When the final episode of the game-changing first season of Severance dropped all the way back in 2022, viewers were left with few answers and a lot of questions on their minds. After all, while the finale did offer a pretty satisfying conclusion to the drama of the forever trapped in work personas — or “innies” — trying to fight their way out of this particular kind of hell, it did not elucidate many of the mysteries introduced by the critically acclaimed show. We still know very little about the lives of Severance’s characters outside the walls of the creepy company called Lumon, and we know even less about what is actually going on behind said walls. And now that the trailer for Season 2 has dropped, after a three-year wait, we are once again taken to this place of darkness and doubt, uncertain not only about what is to come, but also about what we have already seen, from baby goats to paintings of elevators. As we count the days before Severance Season 2 returns, here are our most burning questions about what’s going on in the show.
What’s the Truth Behind Ms. Casey?

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Okay, this one is probably the question that burns the brightest. After all, Mark S.’s (Adam Scott) remark about his outie’s wife being alive is the line the writers chose to close the show’s first season. Of course, when we’re first introduced to Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), we know nothing of her relationship with Mark. We are told only that she is the wellness counselor at Lumon. However, as the season progresses, we learn that she bares a striking resemblance to Mark’s wife, Gemma, who allegedly died in a car crash some time before the events of the series. So what exactly is going on there? Is Ms. Casey really Gemma? Why is she constantly being experimented on by Lumon? Why did the company fake her death?
Why Is Ms. Cobel So Obsessed with Mark?

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Perhaps Gemma/Ms. Casey’s drama isn’t so much about her as it is about her husband. Lumon seems to have a real obsession with Mark. Or maybe we should say Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette), the Severed Floor manager, is the one that can’t get him out of her head. Not only is she shown to have at least some curiosity regarding Mark’s oblivious innie’s interactions with Ms. Casey, but she also lives next door to him and even strikes up a relationship with his sister, engaging in a double life in which she is merely a shop worker known as Mrs. Selvig. Now, Lumon doesn’t seem to be very keen on Cobel’s interest in Mark, as shown by the Board reacting poorly to her becoming a lactation expert just to enter his sister’s life, so what is going on there? Is she related to Mark in some obscure way, or is she simply taking her job way too seriously?
What Does Lumon Actually Do?

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OK, we get it, Lumon is supposed to be one of those all-encompassing companies, manufacturing everything from meds to tech to watering cans. But why does it look like there’s something sketchier going on behind closed doors? What are those weird instruction cards Optics and Design are working on, and what is up with the baby goats that Mark and Helly (Britt Lower) find during their little escapade? There is no reason for a modern company such as Lumon to have a room full of baby goats, right? Right?

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What on Earth Is Macrodata Refinement?

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While we’re on the topic of the creepy things going on at Lumon, what is the weird job that Severance’s main characters do? When Helly joins the team, it is explained that their work consists of looking at a screen full of numbers and sorting them into boxes according to nothing but a vibe. This is called Macrodata Refinement, or MDR, and no one knows exactly what its purpose is, not even the people responsible for the task. Is it just meant to represent a meaningless corporate job or does it have something to do with the severance process Lumon’s workers undergo?
How Widespread Is Severance in the Show’s Universe?

Speaking of the severance process, the show is yet to tell us how widespread it actually is in its universe. Judging from Lumon’s motto, “United in Severance,” it sure looks like the company was responsible for inventing and implementing it, splitting its workers’ personalities to a point at which they become two different people. However, Lumon doesn’t seem to be the only company doing it. Quite the opposite: everyone knows what severance is and there are bills being passed to make it more commonplace. Among the 1%, there are even those that are using it to avoid the unpleasant parts of pregnancy and having a child. So exactly what kind of phenomenon are we dealing with here? Will Season 2 finally show us other kinds of severed workers outside of Lumon?
Why Does Irving Keep Painting the Elevator?

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While we don’t get many insights into the lives of the MDR team apart from Mark and Helly, we do know a thing or two about them. We know, for instance, that Dylan (Zach Cherry) has a kid and that Irving (John Turturro) is an ex-military officer that appears to be investigating Lumon. Oh, and we also know that he likes to paint. The problem is he only really paints one thing: the dark corridor and the even darker elevator that leads to the testing floor, to which Ms. Casey is taken to be reprogrammed. It all seems to indicate that Irving has had some experience of his own with the testing floor, but what exactly is it, and how long has he really been at Lumon?
Who Is the Mysterious Child Innie?

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Though the first season of Severance was already enough to fill our minds with questions, the trailer for the upcoming Season 2 is even more mysterious. There are many things that seem off, the biggest of them being a scene in which Mark engages in a bonding exercise with a group of new-hires. One of them, however, is a young girl somewhere in her early teens. When asked why she is a child, Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) merely states that it is because of when she was born. But that’s not what the question meant, right? What characters and viewers alike need to know is why Lumon is employing the services of a literal kid. Is severance being used to allow child labor?
Why Will Helly Come Back as an Innie?

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The ending of Severance Season 1 reveals that Helly R.’s outie is none other than Helena Eagan, the heiress of Lumon founder Kier Eagan. Turns out she accepted to undergo the severance process for a PR stunt in order to convince the world that severed workers are happy and healthy. Her plan doesn’t quite work out, though, as Helly R. takes over just as she is about to give a speech about the beauty of severance and spills the beans about the hell innies go through. Still, the stunt is over. Yet, the Season 2 trailer clearly shows Helly going back to Lumon as an innie. Why would Helena do that to herself — or, more accurately, her other self? Maybe she wants to punish her for what she did? Or maybe it’s a way of keeping tabs on the other workers. Either way, something isn’t right about her return.
Will Reintegration Be Important to the Plot in Season 2?

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Part of the plot of Severance Season 1 involved a former MDR worker who underwent a process named reintegration that is meant to merge the memories of your outie and innie selves. A close friend of Mark, Petey (Yul Vazquez), found out terrible things about Lumon before his untimely death after seeking the help of a former employee of the company by the name of Reghabi (Karen Aldridge). However, Reghabi only appears for about two episodes, and the reintegration plot moves to the background after that. Will Season 2 bring it back, perhaps with a little more relevance? Is the endgame of Severance really the reintegration of its characters?
What’s Up with Irving’s Watermelon Head?

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Another moment in the Season 2 trailer that has fans scratching their heads is the one in which a watermelon carved to look like Irving’s head pops on screen. While it seems innocuous at first, this watermelon could mean something drastic for the character. In Season 1, we learn that watermelons are a staple of Lumon’s retirement parties through Burt’s (Christopher Walken) own farewell. It is, thus, no wonder that many are asking themselves if Irving is also going to retire. This could be Lumon’s response to Burt and Irving’s unwanted office romance, to get rid of not just one of them but both at the same time, but what happens next? Will Irving’s innie truly die, or will he come back? Will he be taken to the testing floor, as his paintings indicate?
What Is Severance Reform?

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Finally, the trailer for the new season brings up an important plot point: something called severance reform, a process that has been put into motion by the MDR workers as they forced themselves into the outer world. But what is this reform? Is it really something that is being done out of concern for innies or is it just a cover-up operation, something to keep the critics quiet for a little longer? Considering how bleak Severance’s universe is, we’re betting on the second option. And considering just how awful a life in which you exist for nothing apart from work looks like, we’re also betting a half-hearted reform won’t be enough.
Season 1 of Severance is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S., with Season 2 set to premiere on January 17.

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Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.

Release Date

February 18, 2022

Creator

Seasons

1

Story By

dan erickson

Writers

Dan Erickson

Showrunner

Dan Erickson
, Mark Friedman

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Watch on Apple TV+