly engage in). At his "retirement" party, Burt appears unaware that he is likely about to be killed, which even the normally-gullible Irving recognizes as a real possibility.

His apparent inability to recognize the severity of his circumstances suggests that he is not as observant as those who suffer more deeply and resist more determinedly, and the tragic nature of this portrayal may remind viewers of Christopher Walken's roles in his best movies.

Ricken (Michael Chernus)

Ricken in the car with Devon in a scene from Severance.

Mark's brother-in-law, Ricken, is often absent-minded (as evident when he reveals Mark's severance procedure to a table of guests without obtaining the latter's permission to disclose the information), but the self-help book that he wrote includes insight pressing enough to inspire Mark's "innie" to finally question his circumstances when he comes across the text.

While Ricken often fails to apply the level of intellect apparent in the book to his interpersonal interactions, he ultimately serves as one of the most useful characters in the series.

Mark (Adam Scott)

Mark from Severance looking despondent, walking outside in his suit, tie, and jacket.

Series protagonist Mark Scout – one of Severance's best characters – is gradually awakened to the gravity of his situation as the first season progresses, but he is far slower to question Lumon's horrific treatment of its employees than his supposed subordinate, Helly, proves to be.

Mark's initial response to subjugation is to accept it and trust in the better impulses of those commandeering him, suggesting that he is intelligent enough to develop methods of self-protection against authority. However, he doesn't appear intelligent enough to challenge said authority without being prompted by his more astute peers.

Devon (Jen Tullock)

Severance-Devon-Marks-sister-severed-chip-pregnant-baby-Gabby-cottage-snow

Devon's mature disposition serves as a welcomed foil to Ricken's boyishness in scenes that take place beyond the confines of Lumon. Her concerned response to a news article discussing a state senator's support for severance shows that she is sharp enough to detect potential threats to those whom she cares about.

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She later displayed weaker reasoning ability when Cobel began working as her nanny and posing intrusive questions about Mark. Devon would have, ideally, recognized Cobel's behavior as suspicious and investigated the severance controversy further.

Helly (Britt Lower)

Helly looking over her cubicle in Severance.

Shortly into her tenure as a Lumon employee, Helly recognizes the damning implications of the severance procedure and repeatedly attempts to escape the facility. While they are unsuccessful, the ingenuity of her attempted escapes (such as swallowing an item with with an encrypted message for her "outie" to later find) completely sum up Helly's personality on Severance and suggests a superior level of intellect to her three immediate colleagues.

As the central foursome continue to investigate the company's practices in the remaining episodes of season 1, Mark, Dylan, and Irving would be wise to heed Helly's suggestions and warnings.

Alexa (Nikki M. James)

A split image of Mark and Alexa in Severance.

Alexa is one of the most mature and emotionally intelligent characters in Severance, which explains both her willingness to overlook Mark's pessimistic temperament and her refusal to overlook his deceit.

Although she is unaware that Mark made contact with the doctor who performed his severance procedure and then helped remove the body of a man whom she had killed, Alexa is observant enough to know that he is withholding critical information from her and that he therefore does not deserve her attention. Her social awareness definitely marks her as one of the more intelligent characters on the show.

Cobel (Patricia Arquette)

Mr. Milchick standing behind Ms. Cobel in Severance.

Harmony Cobel is a brilliant villain, as passionate about festering chaos as society's most revered figures are about ensuring peace. She displays this dedication both within the workplace – where she scolds Mark for his misbehavior with petrifying effectiveness – and as a nanny for Devon and Ricken's child outside of Lumon's facilities.

While her objectives are abhorrent, her methods of achieving them are sophisticated enough to suggest that she is the most intelligent character in the Severance cast, in addition to being the most problematic.

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