An intriguing Severance lays some necessary groundwork

“What the fuck is this all about?” an exasperated Mark Scout (Adam Scott) yells at Mrs. Selvig (Patricia Arquette) at the end of Severance’s second episode. Wouldn’t you—and all of us—like to know? He’s questioning the actions of the neighbor he opened up to assuming she’s a sweet, caring lady. Now he’s discovered that Selvig is his icy boss, Harmony Cobel. He’s right to want to know why she would lie to infiltrate his personal life. What makes him special? 

This mystery has hovered over Severance since the start, and now we know for certain that Mark S. is doing something crucial for the company’s singular technology. It comes back to Cold Harbor, a mystifying project that has to do with sorting his wife’s Four Tempers as laid out by Kier. Yes, the details are purposely vague, but Severance drops enough clues to make it clear that Lumon is using Mark and Gemma as guinea pigs for a larger, most likely quite unhinged reason. 

In “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” Helena Eagan (Britt Lower) specifically points out that they need Mark’s innie back at least until he completes Cold Harbor, which is currently 68 percent done. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep him satisfied so his focus remains on his computer screen. So Mark and Gemma are the inadvertent MVPs at Lumon, which makes me further curious about why they were chosen and for how long they’ve been under Cobel or whoever else’s intense scrutiny. What about their marriage makes them a fit for whatever Cold Harbor is? This suspense furthers the emotional heft of Mark’s relationships with Gemma, Helly R., and even Cobelvig. 

I hope Devon (Jen Tullock) is on Mark’s team. The poor guy deserves and needs it. This brother-sister duo contends with the idea that his “She’s alive” scream was for baby Eleanor. But the next day, over breakfast at a diner, he confesses his intention to quit Lumon while she expresses concern over Gemma’s fate after her conversation with his innie. Mark Scout doesn’t think his wife is alive though, and he is done with the burden that is Lumon—or so he thinks, unaware Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) is sitting at a nearby table listening in.

To pacify Mark S., after the stunt he pulled in the season-two premiere and to ensure his outie doesn’t quit, the Eagans work to get him back. “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” mainly fills in on the blanks of how the MDR crew returned to work as we saw last week. Compared to the premiere, this episode mostly plays catch-up and lays the foundation for future outings, making it slightly less interesting—but only slightly. It’s still fascinating to finally see Irving Bailiff (John Turturro) and Dylan George’s (Zach Cherry) lives on the outside for a glimpse of their other personalities. It pushes Severance to go beyond Mark and examine its themes via the three other protagonists. “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” is character-driven and leads to illuminating results. 

Not too long after the OTC is switched off, Milchick goes off to learn what the innies were up to after waking up. Helena leaves the decision to fire Irving and Dylan to him with a “Let Kier guide your hand” suggestion. Milchick’s ego took a hit so he doesn’t hesitate to get rid of those who threw the punch. Donning his best biker outfit, he jets off. He tells Irv he’s being laid off, who in return lies to Milchick about being at home all evening and watching The Barber Of Seville. Irv doesn’t mention anything about Burt (Christopher Walken) probably because he was unsure of why he woke up there. But he knows something is off with his abrupt firing. Irving later walks to a pay phone to call someone. We only hear a part of it but he says, “My innie got the message,” an extremely intriguing phrase. Is he talking to a Lumon insider, the potential same source who gave him the contact list and addresses of the employees? Who else could’ve sent his innie any message or information? There’s much to decipher with this nugget. Not to mention, outie Burt is now spying on outie Irv, presumably to learn why this man was banging on his door. 

Meanwhile, Milchick lets Dylan go by claiming he was the aggressor in a violent fight. Outie Dylan is understandably terrified to deal with unemployment and raising three kids. At least he doesn’t waste time and lines up an interview at a door company the next day. It’s too bad he doesn’t get the gig because the interviewer (played by Adrian Martinez) abhors the concept of a severance-chip implant. Dylan later tells his wife over the phone that he didn’t get the job. It’s an important scene to understand outie Dylan is anxious and reticent compared to his brash, confident innie. Severance reminds us again and again of how different environments and experiences keep shaping innies’ and outies’ traits even though they share the same body. 

Helena goes through it, too, even if she’s the only one aware of what her other half does during the day. That’s because she can spy through the cameras. So she watches as innie Helly gives Mark S. a big smooch (as we saw in season one). She surprisingly relishes watching this unfold. Thanks to Britt Lower’s nuanced performance, you can feel Helena’s shock and envy because it seems she might not have experienced this type of affection. And yet, a part of her now has. 

There are moments in “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” when the camera lingers on Helena’s face as she’s processing the turn of events. A part of me wonders if she’s hastily making a plan to pretend to be Helly. She might loathe her innie and not see her as a real person, but can she risk going back down and turning into a version of herself who can ruin Lumon’s plans? By episode two, I’m 50-50 on who ultimately comes out of that elevator because I don’t know if Helena can pull off being Helly. But I can see why she would want to for reasons besides avoiding Cold Harbor disruptions. [As an aside, the cinematography throughout the Lumon headquarters scenes is enthralling.]

Milchick eventually rehires Irving and Dylan (luring them with a fruit basket) and convinces Mark to stay (with a raise, details on the Severance reform, and teasing him about Mark S. finding love). Curiously, Milchick tells Mark his innie has found solace, and this feeling might creep its way into the outie’s life. It mirrors what Petey (Yul Vazquez) told Mark in season one about his outie’s grief and sadness making its way into the innie’s persona. Despite the chip cutting off memories and events, the inherent feelings might linger among both versions. Perhaps that’s what Cold Harbor is: a test to see if Gemma’s severed version has any recollection of the feelings her husband ignites in her, even if she doesn’t mentally remember him. Ms. Casey certainly felt nothing for Mark S. and vice versa, so what else remains between them? 

As for the episode’s eponymous figure, Mrs. Selvig is done for in the sense that Cobel has no reason to keep up this appearance. She’s moving out of her house when Mark confronts her at the end. She’s presumably quit Lumon, right? Harmony gets Helena to apologize for how the company has treated her and expects she’ll get her job back. Instead, Harmony is asked to spearhead the Severance Advisory Council. It sounds bogus. As a lifelong Kier devotee, Cobel is shaken up and doesn’t seem like she’d stand for this mistreatment. This sets the stage for her slowly turning on the Eagans—or she’ll return with a vengeance and a new plan to secure her job back. You never know with her because, as Mark puts it, “What the fuck is this all about?” I’m assuming Cobel has answers, and they’re why she’s barely been in season two.  

Stray observations 

• • It feels so good to get the opening credits back, along with Theodore Shapiro’s haunting score. 
• • Let’s analyze the new montage: It features multiple creepy Mark-shaped balloons floating around as Mark investigates. A huge clue is that outie Mark, wearing all red, is at his MDR desk in one shot He’s also standing in an icy forest, running down the break-room hallway to the elevator where Gemma’s face transforms into Helly. There are goats and babies. Crucially, Cobel is watching it all play out at one point. 
• • Now why would Rebeck tell Ricken not to “punish the baby”? It’s in line with how weird his friend circle is, but it still feels too bizarre. And don’t think I didn’t notice that Ricken is most insistent that Mark was just happy Eleanor is alive. Is he the betrayer in the Mark-Devon-Ricken family dynamic? 
• • Drummond is just Doug Graner 2.0., but maybe worse, especially with that Frolic tattoo. And does no one care about who killed Graner anymore?  
• • To make up for her innie’s outburst, Helena records an apology message to the attendees and donors blaming her for consuming alcohol with non-Lumon medication. 
• • Jame Eagan’s curt reaction to Helly R.’s behavior is to look at his daughter in disgust and call her a “fetid moppet.” Yikes. Not to take Helena’s side, but it’s not her fault! It might explain why she’s curious about what Helly’s life is like, her hatred notwithstanding. 
• •”You said you felt like you were choking on her ghost.” Damn, I’ll need a minute to process that one.
• • When did Lumon become obsessed with pineapples?
• • Bob Balaban’s Mark Wilkins claims he’ll sue Lumon for getting him to move from Grand Rapids only to lay him off after three days. Is this it for refiners Mark, Gwendolyn, and Dario? I was personally hoping for more Alia Shawkat.
• • Fun fact: Series creator Dan Erickson was working at a company that ships and repairs doors when he wrote Severance. Dylan’s job interview is a nice nod to that.