“Severance” fans, go ahead and breathe a huge sigh of relief.

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After an interminable wait (nearly three years), Apple TV+’s ingenious mind-blower of a series returns and it’s just as brilliant as in its first season. Its return ups the ante on the sinister goings while it strategically meting out juicy tidbits and social commentary surrounding a seemingly evil corporation.

True to its surreal inclinations, Season 2 often sprints off into what-the-hell-just-happened places — always keeping us off-balance and wondering where it will wind up. Rest assured, we’re good in hands. So just follow along.

But new viewers to creator Dan Erickson’s wild workplace, where “innies” and “outies” somewhat coexist, shouldn’t just dive in. You’ll be as lost as a Democrat after the last presidential election. Start with Season 1, which introduces you to a bunch of “severed” employees, workers who opted to “participate” in a radical procedure where you become two different personas — one at the office, the other living out of it.

Or so it seems.

Even  diehard fans should re-watch the jaw-dropping Season 1 finale in preparation for Season 2, which references when Macrodata Refinement Department drones (played by Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry and John Turturro) threw back the Oz-like curtain on their mysterious employer, Lumon Industries, to reveal to the world that the shadowy company doesn’t have noble intentions when it comes to its severed employees.

Reasonable concerns about the gap between seasons 1 and 2 vanish in the first episode. It starts with still-grieving widower Mark (Adam Scott) meeting new coworkers at Lumon Industries, a boxy corporation where winter reigns supreme and a big chill emanates from the sterile, zero-personality cubicles and boardrooms where old-school computers rule a sterile environment.”

Numerous questions swirl like snowflakes around the landscape Erickson and executive producer/director Ben Stiller have nurtured and maintained. The good news is there are more goats and more concrete (sort of) answers about Mark’s wife and so on.

Some question marks get resolved quickly, such as what happened to Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette, incredible per her norm), the former tough-as-nails floor manager who, on the outside, exists as Mark’s neighbor. She’s not in the new season much, but when she appears, her screen time set off fireworks.

Other questions linger and wait. Without revealing any plot lines, it is safe to say that more time gets devoted to venturing “outside of the office.” It’s a welcome shift and broadens the series’ intriguing, slightly salted, dystopian vision. It also gives the opportunity for the cast, in particular Britt Lower as the immensely likable Helly and her more ruthless outside persona Helena, and Santa Cruz native Scott, who remains torn between grief and a new love, ample opportunity to show their versatility as actors. The same applies to Tramell Tillman – as the enigmatic Mr. Milchick – who became quite a viral sensation for busting out his dance moves in Season 1.

Throughout the nine of 10 episodes I watched, “Severance” confounded expectations as it builds on its labyrinthic mythology about our warring workplace and personal identities, and comments on how corporate tomfoolery takes advantage of both our “innie” and “outies” for their own gains.

While some shows pump the creative well dry by cranking out arthritic prequels and sequels, Erickson and Stiller keep galloping forward, keeping their creation fresh rather than designed to sound the same notes time and again in a lame ploy to appease the faithful. Should it  take another three years before a Season 3 emerges, so be it. It’s well worth the wait.

Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].

‘SEVERANCE SEASON 2’

4 stars out of 4

When & where: First episode available Jan. 17; new episode released weekly through March 21; Apple TV+