Severance – Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig

Well, this week we got to see just what our main four’s Outies were up to in the time between their Innies’ jail breaks until they reunited back on the Severed Floor at Lumon. Or, rather, we got to see a lot of what Mark and Helena were up to, more of Dylan’s Outie’s life than before*, and precious little of Irving’s Outie life – although the little we saw was intriguing. It was, yet again, a superb episode, building upon everything that happened in the season premiere and filling in the key gaps in the narrative. The key puzzle pieces exploring just what happened in the aftermath of the Innies Day Out are now in place. We know who did what when, who reacted how, and just what happened on the outside to influence everything that happened inside. A masterful piece of combined storytelling between the two episodes.

*And yes, for eagle-eared listeners out there, that was the great Merritt Weaver as the voice of Dylan’s wife, Gretchen.

Perhaps the most interesting development this week stemmed from the great lengths the team at Lumon was willing to go to in order to get Mark back to work. We know he has a preternatural ability to mine the data he is presented with, but we still don’t know just what that data is. But if the team at Lumon were willing to go back and rehire Dylan and Irving after their unceremonious firings – and a clearly unhappy Helena was willing to place herself back on the Severed Floor (whether as Helly or as herself – the jury is still out on that one) – Mark must be a key piece of the puzzle in whatever Lumon is doing. They even have a tail on him (that would be new addition Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Drummond) and Devon, who later astutely notes that she appears to be someone Lumon needs to keep their eye on moving forward. Which isn’t troubling at all, right?

And then there’s the moment at the close of the episode, with Mark finally getting a chance to confront Ms. Cobel about her continued presence in his life. His question as to what she knows about Gemma still being alive and her reaction? Oof. Excellent work from Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette, both so still, so calm and then so chaotic as Cobel speeds away without answering. Clearly, Cobel knows Gemma is there. And clearly she knows something in the way of how and why. But there will be no easy answers. Despite being angry at Lumon for her unceremonious firing, she still isn’t ready to give up her former employer’s secrets, not even to the one person who perhaps deserves to know just what he’s missing.

But back to the other Outies. Dylan was the one character whose Outie we knew next to nothing about, save that he was married and that he had kids. But getting to see how beaten down and depressed Dylan is outside of Lumon (a place where, let’s face it, he’s much more alive than in his Outie life, even if he’s still a tad acerbic like his Outie) was pretty heartbreaking. This is a guy who thinks he’s trying hard but can’t quite catch a break (although we don’t have enough information to know if he’s really just unlucky or if he’s just not quite motivated the way his Innie appears to be). At least it appears his wife loves and supports him despite everything – even if Dylan doesn’t quite believe it himself.

As for Helena, well, with a father like that, I guess I could understand a bit of her frustration and the immense pressure to perform that she’s under. No wonder her Innie is such a rebel – she’s been molded into a nice, compliant package when she’s on the outside and she is getting a chance to release some of that anger and frustration while severed. But sitting and watching back the video of Helly and Mark’s interaction was an interesting choice**. On the one hand, it lends credence to the “Helly is still Helena” theory, as that could be her studying to see just what she will need to do to portray her Innie effectively. On the other hand, well, it’s certainly one way to see just what she needs to get Mark to comply with the needs of Lumon: Send Helly back to him.

**And that is clear proof that Lumon is in fact recording the Innies throughout their working hours. Lumon really is listening – and I suspect they’re continuing to do so regardless of whatever claymation videos they are showing to their workers.

And then there’s Irving. Who is still making calls on payphones to people we don’t know about. Who has Burt’s name still written on a paper. Who is still painting that elevator. Has he started the reintegration process? Is he involved with that sect of people? He’s clearly working to capture his knowledge of the Severed floor while in his Outie form. And he definitely doesn’t trust Lumon. Getting back to work is probably the best possible thing for him – especially after he clearly lied to Milchick (who couldn’t have bought that weak lie and if he did, well, he deserves whatever is coming for him from Irving down the line). Where Mark is still trying to keep his head in the sand (and Dylan doesn’t even realize there’s a reason not to trust Lumon because he clearly needs that job so much), Irving is actively trying to solve the puzzle of severance. I’m excited to see just how far he can get before they get to him.