Severance
Warning ! This clause comprise spoilers for Severance time of year 2 .
Severancehas hinted at the existence of many override protocols at Lumon , but their reliable import and role remain immensely unknown . Since season 1,Severancehas thrive as a mystifier corner enigma play because of its ability to give away only bit and piece of data to watcher while leaving them with enough elbow room to theorize and speculate . Although theApple TV+ sci - fi showavoids fall for the same pitfalls as other similar appearance by not stretching its underlying mystery for too long , it check that spectator are always left with more interrogation than answers .
owe to this , even thoughSeverance ’s overarching narrative has build up significantly , it is intemperate not to be rum about many of its story component . Everything from the MDR ’s work ’s intent at Lumon to Gemma ’s luck stay on unknown in the serial publication . Even the strange override protocols , likeOvertime Contingency fromSeveranceseason 1andGlasgow Block from season 2 , rear many enquiry about what Lumon is judge to attain through the titulary breach operation .
10Beehive
Likely Activates A Hivemind For The Workers
Although this override protocol has not yet been explore inSeverance , it has been give away to be one of the overrides . As its name intimate , the " Beehive " nullification in all likelihood triggers a hivemind among the worker , allowing Lumon to establish controller over the collective consciousness of a group of severed workers . Despite being severed , most MDR workers retain their own sense of identity operator and even have unique personality . Lumon likely salve this protocol for extreme scenarios where the workers develop a little too defiant .
When this nullification takes over , the workers likely play like bee or other hive - given insects , like ants and termites , to lend to the integral group ’s achiever instead of having one leading figure .
Or , Lumon might trigger this one to secure the severed employee work in unison towards a common goal without questioning authority . When this nullification take over , the workers likely act like bee or other hive - given insects , like ants and termites , to contribute to the entire group ’s success instead of having one leading frame . Since Lumon has not apparently used it yet , they want the severed employee to have independent sentiment and identities to be capable to run on their cryptic projection .
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
9Branch Transfer
Seamlessly Moves A Severed Worker From One Branch To Another
" Branch Transfer " seems fairly ego - explanatory , suggesting that it is used for go a sever proletarian from one branch to another while ensuring they do not carry secret information during the changeover . While only time will say how this one is implemented , Lumon already seems to have used this one on Irving . Lumon ’s official post about Irving on LinkedInconfirms he has been work with the company for nine years . However , the show has unveil that Irv has only been a severed MDR worker for the last three years .
As Helly and Mark venture around the severed trading floor in Severance season 2 , they discover more about the mysterious Capricorn way and their aim .
This confirms that before he moved to MDR , Irv was either an unsevered worker or a discerp employee in a unlike branch . irrespective of what he was , he was likely in a different leg before his tenure in the MDR section . Since his outie live about the " Exports Hall , " Irv might have antecedently been the " Exports Hall " transport guy or an O&D worker before the Branch Transfer nullification communications protocol was used on him to review his memory board and move him to MDR .
8Clean Slate
Involves A Complete Memory Wipe Down
Given how " sportsmanlike slating " seemingly refers to a complete store refresh , this override protocol was likely used on Mark ’s wife , Gemma , and otherpart - clip employees atSeverance . This would explain why Ms. Casey almost seems automatonlike and amount off as a white slate with no anamnesis of her world or personality as an outie . prole like her have seemingly been put in a lasting state of severancewhere they do not exist as outies . Their outies have either been wipe clean from their consciousness or put in a sense of comatoseness .
Since withdraw discerp employee have no memories of their innies , " clean slate " might also refer to the unadulterated termination of an innie . If this is true , Burt and Irving have been put through this protocol .
If the former is unfeigned , Ms. Casey may never be able to become Gemma again , leaving Mark with an experiential quandary about his married woman ’s fate . Physically , his wife would still be alive . However , the woman who embodies her may not consciously be anything like her . This would raise many intriguing questions about identicalness and Mark ’s sensory faculty of grief towards his wife .
7Elephant
“Elephants Never Forget”
Since much of Severance ’s sci - fi lore revolve around nous control and memory , this one in all probability has something to do with the well - known phrase " Elephants never blank out . " The phrase halt from elephant ' power to have singular storage abilities , allowing them to have complex societal interaction and even navigate vast region of landed estate with simplicity . Owing to this , it is operose not to believe thatthis override communications protocol allows the severed worker to retain or restore all their memories and achieve somewhat of a reintegration .
The Board denies the hypothesis of reintegration when Cobel tries to convert them it exist . However , the Board was probably just being secretive about its universe to control no one pervert it to help the Lumon workers reintegrate . This protocol might even be used to reverse the effect of the " Clean Slate " override , suggesting that Mark might finally be capable to " save " Gemma .
6Freeze Frame
Halts All Motor Functions
As its name suggests , this nullification in all probability ceases all motor function in a cut off doer , preventing them from moving while still make cognitive function . Lumon has likely spare this for extreme scenarios where the severed employee turn immensely noncompliant and peril to disrupt the company ’s strict control condition or expose it to the real earthly concern . Although this has not been used in the serial publication so far , Lumon might use it to do in Mark and his MDR teamif they keep testing the company ’s boundaries and policies .
5Glasgow
Milchick Removes The Glasgow Block On Helly In Season 2’s Episode 4
InSeveranceseason 2 ’s episode 4 , Irving realizes that Helly ’s outie , Helena , has been pretending to be her . Therefore , he threatens Milchick to switch her back to her innie . Milchick eventually give in and contacts an unsung material body . He asks them to remove the Glasgow Block on Helena , which allows her to switch back to her innie , Helly . This support thatthe Glasgow nullification ensures that outies do not switch to their innies at work . When Glasgow block is enabled , an individual ’s innie does not wake up while their outie remains spark all the time .
4Goldfish
Goldfishes Are Associated With Shorter Memory Spans
Although it has been scientifically prove that Carassius auratus do have foresightful - term memories , the water animals are associated with little - term memory span because of the previous myths fence in their knowledge . Severanceis obviously fictional , but its core idea is establish on some real scientific concepts fence store . For example , human memory board can be divided into two tolerant family : inexplicit and denotative . While expressed memories refer to the conscious recollection of fact and experiences , the implicit 1 are unconscious memories that have-to doe with to deeply ingrained skill and habits .
Through the Goldfish Override , Lumon is belike capable to disable a worker ’s power to retain all explicit memories , both semantic and occasional .
Explicit retentiveness can further be divided into two categories : episodic and semantic . While occasional computer storage refer to specific human experiences revolving around one ’s personal life , semantic memory necessitate actual information . The severed workers seem to have both semantic and implicit memories , allowing them to function like normal humans . However , their episodic memories have been disabled , preventing them from recalling their lifetime outside work .
Severance Key Facts Breakdown
Created By
Dan Erickson
Rotten Tomatoes Critics ' Score
97 %
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
83 %
Streaming On
Apple TV+
Through the Goldfish Override , Lumon is likely able to disable a worker ’s ability to retain all denotative retention , both semantic and episodic . While the employees would still be able to retain unquestioning human functions and habit under this protocol , they would lose their ability to have any foresighted - terminus remembering . This override might have been implement on Gemma , explaining why she seems automatic inSeveranceseason 1 .
3Lullaby
Puts The Workers To Sleep
While the outies are advise to get a well Nox ’s sopor before they show up for workplace , the innies are penalize for sleeping during study . Although the show has not yet search the impingement of quietus on a severed employee ’s memories , Irving ’s story suggests that an outie can break into his innie ’s subconscious mind through his dreams . Lullaby seems to put an innie to sleep , butLumon has seemingly not used this communications protocol because it risks creating memory leaks between the innies and outies . It would be interesting to see why this protocol was create in the first place .
2Open House
Allows Foreign “Minds” To Access “New” Bodies
" Open House " has to be one of the most mysterious override protocols because it is hard to gauge what it means based on its name . Since Severance raises the possibility of transferring a person ’s consciousness to another one ’s body using the Lumon microprocessor chip , Open House likely relate to a protocol that allow for multiple " minds " to host one body . The Board itself might be an " subject house " for various consciousnesses temporarily co - existing within a shared physical space .
1Overtime Contingency
Activates Innies In The Outside World
" Overtime Contingency " is one of the most deeply explored override inSeverance . While Dylan stick behind to activate this nullification inSeveranceseason 1 ’s endingarc , other MDR workers , like Irving , Helly , and Mark , use it to activate themselves in their outies ' world . Overtime Contingency was supposed to be used for extreme scenario to insure no information was leaked between innies and outies . However , inSeveranceseason 1 ’s finale , the innies apply it to check more about their outies ' identities and expose how Lumon handle its severed workers .
rupture is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout , an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a " severance " function to separate his work and personal memories . However , as work and life personas enigmatically begin to collide , it rapidly becomes clear that not all is as it seems . Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle .
