If star performer Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) isn’t switching up the lights, busting a move, and giving the performance of a lifetime, is it even a season of Severance?!
When the hit workplace thriller let the Severed Floor boss let loose in an intense, colorful, delightfully chaotic “Defiant Jazz” dance scene in Season 1, fans weren’t sure Severance could ever come close to those levels of greatness. So in the Season 2 finale, Milchick pulled out the big guns: Choreography & Merriment (C&M).
After Mark’s historic Cold Harbor completion, Milchick put on another show-stopping performance with help from a Lumon marching band department, some blue and green lights, a fresh fit for the occasion, a baton, and a genuine love of dance.
To kick off the celebration, C&M played a catchy rendition of the Kier hymn in MDR’s office while executing impressive office friendly choreography. When the first song wrapped, Milchick thanked them, took off his jacket, and requested they “keep the Mark S love going” with “a ballad of Ambrose and Gunnel.” He lowered his baton, let the rhythm course through his body, and delivered another captivating, comedic, charismatic dance alongside the huge group of musicians. Like Defiant Jazz before it, the scene will go down in history as one of Severance‘s most impressive and memorable.
“We had so much fun filming that and having this Lumon band orchestrated by a wonderful team. They’re actually a group of musicians that get together and do this very thing, where they get on stages, and do parades, and perform and tell stories together. So it was really great to have them on board with us. They were fantastic,” Tillman told Decider during an in-studio interview.
To prep for the big scene, the Severance star confirmed that rehearsals outside of filming were necessary. And as more and more band members started taking an interest in the show, Tillman explained, the experience got even more interesting.
“I got to know them, and many of them had not seen the show. So once they started working with us for days, and days, and days, they started watching. And then they would come up to me and say, ‘You’re evil. I don’t think I like you anymore,” he said with chuckle. “I was like, ‘What do you mean? You were just talking to me the other day, and now you don’t wanna talk to me because you feel like I’m evil?’ It was all in good fun. And it was so fun to watch their experience on the show, and also their experience of the show outside of the set. And for Milchick to let loose in his own way.”
Speaking of Milchick letting loose, for viewers hoping that some of the routine was born from Tramell Tillman freestyle, we’ve got great news!
“A little bit, yeah! There was a bit of choreography, but they just let me run with it and find it,” Tillman revealed. “Ben Stiller has a fascination with bands. He loves bands. And I went to an HBCU, so I have a fascination with bands as well. And if you notice when you watch it, there’s the traditional sense of the band. There’s a military style. And then the second number, he breaks it down somewhat. So that was a great time to be able to allow Milchick to throw his flavor into it.”
When Decider chatted with Severance creator and “Cold Harbor” writer Dan Erickson about the finale, he said that watching the scene he wrote come off the page felt “incredible.”
“I really don’t want to make Tramell dance in more and more elaborate ways for the rest of his life, but I also don’t not want that,” Erickson laughed. “He’s just so good. And in scenes like that, he brings such a charisma that also, to me, never feels out of character. I think that Milchick earnestly wants to bring a sense of excitement and humanity to this office. So I think it comes through from Tramell’s soul onto the screen.”
Season 2’s intense ending makes us wonder if we’ll ever see another dance party on Severed Floor again. But whether Milchick is making the world his stage or not, we have no doubt that Tillman will find ways to shine in Season 3.
Want more Severance recaps, analysis, and interviews? Check out Decider’s coverage for more in-depth insights into Season 2.
Severance Season 1 and 2 are now streaming on Apple TV+.