SEVERANCE Ending Explained! Season 2 Theories & Details You Missed! 

YES. For Irv and Helly - we found out who they are in real time as THEY DID! Brilliant.

I just finished it, yes behind the curve. I literally sweat and tingled through the whole thing.

I'm sorry, please try to enjoy each fact equally and not show preference for any over the others. That's 10 points off, you have 90 points remaining.

@@Friendsshare hahahahaha

and there are times when the scene abruptly switches to a different place and time and we see the character we were just following but with a group and saying they just did something we didn't see them do, like we're severed as well

I literally watched this in one day as well. I just couldn’t stop watching it. I took a break and went right back to it. Stopped watching at like 1 AM

Your endurance is worthy of the Dylan award. But at the same time many did similarly, the show is so good.

k

I believe you have earned yourself some perks , perhaps a finger trap !?

Are you my outtie.... or my innie :O

The most disturbing thing is Severence relates to our lives. We are a doctored version of ourselves but we have lost the memory of who we are. We live in a false reality. We are a copy of an original for there is no tomorrow, no new day. They try to make it seem like there is with new fashions, new designs but we exist in the never ending story like in Citizen Kane. They put this in front of our face all the time in TV Shows and films. Vanilla Sky, Doctor WHO etc I doubt many of us will remember our name in this lifetime but if you do you will leave this dream world immediately because it's all in the mind, the temple so to speak. That's why Doctor WHO(WHO, you getting this yet?) is called the destroyer of worlds because as soon as you leave this place the world that our minds created, dies.

Which is why (I think) Helly hung herself in the elevator. She knew she would revert back to her outtie. She knew she would not die ( Cameras everywhere) She was sending a message. She could have hung herself in obe of the unused parts of the building if she really just wanted to die.

It's been a minute since I've rewatched, but it seems possible Helly may have put herself to the knife to kick up a revolution from within while under intense scrutiny on the outside, trusting in her own force of personality and sparing anyone else from suffering an innie's fate. Maybe she's already tried getting double agent candidates hired but they haven't managed to get what she needs. She would need to hold her own (innie's) hand to the fire without rousing suspicion.

I imagine that Helena is under a lot of pressure from her family Legacy, because I cannot imagine a sane person willingly going back to that place after coming back from the hospital because you don't wanna be there so badly that you literally tried to kill yourself

I believe that she didn't truly understand what people felt until she herself went through it and has no way of knowing once she leaves.

Yep, I felt the same way when I watched it. Fantastic acting

@@miztercasuall3718 another Tokyo vice fan🤝 love these kinda shows the environment of these is just amazing and gets u engage all the time

Agree!! I’m obsessed with it. Brilliant show- and very original

Totally agree, just finished watching. And it's amazing!

And think how cheap it would be ro film ;)

He's been working on those delts!

@@ThinkStory Reckon he and Milchick go to the gym together.

There's no way he could endure so much strain on his delts! Especially as a person who does not look like he excersises much. During the episode I was thinking so much about how he could somehow block these levers with a piece of a stick or some tape and just keep them on for however long he needs...

@@karolg651 but the tension in the episode would drop significantly (yet I agree, they planned greatly and poorly)

@@RobMedellin And also, the lack of supplies in the basement, like a stick, or tape.

I shouted when it ended for me last night, I can’t imagine how you all feel experiencing that bombshell a year ago!!! I need season 2 NOW 😩

Just finished it a minute ago, THE ROLLER COASTER OF THE FINALE 🤯

Same! I love how the mystery builds up for 8 episodes. It was slow but very intriguing and mysterious and the finale just keeps you on the edge of your seat! I havent sit so straight up watching a show ever. 😆

Very good point. I just realized this might be why Cobel is so interested in reintegration.

@@paigerenee4173 Seems like the most likely theory. Maybe they unplugged her and she was a donor.

it makes sense since she talks and acts like a zombie, she herself says so, when she said she knows she´s strange

You’re not talking WandaVision, are you?😂😂😂

@@santos8146 Haven't seen it, but it can't be similar to that... can it? 🤔 I mean, this so specific to Severance.

Woah great theory can't wait for s2

Number 5 though!! Amazing theory there

Really good theory!

Macrodata Refinement could also be a process where innies teach clones the four major feelings (despair, joy, fear and rage). When the files are 100% refined it means that the job is done and the clones fully understand those humans feelings.

For number 3, I do think it’s her mother-not a daughter. Or someone older anyway because it has a date: 3-17-44, which is most likely a birthday.

That would explain a whole lot!

Also Ricken's is childlike himself. And he's a weird person in general.

Plus that one girl said she needed to change her name “again.”

One hundred percent agree-plus, her elevator goes down (red arrow) instead of up like everyone else's we've seen (green arrow up). BUT outie Irv's paintings depict the long hallway with the elevator button red and down. Makes me wonder about Irv's story before MDR/being severed!

He did say that tho

One of the security room functions that Dylan scrolled through getting to the Overtime Contingency was something called "Lullaby" - perhaps she and others get put to sleep until they're needed?

Didn't he kinda say that? He said she never leaves Lumen... What am I missing, what's the difference?

​@@MsTriggaTre I think Quillscode is saying that she is being held captive primarily as an outie and then is put into an innie state when needed by Lumon, versus the theory presented in the video which is that she is held captive by being in a perpetual innie state.

🤯

WOW!!!! Mind blown, thank you!!!!

Also happy pesach!

This comment is such a bomb! Wow!

Great catch.

AGREE!! 🤣🤣

The Helly thing threw me. I thought she was some kind of celebrity, I didn’t see her being who she is

Those are. There are 9 cores. You missed Cheer

YOU’RE A GENIUS. amazing connection, wow!!

Wiles

Exactly! Especially with the shrine that has eagon as the main focus?? Wouldn’t Charlotte’s picture be the main focus if she is trying to take it down in her name? Sounds like a devoted woman to me

I bet she wants to use Severance to revive her dead mother, just as they did with Gemma. She's putting her faith in Kier technology to "fix" it. Explains why she does whatever it takes for it to make it work, even things that board or Kier would approve of. She needs the company to succeed, even if it means going against the board/Kier's wishes.

She will try to revive her dead daughter

She also smiles when she thinks Mark and Gemma recognize each other, hugs Mark when he says he'll quit Lumen, and keeps secrets from the Board throughout the season. Whatever her motivations, i don't think it's as simple as loving or hating Lumen

@@Cimlite That’s also why she wants Mark and Gemma to recognize each other, she wants her mom to recognize her.

Mmm hmmm totally 💯 see the establishment creating this IRL

Loved that line and the delivery! It was gold!!

@@asant90 put it on a tee shirt

Based Dylan

Seriously, the fact that he still called him "Mr." while saying FU, just priceless. Dylan had some of the best lines in the series, especially his hilarious lines about O&D - "You saw that painting. You wanna get disemboweled today?" 🤣🤣🤣

I think thats why she was so eager to try and hear the voices of the board memebers, she wants to find the people at the top

🤣🤣

Really Good Observations. Kudos!

Interesting observation about Lumon starting as a "salve company". Salve is an anagram for Slave.

Wow! Thanks for your comment. Lot interesting stuff! I definitely will look for the goats and rabbits articles.

Interesting that MDR's badge color is blue, seeing as how Dylan's theory about what they do is cleaning up the sea...

The goath and human cloning is something that we may see in the next season. I'd the theory that the work they do in the computers are actually helping the AI to be better and divide two people inside one, them the goat's and cloning are just the next step.

It’s half of the whole. The innies only get the half. Just like why they get egg and melon parties - foods you only eat the inside of.

Analog clocks have 12 hours. There is no setting.

Yep, to have keycards that can be remotely deactivated should be the standard in security. Also, the lack of security guards for such a huge corporation doesn't make sense, but it would make the show impossible to progress.

Yep, this is exactly what I kept thinking.

i thought the same thing while Watching but honestly it's something I can overlook easily because I'm too invested

I wonder if they are so sure that their methods are secure that they didn't have that on their radar? Also, they probably didn't expect Graner to go out into the world with his card in his pocket. Just some thoughts.

@@unabAshedVO They didn't do anything after they found out Graner was killed. Huge oversight considering he had high level of security access.

No question I think they will think he is talking about the baby.

I was thinking that too! But i'm afraid the Mark/Gemma saga will continue with him not remembering it and attributing it to the baby being found. 😢

Maybe the rest but his sister is very astute

Yeah, i think they’ll dismiss it and think he’s shouting about the baby

@@TheHappyCatLady but he’s holding a picture of his dead wife

Well the image of what we see of Ms. Casey going down in the elevator with the arrow lighting up red and what Irv is painting is not what you would see if you were Ms. Casey, it’s what you would be seeing if you were Mr. Milchick… There’s a theory that Irv actually held Milchick’s position before he did. Would make sense why he would have that memory of the elevator and why he would have a list of severed employees if he did more than just MDR at Lumon. Another piece of evidence is it’s revealed on the severed employee sheet he has that his last name is Bailiff. What does a bailiff in a courtroom do? Takes prisoners to and from the jail, keeps general order of the proceedings. Essentially Milchick’s role on the severed floor is that of a bailiff. I’m guessing that Irv was starting to put all these things together while he was in Milchick’s role, but Lumon caught him and then wiped him as clean as they could and stuck him in MDR.

maybe. But from what I recall Mark was holding their wedding picture, right? So at first they can think he's referring to the baby, but his sister might figure it out it's about Gemma. idk

@@srhengel Certainly possible. If he’d been brandishing the photo I’d give that possibility more weight, but he has it tucked into his torso, so it may not even register. And given that he’s switching back to his outie and most of the people there are likely to have attended the funeral of his wife I’m not sure they’re going to make the connection (read: leap) that Lumon is reanimating human beings just yet. Can’t wait to find out though!

Went back to watch the episode. At 40:55 it is in his right hand as he’s running out. So that will probably get the message across. Even if it was words with no photo, it would still play out like this: //Mark transitions back to outie with room full staring at him Them: “what do you mean ‘she’s alive’ Mark?” That’s gonna be a dead giveaway. It’s like his innie passing a message to his outie by way of others repeating back to him. There won’t be any confusion

I REALLY hope they don't drag that finding of Gemma being alive out another season, I hope they kick off season 2 with the sister understanding what's happening. Nothing kills a brilliant and addictive storyline faster than trying to ride it too long. But based on season 1, I can't imagine these writers would make that mistake. So far they have my trust, this season was insane amazing.

He has his wedding picture in his hand. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.

I agree …. He wasn’t interacting with anyone else either, which was odd. I think the ultimate goal for the founders is immortality and bringing Kier back to life

@@FarnazWallace I’m wondering if he is kier & he passed from body to body of his descendants!

@@rachelnoel323 possible, although he was specific about Helena’s childhood memories as her dad.

@@FarnazWallace maybe that’s the point of bringing them up 🤔

@@rachelnoel323 have been thinking the same thing too! Revolving is quite the term for it I think 🤔 🔄🧠

interesting.....

Im pretty sure that picture of innies fighting in two variations of one attacking the other is just fabricated image to keep innies departments separate so they would not work together

I think Dylan was a symbol of what happens when people realize that they actually are losing something by being severed, and that if the other people in the room had felt how he did in that moment, it would have beem exactly like the painting.

I thought it was an over the top myth they made up with the respective other department as the villain, so that the departments don’t communicate. They make up this whole world with gods (the founders) and their own myths, holy texts etc

​@@zma6779I think that's why not only are the departments separated but also why the board just silently observes. You can't focus them as an enemy unrevealed, but you can turn on your fellow man. This is some really intricate and relevant writing 😭 I wish alt right people watched it

Yeah this was my thought as well however, food for thought, as soon as they closed up a file we saw a Lumon employee retire 🤔

This makes sense

what's the point of having severed workers then if they don't do shit for the company then ?

@@payamux8933 either they're just doing things to observe the efficacy of the procedure, or they're actively training AI etc. to aid in severence itself

@@payamux8933 good point! So, consider this.. the company could be a way of introducing and “refining” severance as a safe and desirable life style to the general population .. so they can use severed people as “worker bee slaves” for whatever pleases the rich, and refined by the poor for safe use of the rich… this is an Apple show, so i fully expect a woke/anti capitalist message of the rich manipulating the misfortune of the poor for profit… but we will see.

You bring up an interesting point. I've never been in the military, but I would assume there would be a level of memorization and adherence of things like, honor codes, chain of command, etc. Irving is CONSTANTLY reminding Mark of procedures and when they find the book, he mentions that he didn't want to step outside of the chain of command by going above Mark's head about it without bringing it to Mark first.

I thought the same thing about that moment, and also when he saw the picture of his wife and picked it up, staring at it with tears welling up in his eyes. We've never seen that level of emotion in Mark S. While he cared about Ms. Casey and wanted to fight for her to keep her job, there was no deep emotional attachment to her because he didn't know she was his wife. But in that moment when he saw her in the photo, the look on his face - and then his frantic face when he screamed that "she's alive" - it felt like the two versions of himself came together for those few moments, before he switched back to his outie. Because he loved his wife so much that when his innie self saw her picture and realized the truth, that love he felt for her seemed to transcend the severance.

but it seems to me like he's painting the Testing Room's elevator, I don't think it's the entrance elevator because his outie do knows how that one looks like and it's not necessarily subconsciously painted plus why would he obsess over it?

Agreed some Truman Show and LOST as well

I was feeling that in the first few episodes. Like, watching Mark on the first day navigate the endless blank hallways to get to his desk. It instantly reminded me of the experiments with mice/ rats learning to navigate mazes. And when they were explaining to Helly that some of the numbers would feel "scary." It made me think of the tests they do on rats/ mice where they do one thing and get a treat, but do another thing and get pain. Or how the workers get little "perks" like a finger trap or a melon bar and companies think it makes up for not treating their employees well. You get a pizza party or donuts or a certificate and that's supposed to placate you into forgetting that you're working for a soul-less corporation that only sees you as a number and couldn't care less if you can't afford groceries so long as you hit your stupid goals that they created to keep you in line and under pressure. Or...is that just my experience in corporate jobs? 😂😭

Omg! I had the same thought! Helena wants to be in control. But if Helly just refuses to let her out, eventually Helena is going to have to make a decision. Because each time she goes back into the office, she's handing over control to Helly. And if each time she hands control back, Helena is either hanging from the elevator or has lost weeks of time, eventually Helena is going to stop going to work.

Yup, came here to point this out.

This, or asleep.

My theory is they're trying to create a human race that can survive the automation of work. They don't do anything. Their work is as trivial as a word search. The point of severing is that machines will soon do all work. There will be nothing for humans to do. Since that will lead to social unrest, political obsession, identity crisis/mental health issues, etc. (as we even saw during the pandemic when people were being paid to do nothing), they're trying to separate people's work life from their personal life. This way, people can be assigned to a socioeconomic standing and not remember what work they actually do. Without knowing the work you do, you can't argue for higher pay, question authority and why they make more, etc.

Yes, I was thinking this as well. I am guessing that the data that they are filtering are their own negative feelings and emotions. They are literally teaching Lumon's severance chips how to control them better. That's why they can feel the data as some sort of negative emotion like fear.

@@Ivaed YES! Exactly, I think the same.

@@user-dc7um4pr3f Great theory!

@@michellep5387 thank you! you too

That’s a very good point

Great points! You also gave me a new theory: what if Cobel's mother was severed (one of the first?), and that's why she has the two opposing religious backgrounds; one for her innie, one for her outie?

​@@ayyysexualoh shit lmao. This show, I can't even

I'm sorry but I can't remember her mentioning that, does that happen when they sit down for the book reading?

@@nodinodi46 it’s before they sit down to read, Rebeck says “…and I have some sores on the back of my head from my bird.”

Rebeck isn't severed and neither are any of Rickon's freinds.

interesting theory and all of the stuff in the last paragraph, albeit might be true, could be a stretch.

@@Yuddder look up project lifelog’s official cancellation date, look up FB’s official start date. They are the same program, doing the same things, but with FB they made it “cool” to get users to input their own data. FB tracks your online data even after you remove the app, with capabilities to remotely engage a devices camera and microphone w/o notification. Google/Amazon provide home devices cheap enough for every room (even devices for your TV and car) - with all data stored on THEIR severs. Google was born out of DARPA. Amazon had a $600 million contract with the CIA. If the microphones arent always listening - how do the devices “wake” with a wake word? Its not a coincidence why FB/Goog/Amz have no real competition. Controlled programs are pushed, and threats are suppressed or acquired. Did you think it was just a coincidence all the biggest “big tech” companies are aligned politically - when the same party they align with tells its voters they will target the richest 1%? Does that sound logical? Gov projects parading around as public/private companies free from congressional oversight and FOIA requests under covert control. (The same way military develops aircraft and tech through private companies). So - they have the infrastructure, networks, and capabilities to collect,catalog,store bulk data - and listen/watch in real time - to almost any present/future targets - and you think those assets are not used - because they “said so”? Would an intelligence agency be interested in such things? How do you insure any present/future targets can be spied on? Simple - you put the capability to look/listen in EVERYTHING. When’s the last time you owned a cell phone/tablet you could remove the battery from? Does simply turning them off stop tracking/looking/listening capabilities? Nope…. If you aren’t familiar with project Mockingbird- look it up. They “said” they stopped doing that too... Control of media = control of the narrative = “Look here, not here”…. Look up some of the declassified “false flag attacks” this country’s past leadership pondered on implementing.. If a central source had access to all your search history from GOOG+YT, all your shopping history from AMZ + music/movie/tv , all your family/friends/messages/opinions/comments from FB - where you go, when you go there, why you went there, the ability to listen/look covertly - and most importantly - who you vote for and if you vote - would that collective have the capability of building an accurate profile on you? On everyone? Again - Would an intelligence agency be interested in such things???? If they wanted that capability, created that capability, started using that capability - do you think they would just “let” members of Congress stop it?

@@kctyphoon actually facts

Yeah, good point. To me this show seems like a prequel to Total Recall, where they actually had perfected the split personality experiment and was actually part of everyday society as "virtual vacations". Same with the game Call of Duty Black Ops in which you play a CIA agent that is secretly programmed to assassinate a specific target and toward the end of the game you find out that all your previous missions were given to you so you could get closer to the intended target which was a very hard to reach russian revolutionary. In this show we see the very early stages of a massive mind control program disguised as a "corporate office time removal" thing. But it is clear from the very beginning of the show that they are not there to do some casual office work, but are working on the Lumon black projects division which is conveniently placed in a small town. These people are there to be programable drones for all kinds of covert activities, if the project is successful and attracts a lot of customers. All of the scenes from the severed floor are very disturbing and are probably very similar to what programmed agents must have gone thorough in projects like MK Ultra and others. This show makes you think if they haven't already perfected this mind control/mind programming project decades ago... In the past few years i have learned how we are always programmed with various small mental programs from a young age through traumatic experiences, bad parenting actions, social programming from antourages, school indoctrination, religion indoctrination, media propaganda, professional programing and so on. All of these to make us simple docile slaves that would listen to authority figures and do specific tasks that we have been programmed with while not questioning the world we live in. It's pretty effective too, as i am having a hard time removing some of these programs now that i have become aware of them and i am working on myself almost every day to remove my traumas and programs when they appear to me. All of us have this issue and it is part of the mental programming that the control system has been working on for the past 200 years. Now many hidden truths are coming up to the surface and are showing us the world we live in...

I thought of MDR as mapping human consciousness - they classify the numbers by emotion, and doing it enough times with enough different people would be like teaching computers what the emotions are and how to “code” them

Peter said early on that they’re murdering people eight hours a day. That could be possible

Yesssss!!!! Exactly

I will likely do episode by episode breakdowns for next season if time permits. Loved the show that much!

If you are still interested, Pete Peppers does episode breakdowns on his channel!

@@ziintle Hey I really appreciate that but I do know Pete and his work, of which is rather good. If you don't mind me asking, how do you pronounce your username? Also I will assume you like shows like this so have you checked out Outer Range yet?

Huh... Two years ago, I interviewed for a company located there. Pretty trippy.

@@alexk3352 the cell phone or tablet you used to write that comment exists because of what came out of that building. It's probably one of the most iconic 'unkown' places in the country.

@@kctyphoon Huh... interesting.

most probably because it’s only available on a kinda elite streaming platform. I only have it because i’m paying a discounted student membership of itunes that gets me the apple tv access.

The lack of security aka security theater is exactly like how airports operate in real life. They can't have people covering every door at all times, so they have to implement security theater in the form of cameras, "personnel only" signs, RFID required door locks, rotating security sweeps, etc. Prisons also operate on a similar basis. Most prisoners don't want to extend their prison sentence so they avoid escaping because it could lead to them dying or being locked up longer. Doesn't mean they are incapable of leaving.

i also think it added to the tension that it was almost random whether or not milchick or other security would appear. you never could quite relax as you never knew how long they had until they were discovered away from their desks.

Idk it seems like the only willing non-severed employees are religious fanatics or have family ties so that might be it

I agree…. Ms Casey isn’t the only one brought back with the severance chip ….

I agree - I think "that" Jame Eagen isn't the real one - or isn't his original body - he's cloned. I think the "revolving" is taking his mind and putting it into another clone. The way he talked, his odd demeanor, AND his comment about "crying in bed" - like why did he mention being in bed? Because he's in a coma! (just my theory)

I definitely think this idea has merit as I believe it was her father's idea for her to go through severance.

Yeah, I feel like the "revolving" is something like the procedure in "Get Out" but with chips that get downloaded instead of brain transplants. I also wonder if "Natalie" is "revolved" since she has a lot of say and influence for such a young woman.

I gave WestWorld a try, gave up after four episodes. This and Silo was up there in "masterpiece" shows.

i feel like she would still hate it. it doesn't matter what the job is, the fact that you can never get away from it means you're stuck doing it for eternity not knowing your identity

Also the checkered floor in the waffle dance scene is likely symbolically important. Enjoying the content, thanks!

His dog is named Radar.

@@mark.dinosaur I got that but he also has a navy uniform in a trunk. It’s at least possible he named his dog Radar because of his time in the navy and his enjoyment of the sound of radar.

Also that's why he's gay.

@@EFFIN14 but it seems to be the uniform of his dad