One Severance Season 2 fan theory could explain why Helly joined MDR department

Severance Season 2 isn’t far away, and ahead of the upcoming release, fans think they’ve worked out just what the Microdata Refinement department could actually be doing.

The first season of Severance raised more questions than any other TV show of the last decade. From the purpose of the O&D department to the true reason behind Gemma’s reappearance, fans were left hanging with the shock cliffhanger ending back in 2022.

But no mystery has possessed fans more than that of MDR (Microdata Refinement) – the four-person team that consists of Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan. By sorting numbers all day for unspecified purposes, most viewers assumed there was a deeper meaning behind their seemingly meaningless tasks.

Severance Season 2 is set to perhaps answer some pressing questions from Friday, January 17, but until then, there’s one fan theory that might have some weight, and it all involves what they’re doing, and why Helly is there.

Severance theory suggests MDR’s work could be to secure future of Lumon

It’s no secret that many believe the number game going on in MDR serves a larger purpose. The team is encouraged to meet their quota, but it’s never really explained what they’re doing to the numbers on the screen or why.

But could it be that those numbers are a form of data for someone’s consciousness? Specifically, could it have something to do with the higher-ups at Lumon? Some fans think so, with one theory being posted to Reddit that suggests exactly that.

Apple TV+

“We constantly hear about ‘the board’ but never see them,” one user noted. “Only once do we hear a man from the board speak in a strained voice. People talk about the previous CEOs of Lumon like they’re still around. Jame Eagan is an elderly man who speaks slowly.

“I think Lumon has perfected the technology to install the consciousness of previous CEOs into the mind of the current one. MDR is preparing the data to complete the transfer into the next heir (Helly?) The work is time sensitive since Jame isn’t getting any younger.”

Others seem to agree, with another comment specifically noting Helly’s connection to the project, and why she’d be assigned to MDR in the first place.

“I also subscribe to this theory but I think that Helly is there because they realised that if someone knows you well they can refine a file in record time (because Mark refined Allentown in record time… Gemma?),” said one comment.

“Something like this is almost certain,” another agreed. “We are told time and again how ‘important’ their work is. And interestingly enough they are filing the numbers into four bins which correspond (could) with the four tempers talked about in the perpetuity wing.”

Another added, “I’m sure a lot of people have talked about the fact that Irv and Dylan are fighting when Helly first sees the ‘scary numbers’ – I always thought at the very least that signaled some kind of hint that the work is related to something consciousness related.”

Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ from Friday, January 17. Until then, check out the best TV shows of 2024, the other TV shows you have to see in 2025, and remind yourself of everything we learned in Severance Season 1.