All the Severance Questions We Still Have Ahead of the Season Finale

Oh, how innocent we were at the end of January, only three episodes into the second season of Severance. We didn’t even know what Salt’s Neck was, or where Ms. Casey’s been tucked away! We may have a slightly better idea of what the hell is going on as Apple TV+’s sci-fi sensation/internet obsession heads into its season two finale next week—but there are still secrets galore lurking in Lumon’s hallways.

With that in mind, it’s time to revisit io9’s earlier post running through our most burning Severance questions and see where they now stand—and you know we’ve got plenty of new ones, too.

First, here’s a rundown of our early-season questions—some of which we’ve since learned the answers to.

Where is Ms. Casey? 

In episode seven, “Chikhai Bardo,” we got a detailed backstory of Gemma (later known as Ms. Casey) and Mark’s relationship, from their first meet-cute at a blood drive, to their blissful early days of marriage, to their devastating struggles with infertility. We also learned that Gemma has been literally beneath Mark’s feet the entire time; with a variety of severed personalities activated depending on which room she enters, she’s been undergoing a series of highly unpleasant experiences on Lumon’s testing floor, which is even more underground than the severed floor.

How did Gemma become Ms. Casey—and why?

We don’t have precise details yet on either of these, though we do have some more clues to go on. We know that Gemma and Mark visited a fertility clinic run by Lumon, and that Gemma remained in contact with the place, or at least received follow-up mail (the “Chikhai Bardo” card came with some sort of personality test) associated with it. We also saw the night she left alone for an event that Mark did not want to attend and never came home, with a pair of police showing up to deliver the sad (fake) news of her fate. 

While we don’t know exactly how she became Ms. Casey—was she kidnapped? A willing participant until realizing what she’d actually agreed to?—we have a slightly less foggy idea of why. Based on episode seven, we know she’s being held against her will, and that Mark’s work as a “Macrodata Refiner” has shaped her experiences on the testing floor. We also know based on this week’s episode, “The After Hours,” that when Mark finishes his most important work file, the all-important Cold Harbor, Gemma’s life will end.

We don’t know, of course, any of the big-picture stuff, like what exactly Lumon plans to do with the results of this barbaric experiment, and what future implications it may have.

What is Cold Harbor?

See above. We have no idea what’s actually waiting for Gemma in the room, but it’s going to be way more awful than being on a plane that’s seemingly about to crash, a painful afternoon at the dentist, or a passive-aggressive Christmas spent writing inane thank-you notes. After “Chikhai Bardo,” it seemed plausible Cold Harbor would be where Gemma would re-experience her miscarriage over and over, but now that we know it’s designed to be fatal—could it be a car crash that actually kills her?

What is Ms. Cobel’s plan and what’s in Salt’s Neck?

Thanks to episode eight, “Sweet Vitriol,” a lot of Ms. Cobel’s backstory has been fleshed out. We know she grew up in a Lumon company town that’s now nearly deserted, and that most everyone who still lives there is—thanks to Lumon—an ether addict. We learned Cobel’s mother, who was one of those ether addicts while she was alive, hated Lumon. We also learned Cobel was a gifted student who earned the prestigious Wintertide Fellowship, and that Jame Eagan stole her designs for the severance procedure and passed the invention off as his own. 

That all certainly explains a lot of her behavior until now: her eerie devotion to the cult of Kier, something she’s been entangled with her entire life; her creepy interest in Mark both inside and out of work (since his completion of Cold Harbor is somehow tied into the success of severance), her extreme reaction when she was fired from Lumon, and (as we saw in “The After Hours”) her apparent decision to help Mark and Devon right as Gemma’s time is running out.

Where is Kier, PE?

Still no idea. But it’s not just snowy roads: you can take a train far, far away if you need to escape Kier, like Irving does in “The After Hours.”

Who’s on “the board”?

Still no idea. The only Eagans we’ve met are Jame and Helena. Could there be more?

What is the deal with Natalie?

Again, no idea. If the season finale reveals Natalie is an innie whose outie is the complete opposite of “PR person with a death-ray smile,” it wouldn’t be entirely surprising. 

Why does Lumon want Ricken to re-write his book for innies?

Yet again, we don’t know, other than perhaps it was a way for Lumon to keep its hooks in Mark’s family—since we now know exactly how valuable he is to the company. Ricken hasn’t been seen much in season two, though his portrayal in the “Chikhai Bardo” flashback suggests his overly mannered personality used to be a lot more charming. The episode was all about Mark and Gemma, but it also showed the audience that Devon and Ricken’s relationship isn’t as mismatched as it appears to be in the show’s present day.

Why is Miss Huang a kid?

This we now know: like Ms. Cobel before her, little Eustace is a Wintertide Fellow. She and Mr. Milchick never worked very well together, but he did allow her to graduate. In “The After Hours,” we see her being sent away from the Lumon office (and her parents, it’s pointedly mentioned) for a new posting in Svalbard, probably one of few places on Earth that’s colder than Kier.

Why did Helly lie about her “Overtime Contingency” experience?

We learned the answer to that in episode four, “Woe’s Hollow.” It wasn’t Helly in that scene, it was the duplicitous Helena Eagan. She was faking that she was her innie in order to spy on MDR.

Who is outie Irv talking to on pay phones?

We don’t know, and we may never know, since “The After Hours” saw Irv and his dog board that train out of Kier, courtesy of Burt, with explicit instructions never to return. The best guess is that he was somehow tied into the anti-severance movement, and was speaking to a contact that probably helped him compile that list of names and addresses of severed workers (including Burt).

What’s up with the Exports Hall?

We knew it led to the testing floor, since we saw Ms. Casey walking down that long hallway at the end of season one; in season two, it’s where Dr. Mauer wheels his dental tools, and Ms. Casey’s would-be escape route when she tries to find her way out of captivity in “Chikhai Bardo.” But we don’t know why it was haunting Irving’s thoughts, so much so that his outie painted images of it over and over. With help from Felicia in Optics and Design, Irv’s innie left behind some very convoluted directions to find its entrance, which Helly R. gets ahold of after Dylan—the intended recipient—impulsively quits MDR in “The After Hours.”

How will Mark’s reintegration go?

It hasn’t been smooth sailing, with sudden nosebleeds, the persistent couch, what appeared to be a seizure followed by a brief lapse into a coma, and some confusing consciousness blips. The only medical professional who knows his secret, Reghabi, took herself out of the equation when Devon decided to phone Ms. Cobel. So that’s not very reassuring.

Are the Macrodata Refiners actually doing anything?

While the details aren’t entirely clear, we know their work sorting “scary numbers” and completing files named for places (Allentown… Cold Harbor) has some kind of impact on the testing floor.

THE GOATS

We haven’t seen a goat since episode three, “Who Is Alive?”—unless you count production-design details like the goat statue on the altar belonging to Ms. Cobel’s Kier-devoted aunt, seen in “Sweet Vitriol.” The goat represents malice, one of the four tempers mentioned as having been “tamed” by Kier Eagan as part of his extensive lore. As to what practical purpose the goats in Lumon serve, and why the employees who take care of them are so oddball, we don’t yet have an answer.

Now, let’s dig into the newest questions currently keeping Severance fans up at night, especially now that there’s just one episode left to go.

What plan will Cobel, Mark, and Devon come up with?

When last we saw this unlikely trio, they’d gathered in one of the severance-rigged cabins at the “birthing retreat”—great idea from Devon, by the way—so that Cobel could talk to Mark’s innie. Mark and Devon want to rescue Gemma from her Cold Harbor fate, and Cobel has some serious explaining to do, both to the Scout siblings and to the very curious audience. So what will their next move be? As we’ve seen, you can’t exactly barge your way onto Lumon’s severed floor… much less infiltrate the testing floor below. But as we’ve also seen, Lumon’s security can be surprisingly porous sometimes—like when the innies pulled off the overtime contingency mission in season one, for instance.

And speaking of that birthing retreat scene… WTF?

We’ll be haunted by Ms. Cobel’s description of Devon (pretending to be a Lumon employee) as a woman needing discreet entry into the birthing retreat because “she’s one of Jame’s.” What does that mean, exactly? One of Jame’s what? Willing or unwilling vessels for his Eagan seed? You can’t just let that twist in the wind, Severance!

Will Mr. Milchick continue to rebel against Mr. Drummond specifically and maybe Lumon at large?

Mr. Milchick standing up to Mr. Drummond, correctly pointing out that whatever Mark does when he’s not at work isn’t something he can control—true for any job, but especially since Mark is severed and becomes a completely different person when he steps off that elevator and goes home—was an unexpectedly delightful moment in “The After Hours.” It’s felt like Mr. Milchick is on the brink of breaking from his good-soldier routine for a few episodes now (his reaction to the paintings, his performance review ordeal). Could he become an unexpected innie ally as the season draws to a close?

Is this the last we’ve seen of Dylan, Irving, and Burt?

It’s pretty clear Miss Huang has departed for good—but what about these other characters? All had what could be final send-offs in “The After Hours.” You have to hope we’ll at least see what happens to Dylan and his outie’s wife, Gretchen, and maybe learn if Burt will face consequences for seemingly breaking Lumon farewell protocol with Irving.

Will Mark have to choose between Gemma and Helly R.?

It would be a love triangle… except one of the points is two different men contained in a single body. Mark S. loves Helly R. and Mark loves Gemma. No matter what, someone is going to get their heart broken—as we saw with Dylan’s agonizing storyline in “The After Hours.” How will he choose? Or will the decision be made for him, maybe to the point that nobody ends up happy? Will Gemma die in the Cold Harbor room? Will the sinister Helena Eagan triumph in permanently erasing her much, much cooler innie?

And speaking of Helly R… why is Jame Eagan creeping on MDR?

Who does he think he’s confronting in one of the final scenes in “The After Hours”—his daughter, or her innie, who he considers to be less than human? Why does he want Helena to eat her breakfast eggs raw rather than hard-boiled?

No answers. Only questions here.

That brings us to the inevitable biggest questions of all. How will Severance set up season three—will fans be left dangling on another cliffhanger like the end of season one?

And by the way, when will Apple TV+ confirm season three is on the way? And how long will we have to wait to see more?

The Severance season two finale, ominously titled “Cold Harbor,” arrives next Friday.

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