Severance 2x02 Reaction
Added 2025-01-27 23:34:24 +0000 UTC
Comments
I rewatched severance with a friend and here’s a thought: I think we haven’t met the “real” Mark yet, whatever state he’s in. It’s most likely the Mark wearing red, the one potentially stuck in the testing floor somewhere, and he’s the one making the decision to stay. All of that to complete “cold harbor”, as Helena says in this episode. And I think cold harbor is actually getting rid of “outie” Mark—or the Mark that remembers and is tortured by Gemma’s memories. When Milchick tries to convince outie Mark to come back to work, he says Mark joined Lumon to forget Gemma haunting him, and that the “innie” version of him is happier, kinder and is making friends, and that if he allows it, that can be a part of him too. I just feel like this episode reframed this idea that I had of Lumon doing all these things to Mark specifically because it's necessary for them, to the possibility that another version of Mark wants this. To erase his “outie” and become someone happier. It's very possible that Outie mark is not the one who signed the papers for Lumon. In the intro, the one who saves the "real" mark from the basement/ testing floor seems to be “innie” mark in his work clothes, as others have mentioned.
Harfie
2025-01-31 09:11:12 +0000 UTCI watched Severance season 1 during its initial release 3 years ago and over the years watched several reactions, none of which included people submitting theories which affected the reactors and never did those reactions include references to other people's theories. So with the new season I checked out reactions to the first episode and they have all been swamped with theories which are bleeding into the reactions during the episodes. I feel like I can't watch the reactions and get an individual take from a channel because of the influence of theorists intruding. It makes me sad. None of the first season reactions had this issue.
Edward Olson
2025-01-31 01:36:13 +0000 UTCEverything that man says is gold. The best is when Devon says “I think ricken is correct you were talking about the baby” and ricken replies “ I agree”. Comedy gold. I know there is a lot going on in this show. But to me this is a dark comedy through and through. Even in the most dramatic of moments there is a good laugh to be had. Dang this show is good.
alex otis
2025-01-30 20:40:20 +0000 UTCRicken is hilarious.
Josh B
2025-01-30 19:51:41 +0000 UTCPLEASE LAUGH
Liam
2025-01-30 06:38:52 +0000 UTCThat said I don’t want to have an expectations for what this show can or will do. So in my mind, you can do whatever you want, as long as you do it well. Simple as that. And this team has shown me they know what they are up to. So I’m ready for anything.
alex otis
2025-01-29 22:32:28 +0000 UTCYeah, that's fair, seeing how tight the plot is, and how much they've set up with the existing characters. It really depends on the explanation we get for why Lumon is doing all this, as it may fit into a bigger narrative; but as of now I agree that it would be pretty wild to throw this in.
Harfie
2025-01-29 16:49:37 +0000 UTCAlso. I’d love to see you two have a laugh at this show once and while. Lola looks legit in pain for most of the episodes. The whole scene with Dylan at great doors was hilarious. Didn’t even look like you were about to laugh. I know it’s a mystery box but try and enjoy the humor in the show once and while. Also ricken says “may be cobelvig would be a helpful nomenclature.” Not even a smile. I know there is a mystery unfolding here. But this show is actually hilarious as well. Would like to see you two have a laugh. That’s all. Haha.
alex otis
2025-01-29 13:43:57 +0000 UTCYou’re not wrong that does seem “possible”. But I’ll be honest and say I would really not like it if this is their daughter. That is one step too far for me In the layers of this mystery. And while this show is a mystery box, it doesn’t just completely blindside us with info, for the most part. The Gemma reveal last season was majorly telegraphed, same with the Helly and Helena of it all. Then trying for a baby was mentioned quickly during one episode. And that was it. If they are now gonna throw a 11-14 year old child in our face and say it’s a “miscarriage” they stole and brought to life. That’s just to wild and out of left field for me. But again. That’s just me. And that’s the joy of mystery boxes. These conversations. Great take.
alex otis
2025-01-29 12:00:44 +0000 UTCI feel like we need a prequel episode. One that shows Mark and Gemma together, their love for each other, the accident, the mystery surrounding what happened to her after, Lumon potentially trying to poach Mark. Maybe even some early Irv spy stuff. So much needs answering!
windyMelon
2025-01-29 10:28:48 +0000 UTCAlso, Milchek seems to have a somewhat antagonist relationship with outie Irving. Irv didn't trust him and Milchek immediately fired him when Irv lied. Milchek has probably guessed that Irv falls asleep at work because his outie is up to something. And Irv and Burt appear to be connected on the outside as well, maybe Burt was made to retire because of that in some way?
Biberius Caldius Mero
2025-01-29 08:42:49 +0000 UTCEarly in season 1 I thought it was bullshit when they said, "the work is mysterious and important", but already later in season 1 it became clear that Lumon really does care about the work. It looks like it's about the four tempers, which is why the numbers elicit an emotional reaction from the refiners. Maybe they are removing the tempers from somebody's (like Ms Casey's) consciousness? Or they are removing them from themselves and putting them onto others?
Biberius Caldius Mero
2025-01-29 08:38:10 +0000 UTCIt's 100% Helena. The elevator scene was the big giveaway. When Mark, Irving and Dylan went in, there was a special 'ding' sound when they started descending. The green light on the switch turned to orange as well. But when Helena went in, no sound was heard and they deliberately didn't show the green light change to orange. I don't know why Helena thinks she can pretend to be Helly. It really doesn't seem likely to work. The four of them are quite close and I think her cover will be blown pretty quickly. I genuinely have no idea where they're going with this though. The season could go anywhere from here and I'm excited to see what happens next.
Camzeee
2025-01-29 01:26:08 +0000 UTCI disagree with your theory, but I have major respect for you standing on it. That's what I like to see!
Isaac
2025-01-28 18:45:49 +0000 UTCThe tattoo on knuckles of the Lumon employee/investigator says ‘Frolic’. Frolic was one of the four ‘tempers’ that must be controlled according to the word of Keir, along with Woe, Malice, and Dread. The ‘Cold Harbor’ screen we see at the end of last episode with Gemma has five percentage bars of progress, and below each of them are four boxes, titled WO, DR, FC, MA. Everything else aside, it seems certain that these are acronyms for the four tempers, and the progression bars above them is the work Macrodata Refinement has been doing. Why there is five bars and not four though, I have no idea.
Darrach
2025-01-28 12:25:57 +0000 UTCOh season one of westworld. What a fantastic time that was. That shit changed my life it was so mind bending. And dark is in my opinion the best mystery box show of all time. That story is so well crafted and may be a few things here and there don’t add up but gosh you don’t care because the way that show pulls things together is u like anything I’ve ever seen.
alex otis
2025-01-28 11:12:20 +0000 UTCOoh nice
Abacus
2025-01-28 10:09:58 +0000 UTCHow many reactors are you watching of the same show?
Abacus
2025-01-28 10:07:20 +0000 UTCThe cloning process uses DNA from different individuals. It makes me think that MDR is sorting the individuals in Ms. Casey into Kier, Genma and more.
Robert H.
2025-01-28 10:02:17 +0000 UTCMystery box shows are incredibly good when very well realized. Attack on Titan, Westworld (Season 1) and Dark are good examples. I would also include Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Fringe to some extent.
Robert H.
2025-01-28 09:59:21 +0000 UTCMy theories that I got through the Opening: They will enter the lower Severance floor this season. Innie-Mark is going to save Outie-Mark. And Innie-Mark and Outie-Mark will come into contact with each other, possibly merge. Irving seems to be accessing his Innie's mind through insomnia, which Mark could do similar. 🤔 Edit: Spoiler for Episode 3 Below.... I was so right! It's insane. xD
Robert H.
2025-01-28 09:16:07 +0000 UTCOkay I may as well die on this hill lol: the theory that miss huang could be Casey and Mark’s daughter is more connected to the way Lumon works. We know Lumon is involved in healthcare. Let’s say Lumon have connections to hospitals and they specifically take people in near death situations, or people who can easily disappear from society without too much legal repercussions. We don’t know much about Gemma and Mark’s relationship before her death and before Lumon. Yet they live in this weird place with weird people, where Lumon seems to have their hands in different places. Let’s say they’ve been married for more than 13 years and Gemma was pregnant, then had a “miscarriage”/ stillborn child at the local hospital. Who’s to say Lumon couldn’t have faked the child’s death and taken her? Who’s to say their in involvement with Lumon didn’t start much before Gemma’s death? I know it’s a pretty big reach I’m taking here, but I just think it’s possible, given there’s something much bigger than Mark and Gemma going on with Lumon. And this whole emphasis on babies and baby goats and baby Kier.
Harfie
2025-01-28 07:15:58 +0000 UTCI think it's a good theory, but it's a little early for her to immediately fall to temptation like that. It'll take a long time of struggling with her own feelings before she does something like that I think, she's had a lifetime of indoctrination to deal with.
Nina
2025-01-28 07:04:42 +0000 UTCAfter episode 1, it was fairly obvious that this episode was gonna focus on the outside world. It was still very good, but it mostly filled in the gaps the aftermath of season 1. Next episode is really exciting cause I have no clue what's going to happen, we now move forward.
Nina
2025-01-28 07:02:49 +0000 UTCAfter the credits of each episodes there’s behind the scenes interviews
Jesse S
2025-01-28 06:34:32 +0000 UTCMy theory on Helena is I think she is in there without her father or the boards knowledge and she’s doing it to be with mark because she has never had that kind of affection or care with someone as she saw Helly does with mark. I don’t think it’s for information or even anything to do with lumon. She is going to try and steal her innies life because it’s more free than her actual one. I’m probably wrong though knowing this show.
Cole
2025-01-28 05:43:49 +0000 UTCIt also seems to hint at more than the first season's intro, there's plenty you could try to break down here. First season's (while great) mostly just wanted to visualize the severance concept.
Nina
2025-01-28 05:32:24 +0000 UTCSaving Petey's chip was indeed pushed for by Cobel, Lumon was happy to let the chip die with Petey, and Cobel only wanted to know about its reintegration. We have no evidence to support that these chips can even be read for memories or something.
Nina
2025-01-28 05:29:29 +0000 UTCI gotta say. The mystery box of this show is obviously the big selling point. And it’s fun. But I truly think the cinematography and acting are the shining lights in this show. Adam Scott was incredible. And Britt lower out on a clinic in subtle acting this episode. Was so incredibly impressed by that. And all the shots of milchick riding his bike and Helena in the lumon building. Incredible camera work.
alex otis
2025-01-28 04:51:22 +0000 UTCOk. And I’m not saying those thoughts are wrong. It’s just the whole severance world is making a lot of assumptions so I was curious. And as far as Peteys chip. Wasn’t that so cobel could prove reintegration was possible? To me that’s a brain thing of being able to combine those now separated memories. Not a chip in his head that’s saving all his memories so they can put Petey into an Eagan or something. That’s just such a large leap to get from severance to saving all of human consciousness and transferring that to other people and more crazy deleting memories to trick people or put multiple chips in heads so they can be severed multiple times. It’s all just bananas to me. Love this show though. I do sort of enjoy just watching it though. This is way to much in my head to just sit down and really take in the episode.
alex otis
2025-01-28 04:49:01 +0000 UTCThe importance of Lumon recovering Petey's chip and the dialogue surrounding it in S1. It's theoretical, but it's where the interesting conversation is since there isn't much evidence for anything, at this stage.
Isaac
2025-01-28 04:01:55 +0000 UTCBecause the theories are becoming homogenous. Instead of seeing a different theory, EVERY reactor is getting inundated with the groupthink theories which are probably wrong. The same theories are getting dumped into every reactors comments over and over again. LM's reactions to season 1 weren't like that, so why should season 2's?
Edward Olson
2025-01-28 03:51:29 +0000 UTCThere's also an image of a car submerged in an ice lake in the new intro. Possibly connected?
IanJ
2025-01-28 03:50:53 +0000 UTCIt's interesting how Mark mentioned Persephone as well. It's a story about a goddess who was kidnapped to the underworld. An allusion to Gemma? I had a feeling Cobel knew about the insincerity of Helena's apology because she knew when Helly is genuine in her apology through the break room.
IanJ
2025-01-28 03:50:04 +0000 UTCI think I’m gonna sound like an idiot here. But at what point in this show in either season have they shown the ability to transfer or collect memories from people. I hear everyone talking about this constantly. And I just don’t get it. Cloning. Sure. But saving memories, deleting memories, multiple levels of severance? When did the show, show that was possible. I mean I remember what human consciousness looked like in west world and they basically needed a whole desert to store that level of information. And now lumon can do it in a thing the size of an advil. I’m not saying that stuff won’t come to be. But I just see way too many people jumping so many hoops to that and I just don’t get it. And I’m not talking about the tempers and mark may be rebuilding Gemma’s “soul” or “humanity”. I understand that and that’s I think what is happening. It’s the saving and storing of human memories and consciousness that I’m having a hard time seeing. Sorry for the rant.
alex otis
2025-01-28 03:08:26 +0000 UTCIn science goats are linked to clones, so you need to add this to your theories.
Wallas
2025-01-28 02:51:40 +0000 UTCI'm getting Shiv Roy vibes from Helena this episode honestly.
IanJ
2025-01-28 02:16:10 +0000 UTCwhich could lend credence to their theory about Kier
Tyler Horn
2025-01-28 01:41:57 +0000 UTCcould be. They probably want someone watching him too considering what happened with Cobel
Tyler Horn
2025-01-28 01:41:12 +0000 UTCAfter this episode I feel pretty dumb thinking it was Helly down there. I’m wondering tho if milkshake knows, because he said he wants Helly r down there so maybe he thinks it’s Helly and she is doing this alone, or with the bearded guy knowing cuz they give each other a look.
Cole
2025-01-28 00:52:01 +0000 UTCFetid: smelling extremely unpleasant Moppet: a small, endearing child (typically a girl) Both words are fairly archaic and were most popular around the 1900s before falling out of fashion.
Darrach
2025-01-28 00:48:30 +0000 UTCI didn't expect any less from this show, it's amazing
HenryM
2025-01-28 00:35:49 +0000 UTCI think it's a nice little touch that Harmony drives a white Volkswagen Rabbit. Follow the white rabbit.
Michael M
2025-01-28 00:30:32 +0000 UTCI think the phrase "Cold Harbor" suggests some kind of coma/stasis/whatever for consciousness. Like transplanting someone's consciousness into a (cold) corpse. They have Gemma's body but that's not her consciousness in there. Maybe it's still "in there" like the Outies/Innies are buried "in there" when the opposite personality is active, but that's not Gemma-with-amnesia walking around on the severed floor. I'm guessing that efforts to retrieve Gemma's consciousness (and her body) will dovetail with re-intergration and whatever Cobel is trying to do w/r/t her mom.
Mike
2025-01-28 00:28:08 +0000 UTCThe elevator didn't beep when Helena got in it. Just sayn'.
Josh B
2025-01-28 00:22:06 +0000 UTCI noticed the subtitles referring to Helena as [Helly]. That must be a mistake.
Damien Fenton
2025-01-28 00:07:34 +0000 UTCI know there are elevator sounds indicates the switch from outie to innie, but they did a really good job showing you Helena watching Helly kissing Mark and she rewinded that footage a couple of times. Also, her emotional state before she went down the elevator, and her reaction when she got out of the elevator in episode 1. It all kinda makes sense to me. Very interesting to see the character arc of Helena this season.
Raphael
2025-01-27 23:53:07 +0000 UTCWhy not? The exciting thing about this series is that everyone is on equal footing. We're all in the same place, so interest in another's theory seems valid
Isaac
2025-01-27 23:46:26 +0000 UTCLove how the new intro is somehow even weirder than the first season, love it
mundanelotus
2025-01-27 23:45:55 +0000 UTCOne of the more poignant things about this episode was seeing how downtrodden Dylan's outie is compared to the confidence of his innie. We've already seen similar with Mark but this added a new dimension to Dylan.
Damien Fenton
2025-01-27 23:43:13 +0000 UTCI hope you don't read other people's theories and let them influence your reactions.
Edward Olson
2025-01-27 23:37:53 +0000 UTCJust gonna leave this bad boy, here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG26Tu_p_m8
Isaac
2025-01-27 23:37:26 +0000 UTC
