“Severance” creator explains how that 'horrific' watermelon Irving head was created

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2, episode 5, "Trojan's Horse."

We'd like to file a formal complaint to HR against Severance for causing mental and emotional distress thanks to its most jarring scene yet.

No, we're not talking about how Lumon permanently fired Irving (John Turturro) from the severed floor, thereby killing his Innie — although his workplace funeral was appropriately unsettling. We're actually talking about that grotesque watermelon carving of Irving's head that was served to his MDR coworkers Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), and Dylan (Zach Cherry) at his office funeral.

After Irving was fired for exposing Helena's long con as Helly during the ORTBO, Dylan demanded that Milchick (Tramell Tillman) throw a goodbye party (a.k.a. funeral) for his friend. That's when Milchick revealed the uncanny fruit sculpture modeled to look like Irving's literal severed head — and prompted his friends to literally carve up and eat it.

Related: Severance stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower unpack that massive episode 4 Helly twist

Severance creator Dan Erickson tells Entertainment Weekly that the watermelon Irving head was inspired by his own experiences being served watermelon at corporate functions. But bringing it to life on set proved to be difficult ... and not just because watermelon was out of season at the time.

"That was a real watermelon. They actually carved it," Erickson says. "I think they had a couple of different ones, because leaving it out, it would start to get brown or shrivel a little bit if you're going to do that over the course of the day. But I know it was a real watermelon, and they carved it for real."

Erickson knew he wanted to incorporate watermelon into Lumon's bizarre workplace party rewards, but even he is shocked by just how perfect the carved Irving head worked for the show.

"I just liked that idea, because I was Googling and looking at Google images of different melons, and I was scrolling down and suddenly I saw this horrifying carved face, and I gasped," he says. "And I thought, 'Okay, yeah, we definitely need to do this. This is definitely something Lumon would do.'"

Erickson laughs as he adds, "His friends are being called upon to eat his head! There's something just so horrific and almost ritualistic about it, which, again, feels right for Lumon."

Related: Gwendoline Christie breaks down that 'bizarre' and 'terrifying' Severance goat reveal (exclusive)

However, Severance prop master Catherine Miller told Polygon that the show's sculptor Penko Platikanov — who also created the equally horrifying waffle party masks, Perpetuity Wing mannequins, and other important Lumon items — struggled with turning the delicate fruit into a life-like bust of Turturro.

"We learned quickly that the high water content of the fruit made it incredibly challenging to carve," Miller told the outlet. "They kept turning mushy... and our schedule was such that we were going to film that scene over the course of many months. Penko started experimenting with alternate materials that would both look like the fruit and give us the details and longevity that we needed."

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The actual watermelon head used in the episode is not actually watermelon at all — despite Erickson's belief. According to Miller, multiple versions were actually made from foam coated in paint and lacquer. "We created a second melon head out of foam with a 'slice' already carved out of it," Miller said. "We matched a real piece of melon into it so it could be pulled out on camera and eaten in the same take."

A treat that's actually fake and inedible? Now that really sounds like Lumon.

Severance season 2 debuts new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly