Fans have waited a long almost three years for the return of Apple TV+ smash hit sci-fi psychological thriller Severance. Thankfully, while there is a slight perceived time jump in the plotline from the end of Season 1 to the beginning of Season 2, it isn't quite that long. But it's enough time for some interesting things to have occurred since those explosive final moments.
As fans will recall, Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro), with the help of Dylan (Zach Cherry) back at the office, were able to cheat the system, activate something known as overtime contingency, and, for a short 39 minutes, become their innies while in the outside world. It was just enough time to wreak havoc and make some shocking discoveries. The fallout of these learnings are explored swiftly in the first episode.
Severance DramaMystery Sci-Fi
Where to Watch stream rent buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US Release Date February 18, 2022 Cast Adam Scott , Britt Lower , Zach Cherry , Tramell Tillman , Jen Tullock , Dichen Lachman , Michael Chernus , John Turturro , Christopher Walken , Patricia Arquette , Sarah Bock , Marc Geller , Michael Cumpsty How Big Is the Time Jump in Severance Season 2? Close
When viewers meet back with Mark in Season 2, Episode 1, he is at work as his innie in the Macrodata Refirement division of biotechnology company Lumon Industries. It seems to be his first day back, and he is visibly disoriented and confused. It's clear he remembers things he saw in the outside world. But he can't quite piece it all together. He is greeted by a smiling Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman), who presents him with some welcome balloons.
Milchick who, yes, still wears those turtlenecks, tells him that five months have gone by, suggesting that Mark and the others have been off work for this much time. Where he has been and what he has been doing, however, remains to be seen. What's more, it's not entirely clear if Milchick is actually telling him the truth about the timeline. When Mark is escorted to his workroom and finds a new group of co-workers, he is furious. He wants to see his friends.
He's told that Helly, Dylan, and Irving all chose not to come back to work. He is the only one who was adamant that he wanted to return. Based on the trajectory of the story in the first episode, it's possible this is rooted in truth. If Mark returned even once to the office and transformed into his innie, he would recall that Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) is actually his outie's wife Gemma, who his outie believed had died. He'll want to find her and learn the truth.
Thus, it's entirely possible that Mark and the others remained completely and wholly as their outie selves for almost half a year, plotting with their families while Lumon Industries dealt with the fallout of what they did. Or, maybe Milchick is pulling a fast one over on Mark. What fans do know is that in the time that has elapsed, Lumon has named the fateful evening the "Great Macrodata Uprising" and has spun the negative publicity in their favor. They have made Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) take the fall and suggested these valiant workers who organized a coup were the driving forces behind positive change at the company.
Related 'Severance' Season 2 Release Schedule
After a three-year hiatus, the highly anticipated series finally returns.
Posts What the Innies Share About Their Outies Close
While Mark has to stir up some trouble with Milchick before finally getting what he wants and reuniting with his team, he finally achieves this goal. It's the first time they have seen one another since those crucial 39 minutes. So, there's a lot to share. After being forced to watch a short video that demonstrates how Lumon is changing for the better with ridiculous new policies like better snacks, hall passes, a playful mirror room, and even pineapple bobbing (really?), they are eager to share what they learned from the outside.
Mark gets right to the truth: he discovered that his brother-in-law is Ricken Hale (Michael Chernus), the famous author of the book he once found at the office. He mentions his outie knows Harmony as well, though by a different name. But Milchick explains this away, suggesting she was a mentally unstable bad apple who developed a fascination with him.
Most notably, Mark shares with the others that he saw a wedding photo in his sister's bedroom of his wife, who bore a striking resemblance to Ms. Casey. While outie Mark does not remember, innie Mark is reeling with this newfound knowledge. Not only that he had a wife at all, but also that she is not actually dead, and she's someone with whom he interacted frequently as his innie.
Meanwhile, Irving remains distraught over seeing Burt (Christopher Walken) with a partner through his window, though fans still hope for a moment of reunion between the characters' two innies. But more importantly, during a friendly embrace, he whispers to Dylan that in his apartment, he found several art easels with paintings of a black hallway with an elevator at the end and a downward arrow. He believes this means something, since he painted the same image dozens of times. Dylan encourages Irving to stay, try to locate this hallway, and get to the truth.
Another big discovery was made in the season one finale of Severance, the best episode of season one: Helly is actually the daughter of the Lumon founder and a vocal supporter and head of the severance program. She severed herself to prove that the procedure was safe and the program worth doing. Upon discovering this shocking information as her innie in the outside world, innie Helly used her platform to declare that innies were actually suffering, the program was horrible, and she wanted out.
However, Helly decides not to share this truth with the others. Instead, she lies and says she didn't discover anything of note. She claims she was just a lonely woman living in an apartment watching TV in sweats. Helly doesn't want the others to know the truth about her for fear that they will resent her.
A Shift in Power Close
While Mark, Helly, and Irving were out and about exploring the city for those 39 minutes, Dylan was back at the office pulling the strings. Milchick is the one who found and stopped him. With Cobel going down for what happened, Milchick is now in charge of the severed floor. He even has a new secretary, oddly a young child who is as emotionless and expressionless as necessary for the job.
He's fully aware that Dylan is dangerous with his IT prowess, and he uses this to his advantage in the manipulative way for which Milchick is known. He shows Dylan plans for a new area in the building called the outie family visitation suite where innies will be able to welcome visits from their families.
Related 'Severance' Season 1 Is Free To Stream Right Now, No Apple TV+ Required
Apple is so confident audiences will be hooked on 'Severance' that they are offering Season 1 for free.
Posts
Milchick shares Dylan's wife's name with him, advising that she wanted him to know. He implies that Dylan will be able to meet with his family once this shared space is constructed. However, there's one condition: he cannot tell the others about it. Since everyone else is single, it wouldn't be fair to them, after all. Dangling this detail like a carrot subjects Dylan to mind games he may not even realize he's a victim of in this moment.
Nonetheless, more important than where everyone is, what they have shared, and what the actual passage of time is since the events in Season 1 is that the band is back together. Yes, there are secrets among them. Milchick wields more power than ever. And there's no telling where the story will go, though theories abound. But they are safe and back at it to fulfill whatever purpose it is that Lumon has for them.
With that said, the blowback will continue now that innie Mark knows about his wife and is on the hunt to find her. The truth may all lie with Ms. Casey, and fans can't wait to see what happens once Mark's outie figures this out and the two start to work towards a common goal again.
Stream Severance on Apple TV+.