The Four Tempers - 2025 February

Severance offers much to admire, from its acting and storyline to its music. This show is incredibly engaging, and it’s easy to understand why many consider it a significant milestone in Apple TV+’s reputation as a trusted source for high-quality entertainment. Furthermore, the musical choices made for Severance are noteworthy. The score, created by Theodore Shapire, features numerous tracks that effectively convey the feelings of bewilderment, apprehension, and excitement that characterize the employees at Lumon and their experiences within and beyond the company.

Among the songs in the series, one stands out as holding a significant clue to a pivotal aspect. “The Four Tempers” song is particularly noteworthy and central to our understanding. This song echoes the ancient concept of the “four temperaments,” a psychological theory that categorizes human behavior into four distinct personality types. Interestingly, this idea resurfaces consistently throughout the series, from Kier Egan’s philosophy to the computational work carried out by Lumon employees.

Understanding the song more deeply, along with the concept of the four temperaments, might just unlock insights into both the forthcoming episodes of the series and the intricacies of human behavior, separating myth from reality.

The Four Temperaments, at a Glance

It’s worth noting that the concept of ‘the four temperaments’ is said to have origins traced back to ancient Mesopotamia. Nevertheless, a significant portion of what we know about this theory comes from the teachings of the renowned Greek physician, Hippocrates.

The fundamental idea posits that human character can be categorized into four basic types: sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic, and choleric. These character templates and associated traits were historically linked to the balance or imbalance of bodily fluids within a person, such as blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. For example, someone exhibiting excessive excitement might have been thought to have more blood in their body compared to the other fluids. Likewise, someone experiencing profound sadness was believed to have an overabundance of black bile within them.

The Four Temperaments Beyond the Body

The four temperaments were often linked with the seasons because of their temperature characteristics and physical state. For instance, Phlegm, thought to be cold and wet, was strongly associated with winter. Similarly, yellow bile, seen as hot and dry, was connected to summer. Over time, this theory has been debunked, but the four temperaments have played a significant role in deepening our understanding of the human body and have also been used metaphorically in psychology.

Lumon & “The Four Tempers”

In the television show, Lumon Corporation is portrayed as a groundbreaking yet contentious biotech firm, where it divides its employees into two parts: an internal self (“innie”) dedicated to work and an external self (“outie”) that lies beyond their professional life. The series predominantly explores the tasks of the Macrodata Refinement Division staff, offering viewers a peek into each employee’s daily obligations.

Initially, a desk job seems to involve sorting out a jumbled arrangement of coded figures and sending them to a digital storage place. After a five-month leap in season 2, hints about the reason behind this processing become more apparent, providing viewers with enlightening scenes that contribute to the progression of the storyline and give fans a solid basis for their theories.

Chords of Quiet Chaos, Explained

In addition to powerful acting and a captivating, yet unsettling visual style, the show Severance is enhanced by a score that resonates with its themes and overall atmosphere. Composed by Theodore Shapiro, who has worked on projects such as Yellowjackets and A Simple Favor, the music offers an expansive array of “delicately intricate yet subdued” compositions that encapsulate the tension and mystery experienced by employees at Lumon.

A specific tune, titled “The Four Tempers”, resonates with the underlying apprehension experienced by each character, while also serving as a subtle acknowledgment of Lumon’s philosophy. The ominous strings create a relentless momentum, carrying an eerie sense of pleasure or perverse glee. Beyond its musical elements, “The Four Tempers” is a clear allusion to the beliefs of Kier Egan, the creator of Lumon (portrayed by Marc Geller), who plays a significant role in Lumon’s adoption of the severance process.

Is TV’s Favorite Quartet Simply a Coincidence?

As a devoted fan, I find myself captivated by the song, Macrodata Refinement mechanisms, and the intriguing tales of the Egan dynasty, which all converge around the central theme of the four temperaments in this gripping series. Stepping into the seemingly pristine yet enigmatic realm of Lumon, it doesn’t take long for viewers to realize that the facade hides a much darker truth. This revelation fuels speculation about Lumon, the real objectives behind Severance, and the potential implications for our four intriguing protagonists.

After the end of the first season, viewers began to believe that the characters Mark (Adam Scott), Danny (Zach Cherry), Helly (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro) embody the four classical temperaments: Sanguine (Frolic), Melancholic (Woe), Phlegmatic (Dread), and Choleric (Malice). Fans have linked the anxious and tormented Irving to dread, the sorrowful Mark to woe, the resentful Helly to malice, and the carefree, hopeful Danny to frolic. As the series unfolds, these initial associations become more nuanced as their characters and methods of unraveling Lumon’s secrets evolve.

The Future of Our Favorite Foursome

As the second season kicked off this month, there’s been much buzz among fans about the four temperaments. A significant twist unfolds at the end of the premiere episode, where viewers find Mark, now reassured, returning to his position in Macrodata Refinement after the “Macrodata Uprising” and subsequent changes.

In the document titled “Cold Harbor,” Mark continues his work. As he organizes the information into specific folders, an image of Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) suddenly appears on the screen, reminding him of his late wife Gemma. This unexpected occurrence has sparked debate once more about the real intention behind Macrodata Refinement. Many now believe that this system is designed by Lumon to enhance severance chips, implying that Ms. Casey/Gemma might be among the project’s test subjects.

In light of the pledged reforms, such as improved treatment and Mark’s potential return to his department (as suggested by Milchick), “Cold Harbor” could be a subtle embodiment of these changes proposed by the corporations. However, considering the Macrodata Uprising, it would be naive to assume that Lumon doesn’t have a strategy in place to suppress any future rebellion. The familiar characters we’ve grown fond of might either be instrumental in Lumon’s control over human minds or the catalyst that brings about its downfall.

In a myriad of hints and references, numerous entry points exist for enthusiasts eager to unravel the mystery surrounding Severance. Interestingly, Shapiro’s musical composition is an integral aspect of the series that not only mirrors the emotions of each character and their predicament but also subtly echoes the core theories underlying the narrative.

2025-02-03 05:32