S2E3: Who Is Alive? (with Gwendoline Christie)

Summary

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott

Episode: Season 2, Episode 3: Who Is Alive?
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Guest: Gwendoline Christie
Host/Authors: Ben Stiller & Adam Scott
Production: Audacy, Red Hour, Great Scott

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Introduction

In the third episode of Season 2 of The Severance Podcast, hosts Ben Stiller and Adam Scott delve deep into the latest installment of the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning series Severance. This episode, titled "Who Is Alive?," offers fans an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the show's developments, featuring a special interview with Gwendoline Christie, who joins the cast as a mysterious new Lumen employee connected to the enigmatic goats that have become a hallmark of the series.

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Guest Spotlight: Gwendoline Christie’s Journey into Severance

Gwendoline Christie, renowned for her role as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones, joins Ben and Adam to discuss her transition into the world of Severance. She shares her fascination with the show's unique blend of suspense and surrealism, likening it to the works of John le Carré and Alfred Hitchcock.

• Discovery and Audition: Gwendoline recounts her encounter with Ben Stiller at the Emmys, highlighting the organic connection that led to her casting. She humorously describes how, despite not initially having a role, her enthusiasm for the show impressed the team enough to bring her on board.
  "I felt so relaxed while you talk about me; it's so great." (04:17)

• Character Insights: She delves into her character, Ms. Casey, emphasizing the depth and complexity she brings to the role. Gwendoline discusses the rigorous preparation she undertook, including physical training and emotional immersion, to authentically portray someone deeply connected to the goats and the mysterious workings of Lumen.

  "The show made me angry because I loved it and it wasn't in it. Watching it was a kick in the face." (08:03)

• Creative Collaboration: Gwendoline praises the collaborative efforts with costume designer Sarah Edwards, detailing how they crafted a unique wardrobe that reflects her character's rugged and intense environment. The integration of practical elements like rubber boots was meticulously planned to enhance the authenticity of her role.
  "Sarah Edwards is completely wonderful and really skilled... Anything I do, I want it to be different." (25:13)

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Deep Dive: Analyzing Key Scenes and Themes

Ben and Adam dissect pivotal moments from Episode 3, providing nuanced interpretations and behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

• The Goat Phenomenon: The introduction of Gwendoline’s character brings the mysterious goats back into focus. The hosts discuss how these animals symbolize the show's exploration of life, death, and the blurred lines between reality and memory.

  "The goats were everywhere. And I lost the goat." (33:07) – Gwendoline Christie

  They highlight the chaos and humor that real goats brought to the set, sharing personal stories of animal antics that contrasted sharply with the episode's tense narrative.

• Character Dynamics: The interaction between Ms. Casey and other characters, especially her protectiveness over the goats and her department, is examined. Ben commends Gwendoline for infusing her character with layers of mystery and authority, making Ms. Casey a formidable presence within the Lumen corporation.

  "She has a uniform on. She works in some sort of... So it's a combination of feeling like waiting for the world to catch up with me." (17:34)

• Reintegration Process: A significant scene involves Mark (Adam Scott) receiving critical information about his wife through the reintegration process. The hosts discuss the emotional gravity of this moment and Adam's authentic portrayal of Mark's turmoil.

  "That buildup to you saying, yes, let's do it, is more believable because you've had that reaction to the news building up to it." (58:26)

• Wardrobe and Production Design: Gwendoline elaborates on the collaborative process behind her character’s wardrobe, emphasizing the balance between aesthetic appeal and practical functionality to portray an environment fraught with tension and raw emotion.

  "The idea of the rubber boots to be in that environment... wading through blood or feces or whatever you have to deal with." (29:49)

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Memorable Moments and Behind-the-Scenes Anecdotes

The episode is rich with amusing and insightful stories from the set:

• Animal Antics: Gwendoline shares delightful mishaps involving goats disrupting serious scenes, leading to moments of genuine laughter amidst tension. These anecdotes highlight the unpredictable nature of working with live animals and the camaraderie among the cast and crew.

  "The goats were one of my absolute favorite of the first series because when I saw the goat cry... It was a sublime moment." (34:13)

• Character Interactions: The dynamic between Helena (played by Britt Lower) and Cobell is explored, shedding light on the evolving power structures within the Lumen corporation and the underlying tensions that drive the narrative forward.

  "Helena's driver... There's this moment... Something in her gut feels wrong." (54:40)

• Zach Cherry’s Predictions: The hosts feature their friend Zach Cherry, who humorously attempts to predict upcoming plot points without having seen future episodes. His playful speculation adds a light-hearted twist to the analysis.

  "Next time on Severance... a dinosaur named Dylan and a dinosaur named Irving." (60:35)

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Insights and Conclusions

Ben and Adam wrap up the episode by reflecting on the intricate storytelling and character development that make Severance a standout series. They commend Gwendoline Christie for her exceptional performance and dedication, which significantly enriches the show’s tapestry.

• Character Depth: The discussion emphasizes how each character’s unique attributes and backstories contribute to the overarching themes of memory, identity, and control within the corporate environment of Lumen.

• Production Excellence: The meticulous attention to detail in set design, wardrobe, and narrative pacing is lauded, underscoring the creators’ commitment to crafting a compelling and immersive experience for viewers.

• Future Episodes: The hosts tease upcoming developments, hinting at deeper explorations of the reintegration process and the enigmatic forces at play within Lumen, keeping listeners eagerly anticipating what’s next.

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Notable Quotes

• Gwendoline Christie:
  "The show made me angry because I loved it and it wasn't in it. Watching it was a kick in the face." (08:03)

• Ben Stiller:
  "We are the givers of pain and delight." (08:06)

• Adam Scott:
  "He is a fuck up. He's sort of part of Milchick's manipulation of Dylan." (43:21)

• Gwendoline Christie:
  "Everyone pretty much was hilariously funny. We were all freaks." (10:00)

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Conclusion

Season 2, Episode 3 of Severance continues to build its intricate world, blending suspense, dark humor, and profound character studies. Gwendoline Christie’s addition brings fresh layers of intrigue and depth, making "Who Is Alive?" a pivotal episode that propels the narrative into new territories. The Severance Podcast offers fans an invaluable companion to the series, providing behind-the-scenes insights and heartfelt discussions that enhance the viewing experience.

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For those who haven't listened to the podcast or watched the episode, this summary provides a comprehensive overview of the key discussions, character developments, and memorable moments that define "Who Is Alive?" in Severance Season 2.

Transcript

[Ben Stiller]

This episode of the Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is presented by State Farm. Learn [e-mail] severance like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Hey, Adam.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah?

[Ben Stiller]

Is your experience at work a bit dysfunctional lately?

[Adam Scott]

I don't know. I think it's.

[Ben Stiller]

It's okay. I'll take that as a yes. Your team could undergo a highly controversial surgical procedure that would mercifully sever any and all memories of that work experience from your home lives. Or you could try Confluence by Atlassian.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, my God. Well, if it's a choice between those two things, I think I would 100% choose confluence by Atlassian.

[Ben Stiller]

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[Adam Scott]

So that would equal out, like, if we're playing with, like, let's just say, 100%, 5.2 of those percentage points. Yeah, that's the improvement.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, I'm not great at math, but that sounds very close.

[Adam Scott]

Well, I'm doing the math in my head right now as we speak, and I think that's great.

[Ben Stiller]

So why not keep your team unsevered in Confluence, the connected workspace where teams can do it all set, knowledge free with Confluence. Learn more at atlassian.com confluence that's a T L a S S I-a n.com C-O-N-F L U-E-N C e hey, I'm Ben Stiller.

[Adam Scott]

I'm Adam Scott, and this is the.

[Ben Stiller]

Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam, where we break down every episode of Severance.

[Adam Scott]

Today we're diving into the third episode of season two, who is Alive? Written by Way Ning Yu and directed by Ben Stiller.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, we got a great episode for you today. First, we're going to be joined by the incredible actress, just incredible person Gwendolyn Christie.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, my God.

[Ben Stiller]

Who plays a mysterious new Lumen employee who you know has something to do with goats. The goats are back.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, yes, the goats are back.

[Ben Stiller]

And she's connected to the goats. I'm excited.

[Adam Scott]

And then after that, Ben and I will talk about a few of our other favorite scenes from the episode. Plus, Zack Cherry is back, of course, to predict what's going on in the next episode?

[Ben Stiller]

Okay, so we're going to be talking about anything and everything from episode three. So if you're just, you know, listening to this podcast and it just like automatically went into the next podcast and you haven't watched episode three, please watch episode three first and then come back to us.

[Adam Scott]

You know, what if someone is behaving like that and just listening to podcast episodes willy nilly and then just watching whatever they want, that's dangerous behavior.

[Ben Stiller]

I know, but maybe they just. They were listening to the episode two, you know, 202 podcast and they fell asleep.

[Adam Scott]

Stop defending.

[Ben Stiller]

That can happen sometimes with our podcast. And then all of a sudden they wake up and it's like they're hearing spoilers for episode three.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. In that case, it's our fault.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And in that case, they probably won't hear this warning. Cause they're asleep still.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Ben Stiller]

Wake up. Okay.

[Adam Scott]

Time to wake up.

[Ben Stiller]

Wake up.

[Adam Scott]

This is very exciting, you know, because I don't know about you, but before we were lucky enough to have Gwendolyn come on our show, she was one of my very favorite actors. And her turn as Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones is seminal and one of the great television characters ever.

[Ben Stiller]

Amazing. Amazing. And, you know, I like many Game of Thrones fans, and we can talk to her a little bit about it, but, you know, you put these characters in their own world, and to see her as a living, breathing human being in, you know, the modern world, who's super cool, and I just. I. First of all, welcome.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Hi.

[Adam Scott]

Gwendolyn Christy. Yes. You're here.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Thank you. I've been waiting for permission to speak.

[Adam Scott]

Or should we just keep talking about you for 20 minutes?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I feel so relaxed while you. It's so great. While you just talk about me, it's not at all uncomfortable or strange.

[Ben Stiller]

No, no, not at all.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

No.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, we like talking about you because we, you know, we're fans. And you and I met a few years ago because I was a fan of the show. And you were in New York and some representative or somebody said, hey, would you guys like to get together?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

But it's weirder still. We were at the Emmys and I took a photograph of my boyfriend and I. And then I looked at it. Cause we don't often do selfies and looked at it and I said, it's Ben Stiller up there in the corner. He's looking directly at the camera. And then I said, oh, my God, what if he thinks I'M trying to take a picture of him. He'll think I'm so weird. This is awful. And then I felt a tap on the shoulder, and it was you. And you were incredibly nice to me about Game of Thrones. And I said, oh, God, I think. I think it's okay. I don't know. I was really terribly overwhelmed already. And then even more overwhelmed. And then because I was obsessed with escape at Dannemora, I then said to a representative, please, is there any way I can meet Ben Stiller? And then we met. As if by some miracle, after the whole weird incident at the Emmys, you decided to magnanimously overlook and agree to meet me in person. And I really wanted to work with you. And you mentioned this show, severance, and it sounded amazing. You said, there's no part for you. And I was like, great. Why am I here?

[Adam Scott]

And then, thanks for the coffee.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I'm so thrilled to. It worked out. But was. But was thrilled. But this is weird as well. So when the show came out, I was really excited about it and I watched it. My mind was genuinely blown from the first time I watched that opening scene and seeing Helly on the table and every single element of its strangeness and the suspense and the relationship between the characters and the dysfunction and the clinical environment. And to me, it was. John le Carre is my favorite, one of my favorite favorite authors, and I really adore his work. And no one quite builds suspense and atmosphere like John le Carre and Hitchcock, too, with that degree of cinematic suspense. And I finally saw this in a TV show, and I was really obsessed with it. Like, I'd make sure everyone left the house. I'd close the curtains, I'd sit down and watch it. Then I'd watch it again. Like, the dogs had to be silent. Sometimes they made noises. I was like, please, you wanna stay in the room? You've gotta be silent.

[Ben Stiller]

So after that, this is like when I watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

So after that, cut to about 20, 22. I'm having a dark night of the soul. I'm really like, I wanna do something I really wanna do. I'm not being creative enough. Why aren't I in Severance? I'd never be asked to be in Severance. No one would ask me to do that. Really bitter, bitter. Finally get to sleep. Early hours of the morning. And this is true. I wake up and there is an email from your producer asking me if I want to be in the show. And that is true and insane.

[Ben Stiller]

Wow.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I know. Isadi.

[Adam Scott]

Where? Wait, so you were having a dark night of the soul, which all actors have. Which is what? Is that.

[Ben Stiller]

Familiar with that?

[Adam Scott]

Sorry, no. Ben's really smooth ride.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Other than glory.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Just ask Christine.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

On a planet.

[Adam Scott]

You had a dark night of the soul, specifically as a reaction to severance. Like, why am I partially.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I mean, it made me. The show made me angry.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I was angry because I loved it and it wasn't in it.

[Ben Stiller]

So we are the givers of pain and delight.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know. It sort of stamped on the delight slightly. It was like a kick in the face. Watching it was a kick in the face.

[Ben Stiller]

That is so amazing, because I remember us thinking, wow, should we ask Gwendolyn? Would she do it? Would she do it? Yeah, that's what I remember thinking, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, completely. Because I remember you had the idea, and it was perfect. It was a perfect idea for Gwendolyn to come and play this role. It was all about, could we get her?

[Ben Stiller]

And I was like, oh, man, would she do this? And I was so excited and so happy, and I just enjoyed when we did meet. Meet, even though I didn't have a part to offer. What we talked about, because we did talk about.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

That's my favorite kind of meeting.

[Ben Stiller]

Because you're just such an interesting person and your experience as an actor. I mean, you have a very varied kind of experience. Where you come from, what you do. It's weird, isn't it? Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

You want to talk about that varied experience?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

No, not at all. Don't want to speak about it. In what way we're living. Let me ask you the question. In what way do you perceive it to be strange?

[Ben Stiller]

Well, you told me a little bit about your background and about the sort of creative community that you were a part of and have been a part of. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Well, you know, I grew up in the countryside, and it was a different world then. You know, magazines were. The Internet, and I was obsessed with films. I was obsessed with television. I was obsessed with America and literature and art and fashion. I really. Anything I could get my hands off. And it was very rural where I grew up, so it was. It was hard to get these things. You know, it was really. You had to drive half an hour to get a magazine that would be like, maybe three months out of date or something, so. And I hated school. It was such a bad experience for me. So I had this other rich interior life and world of hoping, and. And so when I arrived In London. It was under kind of quite strange circumstances. I'd. To be honest, I'd done a fashion show. I'd been spotted on the street for the student designer. And then Isabella Blow, who was a stylist and who discovered Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy and all these phenomenal people. She sort of discovered me and got me to meet lots of people and lots of designers. And everybody got excited for about two seconds. And then it all just sort of faded away, because these things do. But I was where I wanted to be, which was immersed in this creative world. And I was obsessed with St. Martin's School of Art and the designers that came out of there and the artists around there at that time. So I was embraced by a community of freaks, basically, who lived life on their own terms, who identified in different ways, who were considered themselves to be outsiders of societies and misfits. Freaks. We were all freaks. But we came together because, I suppose we didn't have a home, but we had a home together. And the UK at that time had a different kind of system whereby you could find a survival as an artist through one means or another. It was a very, very different time. And so, having been obsessed with classical work and doing classical plays, I then moved into a different environment of the avant garde, I suppose, from. From that extraordinary group of people. And Leigh Bowery had died two years earlier, who's a really outrageous avant garde artist who dealt with the absurd and the obscene. He had died two years prior. So it was that group of people that were all underground artists. And it was hilarious. Everybody pretty much was hilariously funny.

[Adam Scott]

So you kind of had this background of more sort of traditional Strasbourg kind of education.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

And physical work. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Then you kind of moved into this more avant garde. So. Yeah, that must have been an interesting mix.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

And then I went to drama school. That was classical training with a method approach. And that was 12 hours a day, five, six, seven days a week. And it was insane. It was brutal.

[Adam Scott]

That was crazy.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It was really brutal. And I arrived thinking, I'm not gonna make one friend, and left. Just being in love with everybody.

[Adam Scott]

And was that in London?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

That was in London. It was Drama center London that had a sort of terrifying reputation trauma center.

[Adam Scott]

Which is what attracted you to it was.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It was specifically because it was a classical training with a method approach. And there was a choreographer at that time called Michael Clark who was sort of doing something similar in that he was classically trained as a choreographer, but he worked with Leigh Bowery and he would work with the Fall and He would work with other avant garde artists to create these dance pieces. And I thought, that's who I want to be as an actor. And also the fact that everybody told me no and told me that wouldn't work and I wouldn't work, I sort of. I don't. It actually weirdly galvanized me at that time.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Because I think because I'm bloody minded, it's the only conclusion I can come to.

[Ben Stiller]

How would you define bloody minded? I like that term.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I suppose it's sort of sticking two fingers up at the establishment.

[Adam Scott]

Right. Which is why this particular school appealed to you in the first place.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

This is sort of something I told, you know, you kick the dog and the dog lays down, or you kick the dog and it jumps back up again. And I thought I was always the dog that laid down, but then I realized I was the dog that jumped up and murdered you.

[Adam Scott]

That's bloody minded.

[Ben Stiller]

It's a nice segue into.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

And this is my first podcast.

[Adam Scott]

Well, it's a fantastic story.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, it's not going to be your last.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It is.

[Ben Stiller]

It's so interesting. That whole world is so interesting because, you know, like, you're talking about a sort of counterculture thing. This group of people that you were part of, you. Did you ever imagine that, like you were gonna then end up in like this, you know, show that would be kind of like go all over the world and like, did you see yourself doing that?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It was completely weird because, to be very honest, you know, things weren't happening for me in terms of my career. They sort of were. I was working, I was doing theater, but, you know, no one could see at that time an obvious path for me. But, you know, when I was with my friends, I was a star and I was adored and loved and it was amazing because it didn't matter how I was treated out, you know, on the streets, walking the dogs, or by the rest of the industry because I had a home and I. And I could be loved and adored and, you know, and that group of people loved that I was. They loved that I was living my dreams out as an aesthetic and as a life. So it was a combination of feeling like waiting for the world to catch up with me, but more generally thinking it was going nowhere.

[Adam Scott]

And were you thinking that way when you took a step outside of and got some perspective on your life and taking a step outside of your close knit group of friends? Or was it something you realized later? Looking back, I think when you're in.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Your early 20s, you know, that whole environment is exciting, and it goes with your passion and enthusiasm for life and wanting to really taste life and experience life, which is what I really wanted to do. And I think as I definitely. As I crept closer to 30, I remember the first time I went to Los Angeles, I was on my way to the gym, and someone that worked in the industry who was a friend of the friend, said, what age are you, honey? And I said, I didn't tell anyone my age because I was like, God, what age was? I don't know, 33. And I was told it was like. And I said, I'm 28. And they said, well, I hope you are, because if you're over 30, this is not gonna work.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, Jesus.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Well, to be honest, it was fairly accurate at that time. I mean, who would ever have suspected that this part on television, of all places on hbo, would arrive of the incredibly unconventional woman who is described as being hideously ugly, who fights men, who is on a mission of chivalry and dignity and overriding sense of moral good, and be allowed such prominence? It was unheard of because people, you know, the whole. The feeling at that time was that people didn't want. There wasn't audience for that.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

So it was a bolt from the blue, really. Honestly, it was a total bolt from the blue.

[Adam Scott]

And was it season two that you started on Game of Thrones?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It was season two, yeah, Season two.

[Adam Scott]

And at the time, was it apparent to you that this was going to be the most popular TV show in the history of planet Earth?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It's so strange you saying that. I just completely kind of blew, because I've never really taken that aspect on board, mainly because when we were doing it, what's so delightful about that show, and I think has resonated through it, is that nobody expected it to be a success. It was this odd fantasy show that nobody expected to go anywhere. And I read the books and I went through a whole kind of rocky style preparation for the part because I used to always. I mean, it's sort of how I look now, really, but I used to have really long hair and wear a lot of makeup and be very dressed up. But I never got in touch with that aspect of myself, with all the fear points of being incredibly tall and incredibly strong and sort of very unconventional looking and in some ways disfigured and, you know, lots of all the. You know, all the. All the strange elements of me that I did my best to shield. And I knew it was time to get in touch with that, as I don't know, as strange as it might sound, for my wholeness as a human being and as an actor, I had to embrace those things. I could no longer live in denial of them, and I had to embrace them. And to be able to have a part in which to do that, to become someone else, to become all the things I was horrified and terrified about myself and the things that society told me were wrong as a woman was a dream. Was a perfect, perfect dream. So I stripped it or, you know, I stopped wearing makeup. I pulled my hair back. I trained at the gym. I lost a lot of weight training. I put on loads of muscle. I did kickboxing. I read all the books. But what was fascinating about the books was that it was such unconventional narrative. It was so subversive, and the women were at the forefront. And I thought, they'll probably cut that and just leave it as the men. But I thought, if they get this right, I truly think this could have life. But almost nobody else did. What that meant was everyone was committed in terms of creating a piece of work, a drama where we were all giving everything we possibly could.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, it's great to hear you talk about. The very thing that was so unique about you is what is, of course, what is so special about you and why. Why you're so successful and people want to see. Your work is also the thing that makes it hard for the world to see before that that opportunity comes up. And that's something I think it's important to hear, you know, because that uniqueness can sometimes make you feel like you're never going to get to where you want to get. But that's also the thing that actually gives you, you know, that specialness.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And the courage to take all of those things, all of those unique attributes and push them out on the outside and use them and in the process, make one of the only characters I've ever seen on a show where I felt like if one hair on her head was harmed, I don't know what I would do with myself. It's incredible hearing any part of your story. Gwendolyn, you're just the coolest.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, we're going to take a break. We'll be right back with Gwendolyn after this. If you were an innie, you'd find yourself asking a lot of questions. These questions could sometimes include, have I taken a shower today? Do I know how to drive a car? And what is this thing stuck in my tube? But even when you get answers to all these questions, there are still so many more unknowns in life. You might understand that feeling, whether you're an innie or an outie. But fear not, you never need to ask another question about insurance because State Farm is here to help. When you work with a State Farm agent, someone is there to help explain the insurance process every step of the way and help you choose which plan fits best, offering you personalized services that are tailored to your protection needs. Whether you prefer in person, over the phone, or on statefarm.com or through the app, your agent is there to help you make it a seamless transition into your new insurance reality. Learn how an agent can help you get the coverage you [e-mail] severance like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Ben Stiller]

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[Adam Scott]

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[Ben Stiller]

Nurturable what's going on with Lauren?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, what's. What's up with her?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yeah, I mean Lorne. There's a lot going on with Lorne, isn't there? Are you here to kill me?

[Adam Scott]

No. No no no no no no. I Sorry. Hi I'm Mark. I'm Helly, and we're with Macrodata Refinement. What is this place?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Mammalians Nurturable.

[Adam Scott]

So Mark and Helly are going around to different departments looking for Ms. Casey, and they stumble upon what they come to know as Mammalians Nurturable. And Lauren is there. As far as just. If we want to start with the wardrobe, which is really unique, what was that process like? Were you working with Sarah Edwards to figure out what you wear?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Sarah Edwards is completely wonderful and really skilled and has a brilliant frame of reference and incredible imagination. She's so great to work with, and she's such a. She's so good with creating character. She's so good at telling the story so that you receive a deeper experience. Anything I do, I want it to be different. I knew it wanted to be different. And also, in watching Severance so much, I wanted it to have a different feeling in the show. I didn't want to replicate. And as much as I did want to replicate everything, I didn't want to replicate anything. And I was led by Ben. I mean, I was. I only had, like, something like 4,000 references for hair, but.

[Ben Stiller]

This whole hair thing. Surprised, Surprise. I'm getting this reputation as, like, the.

[Adam Scott]

Guy who is obsessed with hair.

[Ben Stiller]

Obsessed with hair.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Well, I'm obsessed with Adam's hair.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, well, we're all obsessed with Adam's hair. Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

And when it was Adam's birthday, I sent Adam the glossiest, blackest flowers I could find in celebration of your magnificent hair.

[Adam Scott]

They were the most beautiful flowers I've ever received.

[Ben Stiller]

True.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Only eclipsed by your hair.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, God.

[Ben Stiller]

What I liked was that you and Sarah sort of you connected and kind of went off together. And, you know, honestly, like, for me doing any project, I'm very collaborative and like to work with people who are really good at what they do. Sometimes I have a specific idea, but lots of times it'll be just like, you know what? Come back to me with what you're thinking, what you're feeling. I feel like you guys went off and created this look together.

[Adam Scott]

Really?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yes. I really. I just went towards what I was drawn to, which is what I do increasingly these days, rather than trying to be systematic about it. So initially, I had. And this doesn't. I mean, I sound like such an airhead, but then probably I am. I was drawn directly to Martin Margiela at a particular point, particularly when he was designing for Hermes, because those fashion elements together by that conceptual artist spoke to elements of the show. And there's a very particular time in the 90s with the color palette as well that I was receiving very strongly. That's a sort of favorite era of mine, kind of around 1993 is what I found there and then. So there was a visual there, but I knew I had to go into something real. Now, what's weird is when you and I spoke about the part I was in the Highlands of Scotland, and we left, and it's remote place. You have to drive through the moors that were covered in sheep. And so it's unending, that landscape. And it makes you feel like you're in a. A totally different dimension with all these sheeps around. And then a good friend of mine is a sheep farmer and my oldest friend from when I was a child, My first friend also keeps sheep. So I had to do some very sort of undercover questioning about it. And what struck me was in speaking to my friends, the sheep farmer, and kind of being around them was the life and death nature of it. The whole time these lambs are being born. Because I couldn't get close to goats. I could only get close to sheep. And, you know, during lambing season, that's life. Life or death.

[Adam Scott]

And what do you mean life or death? You mean if they don't get the amount of wool that they need for the season, they won't survive?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I mean, the lambs being born.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, okay.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

So when you're around things being born and breeding, it's very intense and very emotional. And the darkness that I could sometimes see, I felt was really cor to lawns. So that darkness and the rawness and researching farmers and people dealing with animals and the kind of the way that so many farmers will commit suicide because of what they're around, because it's so hard, because you're dealing with animals. I mean, these are just a few perspectives, putting those elements together. And I loved that Sarah Edwards had this idea of this sort of Thierry Mugler jacket and. And. But making it filthy and deconstructing it and changing it. And I wanted to change my silhouette a little bit as well. Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And the kerchief, the.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yes, it's amazing. That was Sarah. And it was so perfect. And we really love the idea of the rubber boots to be in that environment. The idea of kind of wading through blood or feces or whatever you have to deal with.

[Ben Stiller]

The idea of this department was really the end. Antithetical to anything we'd seen in terms of literally, like, you're saying it's organic and there's grass and Creating that space was Jeremy Hindle had this really smart idea where we wanted to have this hilly terrain. And we knew that the reality of building sort of this hilly, grassy area on a soundstage would just be impossible. And the scale of what the room was gonna be, we wanted it to be really, really big. So the solution was that he found a golf course out in Jersey. No, it was Brooklyn. Yeah, it's a golf course, like, in the far reaches of Brooklyn. And we built a tent over the golf course and put up some walls and supplemented the rest with the computer. And that was the environment. And it's one of the first things that we filmed for the second series.

[Adam Scott]

We put up lumen walls up against the tent. Is that correct?

[Ben Stiller]

We put walls up that were in, you know, where they would be, but only like, the first sort of, you know, like 10 or 15ft of them. And then the rest we augmented with the computer. But we were all in a tent for a number of days shooting this with real goats, lots of real goats, and incredible people. In this department, the mammalians nurtureable department, the actors that we found were just. Just so committed. We wanted people with these just rugged, intense spaces that, like, you're saying, like, have been dealing with these life and death situations out there. And obviously, there's a lot of mystery about who Lauren is and what she's up to. But what I loved about what you brought to the part, first of all, everything you're saying about your imagery, your inspiration, like that, to me, is like, why you work with an actor. People say, you know, oh, you hire an actor, they come in, they learn a lot. It's like, no, when you work with an actor who is really, like, a great actor, you come in, you came in with all these ideas that, to me, it translates. No matter what of those ideas actually ends up visually in the show, it's the fact that there's so much invested in what you're doing and thought into this character, and you're making a real person. And that is what makes any of these characters on the show work, in my mind, is the belief in this world, no matter how fantastical or weird it is.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And you get the sense when we walk in there that Lauren is gonna be formidable to Mark and Heli. And you get the sense that there's a severe protectiveness that she has over this place and these animals. Not just the animals, but those people that you guys have been through it and that you need to. You have a need to protect each other and the animals.

[Ben Stiller]

You Know, there's this scene when basically you guys go to her and say you're looking, you know, for Ms. Casey. You won't really give any answers. And then you basically get freaked out and ring your bell.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

But there was an incredible moment where the goats were. The goats were everywhere. And I lost the goat.

[Ben Stiller]

Your desk is in the middle in the corner of the goat room.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

A goat came up to the desk and was butting its head against my knees.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Under the desk while we're shooting this serious scene.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

And I am quite good at not la. I laughed. Yeah, I laughed and I laughed and I probably made some woo noises.

[Adam Scott]

I remember when I was shooting my coverage and I was trying to maintain the. This serious thing with you, and a goat was eating my shoelaces. And it really tickles if a baby goat won't stop trying to eat your clothes.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It was amazing. To having a makeup touch up and the goat eating the brush or the sponge.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

It was chaos.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I was there for it. It was amazing. I loved every second of it. But also, the goats were one of my absolute favorite, favorite of the first series because when I was watching it and then when I heard the goat cry and I thought, are they putting goats in it?

[Adam Scott]

They're not.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

They are not putting goats in it. They are not. And it was such a sublime moment with Wyatt feeding the goat. It was just sensational. I think I sort of did some cursing and some pacing. And then when you said that I was in charge of the goats, it was a hallelujah moment.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, it's perfect.

[Ben Stiller]

Let's listen to that little scene where once you've kind of gathered everybody around, you're kind of holding them captive for a moment to figure out what to do, and then you finally decide what you're gonna do.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Excuse me, have you seen this woman? Hey, stop that. Her name's Ms. Casey. She was the wellness director. Stop that. Have any of you seen her? Enough. We've decided to send a Courier to inform Mr. Milchick of your inquiry.

[Adam Scott]

No, no, no, no. You can't do that. They could kill her if they find her.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

It's not a mammalians problem.

[Adam Scott]

It's an any problem. Listen, we used to be afraid of other environments, too.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

We weren't afraid of you.

[Adam Scott]

They just disappeared her. And if we let this happen to Ms. Casey, then who's gonna step up when it happens to us? If one of your goats went missing, wouldn't you go looking for it?

[Ben Stiller]

Just hear the goats.

[Adam Scott]

I know. There was no shutting Them up. They aren't interested.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes. Yeah. It's a tense scene. It's a tense scene.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Oh, my God, it sounds incredible.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, I mean, I love your character because she has so much. She's very protective of both the goats and the goat people in your department. Which to me is sort of, like, indicative of. There's a lot there that we obviously don't know about. But it feels like, again, we've noticed that these departments, first season it was O and D. Now it's mammalians. Nurturable. Are kept so. So divided from each other and so.

[Adam Scott]

Suspicious of each other.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes. Yeah. And it sort of takes it to that next level.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And like you, a lot of people had this real reaction to the goats. It ended up being this sort of hallmark of the show that we didn't really anticipate. I don't know if you did.

[Ben Stiller]

No, no. After the first season, people responded to those. That goat scene, that one scene. And we felt like, well, that's good. Cause it's part of what the story's about. But I have to say, though, I do have a fond memory of talking to you when we were prepping. You were hanging out somewhere. Maybe it was when you were in the north there with the sheep. And I remember just checking in with you once and you said, I'm just here with the sheep.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yes.

[Ben Stiller]

Right.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Well, yeah, because I would go down to the countryside to be around sheep. And I walk through the fields for hours, for days, weeks, to. To develop this, to find this, to be fearless. So that when I was put with the goats and we went looking for goats, we found goats as well. And I put my hands. My fingers through the chicken wire, and they are freaks, goats.

[Adam Scott]

They are.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

They're really highly intelligent. They climb. They climb up things, they eat things. I did everything I could to be around those animals and to also lose my natural prissiness and to get into the guts of the situation. I loved it so much. It was thrilling.

[Ben Stiller]

Amazing commitment. And it totally pays off in the work that you do in this show.

[Adam Scott]

Gwendolyn. We've been inviting people to call in to ask questions of the show. And the goats have really resonated with people. So about a third of the calls that come in go a little something like this. Hello, this is Ashley.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I am wanting to know whether or.

[Adam Scott]

Not we will find out what is with the goats.

[Ben Stiller]

I was just wondering what the deal with the goats.

[Adam Scott]

How are the baby goats doing and.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

When will they be ready?

[Ben Stiller]

Just wanted to know if the baby.

[Adam Scott]

Goats is code for sex with Marquess.

[Ben Stiller]

And if the goats are actually people.

[Adam Scott]

As well as the goats being fed milk. So what's going on here with all this dairy?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Just wondering.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, I've been raising them on.

[Adam Scott]

My own here for a while and just. Just want to know what you guys are gonna do with all these babies, all these goats.

[Ben Stiller]

I think that's all my questions for now.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Thank you so much. Praise Gear.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ben Stiller]

One of those guys sounded like you, Adam.

[Adam Scott]

He did.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I think the guy that sounded like you was the one that asked if the goats stood for sex with Marcus.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, as people will now see that there's a reason the goats are there, and we're going to find out more. And we found out a little bit.

[Adam Scott]

And how lucky were we to have Gwendolyn heading up the goat department and.

[Ben Stiller]

To have you on your first podcast?

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

What about that? Well, thank you both for making dreams come true. Just something as simple as that. Putting me in my favorite show on tv. A simple thank you.

[Ben Stiller]

Not being an experienced podcaster, I'd say you're a very good podcaster.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, my God.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

I will never podcast again.

[Ben Stiller]

No, no, keep it pure.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

That's it. It was this one moment in time.

[Ben Stiller]

That's great. Makes it even more special for us.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, 100%.

[Ben Stiller]

Thanks, Gwendolyn. So great to see you.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you so much for coming over and doing this. We were in person, by the way.

[Ben Stiller]

It's so much fun in person.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yes, it's a lot more fun in person, but I personally love to be a disability disembodied voice.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, thanks for flying in from England for this.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ben Stiller]

Better catch your flight home.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Pleasure. Yeah, straight after this podcast.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, we're going to take a break. We'll be back right after this.

[Ben Stiller]

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[Adam Scott]

This cold.

[Ben Stiller]

And flu season Instacart is here to help deliver all your sick day essentials. Whether you're in prevention mode and need vitamins, hand sanitizer, and that lemon tea your nana swears by, or you're in healing mode and need medicine, soup, and a lot more tissues, simply download the Instacart app to get sick day supplies that reinvigorate or relieve. Delivered in as fast as 30 minutes, plus enjoy. Zero delivery fees on your first three orders. Excludes restaurant orders. Service fees and terms apply. Um, I think I just won my taxes. Yeah, I just switched to H and R Block in about one minute. All I had to do was drag and drop last year's return into H and R Block and bam. My information is automatically there so I don't have to go digging around for all my old papers to switch. Nope.

[Adam Scott]

Sounds like we just leveled up our tax game.

[Ben Stiller]

Switching to H and R Block is easy. Just. Just drag and drop your last return. It's better with block.

[Adam Scott]

All right, let's get into the rest of the episode. Let's start with the newest Lumen Reform the visitation suite. So while Mark and Helly are looking for Ms. Kayce, Dylan is meeting his Audi's wife. Should we listen to some of that?

[Ben Stiller]

We have three kids. Right. And you. No, he or my husband has had trouble keeping other jobs. He dumb? No.

[Adam Scott]

He a dick?

[Ben Stiller]

No. What is wrong with him?

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Oh, nothing's wrong with him.

[Ben Stiller]

He just. He never quite found his thing. So he's actually kind of a fuck up. Yeah. I mean, this is obviously part of Milchick's sort of, you know, manipulation of Dylan that started in the first episode of the season and based on his demand from the end of season one.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And it seems to be working.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes. You know, that's the thing, like at the end of season one, Dylan has been ever since he saw that kid in the closet. You know, there's just no going back from that. And we were thinking, okay, who's gonna be Dylan's wife?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And much like with Gwendoline Christie, why not just go to one of the great. Go to the best actresses around. And Merritt Weaver agreed to do the part. And she's so organic and, you know, I think grounded that relationship in such a great way. And it's just such a weird thing where, you know, what kind of world are we in where a wife is meeting her husband who doesn't know her at all?

[Adam Scott]

I Know. And, you know, what's so great about. I mean, one of the thousands of great things about Merritt Weaver and her work is in this scene. You can really just read all of that. That you were just saying the strangeness of this and the strangeness of meeting your husband for the first time and he doesn't know who you are. You're reading it all. They're not talking about that. She's not saying, this is weird because of this, this, and this they're carrying on the scene, but you're seeing it all and feeling from her experiencing it. She's so good.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And it has, like, a kind of a little bit of a vibe of like, almost like a prison visitation scene, even though they've remodeled the security room into this. You know, this was a Jeremy Hindle idea to kind of, like, refabricate the room into this sort of, like, you know, kind of lush little, you know, very anodyne kind of of warm place. That's not. It's a Lumen version of warm. I like that. The backdrop behind the windows where the computers were is like a sort of like a natural history museum painting of a beach and some gulls.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And you get the sound effects of seagulls and kind of beachy vibes.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Yes.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Which is just.

[Ben Stiller]

And like reeds. Like dried reeds.

[Adam Scott]

It's also condescending.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes. But you know, what's kind of great is that you start to see this inkling of what their relationship probably was when they first met. And she's seeing that. And Dylan, of course, is just experiencing this woman who he thinks is so cool.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. His mind is blown, but you can see the sadness in her of. Yeah, like you said, like, kind of reading this, feeling the sweetness from him and sort of. You starting to learn more about her relationship with Audie Dillon through watching her behavior with any. Dylan. It's really interesting.

[Ben Stiller]

And his world just kind of turned.

[Adam Scott]

Upside down, and you're seeing how Milchick being able to hold this over Dylan. The promise of something like this in contact with his family is compromising him. In other areas of the episode, you see his interactions with Irv are now slightly compromised.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then, of course, we see back at home right after that. Oh, my God. She's kind of not quite saying what happened to Audi Dillon, which, you know, similar to me to season one, Dan's idea of having the Rickon book turn any mark on to Rickon as this sort of, you know, incredible sort of almost like messianic figure while on the Outside, he, you know, can't stand him.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

It's such a simple idea. You know, I love this simple idea that could only happen in this premise of the show, which is that Dylan's wife starts to have these feelings for his innie, as if he's another guy.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. She sort of is keeping things from the Audi and not being completely honest with him about the nature of her experience.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Cause you get the feeling from that hug that there's a little bit of spark of something which in a normal world would be like, oh, this is actually, you know, could be good. But they are two separate entities. And I don't know. That's just for me. What's so fun about the show is to be able to explore premises like that, for sure.

[Adam Scott]

And getting to see Audi. Dillon being this guy who is a little adrift. He goes to work every day, but he doesn't do. He doesn't. He isn't aware of what he's doing there. He can't even get his shit together enough to make the cookies for his daughter's class. He's sort of just there. And you can see her kind of holding up everything, kind of, you know, spinning all the plates of the family.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. She seems. She has a uniform on. She works in some sort of. I don't think we quite see exactly what it is. And Zach Cherry also told me that when he found out Merritt Weaver was doing the show, he was so excited because he's a huge fan of hers. But also, I think Zach's wife is, like. She's her favorite actress, too. That's cool. You know, we joke with Zach in terms of his actual, you know, commitment level to the reading the scripts or watching the show or, you know, being in 12 different shows, but which he is. But all joking aside, I mean, it's been so much fun to watch Zach, you know, really rise to the occasion with this character and the depth that he shows and the vulnerability and the innocence and the, you know, this kind of new. There's the Audi Dillon, but there's also Innie. Dillon is softening and, you know, the guy. The guy who just cares about, you know, finger traps and perks.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Muscle shows in season one is, like, starting to, like, actually, you know, have these, like, emotional vulnerability.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. His world is opening up in a really big way, and Zach is just phenomenal.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, next up, let's talk about Ms. Cobell. The last time we saw her, she was speeding away in her car, almost running Mark over. Now we find her sleeping in her car on the side of the highway.

[Ben Stiller]

That song, that Stone Rose's song, love Spreads. It's not something that probably you would guess would be a music cue to go with Cobell, but I really felt like Stone Roses, it's her era if we don't know what time frame the show is actually. But for Patricia and myself, you know, that 90s era music, it felt like the right era for her. And when we put that song on for the radio that she turns on, just there's something about the vibe of that song. And then we played that sequence of you going into work and timing how long you can keep an image in your eyes. This weird idea of trying to burn this image into your eyes, right. And you're trying to figure out, Audi Mark, how long he can keep that so he could possibly be able to see who is alive on the insides of his eyelids when he comes to, as is Innie in the elevator.

[Adam Scott]

That's the plan. Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, so you do your little experiment. The next time we see Cobell, she's driving down the road, this snowy road, and she gets to the sign that says Salt's neck, 200 and something miles. And she has this moment, she looks down to the front passenger seat and we see that little breathing tube. We don't know what she's thinking, but we get the sense that maybe something with Salt's neck and that breathing tube are connected. And we know that that breathing tube, if we look closely in last season was, you know, had the name Cobell on it. And she decides she's not gonna go to Salt's Neck. She's gonna u turn and go back.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And we see her pull up in front of Helena.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Helena thinks she's done for the day.

[Ben Stiller]

Walking out to her car with her ominous looking driver.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Cobell says, you know, basically like, I'll come back. But she has her terms. MDR non negotiable. Marquess is so close to connecting, pleading cold harbor. I intend to finish the work that I started.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Which is why Milchek must go. He's not equipped for the task. I must be floor manager. I hear ego, hubris, arrogance, care teaches us they only cause pain. Everything I accomplished, I earned through dedication and innocence industry.

[Ben Stiller]

Not because I was born into it.

[Adam Scott]

She thinks she has some leverage here, right? And says, you owe me this. I'm integral to this company. But she wants to get rid of Milchick and get her job back. And Helena is just sort of, just sort of shrugs it off and invites her in the building to discuss it further.

[Ben Stiller]

And this is the, you know, the second time we get to see this dynamic, the flipped dynamic of Helena in charge of Cobell. And there's this really kind of weird moment where you don't know what's being inferred, but basically Helena's saying, like, you know, we could do whatever we want. And she says, come meet the board. Come talk to the board. And Cobell goes with her until she gets close to the car and she sees Helena's driver. And there's this moment. We don't know what it is, but it just feels wrong. Something in her gut feels wrong.

[Adam Scott]

I think that she's unsure. She's not completely sure, but she's unsure if she'll ever come out of that building again. If she follows her in there.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's all implied and sort of.

[Adam Scott]

I could be wrong completely, but something.

[Ben Stiller]

In her says she doesn't want to go in there, and she turns around and drives off.

[Adam Scott]

And it's just so fun watching them and how great Britt is as Helena. It's just so much fun.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, no, it's. I mean, this so far this season, you know, to see Helena as a character, it's basically a brand new character. And I think Britt, you know, has really. The way that you guys have delineated these innies and outies is just always so much fun to watch. And then the end of the episode when you see Regabi, I think, you know, kind of like sort of jumpstarts us into the propulsion and the forward momentum of the season. And you decide to go in for this reintegration idea.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Well, finally Mark gets an actual answer, a black and white answer to the question, is Gemma actually alive or not?

[Ben Stiller]

Let's listen to that scene.

[Adam Scott]

How could you not tell me we.

[Ben Stiller]

Were interrupted, if you recall.

[Gwendolyn Christie]

Mark, I want to help you, but you have to trust me. There is one way, and one way only, to get information in and out of Lohman, and that's reintegration. I'm better at it now. I can make it work with you. I can sew together a version of you that loves her with a version.

[Adam Scott]

Of you that can, yes, do it.

[Ben Stiller]

You sure? I want to see my wife. I remember when we were talking about how to do this scene where Rigabe tells you she is alive. And this is the moment now where you're ready to accept it, because I think you've kind of heard it enough, right?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. The ground's been softened enough, and I.

[Ben Stiller]

Feel like that's believable but we were talking. I remember we went out to the parking lot to like, figure out what the angles were for the car scene of her in the car talking to you and telling you this. And you said to me, when you hear that news, instead of just sitting there, you said, I think I might want to go outside and maybe get, like, almost might make me sick or, you know, that physical reaction when you get such momentous news.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And I remember we talked about that, and you kind of did what you thought you might do there. And I think that ended up making the scene a lot more interesting visually, too, in terms of. And motivated for when you decide. Yeah, you're gonna. You know, you decide you want it. Cause you have to make this decision of, yes, I'm going to go for this. I want to see my wife again.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And it's something that's sort of been building over these first few episodes, which is to actually get someone to believe that someone that they've been grieving is still alive. We all felt like it was something that he needed to hear many, many times before he would believe it. And this is the point where he does. So that's why I love working with you so much, is that we're in a situation like that, and I get an instinct that this kind of news would drive me to, you know, feel sweaty and hot and nauseous. And whether I actually throw up or not, it's too big a moment to contain it in the car. That's just emotionally what I thought was going on. And you're kind of there to go along on that ride and kind of agreed with it. So we kind of took the scene outside of the car. And that's really, really fun to come up with that stuff with you on set.

[Ben Stiller]

And I think it's important to. Because that leads to the next moment in the scene where you do agree to the reintegration right on the spot. So I think that buildup to you saying, yes, let's do it, is more believable because you've had that reaction to the news building up to it, because it is a place also where the tempo of our storytelling shifts really quickly.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Into boom. You know, hard cut to you in the basement with Ri. She set up the, you know, homemade equipment, and we're just going for it.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And, you know, there's another version of it where it could take another whole, you know, two episodes to get to that. But by believing that decision for you, by the reaction you had to the news, to me, like, then Makes that next part of it believable.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. The episode easily could have ended on I want to find my wife. And then we get to that event. But, yeah, we just jumped right into the reintegration stuff.

[Ben Stiller]

All right, before we go, it's time to check in with our buddy Zach Cherry and see what he actually thinks is going to happen in episode four, because, for real, he's not seen any of the episodes until they air. He doesn't see them, and it's really questionable how much he actually engages in the.

[Adam Scott]

He essentially reads his lines.

[Ben Stiller]

His lines.

[Adam Scott]

And. And he learns them phonetically.

[Ben Stiller]

I heard that. Yeah. Hey, Ben. Hey, Adam, it's me again. I'm here to fulfill my solemn duty of delivering predictions on what's going to happen in the next episode of Severance. And, you know, I do take this very seriously because I think our show, sometimes you need a little help figuring out what's going on. So I hope I'm here to help the fans and provide them with a valuable service. Now let's get into it. Next time on Severance. We've now seen Mark's early time as an innie during his reintegration process, and I think we're gonna go even further back and we're gonna see what was happening in Kier at the time of the dinosaur.

[Adam Scott]

What?

[Ben Stiller]

Maybe there's a dinosaur named Dylan and a dinosaur named Irving and they're also friends.

[Adam Scott]

That makes no sense.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, I feel like he put as much thought into that as he does into anything else, though. I do like some good apple tie in with one of their nature shows or something.

[Adam Scott]

I just love the idea of a dinosaur named Dylan and a dinosaur named Irv.

[Ben Stiller]

That could be another DreamWorks franchise in the works.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, so on that note, that is it for this episode, the Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam. We'll be back next week to talk about season two, episode four.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And thanks again to Gwendolyn Christie. Just the best ever. And you can stream every episode of Severance on Apple tv, with new episodes coming out every Friday.

[Adam Scott]

And then make sure you're listening to our podcast, which drops right after the episode airs. The Severance Podcast. This podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott, is a presentation of Odyssey, Pineapple Street Studios, Red Hour Productions, and Great Scott Productions.

[Ben Stiller]

If you like the show, be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, the Odyssey app, or your other podcast platform of choice. Our executive producers are Bari Finkel, Henry Malofsky, Gabrielle Lewis, Jenner Weiss Berman, and Leah Rhys Dennis. This show is produced by Zandra Ellen, Ben Goldberg, and Naomi Scott. This episode was mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. We had additional engineering from Javi Krustas and Davey Sumner.

[Adam Scott]

Show clips are courtesy of fifth season music by Theodore Shapiro. Special thanks to the team at Odyssey, Maura Curran, Eric Donnelly, Michael Lavey, Melissa Wester, Matt Casey, Kate Rose, Kirk Courtney and Hilary Shuss.

[Ben Stiller]

And the team at Red, John Lesher, Carolina Pesikov, John Pablo Antonetti, Martin Valderruten, Ashwin Ramesh, Maria Noto, John Baker, and Oliver Agar.

[Adam Scott]

And at Great Scott, Kevin Cotter, Josh Martin, and Christy Smith.

[Ben Stiller]

At Rise Management, we had additional production help from Kristen Torres and Melissa Slaughter. I'm Ben Stiller.

[Adam Scott]

And I'm Adam Scott. Thank you for listening and and may Kir bless our little goat friends.