Severance Season 2 theory reveals sinister truth of Milchick’s “dark” offer
Apple TV+Ahead of the anticipated Severance Season 2 Episode 4, a sinister fan theory has emerged suggesting that Milchick, aka Milkshake’s offer in Episode 1 is even darker than we thought – and it could explain what Lumon’s ultimate goal is.
Since Mark’s first day on the clock, Severance has been a breeding ground of speculation and hidden clues. This has continued well into Season 2, sparking theories about what happened to Ms Casey, whether Helly’s actually Helena, and what Cold Harbor is all about.
The upcoming fourth episode of the Apple TV+ series is set to be an important one, following up on Episode 3’s reintegration reveal while showing Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving in “unfamiliar terrain.”
Ahead of its release, a mind-blowing breakdown of clues suggests we’ll learn more in the next chapter, while hinting at a darker meaning behind Milchick’s offer at the start of Severance Season 2.
Milchick’s Severance Season 2 ultimatum could hint at Lumon’s endgame
Once Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving’s Innies are back together on the Severed floor, they’re shown the bizarre ‘Lumon is listening’ promo video, and Milchick tells them “by end of day each of you will choose whether you want to remain here, not your Outies, but you.”
According to the new fan theory, however, the true goal of Lumon is for the Innies to complete their work and then overtake their Outies permanently. This way, the company can control all of the Severed employees from afar.
However, if the team had chosen to leave, their Innies would have essentially died.
The detailed analysis, which was shared on the Severance subreddit, stated, “In order for Lumon to kill the Outie and replace them with their Innie full-time, they just have to let the Innie leave via a non-Severed exit.
“Since OTC doesn’t need to be activated, Lumon can still use all the remote functions on the Innies after they’ve left.”
They suggested that this power will be demonstrated in the field trip set to be shown in Season 2 Episode 4.
Rather than bringing the Outies and activating the OTC, Milchick will take the Innies out via the non-Severed exit, demonstrating that even when they’ve gained freedom, they can be killed by Lumon at any time.
The next clue highlighted is the Lumon Legacy of Joy, the exhibit in the Perpetuity Wing shown in Season 1. The display is simply a series of anonymous smiles, said to be a real smile from people on the outside who Lumon “has helped.”
Apple TV+According to the Redditor, the images are really the smiles of Innies who have left the Severed Floor permanently and exist on the outside world, “clean of their Outies’ trauma.”
They then turn focus to the moment Irving lashed out at Milchick for taking his memories home with him every night, which saw Burt simply repeating the sentence, “You carry them home with you every night.”
“We only see Burt’s reaction to this line, which would matter more if Burt were about to walk out with his Innies’ memories,” they said. “This would explain why he’s so docile during retirement, and why Milchick called Burt’s retirement a ‘transition.’”
Another moment that supports this theory is the rumor the O&D department heard about the MDR team: that they “all have pouches” – like kangaroos.
Burt tells Dylan and Irving, “According to some, you each have a larval offspring that will jump out and attack if we get too close. I mean, it’s a joke of course, but I don’t know. The sentiment, you know, somehow holds. People are weird.
“Though, I’d be remiss not to say that in this theory, the larva eventually eats and replaces you. Which, Irving, would solve the mystery… of your youthful energy.”
The OP suggested, “If replacements are seen as ‘offspring’, it would explain why Cobel tells Mark about two different mothers on the outside world vs the Severed Floor.
Apple TV+“While Cobel is pretending to be her Outie, she would refer to Mrs Selvig’s biological mother (a ‘Catholic’). But while she is on the Severed Floor, she can be her ‘true’ Innie self, and refers to her Outie who ‘gave birth’ to her as her Atheist mother.
“The first two episode titles of Season 2 could hint at Cobel being Selvig’s replacement – Episode 1 is titled ‘Hello Ms Cobel’ and Episode 2 is titled ‘Goodbye, Mrs Selvig’ – Episode 1 was all Innie while Episode 2 was all Outie.”
In their final pointers, they discussed Mark’s betta fish, which are separated by a divider that can’t be moved or else the fish will fight to the death.
“Lumon knows the inevitable outcome of Severance is a live-or-die standoff between Innie and Outie. When the innie wants to stop working, they are killing their Innie,” they continued.
“Lumon can use this by giving the Innie agency for the first time. Give them the decision to die, or replace their Outie and reclaim the life that was taken from them.”
Hidden clues add to Severance’s permanent Innie theory
There are plenty of hidden references to the concept of replacement peppered throughout the series, including the title of Season 2 Episode 6: ‘The After Hours’.
Apple TV+As the OP pointed out, this is the name of “a Twilight Zone episode about mannequins who live underground and ascend to the real world and pretend to be humans for a month each.”
There’s also the project Helly was seen working on: ‘Santa Mira’, the fictional town in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Last but definitely not least, the Redditor shared a potential map of how the process works, as well as Lumon’s intended Innie growth based on Kier Eagan’s Four Tempers.
So, in theory, Woe is when the Innies are not happy at work, Malice is them finding blame on who trapped them there, and Dread is the realization that they can’t coexist with their Outie, during which time the Innie refines their chip and the nine core principles are instilled.
The final step in the process is Frolic, when the Innie replaces their Outie entirely and is “grateful for Lumon’s Legacy of Joy.”
To add my own part into the mix, Drummond – a new character in Season 2 who acts as Helena’s henchman and spy – has Frolic tattooed on his hand. Perhaps he’s undergone the transition to permanent Outie himself.
Apple TV+Pretty convincing, right? Plenty of Severance fans agree, with one writing, “My favorite part about the permanent Innies theory is that it turns Burt’s comment about a larval offspring eating and replacing them into foreshadowing. Especially if it ends up only being MDR offered this.”
Another said that while it might not be “exactly as OP describes,” they “always thought that the point of Severance, as of my rewatch of Season 1, to be about refining individuals to be obedient worshipers of Kier.”
“I think much of this tracks. This would explain the many weird people in Kier, PE,” added a third.
A fourth chimed in, “I think this would fit the social/political commentary of the show. The Innies are meant to be the ‘perfect’ workers, and in turn, the perfect people. They are not weighed down by their life experiences, trauma, and hardships.
“I think this is what they’re trying to show with Dylan. It’s clear that Gretchen already likes iDylan more than oDylan, because he’s much more ambitious, caring, and is less melancholic/lazy than oDylan.
“They’re trying to show that iDylan is much better than oDylan because he is not shaped by what he has gone through, and is rather a ‘clean slate’.
Apple TV+“If oDylan was replaced with iDylan, I think it would be an example of the permanent Innie being a good thing. It would be for people who need a fresh start, people who are ‘flawed’.
“The Innies wouldn’t be as depressed and tired of everything because they would just be grateful to be alive in the real world. Your theory is quite dark, but I think you’re onto something.”
Find out when the next episode drops with our guide to the Severance Season 2 release schedule. You can also read our recaps of Episode 1 and Episode 2.