Severance, the satirical sci-fi thriller about four employees of the mega-corporation Lumon who have had their brains physically altered to keep their professional and home lives separate, is the first series to make us think about work-life balance so deeply.
Season 1 introduced us to Mark and the rest of the Microdata Refinement department, who began to discover there was more going on than they had previously suspected. The Severance finale left us with a significant cliffhanger, teasing major changes for the MDR workers and their Outies in Season 2.
‘Severance’ Season 1 Ending Discussed – Where That Big Cliffhanger Left Each Character!!
Over the course of Season 1, the MDR employees grew increasingly distrustful of the mysterious Lumon corporation. It all came to a head when Dylan’s Innie awoke in the outer world, which they had no idea was possible before.
It didn’t take long for the MDR employees to find out how to do it for themselves, and a strategy was devised to reveal what Lumon was up to while also learning more about the other side of their lives. So, where did our MDR buddies end up in Severance Season 1?
Dylan’s (Zach Cherry) discovery that he had a son on the outside was the catalyst for their entire scheme. He felt desperate to discover more about his family, so he agreed to stay behind and hold the two switches that kept his coworkers awake so they could learn about their outings and send help. He was able to keep Mark, Helly, and Irv in the outside world for almost an hour until their boss, Milchick (Tramell Tillman), discovered what was going on.
In an attempt to persuade Dylan to let go of the switches, Milchick disclosed that Dylan’s uncle had three children and that if Dylan opened the door, he’d tell him. Milchick didn’t take the bait at first, but he eventually broke through, tackling the worker and putting the Innies to sleep once more. What will Dylan do now that he is aware that he is the father of three children? The microdata refiner had always been content to gather finger traps and waffle parties as prizes for his job, but in Season 2, he won’t be so easily satisfied.
Despite a slew of annoyances, Mark (Adam Scott) was able to give his sister, Devon, a full Lumon briefing, including disclosing Mrs. Selvig’s (Patricia Arquette) genuine identity. She was able to explain that Mark had chosen to take a laid-off job in order to avoid the sorrow of losing his wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman). Mark discovered their wedding photograph at the end of the episode and recognized his wife as Ms. Casey, Lumon’s wellness counselor.
That’ll be a game-changer for Mark in Severance Season 2, as he’ll no longer be the dutiful Lumon employee he was before, and he’ll be on the lookout for answers. What will Devon and Outie Mark do now that Innie Mark has said anything about Gemma?
The MDR department was home to a double agent, but Helly (Britt Lower) was unaware of her partner’s true nature. Helena Eagan, daughter of Lumon CEO Jame and granddaughter of cult-like leader Kier, posed as Helly in order to gain public support for the procedure’s general legalization. That explains why Helly’s Outie rejected her resignation request so fast and why the board responded so angrily to Cobel’s failure to disclose Helly’s attempted suicide.
Rather than using the stage to advertise the benefits of severance, Helly revealed herself to the throng of possible investors as an Innie, claiming that the employees were being tortured and that everything the Eagans had told them about severance was a lie. A Lumon staff attacked her to prevent her from saying anything else, but it’s hard to believe that her actions won’t have repercussions on her family’s already contentious procedure.
