Severance
admonition ! This article turn back spoilers for Severance season 2 .
Severanceseems to secretly partake in some challenging parallels with another hit Apple TV+ sci - fi show , which might excuse some of the biggest query surrounding Lumon ’s role in the serial publication . On the aerofoil , Severancefollows a simple sci - fi concept that revolves around the employees of a company whose living , quite literally , have been part between their employment and personal selves . However , using this core idea , theApple TV+ sci - fi showexplores many complex ideas surrounding identity , grief , religion , and the unreliable nature of retentiveness .
The show forfend dig too deep into the neuroscience of its musical theme and presents report developments and twist that are easy to trace for most looker . At the same metre , Severancealso masterfully ensures that it keeps a veil over many of its biggest revelations to keep TV audience hooked throughout its runtime . One of the bounteous mysteries in the show revolves around Lumon ’s purpose . Severancemay have hardly provided any answers surrounding Lumon ’s work and overarching motives , but its parallels with another acclaimed Apple TV+ sci - fi show farm some fascinating possibility .
Dark Matter Explores Schrödinger’s Cat, And It’s The Perfect Metaphor For Gemma’s Fate In Severance
Gemma’s Mysterious Fate Makes Her Both Dead & Alive At The Same Time
The Schrödinger ’s true cat thought experiment was initially meant to be a critique of the dubiety principle and observation theory in quantum mechanics . However , in " dada scientific discipline " and scientific discipline fiction , it is often cite as a visual metaphor to see quantum superposition principle and the observer ’s burden . Since this article explores the philosophical significance of quantum shop mechanic and the speculative theories border quantum cognizance to explicate and search the themes inSeverance , it will also repair to using unproblematic ideas , like Schrödinger ’s cat , to examine chronicle beat from the show .
Inshows like Apple TV+ ’s Dark MatterandConstellation , the Schrödinger ’s cat thought experiment is used to explain the many - worlds interpretation and the duality of one ’s beingness . Both show highlight how , just like Schrödinger ’s cat is both dead and alive after being enclosed in a boxful , a character exists in alternate states at the same metre . Much like the cat , Severance ’s Gemma seems to be both dead and alive at the same fourth dimension .
rift season 2 ’s features a new opening credits succession , which seems to hint at many intriguing future maturation in the Apple TV+ series .
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
Mark and everyone else in the outside world are lead to think that Gemma die out in a car fortuity . However , when Mark ’s outie learns about the possibility of Gemma ’s cosmos in the Lumon post , he faces a paradox where she could be both dead and alive until he find out the truth about her beingness . Even if Gemma subsist in the flesh at Lumon , Mark ’s outie does not know if she is the Gemma he once know . This , again , from a philosophic standpoint , lift many questions about Gemma ’s identity and whether she even deserves to be associate with the memories Mark has of her .
The Severance Procedure Can Be Seen As A Representation Of Quantum Superposition
The Lumon Chip Collapses The Innie-Outie Superposition Into One State
From a metaphorical stand , the Schrödinger ’s cat experiment explains how a speck can exist in two alternate states at the same meter , or rather , in a state of quantum superposition principle . The principle of superposition only collapses when the box is opened , and the computerized axial tomography ( or particle ) is observed . Dark MatterandConstellationvisually represent quantum principle of superposition by showing how substitute rendering of the same theatrical role exist in parallel , each living out unlike potential outcomes . Severanceis not about parallel universes , but its titular procedure seems to assume a like conception .
Severanceshows visuals of Chladni figures and waveform during Mark ’s reintegration , which visually illustrate many quantum mechanic principles .
The nominal severance procedure can be see as a metaphor for quantum superposition , allowing a severed prole to exist in two alternate states simultaneously . The observer ’s result determining the African tea ’s destiny in the experiment and the state of a atom in a quantum organisation also applies to thecharacters inSeverance .
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
… the Lumon chip collapse the innie / outie superposition principle and ensures the sever workers do not experience the alternate realities of their innies and outies at the same sentence .
Just like the percipient ’s upshot makes the superposition in the guy experiement and the quantum organization collapse into one definite body politic , the theatrical role inSeveranceare likewise " collapsed " into one of their two persona when they cross the boundary between their work and personal lives . To put it simply , the Lumon Saratoga chip collapse the innie / outie principle of superposition and ensures the severed worker do not experience the alternating realism of their innies and outies at the same time .
Quantum Entanglement Explains The Crossovers Between The Innies & Outies
The Innies & Outies' Are Affected By Each Other’s Actions
In quantum auto-mechanic , quantum entanglement is a phenomenon where two particles become interconnected with each other in such a way that any changes in the state of one particle directly impact the other . Entanglement can be understand as a delegacy of how , despite being severalise by the severance chip , the innies and outies end up experience several store overlaps and crossovers . For instance , asPetey break inSeveranceseason 1 , Mark ’s innie , too , seems to hold his outie ’s grief but just does not remember its true origin .
The final destination of the reintegration process is to achieve a kind of quantum coherency that creates a incorporated realism for a discerp mortal ’s innie and outie .
Irving ’s outie , too , baffle " entangled " with his innie by breaking into his consciousness with his painting of the " Exports Hall . " Helena and Helly ’s shared romantic smell for Mark can also be interpreted as a form of entanglement . Mark ’s innie and outie experience a similar sense of entanglement after Mark gets reintegrated , creating several retentivity and visual overlaps between the two role ' perceptual experience . The final end of the reintegration process is to achieve a form of quantum cohesion that creates a unified reality for a discerp person ’s innie and outie .
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
Lumon Could Be Trying To Achieve Quantum Immortality In Severance
The Company Is Struggling To Overcome The Philosophical Challenges Surrounding Quantum Immortality
Quantum Immortality , a speculative philosophic conception with no scientific backing , explore the musical theme of how an soul could live eternally . Even after their death in one earth , their existence would remain in many alternate universe of discourse where they make it , set aside them to exist incessantly . Dark Mattercaptures the thought of quantum immortality by showing how even after a type encounter a unappeasable fate in one universe , they remain unscathed in another world because their parallel United States Department of State hold up through a distinct curing of context and experiences .
Severance Key Facts Breakdown
Created By
Dan Erickson
Rotten Tomatoes Critics ' Score
97 %
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
80 %
Streaming On
Apple TV+
Lumon might be trying to achieve a similar sense of immortality byensuring that even after someone dies in the real macrocosm , they can continue existing as an innie . On the surface , they have ostensibly attain this by bring back dead people like Gemma . Time and again , the show has confirmed that she die in the extraneous existence , and Mark even saw her consistency after her accident . However , it seems like Lumon detect a way of life to immortalise her by bringing her back as an " innie , " an alternative version of her that exists solely in the company ’s construction .
Severanceseason 2 ends its run on March 21 , 2025 , with its 10th episode titled " Cold Harbor . "
Despite finding a style to create substitute versions of individuals through the break procedure , Lumon seems to be shinny with philosophic trouble associated with identity operator and its persistence across substitute State Department . The fellowship has yet to figure out how " alternate " innie soul like Gemma can hold or completely carry off the deeply instill traits of their outies . This is probably where the MDR ’s work with the inscrutable routine comes in . The MDR section inSeverancemust be helping Lumon overcome these challenge by ensuring the innies achieve utter quantum immortality .
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout , an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a " falling out " operation to separate his study and personal memories . However , as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide , it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems . Created by Dan Erickson and direct by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle .
