Severance Season 1 Catch-Up: Everything You Need to Remember Ahead of Severance Season 2

It’s time to dive into the mysterious Lumon Industries again! After much anticipation, Severance is finally returning for Season 2, premiering on January 17th on Apple TV+. The new season will air eight episodes, with episodes dropping weekly on Friday. 

Severance Season 1 aired in Spring 2022 with nine episodes. Since then, tons of new fans have tuned in to watch this fascinating sci-fi story unfold. After almost two years, hopefully, Severance Season 2 will provide explanations for the countless questions that Season 1 left unanswered. 

Everything you need to remember about Severance Season 1:

Mark’s Memories

At the beginning of Severance Season 1, Mark is a loyal employee of Lumon. He readily accepts Lumon’s methods of separating “innie” and “outie” lives. 

However, after meeting Helly, he begins to question the company’s true intentions. His innie self starts searching for ways to connect with his outie life. 

From Severance Season 1 Episode 1, “Good News About Hell,” viewers know that Harmony, Mark’s manager at Lumon, is Ms. Selvig in Mark’s outie life. However, Mark only comes to this realization in Severance Season 1 Episode 9, “The We We Are,” when his innie finally gets to live in his outie life. 

His major revelation at the end of Season 1 is about his wife. Mark believes that his wife, Gemma, died and spends most of the season mourning her. 

At the end of  Severance Season 1 Episode 9, Mark’s innie sees a photo of Gemma and realizes that Gemma is actually Ms. Casey from Lumon. He rushes to tell everyone that Gemma’s alive, but the connection between the innie and outie is broken just as he shares the news. 

Mark’s newfound knowledge about Gemma will surely influence how he acts when he returns to Lumon. Maybe this season, he’ll finally get answers to how Gemma ended up working for Lumon and how her death had been faked. 

Helly and Lumon’s Mission

Helly is the most outwardly defiant worker at Lumon. She constantly questions authority and leads the effort to dig deep into the company’s true intentions. 

This is why it’s shocking when the show reveals she is the daughter of Lumon’s CEO. She’s set to give a speech about how great Lumon’s severance procedure is, but her innie, who hates the company, is in control of the outie life. 

Helly takes advantage of the spotlight and shares the horrors that the innies face. The crowd seems shocked by her defiance, but, like what happened to Mark, the connection between the innie and outie gets broken. 

Seeing how outie Helly seems determined to uphold Lumon’s superiority, the central conflict of Severance Season 2 seems to be about whether innie Helly will take down Lumon or outie Helly will squash the rebellion. 

With how unpredictable this series is, there’s no knowing who will win. 

Irving’s Love Story

Over the course of Season 1, Irving’s innie self slowly falls in love with Burt, the head of Optics and Design at Lumon. They bond over their shared love for art and nearly share a kiss in Severance Season 1 Episode 6, “Hide and Seek.” 

When Irving finds out that Burt is retiring in Severance Season 1 Episode 7, “Defiant Jazz,” he’s understandably heartbroken. He’s ready to accept that he’ll never see Burt again until he and his co-workers find a way to channel their innie selves in their outie lives. 

On Severance Season 1 Episode 9, Irving manages to find Burt in the outie world. Unfortunately, he finds that outie Burt has a husband. 

Considering that Burt is featured in the Season 2 trailer, it seems like Irving and Burt’s story isn’t quite over yet. 

Dylan’s Heroism

While Dylan mostly provides comic relief, he plays an important role in Severance Season 1. He becomes determined to figure out how to connect the outie and Minnie selves after he briefly sees his son in his outie life in Severance Season 1 Episode 6.

Dylan is rewarded with a Lumon perk that allows him to spend overtime at the company in Severance Season 1 Episode 7. This is how he infiltrates the control room to allow his co-workers’ innie selves to escape into the outie world for a brief moment. 

While he manages to maintain this connection for a significant amount of time, Milchick eventually finds him and tackles him, breaking the connection. 

Maybe in Severance Season 2, there’ll be more opportunities for Dylan to play the hero and help his co-workers uncover the answer to Lumon’s sinister mission. 

Other Things That Happened in Severance Season 1

• Devon (Mark’s sister) met the wife of a pro-severance senator who seemed to not remember her from the retreat, likely since she was severed during the birth process. She could make an appearance in Season 2, especially since severance seems to be a politically controversial topic. 
• Helly and Mark stumble upon a place with goats inside the Lumon building. There are no answers as to why these animals are there, but the Season 2 trailer implies there’ll be a follow-up on this. 
• While Milchick keeps a close eye on the Macrodata Refinement team, a lot of their rebellious behavior flies under his radar. He may keep a tighter watch on these workers in Season 2 to make sure they don’t escape again.
• Harmony spends most of Season 1 desperate to keep her power in the company. The incident with the Macrodata team surely will be a massive blow to her status at Lumon. 

Severance returns for Season 2 Friday, January 17th on Apple TV+.

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