Severance Season 2 Episode 3 recap: The hunt for Ms Casey begins

We’ve spent time with the Innies. We’ve caught up with the Outies. In Severance Episode 2 Episode 3, they all pursue the truth behind what happened to Gemma, aka Ms Casey – and Mark makes a big decision.

In Episode 1, Milchick tried to convince Mark that the “Macrodat Uprising” made them famous and that Lumon had since reformed to give its employees more autonomy.

It was a lie (obviously), with Episode 2 revealing what actually happened: Helena got Milchick to fire Dylan and Irving, while Mark reluctantly returned to work, oblivious to his Innie’s sabotaging down below.

Big questions remain: is Helly actually Helena in disguise, and what exactly is Cold Harbor? The plot thickens in Episode 3, with Mark and Helly finding a mysterious new department while a familiar (and possibly even dangerous) face returns on the outside.

Mark’s Innie and Outie have secret plans

Mark arrives at Lumon for another day of data refining – but today is different. His Outie is focused, timing every step of his morning routine and journey into the office, right up to the moment he puts his personal belongings in his work locker and walks into the elevator.

Of course, as soon as he hears that ding, it’s all for nothing – unless it isn’t.

Downstairs, Mark S. prints off missing posters for Ms Casey. He sets off to find the goat man “and other possible goat people” with Helly, and he asks Dylan to check out the new break room and see if anyone’s hanging around. He’s reluctant; remember, if he’s not well-behaved, he may never get to see his Outie’s family.

Everyone is a bit concerned that Milchick and co. are watching and listening to everything they’re saying. Mark asks them to be discreet. Meanwhile, Irving is understandably nervous to return to O&D without Burt. “We’ve got you,” Helly tells him (in a way that doesn’t seem natural).

Helly asks Mark what he’s planning to do if he finds Ms Casey. In his eyes, it’s simple: he just needs to get her out of the severed floor, and then his Outie will know what to do. Helly is clearly skeptical it’ll be that easy, but she stresses that she’s happy to help. They have a weird, lingering moment where Helly smiles at him; it’s affectionate, but something is off.

Dylan meets his wife

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Irving tells Dylan that he’s been able to recreate his Outie’s paintings (the dark hallway), and he wants Dylan to help him find the real place. Again, Dylan politely says no, recommending that he goes alone for “stealth.”

Before he can explain, Miss Huang arrives and asks Dylan to come with her. It’s nothing sinister (as they walk, he asks why she’s a kid, but she doesn’t respond). In fact, it’s a good thing: the security room has been converted into a visitation suite, and he gets to meet Gretchen for the first time.

Miss Huang explains that he’s earned an 18-minute “visitation event” with his Outie’s wife, on account of his output and good behavior. He’s immediately smitten, but she finds it strange that he doesn’t know her beyond the photographs he’s seen.

Dylan worries that his Outie is in some sort of trouble, but Gretchen assures him that’s not the case. “My husband has had trouble keeping other jobs,” she explains. He’s not “dumb” or a “dick… nothing’s wrong with him, he just never quite found his thing.”

“So, he’s actually kind of a f**k-up?” he asks, and Gretchen sighs (in a way that means yes, but she would never say that out loud). She shows him a picture of their kids dressed like they’re from the Old West. “Do we live on a cattle ranch?” he asks, and Gretchen smiles.

He promises to make her proud. “I’m always proud of you, Dylan,” she says, before hugging him. She tells him she loves him, but he doesn’t know how to respond, and she’s instantly aware of how weird the whole thing is.

That night, Dylan’s Outie asks Gretchen how her meeting with his Innie went. “Good… weird good, but good,” she says.

Milchick gets a disturbing gift from the Board

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As Milchick walks into his office, he’s greeted by Natalie and the Board (he can’t hear them, of course). He thanks them for his “recent betterment”, and they say they’re “jubilant at [his] ascendance.”

It’s not enough for Milchick to feel appreciated: the Board “austerely desires for him to feel connected to Lumon’s history. To that end, please accept from the Board these inclusively re-canonicalized paintings intended to help you see yourself in Kier, our founder.”

Milchick opens the box to find portraits and other paintings of the whole Kier cycle – except they’re Black. The Board also insists that Natalie received the same gift and that she found it extremely moving (the tremble in her lips says otherwise). Before he can thank them, they conclude the call without a goodbye.

Mark and Helly find Mammalians Nurturable

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Back on the severed floor, Helly and Mark find the room where they last saw the goats – but it’s empty, apart from some hay. They crawl through a long tunnel (avoiding poo along the way), before arriving at an enormous, bizarre room. It’s like a mini-hillside, with dozens of goats running around.

They meet the manager of “Mammalians Nurturable” – and she is not happy to see them. Mark asks if she knows anything about Ms Casey. “Wellness… we don’t abide such fripperies here,” she says, before telling them to leave, but Mark thinks she’s lying.

She rings her cowbell, and soon they’re surrounded by the department’s staff. “You should have left,” she says.

Mark appeals to their sympathies. “Look, they just disappeared her, and if we let this happen to Ms Casey, then who’s gonna step up when it happens to us? If one of your goats went missing, wouldn’t you go looking for it?” he asks.

“She used to come do her sessions in our husbandry tanks. She had a gentle way about her… as far as we know, she was retired just like they say. But if you suspect otherwise, we won’t hinder your search,” she tells him.

Before they’re allowed to leave, her colleagues have an odd request: they want to see Mark and Helly’s bellies. “See, pouchless,” she says (in Season 1, there was a rumor that macrodata refiners had pouches filled with larvae).

Irving returns to O&D

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Irving wanders along to O&D, gazing at the paintings. He apologizes to Felicia for disturbing her while she’s working, but she’s delighted to see him. They reminisce and laugh about Burt, and then he shows her his drawings of him.

But then she finds his sketches of the “exports hall.” She asks him how he knows about it, but he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. “We send a lot of shipments there, we used to go ourselves but now they send a guy,” she says.

Devon arrives home to find Natalie talking to Devon about his (obnoxious) book, The You You Are. “Ricken’s words have had a profound effect upon our workers. We think he’s really tapped into something,” she says.

She wants Ricken to create a version of the book specifically for Innies. “There’s a certain verbiage to which Innies respond more favorably… if we just tweak it here and there,” she adds.

Devon doesn’t look too thrilled by the idea. As she’s about to leave the room, Natalie tells her that Mark’s Innie is one of the sweetest members of the team.

Mark weighs up reintegration

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Downstairs, she helps Mark with his secret plan: much like how you see an outline of the sun if you stare at it for too long, he wants to see three words even after he gets into the elevator: “Who is alive?”

It’s a simple idea: he puts lettering in front of a lamp and stares at it for as long as he can, and then he times how long the message lasts in his eyes.

As he practices in his car, Reghabi suddenly appears in front of him. “Are you trying to burn a message to your Innie into your retinas because your computer told you that was a brilliant idea? It doesn’t work. The switch briefly dilates the pupils,” she explains.

Reghabi asks if Mark’s Innie said Gemme was alive. “Is she?” he asks. “She was the last time I saw her,” Reghabi tells him. He freaks out; he’s angry, sad, and confused at how it’s even possible. “There’s one way and one way only to get information in and out of Lumon, and that’s reintegration. I’m better at it now, I can make it work with you,” she urges.

Remember, Petey tried to reintegrate in Season 1 and died as a result. “Yes, do it… I want to see my wife,” he says.

They head back to Mark’s house, and Reghabi prepares the procedure. In short, she wants the brainwaves of his Innie and Outie to be in sync. She starts asking him questions. They’re simple at first, but they pivot to things only his Innie should know.

Reality starts flickering between his Innie and Outie. He remembers waking up on the table in Lumon, and Petey asks him: “Who are you?”

Harmony faces off against Helena

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Early in the episode, we see Harmony in her car, 238 miles from Salt’s Neck. She stops and stares at the ventilation tube beside her (it belonged to Charlotte Cobel). She turns the car around and drives back to… wherever Severance actually takes place.

Later, Helena sees her waiting in the car park. “If you want me back, you must accommodate my needs… MDR. Non-negotiable. Mark S. is so close to completing Cold Harbor. I intend to finish the work I started, which is why Milchick must go. He’s not equipped for the task. I must be floor manager,” she demands.

“I hear ego,” Helena says. “Hubris, arrogance. Kier teaches us they only cause pain.”

Harmony says she’s earned everything, rather than being born into her position. “I think you’ve overestimated your contributions and underestimated your blessings. We didn’t have to ask you back,” she tells her. Yet, she phones the Board and asks for a last-minute meeting so they can respond to Harmony’s request.

They walk toward the building, but something stops Harmony. She clearly believes she’s in danger, so she gets back in her car and drives away.

Until the next episode, make sure you keep our Severance Season 2 release schedule bookmarked. You can also check out our list of the best TV shows on Apple TV+.