‘Severance’ Fans Should Read ‘The Lexington Letter’ Companion Book Before Season 2 Premieres

Since Dan Erickson’s acclaimed workplace thriller Severance hit Apple TV+ in 2022, superfans have been spreading the good word, scouring Reddit for compelling theories, rewatching the first nine episodes to gain new insights, and even listening to Ben Stiller and Adam Scott’s podcast ahead of Season 2.

If you want to fully obsess over Severance before its highly-anticipated sophomore season premieres on January 17, however, we suggest adding one more task to your prep list: Read (or re-read) The Lexington Letter, the Severance companion book that published alongside Season 1 back in 2022.

While the free, 43-page look into Lumon Industries doesn’t answer all the burning questions viewers are left with at the end of Severance‘s first season, it does offer a rare window into another severed employee’s experience at the company, gives a crucial look at The Macrodata Refiner’s Orientation Booklet, and provides additional backstory that will be helpful to have when heading into the sophomore season.

From the minds behind the Apple TV+ series (Erickson and director/EP Ben Stiller), Severance: The Lexington Letter tells a fraction of Lumon Industries employee Margaret “Peg” Kincaid’s story. Like Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving (John Turturro), Peg underwent the Severance surgical procedure and had her work and personal memories separated. She worked as a Macrodata Refiner (MDR) employee on the severed floor of a Lumon branch, but after creatively communicating with her innie, she attempted to expose Lumon’s nefarious inner workings, only to wind up dead.

The book, available for free on Apple Books, shares Peg’s story and a copy of Lumon’s employee handbook via an email sent to Daria Thorn, a reporter at The Topeka Star.

“Until yesterday, I was an employee at Lumon Industries here in Topeka,” Peg wrote Thorn. “I chose to reach out to you because I’ve seen, among other things, your thorough coverage of the Dorner truck incident on November third. I Thought about going to the cops with what I’m about to tell you, but people say Lumon has a lot of connections with the police and City Hall and so I don’t think they would believe me anyway. I hope you believe me. I really need someone to believe me.”

Adam Scott in Severance
Photo: Apple TV+

As the letter continued, Peg revealed how she first came to hear from her innie via a note passed through the elevator. What about the code detectors? Well, this was no ordinary note. It was written in Puglish, a secret language made up of symbols that Peg and her sister Meryl invented when they were younger. Using Puglish, Peg communicated back and forth with her innie for weeks, learning as much as she could about the mysterious MDR work, Lumon’s incentives, and the existence (but not the full extent) of the terrifying Break Room.

One day, Innie Peg told Outie Peg that she’d completed an important file called “Lexington,” and Outie Peg realized the file was finished just two minutes before a Dorner Therapeutics truck exploded in New York. Since Dorner was “a major competitor” of Lumon, Peg felt uneasy about a possible connection and reached out to her innie again, but this time, she didn’t hear back. Weeks later, she got a note saying that Innie Peg had been in the Break Room. She gave Outie Peg a copy of the MDR handbook, and later, a note urging her to leave the company, get somewhere safe, and make the training booklet public. Outie Peg quit Lumon, left Topeka, and reached out to Thorn in hopes of exposing the truth.

Tramell Tillman on 'Severance' Season 2
Photo: Apple TV+

The Lexington Letter shows Thorn forwarding Peg’s emails to her editor, Jim M — whose full name, we learn, is Milchick! Is he a relative of Lumon’s own Seth Milchick who’s serving the company in another capacity? If not, it would be quite the coincidence, don’t you think? In another twist, after reading the compelling emails, Jim M passed on the story citing past legal retaliation from Lumon and Peg’s obituary, which revealed she died in a car crash one day after emailing Thorn.

While the book doesn’t have all the answers, it does raise more questions and concerns about Lumon and the company’s far-reaching power in Severance‘s world. It shows a troubling pattern of car crashes like the one Gemma was in before her alleged death. (Is Peg really dead?!) It offers greater insight into MDR’s work, the numbers, and the files. (Each cluster of numbers stands for and elicits one of the four tempers.) It suggests that Milchick may have family in Topeka. It shows instances of innies successfully communicating with their outies. And it also explores the humanity of innies in deeper, more thoughtful capacities than we saw in Season 1.

With Lumon’s seemingly endless string of secrets, it’s crucial to gain any knowledge we can about the Severance world, which is why the canon companion book is the perfect pre-Season 2 read.

The Lexington Letter is available for free, exclusively on Apple Books. Severance Season 2 premieres January 17 on Apple TV+ with new episodes dropping every Friday.

(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=823934954307605&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

You May Also Like
Lithuania deploys dogs in search for final missing US soldier after vehicle sank in swamp

Lithuania uses dogs to find last missing American soldier after their vehicle sank in a swamp

The search for the fourth and final missing U.S. soldier whose armored…
Musk slams Le Pen ruling, says it will 'backfire' like Trump's as some on global right face legal troubles

Elon Musk criticizes Le Pen decision, predicts it will have negative consequences similar to Trump’s, as right-wing figures worldwide encounter legal challenges

The court conviction of Marine Le Pen, a prominent right-wing figure, for…
Keke Palmer Finally Gets Her Movie Star Moment With ‘One of Them Days’

Keke Palmer’s Big Break in Hollywood Arrives with ‘One of Them Days’ Movie

Keke Palmer and SZA star in the buddy comedy One of Them…
Trump administration delays plans to ban foreign nationals traveling to the US from 43 countries

Trump administration postpones implementation of travel ban on foreign nationals from 43 countries

The implementation of the Trump administration’s proposal to prevent individuals from 43…
President Donald Trump news today: Financial experts raising concerns about consumer protections, costs in current administration

Concerns Raised by Financial Experts about Consumer Protections and Costs in the Current Trump Administration

CHICAGO (WLS) — Financial experts are raising concerns about consumer protections and…
Dave Coulier confirms he is cancer free, 'Full House' co-stars celebrate

Dave Coulier announces he has beaten cancer, cast members of ‘Full House’ rejoice

Dave Coulier is officially cancer free. The actor and comedian revealed his…
Florida special elections cause Republicans to sweat as they try to increase razor-thin majority

Florida special elections make Republicans nervous as they aim to widen their slim majority

Florida voters are participating in elections on Tuesday to select new House…
Hamas terrorists torture protester to death in Gaza, leave his body on family’s doorstep: report

Report: Hamas militants in Gaza kill protester through torture, abandon his body at family’s home

A man from Palestine who was denouncing Hamas, the extremist group governing…
When Will ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3, Episode 5 Premiere on Prime Video?

What is the Release Date for Season 3, Episode 5 of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ on Prime Video?

What’s better than an all-new episode of Bosch: Legacy? Two new episodes…
Netanyahu accuses Israeli police of trying to 'topple' his government

Netanyahu claims that Israeli police are attempting to overthrow his government

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Israeli police of attempting to undermine…
Screen legend who survived WWII to star in Oscar-winning movie and 80s TV phenomenon celebrates 98th birthday

Celebrated actor from WWII era stars in award-winning film and popular 80s TV show, marks 98th birthday

He is a screen legend who starred in an Oscar-winning movie and a…
Tuesday Morning Minute: Won't Get Fooled Again

New post: Avoid Being Deceived Again – Tuesday Morning Recap

TOP O’ THE MORNIN’ Red-Hot at RedState  Although it’s good to have…