The Biggest Questions We Have After the 'Severance' Season 2 Premiere

The Severance Season 2 premiere wasted no time diving back into the unsettling world of Lumon Industries, answering some lingering questions from the first season while introducing plenty of new mysteries. Picking up five months after the innies’ daring escape, the episode hinted at major changes for our Macrodata Refinement Department (played by Adam Scott, John Turturro, Britt Lower and Zach Cherry), while raising questions about the fate of characters such as Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). As Lumon and Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) tightens its grip to suppress the fallout, viewers are left wondering how the corporation covered up such a massive breach, the premiere has set the stage for another thrilling and enigmatic season. 

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While it has been nearly three years since we saw an episode, Severance returned and solidified its place as one of the best mystery box shows on television. It expertly layers its intrigue, offering just enough answers to keep viewers hooked while leaving them desperate for more. Few shows manage to maintain this level of intrigue without losing momentum, but the first episode of Season 2 has proven Severance is more than capable of delivering.

Here are the biggest questions we have after the Season 2 premiere of Severance.

Related: Everything to Know About Severance Season 2

What happened to the Outies before they returned to the office?

While Mark returned to the office first, he’s told it had been five months since Dylan turned on the override and let the Innies out in the real world. There, Mark had a conversation with his sister that enlightened him on why he agreed to the severance procedure in the first place: His wife had died. At the party, Mark comes to the conclusion that his wife is Ms. Casey and that she’s still alive. But that’s when the override was turned off.

For his Innie, the next moment is him coming to the office. He races to the Wellness Room, hoping to find Ms. Casey, only to discover the room is empty and there’s no sign of Gemma. Mr. Milchick tells him it’s been five months and Mark was the only Outie who agreed to return. 

After a brief attempt at a coup against his new team (Mark W. played by Bob Balaban, Gwendolyn played by Alia Shawkat and “the Italian” played by Stefano Carannante), Mark is reunited with his new team the next day. The last thing each of them remember is what happened five months ago (or so Mr. Milchick says). Irving was at Burt’s home, Dylan was tackled by Mr. Milchick after he ruined his favorite belt, and Helly was in her apartment–or so she tells the rest of her team. 

What really happened in the moments after the override was turned off, we don’t know. We spend the entire episodes with the Innies, leaving the fallout from the Season 1 finale a mystery for future episodes. How did the gala respond to Helly’s outburst? How did Devon and Ricken respond to the news that Gemma was alive? And did Burt have any reaction to Irving being at his door?

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Did news get out about Lumon and severance?

The team is escorted to watch a new video in the Break Room that all new severed employees will be shown. The video claims that the “whistle-blowers” were celebrated on the outside, leading to severance reform within Lumon. Perks include new snacks in the vending machine (fruit leather, cut beans, Christmas mints and salsa) and new incentives (Hall Passes, pineapple bobbing and a playful mirror room). Lumon thanks Kier for the Macrodata Reformers and their rebellion.

It seems that at Lumon, the Macrodata Uprising (as it is called) is celebrated. But is there any chance that anybody else at Lumon gets to see this wonderful claymation video? And was this really the only response to the complaints? Did the complaints even make it public?

Helly was at a corporate event, and it’s entirely possible that they were able to convince her or anybody else at the party to say anything. Irving might have just been seen as a madman roaming the streets. Devon and Ricken might be the most likely to raise concerns about Lumon. But who’s to say that Mark asked them to keep things quiet until he knew more? There’s no real guarantee that anyone on the outside world knew the Innies had escaped.

What happened to Ms. Casey? What happened to Ms. Cobel?

The Season 3 premiere was absent two notable characters from the show: Ms. Casey and Ms. Cobel. It appears as though Ms. Cobel’s attempt to stop the Innies from leaking Lumon secrets was not enough to save her job. She has been replaced by Milchick. However, her name still haunts Milchick in the form of the text on her computer screen. Has she been promoted? Has she been fired? Is she alive? These are all questions we are thinking after the premiere.

The same goes for Ms. Casey. Helly implies to Mark that it’s likely she’s still around somewhere. But for now, she’s not in the Wellness Room. We catch a glimpse of her at the end of the episode, potentially highlighting a link between the work MDR does and the connection between Mark and Gemma, but more remains to be seen. For now, we’re left wondering the status of Ms. Casey.

Related: 6 Questions We Need Answered in Severance Season 2

Is the Outie Family Visitation Suite real?

In order to persuade Dylan from revolting again, Milchik shows him the blueprints for an extension at the office: The Outie Family Visitation Suite. He also tells Dylan that his wife’s name is Gretchen. How much of this is the truth? He’s asked not to share this new perk with the others as the rest of the team are single. Having just convinced Irving to stay severed so they can solve what’s going on, it’s a heartbreaking twist that Milchick tantalizes Dylan with an opportunity to see his own loved one.

But how do we know Gretchen is real? Dylan might very well get to spend time with someone in the Outie Family Visitation Suite, but there’s a good probability it’s all an act. It could be an actor or a Lumon executive. Dylan may never know. While Dylan may love the finger traps and caricatures, after getting to see his child last season, the thought of getting to spend time with his family as an Innie seems to be the exact perk Dylan needs. 

Who is Ms. Huang?

While Ms. Huang (Sarah Bock) may not be eight years old like Dylan suggests, she does look very young. She is the new Milchick at the Lumon office, running icebreaker games and working outside his office. Milchick seems less than pleased with his new assistant, closing the door on her after he meets with Dylan. While she appears to be doing work not too disimilar from the MDR team, when Milchick closes the door, she pulls out a portable game where you have to place rings on Kier Egan’s hands.

So who is Ms. Huang and why does she work at Lumon? We don’t know quite yet, but we sure are eager to learn more.

Will we see Mark W., Gwendolyn and the Italian again?

After Mark S. fails to get Mark W. in trouble for his note (a scheme deployed to earn the right to the name Mark, Mark W. insists), Milchick realizes he’s going to need to give Mark his team back. And so, despite getting offered a promotion as team lead, Mark W. seems quickly out of a job once again.

Have the three employees been moved to another MDR team? Are they out of work for good? Will Mark W.’s fear of having to retire come true? Only time will tell. 

Why did Helly lie to her team?

When the MDR team is exchanging notes about what happened to them on the outside, Helly lies about her experience. Instead of admitting that she is an Egan, she saw the inside of a boring apartment and was watching a nature show. She claims she went outside and found a night gardener whose brother is a cop, and that she really tried to bust everything up.

While it’s true she tried, we know it didn’t happen like that at all. So why did Helly lie? Well, she might not be ready to admit she’s an Egan. In a conversation with Mark later, she is adamant that the Innies and Outies are two different people. If Innie Mark isn’t married to Gemma, then Helly isn’t an Egan. If the two beings are separate, she’s not responsible for the misery caused by Lumon and the Egans.

But perhaps we need to look at this differently. It might be Outie Helly who doesn’t want to be seen as the same person as Innie Helly. Has the Outie version of Helly the one who’s re-joined the MDR team? Was Innie Helly to dangerous to let back down the basement? Could the team catch on that this version of Helly isn’t the one they’ve known and is actually undermining them from the inside?

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