Dive deep into the hidden details of "Severance" that you might have missed on your first watch! We're uncovering the most subtle and intriguing clues that only become clear when you rewatch this mind-bending sci-fi series.
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00:00What you're about to see will be shown to every innie who sets foot in this building after today.
00:06I hope it will give you a sense of Lumen's feelings.
00:09Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most obscure details
00:13in the dystopian sci-fi series Severance that only makes sense on a second watch.
00:18I'm in the corporate archives division, so you know all the dirty secrets.
00:22There will be spoilers ahead, so be warned.
00:25Number 10. Radar
00:27The severed employees at Lumen know next to nothing about their outies,
00:30so they cling to any scrap of outside information they can get.
00:34Because your outie is an exemplary person, these facts should be very pleasing.
00:40In the second episode of the first season, Irving receives a wellness check where Ms.
00:44Casey recites a list of vague facts about his outie. At first glance,
00:48they seem meaningless, but on a rewatch, one detail might stand out.
00:52Your outie has no fear of muggers or knaves. Your outie likes the sound of Radar.
01:01Fast forward to the season finale, and we find out that the name of his dog is actually Radar.
01:06Given his outie's military background, this name could be a nod to the U.S. Navy,
01:11or maybe the beloved character from the TV show MASH.
01:14Radar, how many times have I told you not to come in here before I call you?
01:17I don't like to be late, sir.
01:19How can you be late if you come in here before I even know I want you?
01:22Ours is not to question why, sir.
01:26After Helly R. asks to leave, she's taken to an exit door,
01:30but finds herself returning to the same hallway.
01:32Well, you did leave just now. Out into the stairwell, at least. You
01:36left, but you came back.
01:39I did not.
01:40You did. Come on.
01:42Initially, this might seem like Lumen is trapping its severed employees.
01:46However, the real explanation is actually laid out in the show,
01:50but it might take a rewatch to fully piece it together.
01:52Helly's outie wants to stay at Lumen, so the moment she exits,
01:56she's greeted by Mr. Milchik, who assures her that her
01:58innie's resistance is just part of the adjustment process.
02:01Oh, no. I'm trying to leave.
02:03No, no. It's all part of the process. If you want to spin around and head back in, that should be that.
02:08Once she steps back inside, she immediately reverts to her innie self.
02:12From the innie's perspective, this seems like an endless loop because
02:16her memory resets at the threshold, making it seem like she never left at all.
02:21Wow.
02:24You're an inquisitive one.
02:26I don't want to be in there, do I?
02:28You're learning that you do.
02:32Innie Irving's behavior might seem a little odd without context.
02:35He is the only one who snaps to attention when Mr. Milchik enters the MDR room,
02:40and he reads the time in military format, both of which hint at his military past.
02:45Mark?
02:45Yep?
02:46It's past 1100 and Helly's been in the break room since yesterday.
02:50Okay.
02:51I wonder if, as department chief, you feel you should check on her progress?
02:56This only clicks into place once we meet his outie later in the season.
02:59But a rewatch reveals even more breadcrumbs.
03:02Innie Irving hallucinates black goo seeping over his computer,
03:05and we see black paint under his fingernails.
03:08These details take on new meaning when we learn that his outie obsessively paints
03:12the hallway leading to the testing floor.
03:14Some fans speculate this could be his outie's way of communicating with his innie,
03:18but for now, that remains a mystery.
03:21Oh, wow.
03:23Now that's all I'll be thinking about until then.
03:28On the show, it is quickly established that the elevators transporting employees
03:32to and from the severed floor are equipped with text detectors,
03:35ensuring no messages slip between innies and outies.
03:38They're like metal detectors for written symbols.
03:41Illumina Original, apparently.
03:43That's right.
03:43For this reason, employees must swap their regular watches for stripped-down
03:47minimalist versions with no numbers or labels to avoid triggering the system.
03:52The same rule applies to the clocks on the severed floor,
03:55which are also plain and do not feature any numbers.
03:58So I'll never leave here?
04:02You'll leave at five.
04:03Well, actually, they stagger our exit.
04:06So, five-fifteen.
04:07When Mark clocks out for the day, he trades his minimalist watch
04:10for a Vostok Commanderskir 341307, a rugged Russian military timepiece.
04:16It's likely that this was a gift from his wife Gemma,
04:18as it is later revealed that she was a Russian literature professor.
04:22Oh, I love literature.
04:23Right?
04:25But Mark is a Lumen man now.
04:27Really?
04:28Yeah, about two years.
04:30Number six.
04:31It's always winter.
04:32Do you want to give me a coat?
04:36This is nice.
04:37Yeah?
04:38At Lumen, the office culture is quite cold,
04:40but that's only rivaled by the equally cold nature of the weather outside.
04:44In the universe of Severance, the world seems perpetually stuck in winter.
04:48Or at least, that's how it has appeared since the show began.
04:52To be fair, the entire timeline so far has only spanned maybe a few weeks or months,
04:58so it'll be interesting to see if future installments explore other seasons.
05:01The only real hint of another season comes from pictures of Gemma,
05:05which seem to capture a rare glimpse of spring.
05:08Perhaps this unrelenting winter is just a reflection of Mark's grief,
05:12frozen in isolation since the loss of his wife.
05:15I'm proud of you, Gemma.
05:16I'm proud of you.
05:17I'm proud of you.
05:17I'm proud of you.
05:18I'm proud of you.
05:19I'm proud of you.
05:20I'm proud of you.
05:21I'm proud of you.
05:21I'm proud of you for taking that job.
05:23I really am.
05:25And I think she would have been, too.
05:26I know she would have been.
05:30I just feel like forgetting about her for eight hours a day
05:34isn't the same thing as healing.
05:37Number 5.
05:38Gabby Arteta is Severed
05:39Hi, I'm so sorry.
05:41I'm another pregnant lady.
05:42I'm from over there.
05:43I just came out on a coffee run,
05:45and I got distracted by your beautiful coffee,
05:48and I was wondering if there's any chance you could hook me up.
05:51At the birthing lodge,
05:52Devin strikes up a conversation with another expectant mother,
05:55Gabby Arteta, in her fancy cabin.
05:57Gabby mentions that this pregnancy,
05:59her third overall,
06:00is made possible with a little help.
06:03However, when Devin runs into her again
06:05after they've both given birth,
06:07Gabby doesn't recognize her.
06:08Devin, we're in the retreat.
06:10I accosted you for your coffee.
06:15Oh, he's beautiful.
06:17He looks like a William.
06:19His name's Bradley, actually.
06:21Not William?
06:24You changed it?
06:25This suggests that the help Gabby referred to
06:28was the severance procedure,
06:30allowing her to forget the pain of childbirth.
06:32Devin later discovers that Gabby is married to a state senator
06:35who actively supports legalizing severance.
06:37She also finds an interview with Gabby
06:39where she talks about her home undergoing major renovations.
06:42Perhaps this was not just a simple kitchen upgrade,
06:45but the installation of severance technology in their home.
06:48Wow, gazelle.
06:49Mm-hmm.
06:52We should go.
06:55Bye.
06:57Bye, Bradley.
06:58Number four, the season two premiere.
07:01Severance returned for a second season
07:02with a gripping premiere
07:04that raised more questions than answers.
07:06Mark, this is Miss Wong.
07:07Miss Wong, Mark S.
07:09Hello.
07:11She'll be happy to mind your balloons while we chat.
07:13Early in the episode,
07:14Mr. Milchak informs Mark that after the Innie's revolt,
07:17they became champions for severance reform
07:19and were hailed as heroes.
07:21He even shows Mark a front page newspaper
07:24featuring the group being celebrated in a street parade.
07:26However, the image is laughably fake.
07:29As a group, you've become known as the face of severance reform.
07:33Severance reform.
07:34Have a seat, Mark.
07:35It's just their group photo from Helly's first day,
07:37photoshopped into a 1960 picture of Dwight Eisenhower.
07:40Later, when the team regroups,
07:42Helly is seen working on a file labeled Santa Mira,
07:45an apparent reference to the 1956 sci-fi horror
07:48Invasion of the Body Snatchers
07:49about humans being replaced by alien duplicates.
07:52Could this be a hint at Lumen's real intentions?
07:55I'd like to hear it from them.
08:02That's not possible.
08:04Number three, the dress code.
08:06I did.
08:06I never thought I'd see the handbook passage depicted visually.
08:10The show never outright states it,
08:12but the MDR team actually has a dress code
08:14as laid out in the Lexington Letter,
08:16a companion book by the creators.
08:18Refiners are required to stick to a monochromatic wardrobe,
08:21limited to white, black, gray, navy, or pastels.
08:24Everyone follows this rule, except Helly.
08:27I'm agog at how well I can tell you're already fitting in.
08:31The office feels whole.
08:33She alone wears vibrant shades of green, blue, yellow, and red.
08:36On the surface, this makes sense
08:38considering she is the rebellious one of the bunch,
08:40but it takes on even more weight after it's revealed
08:43that she is the daughter of Lumen's CEO, James Egan.
08:46In fact, the show hints at this connection much earlier in the season
08:49when her outie is seen wearing a strikingly similar coat as Ms. Cobell.
08:53How'd the check go?
08:55It was a package left at his door from someone.
08:57Open it, would you?
08:58Number two, the obsession with water.
09:01Oh, hey.
09:03I was just getting some water.
09:04Do you need anything?
09:05There are many cryptic symbols associated with Lumen
09:08sprinkled throughout the show,
09:09and one recurring motif is water.
09:11Not only is Lumen's logo a water droplet,
09:14but there is a massive water tower in the company's parking lot.
09:17Even the famous painting Kier invites you to drink of his water
09:20shows the Lumen founder standing by a valley overlooking lakes below.
09:24But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
09:26My current file is called Tumwater,
09:29which I started some 11 weeks back.
09:30Tumwater, all one word.
09:32Should I be taking notes?
09:34Nearly all MDR file names, including Tumwater, Sienna, and Allentown
09:38are references to dams, reservoirs, and other man-made water structures worldwide.
09:43So what exactly does water symbolize for Lumen?
09:46One theory suggests that the company might be seeking to gain control
09:49of the world's water resources as a way to wield power over people.
09:53Is it awful to say I don't care for that one?
09:57No.
09:59Honestly, it makes me nervous too.
10:04Such a lovely vista, but I keep thinking
10:07he could slip.
10:08Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:12The break room sounds.
10:14The sounds each refiner hears in the break room are personal to their outies.
10:18I really am sorry.
10:19Okay.
10:23I'm sorry.
10:26No paraphrasing.
10:29Again.
10:29Mr. Egan's favorite breakfast.
10:31Helly is given the answer to this orientation question before she is severed.
10:35You know he used to drink three raw eggs and milk each morning.
10:38I've heard.
10:39His favorite breakfast.
10:41We'll get you prepped in here.
10:43Severed children and the goats.
10:44The protesters hint at the likely purpose the baby goats serve.
10:48You folks have a moment for children's brain health?
10:50We do.
10:51Great.
10:51We're trying to get a measure on the ballot to keep mega-corporations like
10:54Lumen from continuing to force legalized severance on our state.
10:57They're forcing it now?
10:58That's what they're lobbying for.
11:00The candle.
11:01Cobell steals a candle from Mark's house, which shows up during his wellness session.
11:05Sometimes I ask people to sculpt how they feel out of clay.
11:11Would you like to do that?
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11:28In season two of Severance, it becomes apparent that Mark is no ordinary employee.
11:35Following the MDR uprising, he is the only one to not be fired from the company.
11:40Your Audi insisted on returning.
11:43In fact, he begged us to let him back right away.
11:45Clearly, Lumen still needs him, and we quickly find out why.
11:49Mark is reinstated to work on a critical project called Cold Harbor,
11:52which as we learn at the end of episode one,
11:56has something to do with Ms. Casey.
11:58She's one of us.
12:02So if you want to help your Audi and find out what happened to her,
12:08I'll help.
12:08A brief glimpse of Cold Harbor reveals her picture,
12:11alongside other details like her vitals and Keir's four tempers,
12:14which keen-eyed viewers might only catch on a rewatch.
12:18While its exact purpose remains unclear,
12:20Mark's involvement suggests it could be connected with reviving Casey's Audi Gemma,
12:25which may tie in to Lumen's larger goal.
12:28By end of day, each of you will choose whether you want to remain here.
12:31Not your Audis, but you.
12:35If you start work on your file, I'll assume you want to stay.
12:38Have you been keeping up with Severance?
12:40What answers do you think we might discover in future episodes?
12:43Sound off in the comments below.
12:45Am I dead?
12:46No.
12:47This isn't like hell or something?
12:49No.
12:50Do you agree with our picks?
12:51Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
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