Apple TV+’s incredible sci-fi drama series Severance returns for its sophomore season this week. After almost three years, some unanswered questions might finally be revealed after that incredible cliffhanger of a season finale. The trailer of the upcoming show hints at where the main Innies of the show ended up after their little rebellion.
As viewers jump back into Lumon Industries, the three-year wait may have led some to forget some important moments in the first season. From what ‘Innies’ and ‘Outties’ are to who Adam Scott’s Mark learns at the end of the season, here are five important things to remember before diving into season 2.
5. Lumon Industries are the people behind the ‘Severance’ system
The show Severance is set in a world where certain employees of a company undergo a ‘severance’ i.e. an implant in their brain that separates their personal life from their work lives. The implant activates when an employee enters the workplace, erasing their memories of the outside world for their work times, and is deactivated when they leave the office.
Each employee, who undergoes a severance has two distinct personas. The Innies are the employees inside the office during work hours, the Outies are their personal lives. Nothing that happens at either place is supposed to intersect with each other. However, things take a sharp turn in the show when one employee decides to rebel against the system.
The lead characters of the show played by Adam Scott, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, and Britt Lower are part of Lumon Industries which seems to have its hands in everything. It is not clear what business the company is in and the work they make the lead protagonists do seems extremely random. But they have a strong hold over the economy and the founder is a cult-like personality.
The ‘severance’ process is highly controversial in the world of the show and there are multiple propaganda that are being peddled by Lumon to encourage more employees to undergo the process. While a section of the world protests against its use due to the lack of freedom it gives the ‘Innies’ to quit their jobs, a section of ‘Outies’ likes the fact that they do not have to worry about a large chunk of their lives.
4. Reintegration is a process that might be important for Season 2
While the ‘severance’ process effectively provides a literal work-life balance for participants, it also takes away the freedom of quitting from the ‘Innies’. Adam Scott’s Mark is one of the characters who are happy about getting a way to not think about his wife Gemma’s death and let his grief affect his work. However, Britt Lower’s Helly is initially resistant to the idea.
Be that as it may, there is a way to get back to ‘normalcy,’ so to say, in the show. The process of ‘Reintegration’ is introduced to the audience through the character of Petey, the predecessor of Adam Scott’s Mark. Petey chooses to quit Lumon after discovering some dangerous secrets about the company, and his ‘Innie’ and ‘Outie’ selves are reintegrated again.
However, Petey is killed in the first season and the process is not spoken about again. With the leads’ rebellion being found out by not just Lumon employees, but also the outside world (as hinted in the trailers), a possible reintegration might be explored in the second season.
3. John Turturro’s brief romance with Christopher Walken’s Burt might have lasting consequences
John Turturro is one of the best performers in Severance, in a cast that has stalwarts like Adam Scott, Christopher Walken, Britt Lower, and Zach Cherry. Turturro’s Irving seems to be clairvoyant in a way as his Outie seems to be experiencing the vision of the hallway inside the offices. One of the most beautiful arcs in the series is that of Walken and Turturro.
As the Innie gang meets another set of severed employees at the office, Turturro’s Irving and Walken’s Burt begin a romance that ends pretty soon after being discovered. Walken is asked to retire and the two bid their goodbyes. When the gang is briefly reintegrated into the Outies, Irving sees Burt in a happy relationship in the outside world with no recollection of their brief romance.
While it looked like that bridge burned after the employees’ connection was broken again, the trailer of season 2 seems to have some hints at Iriving being punished for his activities at the office. A blink-and-miss shot of Turturro’s likeness carved into a watermelon is shown in the trailer and Lumon may have plans to retire Irving. But, will it be in the same way as they did with Burt?
2. Helly’s return as an Innie is suspicious because of the big reveal in Season 1
While the season 1 cliffhanger about Mark’s wife Gemma (which we will get to in a bit) is probably one of the best season-enders in the past few years, the reveal of Helly, the rebellious Innie who wants to break out of her office self is also no less. Britt Lower’s character is shown to be frustrated with the program throughout the series.
However, in the finale, it is revealed that Helly is actually Helena Eagan, the daughter of Jamie Eagan, Lumon’s CEO. Her inclusion in the severance program is part of a propaganda piece that seeks to prove that Innies were actually happy in their work environment, thus encouraging more employees to take the step.
Helly goes rogue at a pivotal moment in the Outie’s speech and reveals to the world everything that goes on inside. However, the trailer for season 2 shows Helly returning as an Innie. It is not entirely clear how this turn of events happened and what is the ulterior motive for Helena to come into the office again.
1. Gemma and Ms. Casey are revealed to be the same person
This moment in season 1 is what made Severance one of the best series to come out in the past few years. The season finale shows the audience a larger glimpse of everyone else’s Outie lives but Adam Scott a.k.a Mark has a sudden realization that his favorite self-help book is written by his brother-in-law.
On top of that, he sees the photos of his allegedly deceased wife Gemma, and it is revealed to be Ms. Casey, the guidance counselor at Lumon. The reveal that Mark’s Outie wife is his co-worker as an Innie and that Gemma’s death was probably faked was an incredible moment in the show and the makers deciding to stop there was a masterstroke.
Executive producer and director Ben Stiller told Time that though creator Dan Erickson had written down the explanation, he was the one who asked to pause at the reveal and end the season on a cliffhanger. He said,
I felt like, giving it that ending, they’d be more likely to pick us up for a second season.
Well, he was not wrong and the mystery of Mark’s wife is what will get fans to tune in to Severance on January 17. It was a masterstroke from the team and the show is better off for it.
Severance is streaming on Apple TV+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
