Cryptic Severance Gemma theory has major implications for Season 2

In the Severance Season 2 trailer, Mark asks Ms. Cobel, “Do you know something about Gemma?” While the answer remains unclear, a new fan theory suggests Season 1 gave us a clue about Gemma’s past and her connection to Miss Casey.

Severance Season 1 ended on one of the biggest cliffhangers in recent memory: Mark’s outie discovering that his “dead” wife Gemma is not only alive, but she’s been working at Lumon as the wellness coordinator, Miss Casey. 

It’s been three long years since that jaw-dropping moment, but thankfully Severance Season 2 is set to make its premiere soon (January 17, 2025, to be precise). The release of the new trailer shows Lumon in damage control mode. 

Our leading gang, Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan, aren’t “in trouble” – in fact, Milchick says they’re the faces of a new program called “Severance Reform.” But behind the scenes, they conspire about what they saw during the overtime contingency, with Mark revealing his missing wife is actually Miss Casey. 

Severance theory hints at darker truth to Mark’s memories

One theory that’s gained significant attention links to Mark’s fragmented memories of his wife, suggesting a much deeper, more unsettling conspiracy involving Gemma, her “death,” and the true nature of Lumon’s experiments.

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At the end of Severance Season 1 Episode 7, Mark tapes together the photo of Gemma, while a voiceover sees him recalling the reasons he found his wife to be “extraordinary.”

“My wife was allergic to nutmeg. And when she sneezed, she always sneezed twice,” he says. “My wife liked other people’s dogs. My wife thought cardigans looked ridiculous. I loved all these things about her. Equally.”

At first glance, this seems like a grieving husband pining for his late wife. But this is Severance we’re talking about, and these memories may be tied to the Lumon program. 

As said by one Redditor, “The Cardigan Welsh Corgi is a breed of small dog with a double coat, which produces a lot of dander that can cause allergic reactions in people. 

“What if Nutmeg was Mark and Gemma’s dog, but Gemma was allergic (always sneezing twice), so they had to give up the dog? 

“But Gemma liked other people’s dogs, since she couldn’t have her own. And she thought Cardigans looked ridiculous (in an affectionate way) because of their short legs and long bodies.”

This could link to the “facts” Miss Casey tells Irving during one of his wellness sessions. “Your outie likes the sound of radar,” she says, and we later find out that Irving’s outie’s dog is called Radar.

“I don’t know how this might come into play down the line, but they fooled us once with Radar,” they added. “I feel like the sneezing twice line could be significant.”

Could Miss Casey be a Gemma clone?

Mark’s fragmented memories of Gemma and their similarities to those fed to Irving could hint at the wider theory that Lumon is using the Severance program for cloning experiments.

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The mention of Nutmeg and dogs might tie into Lumon’s use of non-human entities (like Radar) to gauge how memories are reconstructed post-Severance.

This may explain why Miss Casey was sent down to the Testing Floor in Season 1 – perhaps to recalibrate her clone. 

In response to the Reddit thread, one person wrote, “What if the voice over of Mark describing Gemma is actually a flashback of Mark talking to someone at Lumon about his wife when he begins considering Severance? 

“Then Lumon attempts to ‘clone’ her and instead of being allergic to dogs, she’s allergic to nutmeg and this becomes a significant distinction.”

Fans have expanded on this theory in a separate thread, with one suggesting Gemma is participating in the experiment willingly. 

Another said, “It’s also possible that she was actually in a car crash and that the only way to stay alive was the Severance program. Her brain/body/mind might only exist as an innie. No outie possible due to the damage from the crash.”

A third agreed, “That’s what I think. They either used her as a test subject to restart part of her brain-dead accident brain as a new personality, or she was already severed and only her innie ‘survived’.”

We’re going to have to wait for Severance Season 2 to fully understand. Until then, read about what happens to the Severed workers, the MDR theory, and the best Apple TV+ shows to watch this month.