Praise Kier, Season 2 of “Severance” is upon us.
It’s been nearly three years since the psychological thriller series arrived on Apple TV+ and made us wonder what it would be like to have our memories and consciousness split in two: one for work and one outside of it.
“Severance” is filled with mysteries, particularly when it comes to Lumon, the company at the center of the show that employs its lead characters: Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro) and Dylan (Zach Cherry). They are “severed” employees who’ve had a chip implanted in their brains that separates their work and non-work selves — innies and outies. The four are part of the macrodata refinement team, or MDR, which sorts numbers on a computer screen based on their emotional response to them. Motivating them are perks like erasers, finger traps, melon and egg bars and waffle parties. And leading the team, before she was fired, was Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) — who also happens to be outie Mark’s neighbor, known to him as Mrs. Selvig — and her second in command, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman).
Guiding them are the principles laid out by the company’s founder, Kier Eagan — who is revered like a god and whose effigy adorns Lumon — and his philosophy of the Four Tempers, which dictates that the emotions woe, frolic, dread and malice must be tamed.
It’s a strange world steeped in sci-fi and pseudo-religion, but the show raises existential questions about our relationship to work and corporations. Would we be happier if we could separate our work life from our personal life? Can the colleagues we work with be considered family? Are we truly autonomous? What is the purpose of our work? And to that end, what is our purpose?
Some of these questions Mark’s innie and outie reflect on, leading to the events in the final two episodes of Season 1, where the MDR team decides to engage in the overtime contingency protocol or OTC — essentially an override of their chip where their innies awaken and experience life as their outies. The finale was a cliffhanger, leaving viewers wondering what will happen next to Mark, Helly, Irving and Dylan.
Here‘s what you should remember from Season 1 and how certain moments and symbols could foreshadow what happens in Season 2, premiering Friday.
In the final scenes of the season finale, Dylan is tackled by Mr. Milchick as he tries to stop the OTC. Will he and the rest of the team face repercussions?
It seems the answer is no, if you’ve seen the trailer for Season 2, where Milchick tells them they’ve become “the face of severance reform.” Dylan and the rest of the MDR team knew that initiating the OTC protocol could mean trouble for them, but they proceeded anyway as they tried to understand the lives of their outies. Dylan stays behind to initiate OTC, having experienced it himself in an earlier episode after Milchick tried to recover a stolen item from him. Despite the serious breach, we know the team is still employed by Lumon, but Season 2 will have to fill in the gaps of how and why that’s the case.
Helly awakens at an event at Lumon, where an audience is gathered to discuss severance. There, she learns that her outie is Helena Eagan, a descendant of Kier, and the daughter of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan. How will this affect her?
As Helly is about to go on stage, Natalie, a PR representative for Lumon who also serves as an intermediary for the company’s board, prompts her to tell the story about how “you think of your innie as your sister.” Instead, Helly tells the audience that severed employees are prisoners, that they’re miserable and that “they torture us down there.” It’s a very different message from the one Helena is supposed to be giving in support of severance. We see an installation that shows why she chose to become severed along with photos of her innie looking happy at work, which we know isn’t true — Helly tried to take her own life in an elevator. But now that we know who Helena is, we’ll have to see how she mops up this mess and what it could mean for Helly.
Mark learns that Gemma, his wife, is alive and that she’s Ms. Casey, the wellness director at Lumon. How does he react?
Mark’s outie has been despondent since his wife died in a car accident, which led him to take the severed job at Lumon so he wouldn’t have to think about her loss constantly. At Lumon, he’s offered wellness sessions with Ms. Casey, who tells him positive things about his outie, like that he’s kind or that his smile helps others feel better, for example. But in their final session together, he learns Ms. Casey has been fired, and he’s upset by the news.
Mark’s innie awakens while at his sister Devon’s home, where a book reading is taking place. He explains what’s happening, and in turn, Devon tells Mark’s innie why he took a severed job at Lumon. Later, he sees a photo of himself with Ms. Casey, realizing it’s Gemma. He shouts to Devon that Gemma is alive just before the OTC is turned off. This leads to two important questions: How is Gemma alive and what is Lumon’s role in all of it?
Will we see more of Ms. Cobel, though she was fired?
Ms. Cobel becomes frantic when she realizes that Mark’s innie is present at the book reading (The giveaway? Mark calls her Ms. Cobel instead of Ms. Selvig, which is how his outie would address her). She leaves and races to Lumon headquarters to try to stop Helly from speaking to the crowd, but she’s unsuccessful. It’s a remarkable moment considering her previous allegiance to the company. She tells Helly that her “friends are going to suffer. Mark will suffer.” She warns her that “you’ll be long gone, but we will keep them alive, in pain.” The warning is ominous, and judging by the scenes of Ms. Cobel tearing down her shrine to Kier, she may be done with Lumon.
How does Irving have so much information on Lumon’s employees and why does he paint a dark hallway over and over again each day?
We know that Irving has been at Lumon for three years; he mentions it in Episode 2 when the team is introduced to Helly. His longer tenure at Lumon, compared with his teammates’ anyway, could be one reason why he has the list of names of employees in his trunk, which is shown in the Season 1 finale. He was able to track down Burt, the head of the optics and design department, whom he’s fallen in love with and tries to see while the OTC is happening.
In earlier episodes, we see him nod off at his cubicle and he experiences vivid dreams where black goo is emanating from his desk. Could it be paint that he uses to illustrate the dark hallway? Is his chip malfunctioning in some way, making his innie and outie memories mix?
What are the goats for?
The MDR team discovers an area where baby goats are being kept. We see them again in the Season 2 trailer. What is their purpose and why does it feel so creepy?
Waffles, eggs and melons. Why are these foods so revered?
The unremarkable food in this show is, as Dylan would say, “coveted as f—.” Don’t get me wrong, the melon is very neatly presented and appears palatable. Deviled eggs and waffles are tasty. Though the food seems banal, it’s a highlight for the workers, who only know what’s inside the walls of Lumon. It’s a small detail in the show, but something I hope we learn more about.
