Severance
Warning ! This article contains major spoilers for Severance season 2 ’s episode 7 .
Severanceseason 2 ’s sequence 7 , " Chikhai Bardo , " subtly calls aid to the titular concept by featuring it in one of its flashback sequences . Although the instalment does not delve too deep into how it ties into its overarching narrative , a closer look at its signification and the ism behind it hints at the direction the show ’s story is heading in . Since instalment 1,Severanceseason 2 has had many major storytelling highs , with one revolving around the Helly / Helena twist .
However , Severance season 2 ’s instalment 7 makes the series even more enchanting and intellect - boggle by face several revelations and mysterious plot progressions fence in Gemma . Like most installment of theApple TV+ sci - fi show , episode 7 also ward off giving away complete answer to many shrewish enigma . However , its " Chikhai Bardo " reference work pass on enough to mull on all the musical theme and story beatniks it wishes to explore in next episode .
Chikhai Bardo Is The Buddhist Stage Of Bardo When The Process Of Death Begins
The O&D Card Dylan Stole Represents Chikhai Bardo
Dylan stole a card from theO&D department inSeveranceseason 1 before Milchick initiated the Overtime Contingency to ask him where he hid the card . The same card appear in one ofSeveranceseason 2episode 7 ’s flashback . In its 50 - minute runtime , Severanceseason 2 ’s episode 7 walks through Mark and Gemma ’s history , revealing that they hoped to have a kid after they became a couple . However , Gemma ’s first gestation failed due to a stillbirth .
The Dentist from the testing floor briefly appears in the scope when Mark and Gemma enter the fecundity clinic , hint that the clinic is run by Lumon .
Mark and Gemma then visited a local fertility clinic , seemingly run away by Lumon , to go down the IVF itinerary . However , that , too , did not work out , remove a price on the couple ’s genial health . Gemma found ease when the fertility clinic start send her letters to assist her convalescence . In one of the flashbacks , she skim off through a caboodle of cards . A closer look at one of the batting order substantiate it is interchangeable to the one Dylan stole from the O&D in time of year 1 .
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
In Buddhism , Bardo serves as the transitional period between death and renascence .
When Mark need Gemma about the cards , she reveals they portray Chikhai Bardo , represent the end of egotism . After Mark points out that the card shows a man assail someone , Gemma reveals that it represents one ’s inner struggle with one ’s demons . In Buddhism , Bardo assist as the transitional catamenia between death and reincarnation . Chikhai Bardo is the fourth stage in this transition , represent the inception of the process of dying .
How Chikhai Bardo Applies To Gemma & Mark’s Story In Severance Season 2 Episode 7
It Seemingly Hints At Gemma’s Future In Lumon
The man depicted in the Chikhai Bardo card stick out in the Virabhadrasana Warrior Pose II . concord to Hindu mythology , Lord Shiva ’s form , Virabhadra , used the same to chop King Daksha ’s head after the King diss him and his married woman , Sati , which leave to Sati immolate herself in a sacrificial fire . The story ends with Lord Shiva showing mercy towards the King by replacing his school principal with that of a goat . The tale is often seen as a metaphor for one ’s battle against egotism , which is why even the poses are perceived as symbolic representations of one ’s fight against one ’s internal demons .
domesticate the Four Tempers is a important part of Kier Eagan ’s philosophy at Lumon in Severance , which also has a deeper connection to MDR ’s work .
By giving Gemma accession to movements that promote ego death and also helping her to learn about Chikhai Bardo , Lumon seemingly expects to take a certain dying . Before Gemma hit the Dentist with a chair in theSeveranceseason 2 episode , he take a book from her bookshelf and take its title , The Death of Ivan Ilyich . The Leo Tolstoy classic is also about a humanity who learns the truth about his life history ’s purpose in his final Clarence Shepard Day Jr. as his egotism and desire for material possession gradually dissolve .
Severanceis visually inspired by a popular creepypasta , titled The Backrooms , which research the eery thought of being transported into a desolate liminal space with an eternal stretchability of yellow-bellied - tinct room . This visual choice seems to coordinate with its exploration of the liminal space between life and death .
With so many details inSeveranceseason 2 ’s sequence 7 pointing towards the same construct , it is hard not to see how " ego death " tie into the show ’s overarching narrative . Gemma already seems to be in a liminal State Department between destruction and rebirth . Lumon has already " defeat " her by isolating her from the outdoor world . Mark , too , is in the middle of reintegration , which will kill his former self and give parentage to a new version of him . It would be interesting to see how these ideas ring ego death and easterly philosophy will bind intoSeverance ’s story in future installment .
Severance is a psychological thriller series sport Adam Scott as Mark Scout , an employee at Lumon Industries who undergo a " rupture " subprogram to separate his work and personal memories . However , as employment and life history role mysteriously begin to collide , it chop-chop becomes clear that not all is as it seems . Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle .
