We’ll Never Forget These Iconic Moments In Severance

Summary

• Severance explores the concept of splitting oneself into ‘innie’ and ‘outie’ versions for work-life balance.
• Petey’s death kickstarts the show’s plot, pushing Mark towards reintegration.
• Mark ultimately chooses to stay with his lover, Helly, over reintegration with his deceased wife, Gemma.

Severance is the show that is taking the world by storm. The show surrounds a character named Mark who is played by Adam Scott. The idea behind Severance is that you put a small insert into your brain that separates you. There will be one version of you at work, and one at home. Neither version of you will have memories of the other.

This creates an entirely different you, one that can’t leave the office and is forced to work. But it goes deeper. They’re trying to separate your ‘innie’ (the work you) from your ‘outie’ (the original you) for anything uncomfortable, such as the dentist or giving birth. These are the best parts of the show (so far).

This article contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Severance.

10

Petey

Reintegration

People forget about Petey because he was introduced so early in Season 1, but he’s really the catalyst for the entire show. Petey was Marks’ best friend before he left his job to do an underground operation to merge his memories. Shortly after, he dies. Without this moment, Mark might never have pursued reintegration.

Petey first appears outside a window that Mark is looking at, but then he introduces himself. He explains reintegration, how tough it is in Lumen (their workplace) and draws a map of the severed floor for him, which was then passed on to Mark’s innie.

9

The Gemma Reveal

Picture Perfect

One of the main plot points in the show is that the reason Mark chose to sever was because his wife died. He was so depressed, and was hoping that another version of him might be able to live a happier life. He mourns her often, but doesn’t know what she looks like.

Meanwhile, innie Mark spends time with Ms. Casey, who does wellness sessions with him. They have no real time together, but she tells him facts about his outie. Once we’ve gotten to know her, we finally see a picture of Mark’s wife, only to realize it is Ms. Casey, and she was never dead.

8

Defiant Jazz

Dance Party

When the innies do a good job, they are rewarded with a dance experience. They are able to pick from a mix of genres, and Helly picks something called defiant jazz. Mr. Milchick dances and does great little shimmies around Helly. Dylan is the only one not participating.

The lights are flashing, everyone is dancing, and Dylan, who is fed up and frustrated, snaps and pushes Mr. Milchick to the floor, choking him. He then bites him as hard as he can. When they separate, the four innies huddle together as Mr. Milkchick announces that the musical dance experience is canceled, and quietly leaves.

7

Helly’s Suicide

Helena & Helly

Helly is the newest member of the severance team, and she absolutely hates it. She’s so against the entire thing, and does everything that she can to get away. She starts by writing a note, which is caught, and then she writes on her arms, but is forced to take it off. In a major act of defiance, she decides to hang herself in the elevator.

She’s really smart with how she does this. The severed workers change who they are in the elevator, moving from outie to innie and vice versa. Therefore, to send a message to her outie, she made sure that her outie woke up to find herself choking.

6

The OTC

The Overtime Contingency Protocol

The Overtime Contingency Protocol is when you bring a severed worker into the forefront of the brain in a different location for them to answer a question or do something that’s needed outside the severed floor. This happens to Dylan, and he sees that he has a kid, which forever changes him.

Dylan decides to help the others see their lives by activating this protocol by himself. Mark got to meet his family, Irving realized his outie was onto Lumen, and most importantly, Helly realized that she was Helena Eagan, someone that is related to the creator of severance.

5

Yes, Do It, Seth

Helena To Helly

When we come back from the OTC, Helena is pretending to be Helly. Everyone goes along with it, not realizing, except for Irving. It starts when they tell each other what they saw and Helena says she saw a gardener. Irving really didn’t trust that, especially since the OTC took place at night.

He finally realized she was Helena, and held her at a lake on their work retreat. He started to drown her, and yelled at Mr. Milchick to bring Helly back. Helena screams, “Do it, Seth.” And with all the venom in the world, Irving repeats, “Yes! Do it, Seth!” Mr. Milchick has no choice but to bring Helly back.

4

Irving’s Escape

Train To Safety

Irving is fired after he forces Mr. Milchick to bring back Helly, and we now follow his outie. He’s approached by the man that his innie fell in love with, and he takes him on a ride. This is where we find out that his lover actually delivered people that Lumen didn’t want around to their deaths.

But, despite the fact that he had no memories of Irving, his lover took him to a train station. He told him to leave and never come back. It’s debated whether love transcends severance, but this moment shows that their bond was special enough for him to spare Irving’s life, which is truly beautiful.

3

F You

Dylan’s Revenge

In Season 1, Dylan went against Mr. Milchick in order for the OTC to happen. At the end of Season 2, he went against him again. They had just finished their project, and an entire marching band was there to celebrate. Mark was working to save his wife, Gemma, and needed time to do so. Dylan and Helly worked to keep him locked in a bathroom, and even convinced the entire marching band to be on their side.

There’s a huge change in dynamics when Mr. Milchick finally makes it out of the bathroom. Dylan stands in front of an entire band of people willing to fight, and proudly screams, “F*** you, Mr. Milchick!” This moment is when the tides really turn.

2

Goat Lady

Lorna

Lorna, affectionately coined the ‘Goat Lady’ by fans, is one of the only side characters that really stood out. She raises the goats and has to give them to those she works for so they can “grow alongside” innies. We don’t really know everything about the goats yet, only that they are sacrificed.

When given the chance, she fights hard against the man that wants to take her goats. Covered in blood and holding the baby goat firmly to her chest, she thanks Mark. It’s an awesome moment, and it shows how deeply she loves them.

1

Gemma Or Helly

The Final Choice

Mark’s outie had begged him to save Gemma, and go outside so they could reintegrate. Innie Mark had a lot of questions about how this would affect him, and how much of him would be a part of this new, integrated person.

After saving Gemma, he has a choice. He can go with her and finally be happy with his wife, or he can stay with Helly. He decides to stay, to remain alive and to be with the woman he loves, even if that means abandoning Gemma and his outie.