Six Questions We Need Answered in 'Severance' Season 2

Severance returns to Apple TV+ on January 17. The end of Season 1 left us on a heart-pounding cliffhanger, with our Lumon employees discovering bits of the outside world and Mark (Adam Scott) calling out, "She's alive!". The explosive ending left viewers reeling. As tensions escalate and the lines between innies and outies blur, Season 2 promises to dive deeper into the mysteries of Lumon Industries and the lives of its employees. But here are the questions that we hope are answered in Season 2.

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Will the Innies be punished?

Assuming we pick up right where we left off, the first question is whether the Innies will face any consequences for having Dylan (Zach Cherry) facilitate the Innies' escape to the outside world. This act of rebellion poses a threat to the corporation’s control, and it’s unclear how Lumon will respond. Will Helly (Britt Lower) be allowed to return to the place now that we know she is an Egan? How will Milchuk (Tramell Tillman) deal with Dylan's disobedience? And what about Irving (John Turturro) and Mark, who have begun unraveling critical secrets about their outie lives? Whether any of our four employees will be able to return to their jobs remains to be seen.

If the innies do return to the Macrodata Refinement team, Milchick will likely tighten controls to prevent further rebellion. Lumon could enhance surveillance, implement loyalty programming, or modify the severance procedure to suppress rebellious tendencies. The break room may become even more punitive, with harsher methods to recondition defiant employees. To disrupt the group's camaraderie, Lumon might separate key members like Mark, Helly, and Irving or introduce compliant new employees. Milchick himself could maintain a more constant presence, using his authority to enforce stricter adherence to company policies.

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Why is Gemma/Ms. Casey at Lumon?

The mystery of Gemma (Dichen Lachman), revealed to be Ms. Casey at the end of Season 1, lies at the heart of Severance. It is the driving force behind Mark’s journey. As the central protagonist, Mark’s grief over his wife’s death is the emotional core of the show, and the revelation that Gemma is not only alive but working at Lumon raises far-reaching questions. Why was Gemma severed, and what circumstances led to her becoming Ms. Casey, a seemingly emotionless wellness counselor? We've seen Gemma go down the elevator; what lies beneath the main floor of the Lumon office?

Is Gemma’s role at Lumon part of a larger experiment or an intentional manipulation of Mark? Her clinical demeanor as Ms. Casey suggests her severance may be more extreme than the other employees, potentially indicating that Lumon is testing advanced forms of personality suppression. It also remains unclear whether her “death” was staged to lure Mark into the severance program, or if it was merely a byproduct of Lumon’s experiments. Either way, her connection to Mark and her role within the company suggest she’s a key piece of Lumon’s plans, making her story essential to unraveling the show’s central mystery.

Why is Ms. Cobel obsessed with Mark?

While Mark has his attention on Gemma, someone has their eyes on him. We've learned that Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) has gone rogue, suggesting her infatuation with Mark goes deeper than corporate ambition. As both Mark’s boss and a covert observer of his outie life, Cobel has demonstrated an unusual fixation on his grief over Gemma and his adjustment to severance. Her dual role blurs the lines between professional duty and an almost maternal, invasive interest in Mark’s emotional state. This obsession likely stems from her awareness of Mark’s unique connection to Gemma, whom Cobel knows is alive and severed as Ms. Casey. By closely monitoring Mark, she seems determined to understand his behavior, possibly to uncover how his bond with Gemma could jeopardize Lumon’s plans.

Cobel’s obsession with Mark could stem from a variety of motives. She might be secretly connected to Mark’s past or even Gemma’s “death,” explaining her invasive interest in his grief and life outside Lumon. Alternatively, she could see Mark as the key to understanding the severance program, using his unique connection to Gemma/Ms. Casey to secure her position and climb the corporate ladder. On the other hand, Cobel might be a mole working to take down Lumon, leveraging Mark’s situation to expose the company’s dark secrets. Her erratic behavior suggests a deep personal stake, whether she views Mark as a tool for her ambitions, a critical experiment, or even someone with whom she shares an unresolved connection. Whatever the reason, her fixation promises to be a vital clue in unraveling Lumon’s mysteries.

What does Macrodata Refinement actually do?

Within the world of Severance, the true purpose of Macrodata Refinement (MDR) remains a complete mystery. The innies spend their days sorting seemingly random numbers into folders, guided only by their instincts and an eerie sense of dread when they encounter “bad data.” While the work appears monotonous, the carefully controlled environment of Lumon suggests there might be a larger, more sinister purpose behind it.

Several theories could explain the nature of Macrodata Refinement. One possibility is that the numbers represent people—perhaps Lumon is tracking or manipulating individuals’ lives through this mysterious data. Another theory suggests the team is unwittingly aiding in the development of artificial intelligence, with their instincts helping refine complex algorithms. Some have speculated that the data represents fragments of severed consciousnesses, and the employees are unknowingly participating in experiments to reassemble or control minds. Or the task could be meaningless work.

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Why are there baby goats?

We have to know what's up with the baby goats. While there was an employee feeding goats, they have been seen around the show in other ways (in a painting and during the Waffle Party) but what is the significance of them?

Are they part of a bizarre scientific experiment, perhaps tied to cloning, genetic manipulation, or even severance-related research? Could they symbolize innocence, growth, or control, aligning with Lumon’s overarching themes? Alternatively, the goats might serve as a distraction, a psychological test designed to gauge employee reactions to the unexpected.

What does Lumon do?

This is a question that we're unsure will be answered in Season 2, but we'll ask it nonetheless. So what does Lumon actually do? At first glance, Lumon Industries appears to be a sprawling, enigmatic corporation with its hands in various industries, from biotechnology to corporate wellness programs. However, the deeper we dive into the world of Severance, the more it becomes clear that Lumon’s primary focus is far from ordinary business. The severance procedure itself, splitting an employee’s work and personal lives, seems to be at the heart of their operations, suggesting the company is less interested in traditional productivity and more invested in manipulating the boundaries of human consciousness.

Beyond severance, Lumon’s activities hint at a larger, possibly dystopian agenda and could expand outside the office to the town of Kier itself. The focus on loyalty, indoctrination, and dehumanization within its employees suggests Lumon may be experimenting with psychological control on a societal scale. Could they be working toward creating a compliant, controllable workforce or even a severed population outside the workplace? The presence of symbols, rituals, and historical references throughout the company also suggests a quasi-religious undertone, as though Lumon views itself as more than just a corporation. Whether they are manipulating consciousness for profit, power, or a deeper ideological purpose, Lumon’s true motives remain one of Severance’s most compelling mysteries.

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