(Spoiler Warning for Severance Season 2)
I come from a family that adores Sci-Fi TV shows, from Watchmen, to Star Trek, to The Outer Limits, to The X-Files, to Babylon 5. Naturally, Severance intrigued me from the start. It’s first season tackled questions of identity and free will, thanks to a dystopian corporate experiment where employees surgically split their memories between “work” and “home.” Season 2 goes further, highlighting how futuristic workplaces can weaponize age-old racial biases, particularly against Black leaders.
At Lumon Industries, the mysterious corporation at the center of Severance, employees’ consciousness is divided into “Innies,” who exist only at work, and “Outies,” who live everyday lives at home. Neither side remembers the other. Season 1 introduced the moral hazards of such a system.
So, what does this corporate allegory have to say about Black leadership?
Seth "Mr." Milchick & Performance Scrutiny
Tramell Tillman’s Seth Milchick is a mid-level Lumon manager who faces endless nitpicking: tiny errors are tallied, while an all-white upper leadership keeps tabs on him via a junior colleague, Miss Huang, who is actually a minor. There’s a particularly bizarre moment involving reimagined paintings of Lumon’s founder, rendered in blackface, but still blue-eyed, hinting that Black identity is just another tool for the company to exert it’s almost dogmatic will.
However, the turning point arrives in Episode 6, when Milchick’s performance review criticizes him for “using too many big words” and attaching paper clips incorrectly. These no doubt came from Miss Huang, who in addition to going to management to criticize Mr. Milchick behind his back, insults him to his face more than a few times. Again, this is a junior non-Black employee undermining a Black manager. In a mirror following his review, he rehearses a phrase he once used with Miss Huang, “eradicate from your essence childish folly,” and simplifies it until all that’s left is “Grow.” This haunting scene captures how Black leaders often find themselves forced to shrink their authentic style, language, and persona to appease organizations that view them as outsiders. He’s confronting the real cost of meeting constant, seemingly arbitrary demands, where growth actually
Natalie Kalen & Silent Pressure
Seth’s experiences echo in the story of Natalie Kalen (Sydney Cole Alexander), another Black employee who remains cautious about speaking up. She observes Seth’s struggles, and the cost of making waves, so she tiptoes around the same issues. It’s a phenomenon we detail in our non-Lumon-approved ebook 17 Ways to Lead More Equitably: when leaders of color witness their peers being penalized, they often retreat into silence to protect themselves from institutional and interpersonal retaliation. We have heard more than once from Black leaders seeking Black staff to support substantive change something to the tune of “You have NO idea how fragile my position is, so I really can’t help you.”
Dylan George & the Carrot of Special Privileges
Meanwhile, Dylan George (Zach Cherry) seems to get a perk: he’s allowed visits from his “Outie” spouse, a benefit most employees lack. While it looks like a reward, it mirrors a real-world pattern where organizations offer small incentives to certain Black professionals as a subtle means of control. By keeping Dylan content, Lumon keeps him from asking deeper questions about its oppressive practices.
Connecting to Equity-Responsive Leadership
Severance may be a dystopian sci-fi show, but its depiction of Black leaders rings painfully true. Through Seth, Natalie, and Dylan, the show reveals how corporate settings (probably with an eye towards tech) can and do deploy tactics that marginalize people of color:
1.-Excessive Scrutiny
- The Issue: Seth’s minor mistakes are magnified, reflecting a common reality where Black leaders endure hyper-surveillance.
- ERL Solution: Leverage “qualifying life events” to reset boundaries (from eBook Insight 1). Whether it’s transitioning teams, onboarding a new manager, or renegotiating responsibilities, use these moments to clarify acceptable feedback channels and reject petty criticisms as part of your formal role expectations.
2.-Perpetual Silencing
- The Issue: Natalie sees injustices but withholds criticism, fearing backlash. This upholds the status quo by discouraging collective pushback.
- ERL Solution: Know, and name, your true value (from eBook Insight 2). Document your contributions, gather supportive peer and mentor feedback, and remind yourself (and the institution) that silence isn’t only compliance, it’s often a response to bias and direct targeting. Having a firm sense of your worth makes it easier to speak up, without automatically becoming “the problem.”
3.-Tokenizing Incentives
- The Issue: Dylan’s transactional privileges effectively neutralize potential resistance, highlighting how easily personal gains can undermine broader calls for equity.
- ERL Solution: Ask the right questions (from eBook Insight 3). For example: “How does this incentive align or not with our organization’s broader equity goals?” “What systematic changes are in place, beyond offering perks to selected individuals?” “Does this truly address root causes, or simply reward compliance?” By pressing for honest answers, you avoid being co-opted by carrots that distract from meaningful systemic change and can ostracize you from other Black leaders in the environment.
StrivEquity Consulting LLC‘s Equity-Responsive Leadership framework underscores these patterns and offers strategies for navigating them. For instance, rather than shouldering burdens alone, leaders can build solidarity networks, seek allies within and outside their institutions, and document microaggressions to ensure accountability. While it isn’t easy, recognizing these tactics is the first step toward dismantling them.
Why Severance Matters for Black Leadership
Despite its futuristic premise, Severance hits close to home for anyone who’s worked under illusions of progress that obscure systemic inequities. I grew up on the utopian vision of Star Trek, where humanity transcends old prejudices, but real (and fictional) institutions often fail to live up to that ideal. From blackface paintings to coded language critiques, Severance dramatizes how entrenched racism can persist behind a facade of innovation.
For Black professionals, watching characters like Seth discover that “grow” really means “suppress who you are” might resonate deeply. It’s a reminder that demands for “professionalism” can be laced with bias, leaving you wondering how much of yourself you must compromise to succeed.
Moving Beyond the Status Quo
Ultimately, Seth’s mirror scene raises the question of where he goes from here: does he continue “fixing” himself to suit Lumon, or does he break free? Likewise, many real-world leaders wrestle with how to maintain authenticity amid relentless scrutiny. In the end, Severance Season 2 delivers a chilling lesson: no amount of futuristic tech can erase centuries-old racial biases if they’re woven into a company’s DNA. The good news is that recognizing these patterns and strategizing around them can lead to personal liberation.
What do you think? If you’ve dealt with “big word” critiques or token perks in your own career, share your thoughts. And if you’re looking for ways to stay true to yourself while driving change, I invite you to explore StrivEquity Consulting LLC‘s free ebook 17 Ways to Lead More Equitably. This resource on Equity-Responsive Leadership points to practical routes, like practicing boundary-setting, leveraging external mentors, and calmly naming issues without shouldering them alone.
I’m definitely curious to see how the rest of these Black characters stories unfold.
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