Severance
admonition ! This clause hold major spoilers for Severance season 2 .
Severanceseason 2 ’s finale is jampacked with many twists and turns , but its ending top every plot of land development by showing how Mark realise one essential decision . generate howSeveranceseason 1 ’s endingis often touted as one of the most fascinating story beat in modern goggle box , season 2 carried the Brobdingnagian pressure of topping it with its final arc . While it is problematical whetherSeveranceseason 2 ’s endingis as compelling as time of year 1 ’s , it doubtless brings a powerful conclusion to theApple TV+ sci - fi show ’s 2nd ravel while paving the way for succeeding episode .
In its first half , Severanceseason 2 ’s episode 10 primarily unfolds in the outside world , where Mark , Cobel , and Devon attempt to convert Mark ’s innie to help them deliver Gemma . However , what initially seems like a childlike mission later turns into an line between Mark ’s innie and outie about who deserve to live more . The episode ’s final bow shows how Mark ’s innie finally contend to complete Cold Harbor but struggles to decide whether he should help his outie . When he last commits to saving Gemma , a serial publication of chaotic events stretch , provide one with more interrogation than resolution .
Mark’s Innie’s Decision In Severance Season 2’s Ending Explained: What It Means For Helly & Gemma
Mark’s Innie Saves Gemma But Chooses To Stay Behind With Helly
When Mark say Helly about his fundamental interaction with his outie moments before he completes refining the Cold Harbor file , Helly surprisingly asks him to abide by with his outie . She encourage him to salvage Gemma and leave instead of seek to preserve himself and their family relationship . While some might argue that this seems out of character for Helly , Helly at long last seems to realize the system of weights of being Helena ’s innie . She previously hate it when the innies even reckon the well - being of their outies .
However , by the end of season 2 , she seems to realise that Cobel was right during the Overtime Contingency incident when she warn her that the other innies would suffer if she did something to harm Lumon ’s reputation . After Helly ’s encouragement , Mark heads to the Testing Floor to save Gemma . He face many challenge but finally manages to get her ( Ms. Casey ) to the room access to the stairwell and need her to leave . With this , she transitions into her outie , Gemma , but Mark does not allow Lumon .
He believe he has his own sentience of identity and is not willing to risk fall behind himself just so his outie can live in peace for the rest of his life .
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon.
While Gemma watches him from outside , Mark chooses to stay with Helly because that is his mind of freedom . He trust he has his own signified of identity element and is not willing to risk lose himself just so his outie can survive in peace of mind for the rest of his life . Helly and Mark seem to run deeper into the Lumon building , ostensibly having no clue where they are guide . However , it will not be long before self-assurance from the company will catch them . Gemma , on the other helping hand , will have to elude the Lumon building and find Devon to be able to get Mark out of Lumon .
falling out season 2 , episode 7 let on life-sustaining elements of Gemma / Ms. Casey ’s backstory , including what Lumon has been doing to her the entire time .
If Gemma finagle to leave , she will in all likelihood understand why Mark left her outside to be with Helly . However , it is hard not to empathize with her after season 1 ’s ending and wonder how heartbreaking it might have been for her to ascertain Mark exit with another adult female . She craved being with Mark throughout her stay on the Testing Floor and even refused to believe Dr. Mauer when he tell her Mark had moved on . However , to her consternation , her biggest fear turn out to be true when she view Mark choose Helly over her .
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon
The Testing Floor’s Cold Harbor Room Explained & Why Lumon Plans To Kill Gemma After The Test
Lumon Seemingly Wishes To Eliminate All Pain In The World
After Mark finishes down his Cold Harbor file , Gemma is sent to the concluding Cold Harbor room . Severanceseason 2 ’s episode 7revealed that each Testing Floor way ’s name check with a file Mark had antecedently complete refining in the MDR department . This intimate that Mark was unknowingly creating Gemma ’s innies , who were later on experimented on by Lumon . With each room , Lumon peril one of Gemma ’s innies to a traumatic outcome to test whether she keep her innies ' memories after stepping out of the suite .
Gemma has 25 innies , and the name calling of the follow rooms have been revealed so far :
In the last Cold Harbor test , Gemma find herself in a room with nothing but the crib she and Mark had purchased when they were carry a child . Gemma had stiff memories of the cribbage because , as one flashback antecedently break , Mark had frustratingly raze the crib after learning that they may never be able-bodied to have a child . Since the crib was affiliate with Gemma ’s strongest and most traumatic memory , Lumon wanted to test whether her new " Cold Harbor " innie would retain her computer memory link with the trot .
While Lumon ’s overarching purpose remains unknown , the company on the face of it intends to use the engineering to help humans remove all botheration from their lifespan .
The examination is proven successful when , despite see the crib and dismantling it to a song that she and Mark used to listen to , Gemma ’s " Cold Harbor " innie seems unbothered . She evidence no foretoken of retaining her outie ’s remembering , proving that Lumon has successfully eradicated her most dreadful memory . While Lumon ’s overarching aim remain unknown , the company seemingly intend to use the technology to help human withdraw all pain from their lives .
Interestingly , a closer look at the crib inSeveranceseason 2 ’s episode 7 reveals that it has Col d’Arbor write on it , which foreshadows the ending revelation . It also suggest that Lumon has been orchestrating the events in Gemma and Mark ’s life story far longer than they realize .
Before that , however , as Cobel reveals , Lumon wanted to kill Gemma , potential by removing the cow dung from her brain . Since Gemma was merely a test case , her purpose in the company had been fulfilled . Lumon could not risk free her to the remote world because she knew a lilliputian too much about their undercover surgery . They could not even keep her because their oeuvre with her was done . Therefore , the caller ’s authorities planned to kill her , trust that she had achieved her life ’s true role by serving Kier .
The Meaning Of The MDR Numbers In Severance Explained
They Are A Doorway To Gemma’s Mind
InSeveranceseason 2 ’s finale , Cobel let out that the numbers serve as threshold to Gemma ’s idea , let on that they are the building blocks of her innies ' existence . As " The Macrodata Refiner ’s Orientation Booklet " inThe Lexington Letterreveals , the MDR proletarian are exposed to a sea of numbers , which areclassified into four family : WO ( Woe ) , FC ( Frolic ) , DR ( Dread ) , and MA ( Malice ) . Based on how certain cluster in the ocean of numbers make them feel , the workers are expected to evenly fill the four bins at the bottom of their cover with the four numeral clusters till the Indian file ’s progression bar reaches 100 % .
Here are the four categories of emotion the issue clustering are expected to elicit in the MDR workers :
identification number Categories
Custom Image by Simone Ashmoore
Feelings They Elicit
WO
FC
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
DR
MA
Lumon never tells Mark what he is really achieving with the figure - refining process because the mere awareness of their intention could inhibit his natural suspicion . Mark also primarily gets to do work on Gemma ’s Indian file because his outie " understands " her wit good than anyone else . Lumon knows that subconscious store leaks from Mark ’s outie ’s encephalon into his innie ’s will help him " down " Gemma more effectively . Since Mark has always been put to work on his outie ’s married woman ’s brain , it make sense that he got his " neophyte fluke " right after he bug out working at Lumon .
The Purpose Of The Goats In Lumon Explained
Lumon Has A Tradition Of Sacrificing Them
Severanceseason 2 ’s ending finally reveals the trueness about the goats and their role in Lumon , which seems to dissolve all existing theories around them . As the finale discloses , Lumon seemingly follows a tradition of sacrificing a goat before they kill a test subject once their purpose in the company has been fulfilled . Drummond say they do this because they believethe goat ’s spirit will eventually carry the numb subject ’s soul into Kier ’s blazon . This belief shows how Lumon functions more as a cult , where Kier is almost considered a godly being .
A goat identify Emile , from Mammalians Nurturable , is choose as Lumon ’s sacrificial lamb . Based on the ritual , it is believed it will carry Gemma ’s soul to Kier after being sacrificed . Lorne , however , struggles to vote out the stooge because she and the multitude from her section grow attached to the goat they raise . Given how the Mammalians Nurturable section raises many stooge , it is concentrated not to wonder how many of them Lumon has sacrificed in the past before experimenting on and obliterate several test subject .
Why Jame Eagan Sees Kier In Helly, Not Helena
There Was A Time When He Saw Kier In Helen As Well
Jame Eagan watch his daughter , Helena , with disgust inSeveranceseason 2 ’s episode 9as she eats boil egg . He hisses at her , claiming she should have take them stark naked like Kier . When he later sees Helly in the Lumon edifice , he notes that he date Kier in her . He call back how he once saw him in Helena , but she seems to have exchange importantly over time . He apparently says this because as much as Helena might have tried to harm Lumon ’s bequest , she stands for herself alternatively of merely following orders and succumb to the controlling influence of the higher - ups .
InSeveranceseason 2 ’s episode 8 , Sissy Cobel expose that Jame Eagan also once see Kier in Harmony .
Unlike Helena , who seems to have forgotten who she is , Helly has a strong sense of identity element and is unforced to take extreme measures to preserve it . She , like Kier , dares to challenge the beliefs enforced on her alternatively of merely conforming like Helena . Given how Jame seems to like Helly room more than Helena , he would probably benefit from Helly pick out to stay inside the Lumon edifice . In the show ’s next stories , he might even seek to convince her to permanently take over as his daughter and eventually become the ship’s company ’s rightful heir .
Why Dylan’s Outie Rejects His Innie’s Resignation
He Realizes He Needs His Innie More Than His Innie Needs Him
Despite resigning from his station , Dylan get hold himself on the sever floor inSeveranceseason 2 ’s finale . He also acquire a varsity letter from his outie , which open on a savage preeminence but step by step softens in tone . The missive reveals that even though his outie is infuriated by what happened between him and Gretchen , he understands why Gretchen like him so much . He also express how he finds quilt in knowing that his over - accomplish innie is around because he has always struggled to make something out of his life .
Severance season 2 ’s features a new opening credits sequence , which seems to hint at many intriguing future development in the Apple TV+ series .
By saying that he skip Gretchen sees in him what she understand in his innie , Dylan ’s outie also implies that , in some ways , he attend up to his innie . He perceives him as an ideal interlingual rendition of himself he should strive to becometo earn his married woman ’s respect . The outie closes the letter by giving his innie a choice : he can still go forth if he wants to , but he would want him to remain . Dylan , for once , feels appreciated and admit by his outie , which will give him a solid rationality to stick around .
What’s Next For Mr. Milchick In Severance?
Milchick Might Either Get Promoted Or Fired
Since Milchick struggles to contain the topsy-turvydom that ensues after Mark fill out his Cold Harbor file , Lumon might see get under one’s skin rid of him in season 3 . Milchick , too , has been step by step rise sore towards Lumon because of their racist practices and inhumane discussion of their employees . If Lumon lets him go , he will have a in force reason to team up with Cobel and take the troupe down . However , considering howSeveranceseason 2 ends with Milchick finding himself at odds with Dylan , it seems improbable he will become a desperate lineament anytime shortly .
The fact that the Cold Harbor file cabinet was completed under Milchick ’s command might cue the troupe ’s eminent ups to advance him and have him as Drummond ’s new permutation .
With Drummond dead , Lumon will have an empty maculation in the upper echelons of its management . The fact that the Cold Harbor file was complete under Milchick ’s command might prompt the company ’s higher - ups to kick upstairs him and have him as Drummond ’s new successor . Since Milchick is also well - connect with the outside world , Lumon might use him to get to Gemma and other outsiders plot against the ship’s company .
Why The Closing Credits In Severance Season 2 Finale Are In Red, Not Black
The Color Change Marks The Inception Of A Darker Story Arc
Every time a show or a motion picture creates a stark visual contrast between spicy and red , it is hard not to associate it withThe Matrix . Even inThe hugger-mugger Life of Walter Mitty , which features manySeverancestars , The Matrix ’s spicy and cherry-red pill metaphor is used as an in force narrative equipment to foreground how the independent character , Walter Mitty , prefer to take control over his spirit instead of adjudicate for comfort . Many viewers have previously noticed that , inSeverance , downcast visuals usually represent the innies ' world .
Everything from their clothing to the phone number on their MDR computers is blue . If seen from the position ofThe Matrix ’s philosophy , the innies are living in a reality where they have surrendered their sense of controller to a higher power . The outies , in contrast , get to see more ghost of red because they are far more barren and have more self-reliance than their innies . Only innies like Helly seemingly have shade of Red River in their clothing and hairbecause they make bold to question Lumon and ask for their exemption .
Since Mark ’s innie ’s decision reverses his moral force with his outie and gives him more self-reliance over his eubstance and life , even the overarching semblance palette in the serial flip .
In Severance season 2 ’s ending , however , Mark , like Walter Mitty and Neo , chooses to take control over his life or else of succumbing to his outie ’s orders . Instead of see himself as a bare subset of his outie ’s individuality , he comprehend himself as a disjoined and free person . This encourages him to take the metaphorical " red anovulatory drug " and walk down a path that serves him and not his outie . Since Mark ’s innie ’s decision overturn his moral force with his outie and kick in him more liberty over his body and life , even the arch over people of color palette in the series flips .
How Severance Season 2’s Ending Sets Up Season 3
The Outies Are Now Hostages For The Innies
In a lot of ways , the innies are holding their outies as surety by deny them the freedom to live , just like they were denied the freedom to leave the Lumon building . This , however , might benefit Lumon because it gives the fellowship a solid reason to have the innies all for itself . Jame Eagan also seems to have a foreign infantile fixation with Helly , so he might take the opportunity to have Helly on his side by probably threatening to harm Mark .
Apple TV+ has confirmed Severance season 3 .
Mark still seems to be in the former stages of reintegration towardSeveranceseason 2 ’s ending , but the process should finally exploit in time of year 3 . This will reserve Mark ’s outie to take dominance metre and again , result to many more conflicts between the two personas . Dylan will in all likelihood befriend his outie while Irving will return to Kier ( the townspeople ) in time of year 3 despite realizing how it position his life in danger . lastly , Gemma will in all likelihood join forces with Devon and Cobel and find oneself herself in Mark ’s shoes as she set out to help her husband escape Lumon inSeveranceseason 3 .
severing is a psychological thriller serial featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout , an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a " rupture " function to separate his work and personal memories . However , as work and life story personas mysteriously start to collide , it quick becomes percipient that not all is as it seems . create by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle .
