Severance boldly sends Mark S. back to his Lumon beginnings [Apple TV+ recap]

In our Severance season 2 episode 3 recap, I confess I felt my patience with the endlessly weird show might expire, as yet another maybe-just-weird-for-weird’s-sake thing happened. But then an intriguing puzzle piece appeared, dangled like a treat, and my rising impatience fell away. For now. In a good puzzle-box show, that’s how it works.

Last week’s episode 2 showed what it took, from outies’ perspectives, for Mr. Milchick, Helena Eagan and others to get the innie Macrodata Refinement crew back to work after the Overtime Contingency allowed them temporary freedom. This week’s episode goes further down innie rabbit holes, slowly luring us toward who the hell knows what. But at least there are a lot more goats, and an improved-yet-still-dangerous outlaw reintegration procedure might be outie Mark S’s path to cracking Lumon’s mysteries and finding his wife.

In other words, the whole season’s story arc became more clear in this episode.

Severance season 2, episode 3 recap: ‘Who Is Alive?’

In last week’s episode two, entitled “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” we saw Lumon double back and fill in gaps, persuading outies to return to work so Mark S. could continue on that all-important-yet-totally-mysterious “Cold Harbor” file. We saw our friends in the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) department actually return to work on Lumon’s severed floor in the season’s excellent episode one. That, of course, followed their uprising and temporary escape at the end of season one.

The search for Mrs. Casey/Gemma is on

The latest episode of Severance begins with outie Mark S. (Adam Scott) meticulously timing his morning routine. He tries to measure exactly how long it takes to get from his car to the severance floor elevator. Meanwhile, we see Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) waking up in her Volkswagen 238 miles from a town called Salt’s Neck. She eyes an intubation tube sitting on a car seat that once belonged to “Charlotte Cobel,” with birthdate “3-17-44.” (Hmm. With this show you have to question which century that 44 refers to.)

Inside Lumon, Mark wastes no time launching a search for Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). He prints missing-person flyers and dispatches his team across different departments. He and Helly (Britt Lower) venture to investigate the mysterious goat room. Irving (John Turturro) goes, reluctantly, to Optics & Design. Dylan (Zach Cherry) is supposed to check the Break Room (aka torture/re-education center), but he seems preoccupied with work and drags his feet.

Mark S. and Helly/Helena tease us with near-affection

On the search for Mrs. Casey/Gemma at Lumon, Mark S. leads Helly R. (strongly suspected of no longer being an innie, but Lumon heiress Helena Eagan herself) — through the hallways. She expresses uncertainty about what they will do if they find Casey. Mark wonders if she’s really committed to helping him, given their previous kiss and the fact that they’re trying to find his outie’s wife, basically. “Helly” reassures him. And then an excruciatingly long and tease-y moment of near-affection passes unexpressed. Mark moves on and she follows.

They finally find the goat room they’d seen before. But this time the goats, and the man who shouted at them the goats weren’t ready to take yet, are gone. But they notice an odd little doorway to a short version of a Lumon hallway. It’s apparently meant for goats, because their leavings litter it. To Helly’s chagrin, Mark decides to crawl through. She follows, and on the other side they enter a massive goat hangar with corporate trappings, complete with grassy hillsides and meadows, loads of goats, weird farmer type folks, a supervisor’s desk and a vending machine.

Finally, lots more goats (and their intimidating minders)

Mark and Helly discover crawled their way into a vast chamber called “Mammalians Nurturable.” It’s an unexpected turn in the episode. They encounter its disheveled manager, Lorne (Gwendoline Christie), who initially greets them with hostility and suspicion. She asks if they’ve “come to kill” her, as she clutches a Lumon-branded cow bell. And somewhere, maybe Burt (Christopher Walken) demands “more goat-bell,” channeling one of the actor’s classic comedy moments on Saturday Night Live.

After some tense moments — she rings the bell and Mark and Helly find themselves surrounded by dirt-smeared farmers wielding pitchforks and such — they arrived at some solidarity among innies. Then Lorne reveals that Ms. Casey used to conduct wellness sessions in their “husbandry tanks” before her supposed retirement. And one of the thug-farmhands who looks like he could star in the Amish heavy-metal version of prison drama Oz speaks up. He touchingly reveals how important it was to him when Casey described his outie as a devoted stargazer.

Right before Mark and Helly leave, a man clears his throat to remind Lorne of something. She reluctantly asks Mark and Helly to reveal their bellies. This may seem like Severance always topping itself when it comes to surreality, but it harkens back to a season one rumor about departments believing, through bizarre Lumon propaganda, that MDR personnel have kangaroo pouches (similar to how Dylan G. seemed to firmly believe that Optics & Design people would kill MDR if they could).

“See, pouchless!” says Lorne. “It proves nothing,” retorts her colleague.

Dylan’s unexpected (and awkward) reward

Meanwhile, Dylan receives an unexpected reward for his good behavior. Miss Huang takes him to the security room — scene of his Overtime Contingency crime — which is now his family visitation room promised by Milchick. So he gets an 18-minute visitation with his outie’s wife, Gretchen (Merritt Wever). Dylan doesn’t know her, of course.

But their conversation reveals that Dylan’s outie has struggled to maintain employment before Lumon. Gretchen is careful to frame it diplomatically, even with Dylan asking questions like, “So he’s kind of a fuckup?” The meeting ends with an awkward but touching moment when Gretchen instinctively tells Dylan she loves him, catching them both off guard.

Irving B. must face Optics & Design alone

In Optics & Design, Irving has an emotional reunion with Felicia (Claudia Robinson), Burt’s former colleague. He shares his drawings of Burt, revealing he’d “draw one every day” he couldn’t see him. Felicia tells stories about Burt’s bravery, but reveals Burt would spend two nervous hours fussing over his hair before seeing Irving.

When Felicia sees Irving’s recreation of his outie’s mysterious hallway paintings, she identifies it as the “Exports Hall,” where O&D used to send shipments. But now they send a guy to pick them. Irv asks her if she can remember where it is.

‘Seth’ Milchick gets a bizarre reward from the Board

The episode also showcases Lumon’s tone-deaf attempts at inclusion when Milchick (Tramell Tillman) receives a “gift” from the Board: a set of “inclusively re-canonicalized” Kier Cycle paintings depicting the company’s founder as Black.

The uncomfortable exchange between Milchick and Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander) speaks volumes about the company’s superficial approach to diversity. And Natalie, who is as unsettlingly plastic as ever, repeatedly calls Milchick “Seth.” Apparently that’s his first name. And Natalie usual role gets expanded this episode, too. Up to now she has only spoken for the Board, which only sounds like static on the intercom.

Natalie starts doing more than translating for the Board

Outside Lumon, Natalie leaves the severed floor for the first time in the show and visits Ricken (Michael Chernus) and Devon (Jen Tullock) to discuss creating an innie-specific version of Ricken’s book, The You You Are. Ricken is characteristically full of himself while Devon barely conceals suspicion. She informs outie Mark S. about it.

Meanwhile, Cobel confronts Helena Eagan in the parking lot about returning to Lumon, demanding to oversee Mark S.’s completion of the mysterious Cold Harbor project (and Milchick’s removal). Helena dismisses these demands as hubris and arrogance. Even so, she offers to arrange a Board meeting, calling Natalie. But as Eagan and her Lurch-like driver wait for Cobel to come with them for the supposed Board chat, she suspects a trap and flees, speeding off through the vast parking lot in her economy car.

Will reintegration procedure kill Mark S. like it did Petey?

This Severance season 2 episode 3 recap notes the episode culminates in two significant developments. First, we learn that Mark and Devon have been attempting to burn an afterimage message (“Who is alive?”) into outie Mark’s retinas, hoping it will persist through the severance transition. This plan is interrupted by Dr. Asal Reghabi (Karen Aldridge), who reveals that Gemma was alive when she last saw her. This revelation prompts Mark to agree to undergo reintegration, a dangerous procedure that previously killed his former supervisor, Petey. But Dr. Reghabi assures him she has gotten better at it.

Throughout the episode, there are hints of growing tension between the innies and outies, particularly in the charged moments between Mark and Helly, whose true identity as Helena remains ambiguous. The discovery of the Mammalians Nurturable department adds another layer of mystery to Lumon’s already bizarre operations, while the various character developments suggest that the barriers between the severed and unsevered worlds are beginning to crack.

The episode ends with Mark beginning the reintegration process. The decision promises to have far-reaching consequences for both his innie and outie selves, as well as the larger struggle against Lumon’s secretive operations. As reality begins to flicker between his two consciousnesses, Mark is back on the Lumon conference room table, like Helly R. was way back at the beginning of the series. The episode closes with Petey’s haunting question through the intercom: “Who are you?”

Watch Severance on Apple TV+

Severance season one and season two’s new episodes now stream on Apple TV+. New episodes air on Fridays (though they’re usually available the night after 6 p.m. PT).

Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. Customers who buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.

After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.

Apple TV+ is home to more than 200 exclusive movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso). The service also offers documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.

★★★★☆

David Snow

David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.

With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.

Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.

Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.