Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2, episodes 1 and 2.
Severanceseason 2, episode 2 provided answers to some big questions, simultaneously revealing several lies Milchick told the Innies in the premiere. As ofSeveranceseason 2, episode 1’s ending, the aftermath of the Overtime Contingency being activated in season 1 was outlined from the perspective of Lumon’s Innie personalities.Severanceseason 1’s endingraised many questions, with Milchick seemingly providing answers to them for Mark S, Helly R, Dylan, and Irving as well as the confused audience who have waited three years for a continuation.
As such,Severance’s cast of charactersremained solely in Lumon’s offices in the premiere.Severanceseason 2, episode 2, however, detailed life on the other side. Rather than focus on the Innie workers, the episode focused on the ramifications ofSeverance’s Overtime Contingencyand how it pertains to the cast’s Outie personalities. Thanks to this story,Severanceseason 2, episode 2 pulled back several layers and uncovered an ever-increasing web of lies that was constructed by Mr. Milchick and relayed to the Innie workers of Lumon’s severed floor in episode 1.
The Time Between Severance’s Two Seasons Was A Lie
The first lie that Milchick told Mark inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1 was that it had been five months since the events of the show’s first season. Milchick tells Mark that what he and his colleagues did five months ago is one of the most painful things he has ever had to endure at Lumon, prompting Mark to question the length of time that has supposedly elapsed. Evidently, Mark was correct in questioning Milchick, withSeveranceseason 2, episode 2 revealing Milchick’s lie.
InSeveranceseason 2, episode 2, Milchick was shown visiting the Outies of Irving, Dylan, and Mark. Upon leaving Mark’s house, Milchick states that he hopes to see him on Monday. Mark reckons with returning to Lumon, yet returns on Monday as Milchick says.This is when Mark S enters work to find his new colleagues, meaning only a few days have passedrather than five months. Mark W’s Outie can later be heard stating that he has only worked three days before being fired, meaning not even a week has passed betweenSeveranceseasons 1 and 2.
6Milchick Said That Ms. Cobel Has Been Fired From Lumon
Cobel’s Employment Has Went Back & Forth
Another lie that Milchick told Mark inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1 is that Ms. Cobel had been fired from Lumon. After Mark encountered his new Macrodata Refinement team in the premiere, he was walked through Milchick’s old office. The office now belonged toSeverance’s disturbing child character Miss Huang, with Milchick taking work residence in the office that was once Ms. Cobel’s. Mark asks what is going on, leading Milchick to spew many of his lies, including that Ms. Cobel’s actions saw her employment with Lumon terminated.
This is a half-truth, in a way, as Cobel was briefly fired from Lumon duringSeveranceseason 1. Cobel hid Helly R’s attempted suicide from Lumon’s board, resulting in her termination. However,Severanceseason 2, episode 2 revealed that Lumon rehired Cobel as the head of a new department, the Severance Advisory Council, after her efforts to stop the Overtime Contingency in season 1’s finale. This came before Milchick told Mark that Cobel was no longer an employee of Lumon, rendering this piece of information another one of his veiled lies.
5Milchick Said That He Didn’t Fire The Other Innies & They Decided Not To Come Back
The Fate Of The Innies Was Not Truthful
A big subplot ofSeveranceseason 2, episode 1 was Mark’s attempts to see his old colleagues - Helly, Irving, and Dylan - brought back to the severed floor. This involved a great deal of conspiring, even leading Mark to try and get his new workers - Mark W, David, and Gwendolyn - fired. The absence of the original Innies was explained by Milchick inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1, with the new boss of the severed floor explaining that Helly, Irving, and Dylan’s Outies were not fired from Lumon, but that they quit on their own accord.
Severance Season 2: Why Mark Tried To Get His New Team Fired
Severance season 2 begins with the shocking introduction of a new team of colleagues for Mark S, a team that he wastes no time trying to get fired.
Milchick goes on to say that Lumon attempted to get the same team back by any means necessary, whichSeveranceseason 2, episode 2 reveals as another lie. The opening scenes of the episode show Milchick visiting Irving and Dylan on the outside, lying to them about what happened during the Overtime Contingency and firing them as a result.Lumon did not try to convince them back and directly fired Irving and Dylan, proving Milchick’s words to Mark in episode 1 as more lies.
4Milchick Told Mark That He & The Other Innies Achieved Worldwide Fame
The Innies Were Supposedly Global Heroes
Stemming from Milchick’s mistruths aboutSeverance’s timeline, the manager tells another lie to Mark in season 2, episode 1. Milchick tells Mark that the Overtime Contingency from season 1’s ending resulted in the four workers involved achieving worldwide fame. In the “five months” betweenSeveranceseasons 1 and 2, Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan reportedly became heroes across the world due to what is being dubbed the Macrodat Uprising. Milchick even goes as far as showing Mark a newspaper clipping that reveres the MDR workers as heroes.
The concept of the Macrodat Uprising has been entirely manufactured by Lumon, as has the newspaper claiming it to be true…
Just as it is revealed that only a few days passed betweenSeveranceseasons 1 and 2, it is revealed that the apparent fame of the Innies is also a falsehood. The concept of the Macrodat Uprising has been entirely manufactured by Lumon, as has the newspaper claiming it to be true. In reality, Lumon immediately covered up the events ofSeveranceseason 1’s finale by scrubbing the media of those present at Helena’s gala, firing Irving and Dylan, and keeping a close eye on Mark and his sister, Devon, as showcased inSeveranceseason 2, episode 2.
3Milchick Showcased The New Severance Reforms To The Innies
Lumon Does NOT Thank Kier For The Macrodat Uprising
One of the more darkly hilarious sequences inSeveranceseason 2’s premiere was the animated video outlining the new Severance Reforms. This video featured aSeverancecameo from Keane Reevesas the voice of Lumon itself, which outlined the ways the company is listening to its workers in the aftermath of the fabricated Macrodat Uprising. The brave journey of the Innies supposedly led Lumon to implement the Severance Reforms across the globe, resulting in more workplace perks, more freedom in the office, and less authoritarian oversight from managers like Ms. Cobel and Mr. Milchick.
As revealed inSeveranceseason 2, episode 2, all of this is another complex lie on Lumon’s part. As alluded to, the Macrodat Uprising is fake and the plight of the innies fell on deaf ears, also meaning the Severance Reforms are a lie. Lumon covered up the Innies' pleas and implemented the Severance Reforms as another means of control. The Reforms were constructed as a way of placating Lumon’s Innie workers and convincing them that their actions had the desired effect so that they could continue Lumon’s mysterious work, such asSeverance’s Cold Harbor file.
Cobel’s Motivations Were Clouded
As it turns out, Milchick stating that Cobel was fired from Lumon is not the only lie he told about her inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1. When Mark asked where Cobel was and, more specifically, why she was posing as Mrs. Selvig to Mark’s Outie, Milchick had to formulate another mistruth. In this scene, Milchick told Mark that Cobel had developed what he dubbed an erotic fixation on both the Innie and Outie versions of Mark. According to Milchick, Cobel’s actions were all in service of her ultimate goal: engaging in a “throuple” with Mark inside and outside of work.
Severance: Harmony Cobel’s Role At Lumon Industries & Mrs. Selvig Identity Explained
Patricia Arquette’s Severance character, Harmony Cobel, is crucial to the story of the Apple TV+ series, as is her Mrs. Selvig identity.
As revealed by Cobel’s actions inSeveranceseason 2, episode 2 - and indeed, the rest of the show - this is a lie. Although Cobel’s motivations for posing as Selvig and infiltrating Mark’s outside life are still shrouded in mystery, it is fairly clear that she is not driven by any erotic, sexual, or romantic feelings toward Mark. This renders Milchick’s insistence that she was another lie, used to cover up the real reason why Cobel is no longer managing Lumon’s severed floor.
1Milchick Told Innie Mark That His Outie Begged To Come Back To Lumon
Outie Mark Was Not Keen On A Return
The final major lie that Milchick told Mark inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1 is that Outie Mark begged to come back to Lumon. Naturally, Mark’s main questions in the premiere are what happened to his colleagues and why they are no longer at Lumon, but he is. Milchick’s lie that Irving, Dylan, and Helly were not fired is backed up but chose not to return is masked by another: Mark reportedly begged Lumon to take him back, which resulted inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1’s return to the severed floor.
This lie is carefully and smartly conducted by Milchick, as the audience can see Outie Mark doing so due to his wish to escape the grief of Gemma’s death. However, asSeveranceseason 2, episode 2 highlighted, Mark did not wish to return to Lumon. The Overtime Contingency only bolstered his desire to quit Lumon that he had showcased inSeveranceseason 1’s final few episodes. It was only after Milchick swayed Mark with gift baskets, the mention of Gemma’s death, and Innie Mark’s relationship with Helly that Outie Mark agreed to return inSeveranceseason 2.
Cast
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
