'Severance' Season 2 Is Back—And I Have a Major Theory About One of the New Characters

Well, we finally have—if not answers exactly—then at least some hints about what it all means. As my colleague Philip Mutz summed up in his review of the first episode of the new season, the Severance creators are in no rush to explain the broader questions of what Lumon does or to get us back to some of the pressing matters at hand: Did Mark’s “she’s alive” plea fall on deaf ears? Did Helly (Britt Lower) and Irv (John Turturro) really choose to go back to being severed after alerting their outies to the horrors? Where is Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and has she given up on her dreams of reincarnation/brain harvesting (which was my theory from back in season one)?

Luckily, the writers are offering us a host of new characters that just may shed some light on the situation. First off, there are Mark’s intended new colleagues, played by Bob Balaban, Alia Shawkat and Stefano Carannante. (Thank goodness Mark is able to get transferred back to working with Helly and the gang, because these newbies seem like weirdos.) Then there’s the new Deputy Manager Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) who both appears to be about 12 years old and is quick to remind Mark that she’s his manager, not his friend.

After meeting Miss Huang, I was left with more questions than answers. But I did start ruminating on a theory that supports much of what I still think about the show. Here goes...

Because Miss Huang is a child (when asked why she is a child, she gives the esoteric answer, “because of when I was born”) and because she has the vacant look and robotic mannerisms we associate with permanent innies like Ms. Casey, I think she was born and bred inside Lumon. If Lumon’s secret purpose is about reanimation of dead bodies (which I speculated about previously), I think Miss Huang is a new class of severed employee: one who was made with genetic material from other people on the sacred basement floor. (Maybe even from Gemma/Ms. Casey herself? They do look an awful lot alike…Or perhaps from a dead crossing guard, which she hints at during the red ball game?) Adam Scott has gone on the record saying that Lumon is not in the cloning business, so I don’t think she’s a clone of anybody on the outside per se. But I do think she was either reincarnated at Lumon or simply the product of two reanimated people who live there. (Remember the “some people live there” message from the map in season one?”)

This idea of parentage is important. Clearly, the writers of this episode are trying to make us think about the theme of “family,” what with Dylan being offered a family visiting area, Helly and Irv rejecting the family (or lack thereof) they found in the outside and Mark begging to be returned to the work-fam he dearly misses.

In the very last scene, we see that the core four all have photos of each other on their desks. (Presh!) And right before the credits roll, we see an image of Ms. Casey flash onto Mark’s computer screen. Are the Lumon overlords trying to send him a subliminal message? Is that something he found in his own “scary” data sets? Is it just a random subconscious flash? Bottom line: I predict family—and the way they imprint on our memory—will factor in largely this season. And I am here for it.

A few more bits and bobs:

• As Mutz noted in his review, Milchick is giving some major gaslighting vibes. I don’t buy that it’s been five months and I think Milchick’s claims that Mark is the face of Lumon reform is bogus. That newspaper cover was faked, I say!

• Helly’s lie: She might have told her friends she didn’t see anything of note in the outside world because she’s ashamed of her lineage. Or she might be playing a longer game: Does she think she can do more good if she keeps this knowledge close? Is she considering her romantic feelings for Mark and worried that being a Lumon is a major turn-off? (I wouldn’t sleep with one, for the record.) OR…maybe it’s actually outie Helly who came back, with the goal of bringing down the rebellion from the inside out…

• The new colleagues: We know they never made quota, but we don’t know who Mark is replacing. Since teams always work in groups of four (at least, that’s how their desks are set up), I predict this will come into play.
  
• Fruit leather is such a good perk. If the head of my company is reading this: please put fruit leather in the kitchenette.

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