Severance Season 2 Episode 2 recap: The Outies pay for the Innies’ bravery

Severance Season 2 Episode 2 takes us back into the Outie world, starting with the immediate aftermath of Mark screaming, “She’s alive!”

After almost three years, Severance returned last week – and it was brilliant (read our Season 2 review if you’re not convinced).

Episode 1 took place exclusively on Lumon’s severed floor, with Mark’s Innie returning to work and being confronted with a new MDR team. Fear not, because he sabotaged them (and effectively killed them) before reuniting with Helly, Dylan, and Irving. By the end, through some scheming and Milchick’s schmoozing, they decided to stay… and work on Cold Harbor.

This week, we’re taking a break from the Backrooms of Lumon. Episode 2 catches up with the Outies and the chaos caused by the Overtime Contingency.

Ms Cobel returns and Helena tidies her mess

Apple TV+

Much like the first episode, Episode 2 opens with the sound of Mark shouting, “She’s alive!” However, his Outie comes to and doesn’t understand what happened or why his Innie said it – all he knows is that he was holding a picture of him and Gemma when he did.

Over at Lumon, Helena (who’s the daughter of Jame Eagan, lest we forget) faces off with her dad, who isn’t happy. “Fetid moppet,” he sneers before walking out, leaving her to clean up her mess. Meanwhile, Dylan leaves work with a hell of a sore head (he was tackled by Milchick, remember).

Helena asks Milchick to find all of MDR’s Outies and ask what their Innies said. As for whether or not they should be fired, she gives a not-so-cryptic answer: “Let Kier guide your hand.”

Afterwards, Helena meets with Harmony Cobel. She insists that everything’s been taken care of and thanks her for swiftly raising the alarm about the OTC. “I personally owe you a debt of gratitude,” she says, but Cobel says it cost her “dearly.”

After apologizing on behalf of her father, the Board, and herself for treating Cobel “poorly”, Helena offers her another job: leading the Severance Advisory Council, a brand-new initiative. Helena calls it a promotion, but Cobel is immediately skeptical.

It’s simple: she wants to run the severed floor. Unfortunately for her, that’s Milchick’s job. “You don’t value me, you fear me,” she says. “We fear no one,” Helena tells her. Cobel says she wants to think about it and leaves.

As Milchick drives to Dylan and Irving’s houses to fire them, Helena records a video explaining what happened onstage, claiming she drank alcohol after taking medication that caused her to say some “deeply regrettable things… in the moment I thought I was being funny, but in the hours since this outburst, I’ve been reminded just how seriously my family’s company affects the lives of real people around the world.”

“When Lumon falters, it’s our cherished workers and their families who suffer first. So for the fear and insecurity this has caused, I must sincerely atone,” she continues.

“Distrust of Lumon has been sadly endemic since its founding. My words provided more fuel for pernicious hate and derision. When I said my Innie was being tortured, this was a joke and a lie. I’m committed to this company with every part of me, but I’m also human… just like my Innie, and just like you.”

Mark doesn’t know who’s alive

Apple TV+

After the new opening credits, we return to Mark, who’s trying to work out why his Innie said, “She’s alive!”

Ricken believes he was talking about the baby, which would be the most rational explanation: he thought she was in danger and he was happy when she was safe. One problem, though: it doesn’t quite explain why he was holding a picture of Gemma.

Milchick arrives at the house. “I imagine you have a few questions,” he says, before talking them through what happened: the Innies were able to commandeer the OTC and wake their Innies for 39 minutes. He also tells Devon that Cobel is “quite severely unwell” and she was the source of Mark’s Innie’s distress.

“She will never descend to that floor again, nor bedevil you out here any further, you have my word,” he promises, before asking what Mark’s Innie said. They don’t tell Milchick anything; Devon clearly thinks his Innie meant something else.

When Milchick asks Mark if he’ll see him on Monday, he says he isn’t sure. “What your Innie did tonight was completely unauthorized. It was also very brave. I’d hate to reward his courage with nonexistence,” he says.

Back at Lumon, Helena replays footage of Helly kissing Mark over and over again; this is a pretty big clue that it was Helena pretending to be her Innie in Episode 1. Mark goes home, but Mrs Selvig (aka Cobel) is nowhere to be found.

Dylan tries (and fails) to get a new job

Apple TV+

The next morning, Dylan goes for a job interview and a door company (they make them, sell them – the works). He starts spinning a spiel about how he’s loved doors since he was a kid – but the manager questions him on it.

“How old were you when you knew you loved doors?” he asks. “Five,” Dylan answers. “If you could be any kind of door, what would it be?” he also asks. “Pocket… you’re doing your door thing, and when you’re not needed, you can [tuck yourself away],” Dylan replies.

He catches sight of Lumon on Dylan’s CV. “Man, they make their doors in-house, it’s f**king hubris,” he snips. The manager’s tone changes when he finds out Dylan was severed. “We need a certain kind of person here… not a certain kind of two people,” he says.

Devon thinks Gemma is still alive

Apple TV+

Mark meets Devon at a nearby diner. She thinks Cobel could confirm what his Innie meant, but Mark doesn’t want to hear it. He’s decided to quit. Devon still can’t shake that something is going on, even though Mark identified Gemma’s body when she died in a car crash.

She wants to confirm that Gemma is definitely dead, lest the possibility haunt them. “She was my family too, Mark,” she says, which irritates him. “Did you have to tell her parents that she was dead? How about her students? How about this, did your sheets smell like her for weeks afterwards?” he asks.

“Honestly, if Ricken died and his body burned, I’d be sad for you, but I wouldn’t be affected. This is obscene.”

As he leaves, it’s revealed they weren’t alone: Mr Drummond from Lumon was eavesdropping from another table. In a brief scene, we also see Irving go to a payphone, where he tells someone that his “Innie got the message.” A car pulls up, and we see Burt watching him.

Milchick convinces Mark to go back

Apple TV+

Milchick turns up at Mark’s house and tries to convince him to return to Lumon. Unlike Irving and Dylan (and Helly, obviously), Mark is an essential asset. If he comes back, he’ll get a 20% pay rise plus regular wellness checks and a full investigation into his Innie’s claims.

And then he asks about Gemma. “You cited her death as a primary motivator for severing… you said since she died, every day feels like a year, that you felt like you were choking on her ghost,” he says.

“The Mark I’ve come to know at Lumon is happy. He cares for people, he’s funny, and he knows nothing of the pain I see in you right now. He’s found love… the solace you have given him down there will make its way to you, it just takes time. I hope you’ll give us that time, Mr Scout.”

He doesn’t tell him who his Innie is in love with, but it’s enough to convince Mark to go back to work. Milchick tells Mr Drummond about the new MDR team, but as Helena says, it doesn’t matter if they get along – they just need Mark to complete Cold Harbor.

Three days later, the Board listens to Mark’s Innie begging them for his friends back. They agree to give him what he wants – including Helly. Milchick re-hires Dylan and Irving, and they all return to the office (we also see Mark W’s Outie being thrown out of the building).

That night, Mark gets home and catches Cobel before she drives away. She’s typically cold, but she sits in stony silence when he asks her if it has anything to do with Gemma – until she screams and speeds away into the night.

Make sure you keep our Season 2 release schedule bookmarked, play this Macrodata Refinement simulator, and find out how to watch Severance for free.