Like many, my addiction to the hit TV show Severance – which follows a shadowy biotech company that can “sever” people’s memories at work from their memories of the outside world – has increased my appetite for more mind-bending, high-concept stories.
Drawing from a rich well of inspiration, which encompasses The Twilight Zone and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Severance has reawakened a specific obsession of mine: “puzzle box” sci-fi plots, where Matryoshka doll mysteries unfold in a confusing and horrifying fashion, escalating into an exhilarating crescendo that is usually analysed in forums and YouTube videos tagged with the promise “ENDING EXPLAINED”.
