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Let's talk about Adam Scott's nuanced portrayal of new love vs. old love in 'Severance'

Give the guy an Emmy for that season finale alone, for the love.

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Adam Scott plays Mark Scout in "Severance" on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ had had some real winners with their original programming, from "Ted Lasso"Ted Lasso" to "Shrinking," but few shows have wormed their way into people's minds as thoroughly and mysteriously as "Severance." The basic premise of the series alone is intriguing—a brain implant that splits a person's psyche in two, completely separating their work life from their home life—but the implications of people's brains being "severed" combined with the strange, cult-like nature of Lumon, the company utilizing the procedure for its employees, makes for riveting television.

Spoiler alert: Stop reading if you don't want to know what happens in the Season 2 finale.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The two seasons (so far) of "Severance" have revealed a growing pile of questions and only a handful of answers, as we've watched the main character, Mark, grapple with increasing unknowns as both his "innie" work self (Mark S.) and his "outie" personal self (Mark Scout). The two Marks, played by Adam Scott, literally live two different lives, with each one trying to uncover secrets about their individual and shared experiences.

In the Season 2 finale, we see the two Marks interact directly and ultimately clash over the one thing they completely diverge on—the women they love—and not only is it a wild ride, but it perfectly demonstrates the differences between new and long-term love. If there was any question about Adam Scott's acting chops before this episode, it was answered in the form of his award-worthy portrayal of Mark being in love in two different ways with two different women in two overlapping realities.


Mark and Gemma have the love of a real-life marriage

This season, we've learned that Mark's wife, Gemma, not only didn't die in a car accident like he'd been told, but she's been part of a big secret project at Lumon that Mark had been working on himself as Mark S. We've now seen Mark and Gemma's backstory, how they met and fell in love, the struggles they went through trying to start a family, and the tensions that can inevitably creep into long-term relationships. We see a loving marriage that's been tested, the devotion and dedication it takes to keep long-term love alive and thriving, and the grief of a man who thought he had lost that lifelong love forever.

When Mark finds out that Gemma's actually alive, he does everything he can to find and get to her. And when he finally does, we see the power of that kind of love. We see how the familiarity of a husband reaching out to his wife seems to break the spell Lumon had over Gemma. This love passionate, but not desperate. It's calm and confident. Solid and enduring. Scott plays it beautifully.

Mark S. and Helly have the love of teenage desperation

Mark's innie, Mark S., however, has formed his own relationship within the walls of Lumon. He and Helly R. have fallen in love, and his love for her causes the tension between him and his outie in the finale. While outie Mark is desperate to save Gemma and take down Lumon the process, Mark S. realizes what that would mean for him and the other innies. Without Lumon, they won't exist, which means he and Helly won't get to be together. The existential threat of non-existence is one thing, but losing love appears to be an even more powerful motivating force for Mark S.

But Mark S. and Helly's love is markedly different than Mark and Gemma's. For one, it's limited to the severed floor of Lumon. It's like when teens fall for one another in the confined, separate world of summer camp. The feelings are intense and real, but the relationship little chance of lasting out in the reality of normal life. The innies' world at Lumon isn't really real, even if their experiences there are.

However, Lumon is the only world they know and Mark S.'s love for Helly is the only love he's ever known. Add to that the fact that innies are simple and innocent with no baggage, no memories, nothing but the here and now, and you have the makings of an early life, immature romance. That fresh, first love is exciting, intoxicating, and desperate. It's the kind of love that makes people lose their minds and defy logic and reason. We see it in Mark S. grappling with what he knows he should do—go with Gemma so his outie that created him can have the life he's meant to have—but the pull to be with Helly (if it really is Helly and not Helena) proves to be too much for him to resist.

Fans of Mark and Helly's relationship may not like hearing it, but this is a Romeo and Juliet love, the all-consuming, self-destructive kind that will eventually end in disaster because desperation only leads to poor choices. And again, Adam Scott plays it perfectly.

Watching one actor play two roles, which are supposed to be two parts of the same person, is impressive enough. But to see him play those two selves in love in such different ways, nailing the subtle differences, is just mind-blowing. Just give that guy the Emmy now. He's definitely earned it with this stellar performance.

And yes, fans, there will be a Season 3 as confirmed by Tim Cook and Ben Stiller. Praise Kier.

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Resurfaced clip shows a star-struck Frankie Muniz meeting Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Muniz is now a professional racer and finished in 10th place at the Daytona 500 yesterday.

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Frankie Muniz meets Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 in 2001.

This past weekend, actor turned professional NASCAR driver Frankie Muniz placed tenth in the iconic Daytona 500 race. It was Muniz's first race of his first full-time season as a NASCAR driver. " I was screaming!" he wrote on X.

The monumental feat has resurfaced an interview of Muniz meeting racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the Daytona 500 in 2001–hours before he lost his life. For racing fans, February 18, 2001, is a day they will never forget. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was involved in a deadly 3-car crash during the last lap of the race. His death deeply impacted racing, and influenced important changes in safety protocols.

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Muniz filmed a vlog-style video of his experience during the 2001 race, where cameras followed him around. "The Daytona 500. They say it's like the Superbowl of football and the World Series of baseball. You know, the huge race," he says in the video, explaining that he was invited to check out the pit and also ride in a pace car at the event. He gets to meet a number of other racers, including Kenny Schrader–who was racing one of the cars involved in Earnhardt Sr.'s crash.

The video continues with Muniz eerily attending a driver safety meeting. "So we went in, all the drivers were there with their crew captains. It was weird. I never knew that they had to go through that every race," he says.

The video continues, and Muniz meets Jeff Gordon before bumping into Earnhardt Sr. "Dale Earnhardt was right in front of me. He's a legend,. Seven Winston Cup championships. I was actually a little nervous to meet him, but he was really nice. He was really cool. He was like, 'Oh I love your show,' and I was like, 'Oh thanks.' I told him good luck," Muniz says.

He goes on to share how meaningful the encounter was to him. "It was an honor to meet him. To meet another actor is no big deal. It's like 'Oh they're normal, just like me.' But to meet a sports star or NASCAR racer, it's just different," he says. "I become a fan all of a sudden."

Besides finding success as a professional racecar driver, Muniz has continued his acting career. Most recently, it was announced that Malcolm in the Middle will be getting a highly-anticipated reboot on Disney+. Munis helped make the announcement on Instagram, where he shared, "I have been waiting for this moment for 18 years! [since the series finale]. Let's find out where Malcolm and his family are now."

Actor Bryan Cranston also makes an appearance in the video, where he adds, "It's been 25 years since we premiered Malcolm in the Middle. I'm so excited...that I may have peed. Just a little bit. Excuse me."

The series will return with 4 episodes on the streaming channel that will reunite the original cast, including Jane Kaczmarek, per Variety. "Malcolm (Muniz) and his daughter are drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party," the publication shared. An air date has not been announced, but fans will be eagerly waiting.

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Pop Culture

'Percy Jackson' author pens powerful letter in defense of casting new Annabeth Chase

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Rick Riordan at a book signing in 2007.

When my son got into the Percy Jackson books in the sixth grade, I hadn’t really heard of the series but I learned it's much like Harry Potter for Gen Z. Enormously thick books were devoured in under a week and alarms were set for the next release in the series. Searches were on for the super-secret hidden book that wraps up a few loose ends and a fandom was born. But when the books were made into a live action movies in the 2010s, true fans of the series were left confused and disappointed. So, when it was announced that Percy Jackson was getting a reboot in 2023, fans rejoiced.

Then the cast was announced. It should have been a moment of celebration for the fantastic actors chosen, but some fans were less than thrilled.

Leah Jeffries, a Black girl, and Aryan Simhadri, an Indian American boy, were cast to play Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friends. The trio go on adventures and help each other out of sketchy predicaments that can only be experienced by demigods and satyrs. But…it didn’t take long for naysayers to start piping up over fictional characters being represented by people of color, particularly Annabeth being played by a Black girl, when the character in the series has blond hair. Eventually, the growing discontent caught the attention of none other than Rick Riordan himself and he not only took to Twitter to defend the young star, but wrote a beautifully strong condemnation of these comments in a letter on his website.

Riordan didn’t shy away from calling out racism in the comments, writing, “You either are not aware, or have dismissed, Leah’s years of hard work honing her craft, her talent, her tenacity, her focus, her screen presence. You refuse to believe her selection could have been based on merit,” he wrote. “Without having seen her play the part, you have pre-judged her (pre + judge = prejudice) and decided she must have been hired simply to fill a quota or tick a diversity box.” Riordan was very clear when he called out the problematic behavior from fans of the series.

The author wasn’t finished there. He continued, “You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks. She is a Black girl playing someone who was described in the books as white,” before plainly stating, “Friends, that is racism.”

There’s a subtle irony about the backlash surrounding Annabeth being represented by a Black girl, as the book’s version of Annabeth is related to Greek goddess Athena, who many believe to have been taken from African culture. In fact, Neith, the Egyptian goddess, is said to be Athena’s prototype. Neith was the goddess of creation, wisdom, weaving and war. She is also believed to be Ra’s mother. Athena is the Greek goddess of war, handicraft (weaving), and reason (wisdom), and was worshipped from 449-420 BC, while Neith was worshiped as early as 1600 BC. Neith’s worship was most prominent from 664-525 BC, but there are reports that Athena was most prominently worshiped between 900-700 BC.

While the worshipping of the two goddesses didn’t overlap, devotees definitely bounced a bit between the two. Still, it comes down to first mention, and Neith has Athena beat by a few thousand years. If you’re looking to the gods and goddesses of times past to verify the role of Annabeth Chase, it's clear that she is now being more accurately portrayed. Funny how that old argument on which came first, the chicken or the egg, can also be applied to Greek and Egyptian mythology and the 21st century portrayal of one of Athena’s faux relatives.

stone statue of Athena, Goddess of War

Athena, Goddess of War.

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While Riordan did not mince words in defense of Annabeth being played by Leah Jeffries, he also praised her skill in her craft: “Leah brings so much energy and enthusiasm to this role, so much of Annabeth’s strength. She will be a role model for new generations of girls who will see in her the kind of hero they want to be.”

The author helped to handpick the actors portraying his larger-than-life characters and we as an audience should not only trust his judgment, but look at the faces of the children these actors will represent. Diversity is becoming such a buzzword that people forget that you can have diversity and the best for the job. One is not exclusive of the other. It seems as if Rick Riordan and his casting team have struck that balance.

Riordan didn’t stop there. The author has a diversity program on his website called Rick Riordan Presents, with the goal of publishing four books a year by diverse writers who write in the same mythology genre. He uses this platform, and his relationship with Disney, to champion underrepresented voices. Riordan makes it clear that he strives for diversity in the spaces that he occupies and that’s a beautiful thing.

Whether the role of Annabeth Chase was played by a Black actor or not should not cause such a stir. Having a cast that looks more like the world we inhabit is a good thing and the way Riordan has leaned into representation and diversity can inspire others to do the same.

In late January 2025, Disney announced on their Instagram that season 2 of the Percy Jackson reboot, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, had finished filming and was set to release later in the year. Sounds like the casting choices didn't trip up the success of the show in the end.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Television

Wheel of Fortune fans slam show after contestant was 'robbed' over minor mispronunciation

It cost her $40,000

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That wasn't sa-FAIR-i.

Should Wheel of Fortune contestants be disqualified over mispronounced words? This has been a topic of debate since the game show first aired back in 1975, more or less. It becomes an especially tricky conversation when factoring in a player’s accent, which many folks say shouldn’t cause them to lose their winnings if indeed their guess was correct on a puzzle solve.

This conundrum recently reared its ugly head for the show’s February 3rd episode, during which Arzice Salonga, a single mom from Medina, Ohio, (keep this in mind for later) buzzed in to solve the opening $1,000 Tossup puzzle—a two-word “Event” which read: “A F _ I _ _ N / _ A _ A _ _” on the board.

Salonga correctly guessed “African Safari,” however, pronounced it “Sa-FAIR-ee,” which was deemed incorrect. Fellow contestant Brian Nelson then swooped in with the correct pronunciation and nabbed the $1,000 prize.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

“Yes, safari is the way you have to say that,” host Ryan Seacrest said to a shocked Salonga. “I just checked with our judges to make sure.”

Online, fans quickly came to Salonga’s defense. Especially on Reddit, where one person said “That was cheap. I didn’t think they were so fussy on pronunciation.”

Another added, “She was robbed IMO.”


Still another wrote, ““100 percent bull**** on that puzzle. She got screwed. I know pronunciations matter but, like…there’s been way worse.”

And here’s where the accent issue came up. A few surmised that the mispronunciation was actually more of a dialect thing, and shouldn’t be counted against her.

“I think it was such a mistake by the show. It sounds to me like she has a slight accent of some sort, which shouldn’t be a determining factor. If she had spelled it, it would have been right,” wrote one person.

“I thought her pronunciation was just a regional dialect,” echoed another.

Ohio does, in fact, have three distinct regional accents. The Midland one in particular, which is the most common regional accent, pronounces words like "merry", "Mary", and "marry" the same way. Meaning that it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for someone from this area to pronounce a word like “safari” as “sa-fair-ee.”

Still, a few felt the show was in the right for the disqualification. One person said, “I’m gonna go against the grain. Wheel is a show about words. You should pronounce the words correctly to win.”

Of course, there have been other times when Wheel of Fortune’s stringent rules have cost contestants their prize money, including one infamous episode where a contestant lost his chance at the $1 million prize due to mispronouncing “Mythological Hero Achilles.” But this strict mandate seems to only really come into question when the pronunciation is due to an accent, as when one contestant's Southern accent caused her to say “Seven swans a-swimmin'!" rather than “Seven swans a-swimming.” Or another contestant named Neetu whose accent made it sound like he said “In A Moment's Notice” rather than “At A Moment's Notice.”

Unlike a puzzle on the show, maybe there’s not one right answer to solve this dilemma, and we should make room for some nuance. At the same time, what’s a game without rules? Thankfully most of us don’t need to worry about it. But if you do plan on trying to win big, maybe do a quick review of proper pronunciations before spinning that wheel, just to be safe.

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