"Twilight Zone-Inspired Installment Unveiled in Latest Episode of Severance"
In the latest episode of Severance, titled "The After Hours," if you're a fan of The Twilight Zone, you might've spotted some similarities to an episode with the exact same name from this classic series. In fact, an observant viewer (kudos to you!) pointed this out before the episode even aired, suggesting a watch of "The After Hours" as a warm-up.
This vintage piece of existential dread is indeed a cool companion to the Severance episode. It's clear that the creators of Severance, who've likely looked to The Twilight Zone for inspiration, took some specific cues from Rod Serling and crew on this one. With the recent reveal that another Twilight Zone episode influenced Ryan Coogler's horror film Sinners, and our confusing present time, it's a good reminder to keep The Twilight Zone (streaming on Paramount+) on your playlist.
Spoilers for "The After Hours" (1960) and Severance (2022) follow.
In the Severance episode, Ms. Cobel needs to convince a skeptical security guard for access to a compound containing a cabin that can bring Mark's inner consciousness to life outside of Lumon. The conversation goes like this:
Cobel: "We're going to cottage five."
Guard: "I don't have anyone scheduled."
Cobel: "She's one of Jame's. No one's to know... Miss Marsha White, ninth floor."
Guard: "Specialties Department."
Cobel: "I'm looking for a gold thimble."
The gold thimble and ninth floor tips are almost verbatim from The Twilight Zone's "The After Hours."
"The After Hours" (1960) stars Anne Francis, a familiar face to sci-fi fans from her role in Forbidden Planet, as a woman looking for a gold thimble as a present for her mother. She heads to an elevator that only goes up to the eighth floor, but somehow reaches the ninth, which is eerily abandoned except for a saleswoman selling... gold thimbles. The twist? This isn't just a department store; it's The Twilight Zone.
After dealing with some oddities, Marsha realizes her thimble is damaged, but when she describes shopping on the ninth floor, the store staff are baffled. The store doesn't have a ninth floor! Marsha then sees the sales clerk, realizes she's a mannequin, and faints. When she wakes up, it's the "The After Hours" in the store, with mannequins coming to life and calling out to Marsha.
The shock causes her to forget who she is, living for a brief period before returning to her mannequin state. In the end, she's replaced with a mannequin that looks just like her face. Rod Serling concludes the episode by musing, "But it makes you wonder, doesn't it, just how normal are we? Just who are the people we nod our hellos to as we pass on the street? A rather good question to ask-particularly in The Twilight Zone."
While "The After Hours" in Severance might initially seem like an in-universe Twilight Zone reference, it's probably just a wink at the audience acknowledging this clever echo. The dialogue between Cobel and the security guard is deliberately nonsensical, a nod to the audience that recognizes this similarity. After realizing who she is, a fellow mannequin scolds Marsha for forgetting her true identity during her time with "the outsiders." They are the real people.
In essence, the severed employees in Severance are similar to the store mannequins in The Twilight Zone. They're allowed to come alive under certain controlled circumstances and must endure reminders that they're not really human. Both episodes, despite different contexts, feel quite in sync with each other.
Curious viewers might dig deeper into Severance to find more Twilight Zone clues, but it seems more probable that Severance is echoing themes rather than plot details. If you've spotted any intriguing Easter eggs or references, please share them below!
You can stream The Twilight Zone on Paramount+, and Severance on Apple TV+.
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- The creativity of the Severance team is evident in the latest episode titled "The After Hours," which displays striking similarities to a classic Twilight Zone episode of the same name.
- Reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, the employees in Severance, though seemingly human, are controlled and must endure reminders that they are not truly alive.
- In an homage to Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone, the creators of Severance deliberately crafted a conversation between Cobel and a security guard that, like "The After Hours," includes a gold thimble and a reference to the ninth floor.
- Comparing Severance to The Twilight Zone is sure to perplex some viewers, as the themes both series share are more profound than direct plot similarities, making an intriguing connection between the two shows.
