You Won’t Believe Why Lumon Is Desperate to Keep Mark Alive

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Warning: Spoilers for Severance through Season 2, Episode 2.

After a long wait of three years, the second season of the show “Severance” has finally returned on Apple TV+, leaving viewers eager for answers to their lingering questions. Although some resolutions were given in the premiere episode, it also sparked new questions that may take some time to be fully explained. Meanwhile, numerous theories have emerged online, especially regarding Helena’s true identity and Ms. Huang’s role at Lumon, as well as what Irving is up to. These are just a few of the many questions that have arisen among fans.

After the confusion over the extended leave incident, it seems like five months have gone by since Mark (Adam Scott) last showed up at work. However, this is actually just a short period, and he was quickly summoned back by Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman). As always, Lumon deceived Mark’s inner self about the elapsed time and also the reason why the rest of his team wasn’t back at work.

Due to the unexpected situation requiring overtime, Lumon hastily dismissed everyone in MDR except Mark. Interestingly, they seemed eager for him to come back to work and even granted him a substantial 20% salary increase. The lengths Lumon went to for Mark’s return and their eventual surrender to his requests imply that Mark is crucial to what Lumon is accomplishing, and time is of the utmost importance. What makes Mark so valuable to Lumon, you ask? That’s a question worth exploring.

Mark’s Importance to Lumon Relates to Gemma/Ms. Casey in ‘Severance’

And It Has Something to Do With a File Named Cold Harbor

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In the thrilling finale of Season 1, I realized that Mark’s inner self, his ‘innie’, had uncovered a stunning truth: his outer self’s wife, Gemma, was none other than Ms. Casey, played by Dichen Lachman. Yet, this revelation came as a shock since we knew Gemma perished in a car accident two years back. This mysterious turn of events left us with many unanswered questions about her role within Lumon.

In the second episode of Season 2, Mark subtly reminded his sister of something crucial: he had personally identified Gemma’s body after the crash. This detail seems to suggest that Lumon may have found a way to bring her back to life. If so, this could be the key to understanding the purpose behind the testing floor – where Ms. Casey mysteriously disappeared to at the end of Season 1, only to reappear… or so it seems for now.

It’s evident that whatever tasks Mark is performing at MDR are directly linked to Ms. Casey and the file named Cold Harbor, as he’s currently working on. In the finale of Severance‘s second season, viewers witnessed Mark’s innie resume his work upon his team’s return, followed by a quick glimpse of Ms. Casey’s face. Concurrently, audiences spotted the Cold Harbor file name and four boxes at the screen’s bottom, which seem to align with the same boxes MDR uses to categorize their numbers. It appears that Mark’s work in MDR is influencing some kind of advancement for Ms. Casey, and Lumon seems intent on ensuring he completes it fully.

What Do the Cold Harbor Numbers Mean in ‘Severance’?

Why Does Lumon Need Mark to Finish the File So Badly?

Following significant investment to ensure both Mark’s inner and outer contentment, it’s evident that his work with MDR aligns perfectly with Lumon’s expectations. Given this alignment, it’s crucial for him to finish his tasks. It’s been suggested that Mark and others are manipulating figures associated with the four temperaments – Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice, as per Kier Eagan’s teachings. Once these numbers in MDR evoke a specific reaction from the inners, they’re categorized into different containers that seem to have distinct ratios of the four temperaments.

The ratios and organization of each file, like Cold Harbor, appear to correspond with events observed on the testing floor. It seems that if Lumon is indeed reviving people, then MDR may be somehow categorizing the brains of individuals such as Ms. Casey according to the four temperaments, as sorted by the innies in MDR. Yet, the intention behind these actions remains unclear. It’s possible that Lumon is merely developing a controlled workforce from their former employees, or they could be investigating methods to restore their lost leader, Kier Eagan.

In the world of ‘Severance’, which is now available for streaming on Apple TV+, each episode airs every Friday, the atmosphere within Lumon seems eerily cult-like, particularly in their Perpetuity wing, where it appears they’re readying for a potential return of Kier. This could make Mark’s work crucial for Lumon to accomplish its objectives. As hinted in the first season, files often expire before they’re completed. If each file represents an individual on the testing floor, then it’s evident that success has a limited timeframe. Since Lumon wants Mark to finish the Cold Harbor file before it expires and Ms. Casey disappears forever, or the process must restart from scratch, ensuring its completion is of utmost importance.

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2025-01-31 05:34