Is Irving dead? Severance Season 2 Episode 4 ending explained

Severance Season 2 Episode 4 ends with Irving facing the ultimate price for revealing Helly’s true identity – but for an Innie, being fired is a grave threat.

Episode 4 may be the most pivotal episode of Severance since… well, last week when Mark reintegrated. This one is especially important, though, as it upends the show’s natural order by taking the Innies away from the office for their first ORTBO (outdoor retreat and team-building occurrence).

It doesn’t go well. Irving storms off after his suspicions about Helly boil over, with Mark and Dylan defending her. That night, the truth is revealed to him in a frightening dream: Helly is an Eagan in disguise.

The next morning, not only does he expose her in front of everyone, but he almost kills her. As Milchick explains, “for this, there can be no penalty but immediate and permanent dismissal.”

If Irving B has been fired, he’s basically dead

Apple TV+

Think about it: if Irving B has been “permanently dismissed”, there’s no reason for his Innie to be awake or exist. That’s tantamount to death.

An Innie doesn’t have any purpose or agency outside the confines of Lumon (even when they’re outside). They’re beholden to the company, so if they never return to work, they have no reason (or catalyst) to be alive.

Innies are only active when they’re on a severed floor or if Lumon activates the Overtime Contingency. Otherwise, it’s not like they’re sleeping and dreaming – they’re simply not there.

However, this is worse than what happened to Mark’s team in the first episode. As Milchick says, “Your work space will be cleared and any personal items discarded.

“Your file, including any and all professional interactions and personal relations will be purged and destroyed. It will be as if you, Irving B, never even existed, nor drew a single breath upon this Earth. May Kier’s mercy follow you into the eternal dark.”

I don’t know about you, but “eternal dark” sounds a lot like death to me.

Will Irving come back in Severance?

Apple TV+

While it’s unclear if Irving’s Innie will ever return, we’ll definitely see his Outie again in Severance Season 2.

That’s not to say we know the specifics of what will happen, but in a compilation of footage from every trailer and clip released by Apple so far, there are scenes involving Irving’s Outie that we haven’t seen in the show yet.

Speaking to Screen Rant, John Turturro didn’t give anything away about his character’s arc in Season 2. However, he told the outlet: “We never know why he was severed. I have my own ideas and that’s for me to know and no one else, but I think that kind of pushes him in a different direction to rebel instead of being the company man.

“And from that, there’s a process of discovery and I think people have that within them.”

Make sure you know when to catch the next episode with our Severance Season 2 release schedule. You can also read our guides on Cold Harbor, the Lexington Letter, and Asal Reghabi.