23 Questions You’re Probably Asking About the ‘Severance’ Season 2 Finale

While Season 2 and its finale gave viewers new insight into longstanding questions about the goats, MDR’s work, Cobel’s loyalty to Lumon, and more, there’s a lot we still don’t know — even after learning the gist of Cold Harbor. Whatever fresh horrors we expected from Gemma’s final testing floor room, the empty space held just two items: a crib and a screwdriver. Dr. Mauer ordered Gemma’s Cold Harbor innie to “take it apart” as Billie Holiday’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” plays, solidifying a 207 callback to one of the most heart-wrenching moments of Gemma’s life — when Mark disassembled their baby’s crib in wake of their fertility struggles.

We now know that Lumon’s been putting Gemma’s innies through trauma to see what — if anything — transcends the severance barrier. Dressing her in her outie’s “death” day outfit and recreating her peak emotional destruction was the ultimate test. If her innie completed the task without recalling her outie’s identity, the crib/song’s significance, or the trauma of it all, Lumon’s tests would be a success. It seems the company is trying to manufacture/mass market a way to sever people from painful scenarios beyond work and childbirth. (The cost, of course, is a horribly fucked up prison for innies where pain and lack of consent are ubiquitous.) But Lumon’s endgame, the motivations behind their actions, and the scope of the people/system responsible still remain unclear. While we might not get the answer in Season 3 depending on how long the show expects to run, it has to be one of the major series reveal.

When Episode 207 showed Mark and Gemma meeting at a Lumon blood drive, then seeking fertility assistance at a Lumon clinic where Testing Floor Dr. Mauer worked, the show all but confirmed that the company’s nefarious operations are so wide-reaching that Gemma likely wasn’t the only person they’ve taken down to that testing floor. And in the Season 2 finale, when Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) asked Mammalians Nurturable head Lorne (Gwendoline Christie) to kill a goat so it could “be entombed with a cherished woman whose spirit it must guide to Kier’s door” (aka Gemma), she made it known that definitely wasn’t the first goat that’s had to die. So how many people has Lumon held captive, severed, and tortured for research purposes? And were they straight-up going to murder Gemma after she completed Cold Harbor??

Along those same lines, how does Lumon select an ideal test subject like Gemma? What made her the right person for the testing floor? Was it something about her blood? Was it a fertility-related revelation made at the clinic? Or something she wrote on her new patient intake form?

Something that stuck out in a 207 flashback was that fact that Gemma got onto the clinic’s mailing list and received the same “Chikhai Bardo” ideographic card Dylan stole from O&D in Season 1. Mark picked up the card, examined it, and said, “Chikhai Bardo. I don’t know, it looks like two guys fighting.” But Gemma thoughtfully replied, “No, it’s the same guy fighting himself, defeating his own psyche. Ego death.” (AKA, the events we watched transpire between Mark’s innie and outie in the Season 2 finale.) When Mark asked how Gemma knew it was the same guy, she noted that they had the same hair, adding, “It’s one of those things where you have to draw a duck or a rabbit or whatever.” It’s clear she had a unique, insightful, seemingly correct interpretation of the card, so did her astute understanding of the image play some role in Lumon’s interest? And after her alleged death, was Mark targeted to get the severance procedure to refine and unknowingly assist with her testing? Or did he seek it out himself?

Episode 207 also appeared to show quick bursts of Gemma’s memories as she traveled from the outside world through the halls to the testing floor, but we still have so many questions about how she got there. What actually happened the night she left Mark? Where was she going to play charades? And if Mark had gone with her, would the “accident” have happened? Gemma is alive and serving face on the regular, so she clearly wasn’t in a fatal car crash. Was Burt somehow involved in transporting her to Lumon? Was Miss Huang in her crossing guard era on the scene? And why was Mark so sure that he identified her body? We need some more flashbacks and transparent Season 3 conversations about the horrors Gemma experienced since that night.

Watching your husband leave you behind and choose to stay in the place that tortured you for literal years with another woman is pure agony. But what made that Season 2 finale scene even more heartbreaking is the fact that Gemma didn’t fully understand what was going on. She had no idea that Mark got severed and had been working at Lumon with her for years. So when he chose Helly over her, she wasn’t initially aware that was his innie. In her mind, it was the same Mark who — mere seconds earlier — was getting into the elevator with her after their emotional testing floor reunion. The twist will undoubtedly and understandably stop her in her tracks. (She should be in the parking lot already!) But will she be able to move on in time to make her great escape from Lumon — the escape she’s dreamed of and attempted on the testing floor for years? And will Cobel and Devon be waiting to assist outside?

When sharing their grand plan in the Season 2 finale, Devon told Mark’s innie, “If we can prove she’s alive — that they fucking kidnapped her — it’ll end them.” But if Gemma does successfully go free, I can’t imagine the Lumon-compromised town will be a very safe place for her, or that getting any sort of truth out there will be simple. So here’s hoping Cobel’s wits and Lumon intel will come in handy again.

We started the season with MISSING posters for Ms Casey/Gemma and we’re ending it wondering if we’ll ever see these Season 2 divas again. Where the heck did Reghabi (Karen Aldridge) go when Devon dared call Cobel for assistance?! (And why was she so quick to leave with Mark’s life on the line? Her and Cobel likely have history together at Lumon, so we’re hoping to see them in the same room one day.)

As for our go-to Season 2 girlie Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), shortly after we learned she was at Lumon pursuing the Wintertide Fellowship (child labor!), Milchick shipped her off to the Gunnel Eagan Empathy Center in Svalbard to steward global reforms. NO! We want our theremin-playing, barrette-wearing, pigtail-rocking, marshmallow-tossing queen in Kier, not Norway! If given the opportunity to return for more mysterious and important work down the line, Bock assured Decider that Miss Huang would be at the ready. “I would do anything. I love the team on Severance,” she said. So will the show find a way to bring her back?

After Burt broke into Irving’s apartment in Episode 209 and confirmed he was investigating Lumon, Burt took him and Radar for a ride and revealed he had worked for Lumon outside the severed floor. Atop the episode, Helena told Jame that Irving was being dealt with, but rather than take him to be harmed, Burt drove his buddy to the train station, bought him a one-way ticket, and told him never to return to Kier. Before the two parted, they recreated their painfully romantic forehead touching scene from Episode 2 in the train station. So is this the last we’ve seen of Burving? Will we see Burt back in Kier next season? And though Irving skipped town, surely Severance has plans to incorporate him into the show down the line, right?! They have unfinished storylines!

While we’re here, we also met other new characters in Season 2, including a new MDR team, Lorne, and Outie Dylan’s wife Gretchen (Merritt Wever), so let the record show we’d love to see them again as well.

One of the reasons we’re sure this isn’t the end for our dear, sweet Irv is because he clearly has a Lumon plan of his own in motion. The Season 1 finale revealed that Outie Irv is extremely curious about the company. He’s got a trunk full of negative newspaper articles on Lumon, a list of severed employees, a map of Kier, and more! In Episode 202, when he left his home and headed to a phone booth, he placed a mysterious call and left the following voicemail: “Okay. You’re not picking up. I get it. I want you to know my innie got the message.” In Episode 205, he headed back to the phone booth and started to leave another message. Before he spotted Burt spying on him and hung up, he said, “It’s me again. So, they fired me. I think they know what my innie was up to. I’m telling you to — I have to go!” So how was Irv communicating with his innie? Who was he calling? Why didn’t they ever answer the phone? Now that he left Kier and Burt confirmed the company is definitely suspicious as heck, will Irving retreat or double down? And as always, HOW did he know about the testing floor?!?!

After Irving left dinner at Burt and Fields’ house in Episode 206 there were plenty of reasons to suspect Mr. Goodman was, in fact, a Mr. Badman. (Sorry.) Fields suggested that Burt worked for Lumon long before the severance procedure existed, and as noted, Burt confirmed those suspicions in 209. When Irving arrived home, Burt was sitting inside his apartment reading from one of his notebooks: “They may be also connected to several recent disappearances and deaths. Goodman may have participated as a low level Lumon enforcer or goon. Lumon goon? That stings. We never used words like that. With Lumon it’s very specific language.” Irving tried to cover his tracks, saying, “That was before. I know now that I was wrong. I know you’re not with them.” But Burt drove him to the train station. (Not the Yellowstone code train station. The actual train station!)

On their drive, Burt explained, “I never hurt anyone, I want you to know that. I drove people places. I didn’t ask what happened to them when they got there.” But we need more info! Who did he drive? Where? How did he get involved with Lumon? And again, was he involved in Gemma’s testing at all? Please, Severance. Don’t let this be bon voyage for Burt.

Ever since Cobel went back home to Salt’s Neck to fetch her Wintertide Fellowship bust and a notebook containing proof that she helped design the severance procedure, we’ve been waiting to see what she planned to do with that game-changing info.

Jame Eagan allegedly took credit for her contributions and silenced her, so is she going to have it out with him? Will she beeline to put Helena in her place? Or some secret third thing? As noted, since Kier, PE is compromised it’s going to be a struggle to get anti-Lumon info out into the world. But perhaps the Whole Mind Collective — the anti-severance activist group we first encountered in Season 1 — will reappear in Season 3 and play some role in taking Lumon down. While the WMC hasn’t had much of a spotlight in Season 2, it was mentioned twice throughout the season — once by Devon and again by Burt, who told Irving the group once threw red paint on him on his way in to work. Once Cobel and Devon learn about the Mark/Helly twist, they may need all the help they can get to navigate next steps, so perhaps the WMC can be an ally.

Season 2 was seriously lacking in Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale scenes if you ask me. As Episode 202 reminded us, The You You Are played a crucial part in Season 1 and inspired the innies to rebel. I was under the impression Ricken had become a fan-favorite character after his book party in the Season 1 finale. But Michael Chernus’ few Season 2 scenes suggested fans might want to pause before they get too attached to the quirky writer/hamburger waiter. When Natalie approached him to ask him to write an innie-specific cut of his book, he was suspiciously quick to get onboard with the idea of selling out and watering down his own ideas for this evil corporation. And how did Severance drop that storyline like a hot stack of waffles and forget all about the man?

In Season 2, several theories suggested Ricken and Devon (she can’t be, right?!) are secretly severed, in cahoots with Lumon, or are somehow villains. Some people even think Ricken’s a goat! And that he may have written Kier’s fourth appendix! Again, we barely saw him in Season 2, so who are we to say?! But here’s hoping Season 3 will follow-up on his Season 2 storyline with Natalie and beyond.

First, Severance introduced MDR’s creepy “Woe’s Hollow” twins in 204. Then in 207, we learned Lumon has a creepy security room with four desks, four heavy duty monitors, and four MDR lookalikes (not the same twins from 204) who’ve been tracking the progress refiners made on their computers in MDR. Based on the end credits, it seems the Mark Watcher in 207 was the same mystery man standing behind Mark at the top of the Season 2 premiere. So are the clone theories back? What technology is Lumon using to create lookalike? And why? We don’t know! But we hope Severance plans to circle back to this mystery in the future.

One of Season 2’s most memorable scenes took place in Episode 203 when Lumon finally addressed race in the most Lumon way possible. The Board had Natalie gave Milchick a stack of reimagined paintings, in which Kier was portrayed as a Black man. Milchick was visibly taken aback by the gesture, so The Board instructed Natalie to explain that she received the same gift when she was hired “and found it extremely moving.” Unsure how best to proceed, Milchick replied, “I’m grateful. It’s meaningful to see myself reflected in…” Before he could force himself to get the rest out, The Board concluded the call and he and Natalie locked eyes and shared a fleeting, powerful connection.

In Episode 205, Milchick confronted Natalie about the complex emotions the paintings evoke and the similar challenges they may face as employees of color. She dismissed the conversation, but her facade briefly fell again. In an interview with Decider, Alexander unpacked both scenes and said, “I think there is a little bit of an awakening in her. But at the same time, she has the ability to pass more and she has the ability to fly under the radar. She’s closer to the top of the company, so she enjoys the many privileges that allows her to enjoy.” Could that change in Season 3? Could Milchick get through to her? And as always, who, what, where, when, why, and how is The Board?

We dove into the importance of Damona Birthing Retreat and Lumon’s Butzemann Fertility Center (literally German for “bogeyman”) in-depth in 207, so be sure to read our analysis. But on top of the theories that Dr. Mauer treats people there and was seen in Season 1, Episode 209 offered fresh — genuinely terrifying — insight into Lumon’s ties to the location. We knew that Cabin #5 was a severed space where severed people like Gabby Arteta could switch to their innie persona to give birth, then return to their outie persona and not remember the trauma. But when Cobel drove up to the security entrance, she gestured to Devon (pretending to be pregnant) and told the guard, “She’s one of Jame’s. No one’s to know.” So…uh…does Jame Eagan personally impregnate women? And then send them to give birth in the severed cabin?! What the fresh hell? Between this and the clinic, how far does Lumon’s fertility game go? And how many people have been affected? Is Jame responsible for getting that severed woman mentioned in Season 1’s news report pregnant at work? And does Helena know what her dad is up to?! There was a chance that Cobel’s comment meant Jame sent severed women there and wasn’t personally involved in their pregnancies (like we saw with the congressman’s wife), but in the Season 2 finale he straight-up admitted he “sired others in the shadows” in hopes of seeing Kier in them. So we need to find out what his deal is in Season 3. How many children does this dude have? And did you notice multiple cribs and statues of a pregnant woman and a pregnant man in the Season 2 finale cabin scenes?

Speaking of Helena’s creepy AF dad, we still don’t know the deal with the “revolving” he mentioned in the Season 1 finale. But he’s getting pretty up in age, so isn’t it time to revolve or whatever soon?! Since he said Helena would one day sit with him at his revolving, fans have long suspected that the mysterious word references a ceremony to appoint a new Lumon CEO, and that it may also involve some sort of transfer of consciousness. Based on the Season 2 finale (though this went down pre-chaos, so unclear if it still stands), we’re also getting the impression that Jame no longer wants his daughter Helena to run the company after him, but instead he wants Helly (who he sees Kier in) to lead. The truth is, we still have no freaking clue!

From Kier’s brother Dieter to info on other Lumon branches, Season 2 taught us more compelling Lumon lore. But learning that Cobel’s hometown Salt’s Neck is a destroyed Lumon town that used to operate a shuttered ether factory (like the one where Kier and his wife Imogene allegedly met at) was one of the most intriguing revelations of the season.

When Cobel first arrived, she saw a man outside inhaling ether and coughing. In The Drippy Pot Cafe, Hampton gave a man a bottle of ether “on the house” while an older woman with an oxygen tank sat at the counter. Ether is to blame for all the coughing and breathing issues in the town, and Arquette told Decider that Cobel’s mom — who hated Lumon — had also become an ether addict. (There’s also speculation that you can’t spell “diethyl ether” without DIETER.) We even learned that Cobel and Hampton worked together at the factory when they were kids. Hampton recalled manning the vat for 10 hours, while Cobel remembered getting high off of ether when she was only eight years old!

Between that and Miss Huang, there’s a larger child labor conversation to be had, but what exactly led to the downfall of the town and Lumon shutting down the factory? Severance didn’t want us to know yet, but with the Lumon Industries symbol on old buildings and a sign that reads, “Kier Eagan’s Lumon Ether – There Is A Miracle Cure For Ma—” it’s clear the town is a Lumon graveyard and ether plays a larger role in the company’s lore than we initially thought. We need more info!

Since viewers first laid eyes on the Lumon logo droplet (which is sometimes seen as blood and other times seen as water), the water tower, and the dinner-less dinner party water glasses in Severance Season 1, there’s been speculation about Lumon’s relationship with water. And Season 2 didn’t dissuade people from their suspicions.

When Dr. Mauer whistled “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in 205, fans began to wonder if the song lyrics were related to whatever Severance and Lumon are up to. The 1975 SS Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck happened in Lake Superior, and theories suggest the song ties back to the popular Lumon painting, Kier Invites You to Drink of His Water, which appears to feature the Great Lakes. In 207, flashback scenes in the Lumon fertility center waiting room exclusively featured artwork hanging in the waiting room that depicted bodies of water. And as shown above, water was also a big focus in 208 when Cobel went home to Salt’s Neck. And in 2. So does Lumon have ties to Lake Superior or some connection to water? Is the show set near Michigan?! Or is Ben Stiller really JUST A GORDON LIGHTFOOT FAN?!

One of Season 2’s most talked about teasers was the Episode 209 hard boiled egg split. When the teaser first dropped, fans raced to analyze the artwork on the plate, draw The Substance-esque parallels between the split egg and the split consciousness of innies and outies, and more. X user @zoeonfilm noted the plate could be a reference to Helly and Helena both pursuing Mark: “Two women, in red and blue, grabbing the same man. Two versions of the same person going after one man. I wonder where I’ve seen this before…” User @guiltyaschangd pointed out that the egg is cut into six pieces and “Gemma visits six rooms in Episode 7.” And @helenaeaganswfe said, “There’s something so sinister in the dichotomy between Mark eating way more than he needs in such frenzied, ravenous way and Helena eating way less than she needs, slowly and delicately. Also Helena’s ‘Have you had enough to eat?’ really hits differently now.”

Plate/egg/vintage egg wedger analysis aside, the episode shows Helena and Jame’s cold AF glass home, and when Helena invites her father Jame to eat, he replies, “I’ll watch,” and pours himself a cup of what appears to be espresso (the cup it tiny) or coffee/tea. (On Severance, who’s to say for sure?!) Anyway, Helena slices her hard-boiled egg, meticulously splits and arranges the six pieces on her plate (ensuring the boy’s face is still visible), and takes the tiniest slice of an egg white. (Like, an outrageously small, 2025 economy savoring egg slice.) As she takes the first nibble of her single, unseasoned egg, Jame moans and says, “I wish you’d take them raw.” Helena puts down her cutlery, possibly in disgust because BARF, and for those who need a refresher, Jame was referring to Kier Eagan’s favorite breakfast: three raw eggs in milk. As noted in a previous article, Severance’s curious relationship with eggs dates back to Season 1. The O&D team once did an egg drop challenge in the team building room, and who could forget the “coveted as fuck” pre-waffle party egg bar. Vocal egg-hater Ben Stiller even mentioned in a Twitter A&A that the egg bar was “necessary for the story,” and Helly joked that the goats laid the eggs! With all these Season 2 fertility storylines, we can’t help but wonder what egg-citing egg-related reveals await.

Episode 207 memorably showed Dr. Mauer suiting up and playing dentist in an especially terrifying testing floor room that one of Gemma’s innie was forced to enter (and solely exist in!) On the topic of Lumon’s mysterious teeth work, viewers ether was once used as an anesthetic in surgical and dental procedures. And in Season 1, we saw that eerie teeth wall — the Lumon Legacy of Joy — in the Perpetuity Wing. Irving explained that the photos get changed out and they’re the smiles of people Lumon has helped on the outside, but after Episode 207 aired, Dichen Lachman briefly changed her Instagram profile picture to a black and white photo of her/Gemma’s smile. So is the wall actually proof of all the people Lumon is testing? What exactly went on in the dental room? And as always, what’s Lumon’s motivation and endgame here? (On a far too deep level, was the woman’s smile who Dylan said he was into Gemma’s?) Chills.

When Reghabi split after Mark’s reintegration-induced seizure I was already stressed about his safety. What if you had BRAIN SURGERY in your BASEMENT and you COLLAPSED and your medical professional LEFT and you didn’t know how to properly TREAT YOURSELF? Anyway, my anxiety levels bumped up to a zillion when Mark’s innie chose to remain in Lumon during the finale, because he’s now fully cut off from proper after-procedure care! We all saw what happened to Petey when he went rogue and stopped following Reghabi’s instructions. Does Mark still need his gross little juice shots? Does he need to be monitored? Should Reghabi be doing more tests? Or is he totally fine health-wise, and perhaps his reintegration journey will continue in Season 3 and play a crucial role in his quest for identity?

From The Board’s distressing gift in 203 and his haunting performance review in 205 to his cathartic”devour feculence” confrontation with Drummond in 209, our man went THROUGH IT at work this season. So when the finale ends with the Severed Floor alarm blaring and a room full of his subordinates staring at him, ready to fight for their rights, will he finally just…join them and abandon his Lumon loyalty? (PLEASE!) We can’t wait to see what Season 3 has in store for Milchick. Severance writers, if you’re reading this, consider making my dreams for a Cobel/Milchik rebellion against Lumon come true. And here’s hoping when the series concludes our man will have fulfilled his true calling found work as a performer.

Let it be known that this theory is actually painful for me to type, but since it’s had the fandom BUZZING since 204, we must address it. After Helena slept with Mark S during the ORTBO and Helly slept with him in 206, fans started to wonder if a Hellyna pregnancy storyline could be on the horizon, which would throw another huge twist into the series and the lives of innies and outies alike.

Since fans are under the impression that the workplace sex on Severance is unprotected and we know severance-related workplace pregnancies have happened in the past, the theory makes sense on its own. But there are also random babies in the Season 2 opening credits sequence. Episode 207 taught us that Gemma dealt with fertility struggles, which created distance between her and Mark. And before Gemma learned Mark was still alive and searching for her, Dr. Mauer tried to trick her by saying he moved on, got married, and had a daughter. Foreshadowing?! If Severance does go that route, it would be next-level cruel to my dearly beloved Gemma, who, IMO, has already suffered more than anyone else on this series. But this exchange in Adam Scott’s recent GQ interview has me stressing:

Theory one: Helena Eagan is pregnant following her night with Innie Mark at the ORTBO.

“Huh,”:” Scott says. Nothing else.

What the heck happens next on the severed floor with Dylan, Mark, Helly, Milchick, C&M, Lorne, and the rest of the innies. Dr. Mauer and Jame Eagan himself are absolutely scrambling post testing floor chaos. Drummond is DEAD. Mark and Helly know that to stay together, they must remain on the floor. But they have NO PLAN. Will unused severance features come into play to quell the chaos? Will Milchick help or hurt the innies? Where the heck do we go from here?!

Last but never least, after an agonizing three-year wait between Season 1 and Season 2, what’s the ETA on Season 3?! The show was renewed for a third season on Friday, March 21. And though there’s obviously no set premiere date yet, creator Dan Erickson told Entertainment Weekly it hopefully won’t take as long to film as Season 2. “I would love to finish the show before I’m 70,” Erickson said. “I would hope that season 3 comes sooner.” Praise Kier! And read the rest of Decider’s Severance recaps, interviews, and Season 2 analysis here.