There are a couple of overarching mysteries within the mind-bending sci-fi psychological thriller sequence Severance. The largest one, in fact, is what Lumon Industries’ final aim is with the severance program and staff like Mark (Adam Scott). The second is what occurred to Mark’s spouse Gemma (Dichen Lachman) who, it was confirmed on the finish of Season 1 when an image of her was revealed, is definitely alive. Mark’s innie knew her as Ms. Casey, the wellness counselor for the severed ground.
Since Season 2 has resumed, the thriller has deepened as Mark’s innie now is aware of who Ms. Casey actually is in relation to his outie and ultimately, Mark’s outie learns that she continues to be alive, too. Not surprisingly, he’ll cease at nothing to reunite together with his spouse. However the place is she and what occurred? Episode 7, some of the visually gorgeous and superbly offered of the sequence, lastly reveals her story.
Severance
- Launch Date
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February 18, 2022
- Showrunner
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Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
A Traumatic Expertise Might Have Pushed Her To Sever, or Made Her Enticing To Seize
By means of a sequence of flashbacks, probably each from Mark as he’s unconscious whereas struggling the consequences of the reintegration program, in addition to Gemma in varied states, viewers lastly get to see candy moments of the couple collectively. They meet in a library the place he’s donating blood whereas going via faculty papers: his earlier job was a historical past professor whereas she taught Russian literature.
It was clear there was quick chemistry, and the 2 started relationship, ultimately resulting in marriage. As anybody who’s determined to have youngsters is aware of, this journey shouldn’t be at all times easy. There are scenes of a boxed bassinet within the nook that Mark purchased as a result of it was on sale, suggesting the couple are hopeful of getting pregnant. Later, in a scene the place they’re having fun with dinner with Devon (Jen Tullock) and Ricken (Michael Chernus), Devon provides Gemma “the look” when she refuses wine. She is aware of what this implies, and the pair share a quiet look of mutual pleasure on the silent information.
Nonetheless, that is short-lived. Later, Gemma is seen within the toilet, blood working down her legs following an apparent miscarriage. She hops into the tub along with her nightgown nonetheless on as Mark walks in, discovers her curled up and sobbing. Later, the pair are seen filling out varieties at a fertility clinic. It seems they struggle at the very least 3 times to no avail. One other scene reveals the cracks of their marriage beginning to kind as they cope with a lot heartache and disappointment. The pair appear to be quieter than typical, Mark in a single scene angrily attempting to place collectively the bassinet that they might by no means really want.
It’s doable that the ache from dropping a toddler and never with the ability to conceive leads Gemma to determine to pretend her personal dying and be a part of the severance program. Did Lumon current a suggestion she couldn’t refuse, promising the chance to have a toddler if she joined their analysis? Or did she merely assume this was the most suitable choice as a result of she was by no means going to get the life she needed? It’s additionally fully doable that Gemma was taken in opposition to her will.
The final time Mark sees her is whereas he’s working away in his workplace. She mentions the “Denali factor” she despatched him and asks if he learn it. As she heads out, she says “I like you” however he’s caught up in his work. She prods and he apologizes and says, “I like you, too.” Later that night, cops arrive at Mark’s door, eradicating their hats as he appears to be like via the window and is aware of what they’re about to say.
The place Has Gemma Been All This Time?
The episode flips forwards and backwards between the previous and up to date instances. On the Lumon workplaces, Gemma is Gemma when she is in a room with a health care provider/scientist, performed by Sandra Bernhard in a shock cameo. However every time she leaves after present process a number of checks and answering varied questions, she is in a special outfit and enters a special room. The doorways to every room have names like Loveland, Siena, Wellington, Cairns, Zurich, and Allentown. One specifically will pique viewers’ pursuits, known as Chilly Harbor
In every room is a special state of affairs, often involving some kind of ache and/or struggling. In a single, she visits the dentist with a schoolgirl-like outfit and a way of innocence that makes her seem virtually child-like. In one other, she’s in a aircraft that’s plummeting to the bottom as she screams in worry. Within the third, she’s with the identical man, who it seems is the creepy Dr. Maur, in a ’50s-style dwelling at Christmas. She’s a bored housewife writing dozens of thanks playing cards, begging to get a break as her writing has, at this level, grow to be utterly illegible. “It’s at all times Christmas,” she declares to the person who she clearly despises, but in addition means that this innie has grow to be considerably self-aware.
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This Westworld-like existence has been occurring seemingly all the time Gemma has been presumed useless. Up till now, viewers had solely ever seen her enter one space: the severed ground the place she took on the persona of Ms. Casey. However one room she hasn’t but been to is Chilly Harbor. When she asks Dr. Maur why and what occurs when she does, he declares that she’s going to see the world and “the world will see you.” She asks if this implies she may also see Mark. “Mark will profit from the world you’re siring,” he says. “Kier will take away all his ache simply as Kier has taken away yours.”
Every time Gemma returns from varied rooms, she is requested a sequence of questions, like how she feels. “My hand hurts,” she says, for instance, after spending time within the Christmas-themed room writing limitless thanks playing cards. “Which room made you are feeling that method?” Dr. Maur asks. She solutions appropriately. He asks the identical after the dentist go to, to which she replies that her tooth damage after going into that room. Gemma could not keep in mind what occurs in every room, however she remembers how she feels after leaving it. This all begs the query: why is she nonetheless there?
Gemma Has Tried to Escape
Whereas followers initially seen Gemma as somebody who deserted Mark, faked her dying, and went deep into an experiment with Lumon, suggesting she is likely to be a part of its “cult” mentality, that may not fully be the case. Or if it was, she actually has regrets.
In a single scene, a clearly troubled Gemma tells Dr. Maur that she needs to go dwelling. He refuses her with a smile, and lies to her, telling her that Mark has remarried. He twists the knife additional saying that he and his new spouse even have a daughter. Gemma clearly isn’t shopping for it and viewers get a bizarre sense that Dr. Maur is grooming her to be his personal associate.
As quickly as she has the possibility, nonetheless, Gemma hits Dr. Maur over the top with a chair, grabs his key card, and runs. However with the sophisticated, winding hallways that every one look the identical, she has a troublesome time getting out. Finally, she will get to that lengthy hallway that results in an elevator. It’s going up. She will get on and rapidly pushes the button earlier than she is caught.
Nonetheless, she transitions within the elevator to an innie kind and when she emerges, she’s on the severed ground. A frantic Milchick (Tramell Tillman) greets her as Ms. Casey and lies to her to get her to return down. “The place’s…” she begins to ask, however Milchick interrupts her earlier than she will be able to end. She heads again into the elevator, the identical one which now has a crimson down arrow (and that followers recall John Turturro’s Irving having painted dozens of instances) and returns to her ground the place Bernhard’s character is there to angrily greet her. Now again as Gemma, she is defeated, realizing that there’s no escape.
What’s Really Going On, and How Does Gemma Match Into the Plan?
Based mostly on the work Gemma is being pressured to do, she performs a pivotal function in what’s occurring at Lumon, and their final plan. However what’s it? In one other scene, employees from Lumon are analyzing pc screens, angered that Mark continues to be at 96% for Chilly Harbor. When he’s finished, they declare that they should “do away with Gemma.” This provides to the thriller of Chilly Harbor and what this undertaking is all about. It’s actually an finish aim.
One other scene could shed some gentle, displaying Mark and his co-workers plugging away at their computer systems as 4 people who resemble them are mirroring them in one other room, watching them on their screens. “Are the Severance obstacles holding?” one asks, to which the opposite replies that the “know-how is working.”
Mark is integral to their plan, too, probably tied to Gemma’s function. There could also be a clue within the title of this episode, “Chikhai Bardo,” that are additionally the primary phrases Mark utters when he begins to regain consciousness in current day. It’s a reminiscence from when Gemma was sitting on the kitchen desk taking a look at a sequence of playing cards from the clinic. Mark picks one up and appears at it, declaring that it appears to be like like two guys preventing. However Gemma corrects him, saying it’s the identical man preventing himself, defeating his personal psyche. “Ego dying,” she claims.
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Chikhai bardo, a part of Tibetan Buddhism beliefs, pertains to a transitional state between life, dying, after-death, and rebirth. “Bardo” is the second when your consciousness is totally open, supposedly resulting in the potential for liberation. It’s a big a part of the act of meditation and appears to be a driving drive for Lumon’s actions, albeit on a way more drastic and ethically questionable scale.
By the top of the episode, followers nonetheless marvel if Gemma went willingly to start with, believing she was going to be a part of an experiment that may, ultimately, assist her get a toddler, or if she was taken. It’s tough to consider that even with all her disappointment from not with the ability to conceive, that she would go away Mark so abruptly, and make him consider she was useless. Such a merciless act is unlikely, based mostly on what viewers noticed of their relationship on this episode.
If something, this episode paints Gemma in a way more constructive gentle. Even when she did pretend her dying, believing it was for a better goal and that she would at some point make her method again to Mark once more to clarify every thing, it’s evident that she desperately needs to return now. The Gemma-centric episode of Severance raises lots of questions, introduces some menacing new characters, and has followers on the edges of their seats ready to study what occurs subsequent, not just for Mark, however for Gemma, too.
Stream Severance on Apple TV+.