Warning: this article contains major SPOILERS for the Severance season 2 finale.
Apple TV+’s hit TV seriesSeverancerecently aired its season 2 finale, and unsurprisingly, plenty of moments left us all shocked. Season 2 began with the Innies attempting to uncover what had happened in the aftermath of using the Overtime Contingency to spread the word of their treatment, but the season feels like it has evolved so much since then.Severance’s season 2 finaleis a wild ride that ultimately ends in a cliffhanger, setting up a lot of questions for the series' future.
Luckily,Severancehas already been renewed for season 3, which means that we will eventually get some answers to their biggest questions, though likely not for some time. SomeSeverancemain characters, like Irving, did not appear in the finale, while the fate of many of the others now hangs in the balance, making it impossible to say what might happen next. So much happened inSeveranceseason 2’s final episode that it is difficult to choose which moments were the most surprising, strangest, or saddest, though there are a few that do stick out as being the most extreme.
Dylan’s Outie Begrudgingly Admires Him
Image via Apple TV+
SeveranceSeason 2, episode 9, saw Dylan decide to resign from Lumon after learning that his Outie’s wife would no longer come to visit him despite their growing connection, and he receives a rather surprising response to that request in the season finale. Theletter from Dylan’s Outiefirst expresses annoyance that Dylan kissed his wife and now wants to quit, especially considering that he had trouble getting a different job earlier in the season, but it quickly shifts to being surprisingly sweet and showing thatDylan’s Outie actually admires him.
In this scene, it becomes clear that Outie Dylan reluctantly acknowledges that Innie Dylan might really be his better persona.
Dylan’s letter states that he can’t blame his Innie for falling in love with Gretchen, since they have the same basic personality and desires. Likewise,he states that knowing Dylan is so fiery and confident makes him happysince his Outie life is not like that. In this scene, it becomes clear that Outie Dylan reluctantly acknowledges that Innie Dylan might really be his better persona, which creates a sharp contrast to how Innies have been treated by the majority of characters inSeverance.
9Mark’s Innie Versus Outie conversation
Their Interactions Turned Ugly Fast
With Mark’s slow reintegration and the problems that can only be unlocked by knowing what happens both inside and outside Lumon,Mark’s conversation with himself is a huge moment thatSeveranceseason 2 has been building toward. The finale finally gives audiences the chance to see Mark’s two personas interact, but it quickly spirals into an argument. While this does raise some more general questions about what it would be like to meet oneself, it also has massive implications for the rest of the episode, since it allows Mark to finally make a plan to rescue Gemma.
“It’s Sort Of A Zero Sum Game”: Whether Severance Can Have A Happy Ending For Both Outies & Innies Addressed By Apple TV+ Show Creator
Severance creator Dan Erickson explains whether the Apple TV+ show can have a happy ending for both outies and innies following the season 2 finale.
The conversation starts out kind of cute and wholesome with the two Marks looking forward to talking to each other, butthe tone really shifts when Outie Mark calls Helly “Heleny” and Innie Mark gets upset. Outie Mark understandably wants to see his wife again, but Innie Mark has no feelings for Gemma. Conversely, Innie Mark is worried about what will happen to him and the other Innies if they take Lumon down. While both of their concerns are valid, it is a shocking moment that once again shows how different the Innies and Outies become due to their circumstances.
8The Cold Harbor Room Reveal
Seeing Gemma Walk Into That Room Was Heartbreaking
The Cold Harbor room was undeniably one ofSeverance’s biggest reveals in season 2 because it has been a mystery since the beginning of season 1, as Mark was working on the Cold Harbor file even before we knew that Ms. Casey was Mark’s wife, Gemma. The reveals of the different testing rooms and Gemma’s different severed personalities created even more build-up. Finally, then, seeing Gemma put on the same clothes as when she last saw Mark and walking into a room that only contained a crib was devastating.
Though inside the room, Gemma does not remember the significance of the crib or those specific clothes, it is unbelievably cruel ofLumon to use Cold Harbor to test Gemma. Lumon’s intent to show that severance completely removes emotions, even in very charged circumstances, highlights the extremes that the company is willing to go to to further its technology and goals.While audiences already knew that Lumon is brutal to its severed employees, Gemma’s experiences take that even further.
7The Goat Sacrifice For Gemma’s Burial
How Many Times Has Lumon Done That?
Lumon’s goat department Mammalians Nurturablewas introduced briefly in season 1, but their purpose was left relatively ambiguous. Among many of theSeverancefinale’s reveals is that one part of the department’s responsibilities is providing animals to be used as sacrifices. Lorne clearly is not happy about this and eventually sides with Mark in taking Mr. Drummond down, but the reveal raises even more questions. Namely,how many times Lumon has asked her to do this.
Severance Star Confirms Whether That Was Helly R. Or Helena Egan In The Season 2 Finale
Severance actor Britt Lower confirms if it was Helly R. or Helena Egan who Mark S. chose during the final moments of the season 2 finale.
When goats were first introduced on the severed floor in season 1, a singular man told Mark and Helly that they were not ready yet. While it is possible that the goats could still serve another purpose as well, it is shocking to learn that the purpose of the goats that has been hinted at since season 1 is simply sending them to be slaughtered. What’s more, the sacrifice raises other questions about Lumon’s corporate belief system andwhy the animal would need to guide Gemma into the afterlife in the first place.
6The Choreography & Merriment Marching Band
It Was Weird But Also Kind Of Amazing
While most of the biggest moments inSeverance’s season finale were sad and upsetting, the reveal of Choreography & Merriment was the exact opposite. The sudden appearance of a full marching band was definitely shocking and unusual for a business setting, but it was also hilarious. Audiences had seen Mr. Milchick dance before in season 1, butthe Choreography & Merriment department took his dramatics to a whole new level as he led them in song and dance.
The moment is both deeply unsettling thanks to the sinister undertones of the performance and also the lightest part of the episode.
As Mark and Helly watch in complete confusion,Milchick and the band overpower the nearly empty and formerly quiet office. The moment is both deeply unsettling thanks to the sinister undertones of the performance and also the lightest part of the episode. Choreography & Merriment was certainly not anything that I saw coming in theSeveranceseason finale, but that is also what made it perfect.
Milchick Has Been Teetering Over The Edge All Season
Season 1 Mr. Milchick seemed largely to be following Ms. Cobel’s guidance and adhering to Lumon’s codes, but the character has been much more unpredictable in season 2.It has been so satisfying to see Mr. Milchick finally start to express his discomfortwith some of the things that Lumon has done and the way that he is treated in the corporate environment. Despite being an authority figure, other Lumon employees often talk down to him and that was also the case forthe bizarre Kier statueat the party to celebrate Mark finishing the Cold Harbor file.
Mr. Milchick Actor And A College Marching Band Recreate Severance Season 2 Finale’s Already Iconic Scene
Tramell Tillman recreates Severance’s season 2 finale with USC’s marching band, leading a hilarious performance of the Cold Harbor File celebration.
The statue on its own was already disturbing enough to earn it a place on this list, but adding Milchick’s conversation to that makes the whole scene even weirder. It is unclear who was speaking through the statue or if it had been programmed to say certain things, butLumon clearly knew exactly which buttons to push to upset Mr. Milchick. FollowingMilchick’s “devour feculence” lineearlier in the season, his jab about the height of the Kier statue shows that he is becoming increasingly disenchanted with Lumon, and season 3 needs to explore that change further.
4Cobel Explaining What MDR Really Does To Innie Mark
Innie Mark Learning His Role In Creating Other Innies Was Devastating
WhileSeverance’s finale certainly heats up as it progresses, this moment early in the episode is actually one of the most devastating. Innie and Outie Mark’s conversation quickly turns defensive and only Ms. Cobel is able to finally get Innie Mark to agree to get Gemma out by telling him the truth of what he is doing at Lumon. Though audience members had gotten hints before that Mark’s job had something to do with Gemma and her severed personalities,this was the first time he himself learned that he was responsible for creating her Innies.
The implications of this scene on Innie Mark are massive because knowing that he feels imprisoned by Lumon and then learning thathe was helping to create the same type of prison for someone elseis a really painful realization. Beyond just the one Innie that he has, the scene makes Mark consider just how many files he has completed and how many Innies he has created for someone that his Outie loves dearly, ultimately convincing him to save her out of his humanity rather than love for her.
3Mr. Drummond’s Death
Outie Mark Was Not Expecting That
This isSeveranceso, of course, something about Mark’s plan to rescue Gemma was not going to go smoothly, but Mr. Drummond’s death was shocking all the same. The fight between Lorne and Mr. Drummond was very entertaining to watch because it was clear that she had real issues that she needed to work out with him, and Mark using him to get onto the testing floor made sense. However, when the cattle bolt went off right as Mark transitioned from his Innie to his Outie, I was stunned.
That was definitely traumatizing for Outie Mark, who had no idea what he was about to wake up to.
Severancehad killed off characters before, so it is not unheard of that another Lumon employee could die, especially one as antagonistic as Mr. Drummond. That was definitely traumatizing for Outie Mark, who had no idea what he was about to wake up to. Beyond the shock of Drummond’s death at the moment,that scene also raises big questions that will have to be addressed in season 3. Will Lumon choose to sweep the death under the rug, or will they try to punish Mark for what happened? Either way, Drummond’s death can’t just be ignored.
2Different Iterations Of Mark And Gemma Interacting
Both Of Their Outies Meeting For The First Time In Years Was So Satisfying But Ended So Quickly
One of the biggest moments in theSeveranceseason finale was finally getting to see all the different iterations of Mark and Gemma interact. This really quick succession of combinations runs the gamut from hopeful to heartbreaking. While the kiss between Innie Mark and Ms. Casey turned awkwardly funny,it was very satisfying to see Mark and Gemma see each other for the first timejust moments before.
Even when Gemma does not recognize Mark, she still decides to trust him over the Lumon employees, casting doubts on the efficacy of the Cold Harbor program. She chooses to trust him again as Ms. Casey when going through the fire exit door, pointing to the fact thattheir connection is even stronger than Lumon can cover up or take away. Their reunion was truly the moment that the entire season had been working towards, and those seconds promised so much to viewers only to take it all away.
Innie And Outie Mark Were Never Going To See Eye To Eye
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most important moment of theSeverancefinale was seeing Innie Mark turn away from Gemma as she bangs on the exit door, instead choosing to join Helly R. This feels like theSeveranceequivalent of running off into the sunset together.Only there is no sunset for Mark and Helly because they are still trapped on the severed floor, and the chaos they have caused means things will be even worse than before. Given who Helly’s Outie is, they both know how little hope there is for them, but they choose that anyway.
“She’s Seeing This Heartbreaking Thing Happening”: Severance Season 2 Finale’s Hallway Scene Broken Down By Gemma & Helly Stars
Britt Lower and Dichen Lachman address the intense hallway scene in the Severance season 2 finale, breaking down Gemma and Helly’s profound showdown.
The moment also highlights just how big the divide is between the Innies and the Outies. From this point on, the understanding and humanity between Mark’s two halves will likely be nonexistent. Because they see themselves as two distinct people with separate lives and separate love interests, the two Marks are not going to have the same goals in the future. While taking down Lumon was initially both the Innie’s and the Outie’s goal for many of the characters,Severanceseason 3 may see that change as the Innies will be fighting for a way to stay alive within the severed floor.
