Do we like them?

Do we like Mark Scout?

A character from Severance (2022–present)

Our score: 7 out of 10. A decent, hurting man who mostly tries to do right by the people near him. He's often passive and sometimes selfish, but we'd back him.

Mark Scout is a quiet, grief-stricken man who works at Lumon Industries. Lumon offers a "severance" procedure that splits a worker's memories in two. His work self, the "innie," knows nothing of his outside life, and his outside self, the "outie," knows nothing of the job. Mark takes the deal to escape the pain of losing his wife. He becomes chief of the Macrodata Refinement team, sorting mysterious numbers for reasons no one explains.

Mark is likable because he is gentle, funny in a deadpan way, and loyal to his teammates. He is also a flawed hero. He avoids confronting things, drinks to numb himself, and his grief can make him tunnel-visioned. His innie and outie are almost two characters. The innie gets to be curious and brave, while the outie is more guarded and sad.

When strange outside forces start breaking into his severed life, Mark has to decide how much truth he can bear. He leads his coworkers in a risky push against Lumon, and his search for answers about his wife drives his later choices. That drive costs the people around him and puts his two selves at odds. It also makes him the emotional centre of the show, and we would still back him.