Severance Season 2 needs to answer these 5 burning questions

With the Apple TV+ show returning to screens, here are five burning questions Severance Season 2 needs to answer.

Ben Stiller’s Apple TV+ show quickly hooked viewers when it first aired, and they’ve stuck around throughout the various delays, still keen to get a closer look at Lumon Industries and its ongoing mysteries.

Some of those mysteries made Severance the best TV show of 2022 in the minds of fans, and they’ve not stopped speculating since. Severance Season 2 is on the way, and there are still so many plot points we need closure on.

Here are the five burning questions Severance Season 2 needs to answer. (Warning: spoilers ahead for Severance Season 1!)

1. How is Mark’s wife still alive?

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For Mark, his reason for wanting to sever himself came from the tragic death of his wife, Gemma, who died in a car accident. The Season 1 finale, however, revealed that Mark’s wife was still alive and that she was actually Ms. Casey, Lumon’s wellness counselor. The revelation led to the fan theory that Gemma was never severed and that she only exists in Innie form.

Needless to say, this was a huge shock, as we’d been watching Mark have regular sessions with her over the course of the season. So what does this mean for Mark? Why has Lumon tricked him into thinking his wife is dead? Or has one cruel company found a way to keep her Innie alive? Whatever answers come our way will be sure to alter Mark’s future at Lumon completely.

2. What’s the deal with Helly?

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One of the many twists that came from the Severance season finale was that Helly, Lumon’s newest employee, wasn’t actually Helly at all. She was, in fact, Helena Eagen, the daughter of Lumon CEO James Eagen. This was all revealed at a major corporate event, where Helly’s Innie discovers that she is merely a PR move from the high-level executive. Naturally, this results in a big outburst, where she reveals all during an impassioned speech.

So, not only do we have to address the elephant in the room (Helly is directly related to Lumon’s plans and is, essentially, a double agent), but we also need to know what happened after that party. Surely Helena’s whistle-blowing can’t be swept under the rug so easily. The public image of Lumon could be at risk, the consequences of which will surely fall on Helly.

3. What does Lumon Industries do?

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One thing that remained unclear throughout the first season was the actual purpose of Lumon Industries itself. We know that Mark and his team go through the daily motions of Macrodata Refinement, clicking away at their screens for no obvious reason. Other departments like Disposal and Reclamation and Optics and Design have vague, undefined titles. (There’s also an apartment that revolves around goats…go figure.)

Since the show aired, fans have long since theorized about what all these roles could possibly mean and what their purposes really are. Perhaps Season 2 will peel back the curtain a little on what Lumon Industries actually does. More than likely, it’s all for show, and there’s something far greater going on under the surface, but we’ll still just have to wait and see.

4. What does Irving know?

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Of all the employees in Mark’s department, Irving initially seemed the most game to play by Lumon’s rules. However, as time went on, it became clear that he had a rebellious streak. Through his relationship with Burt and his willingness to break protocol to see him, Irving transforms from a sturdy worker into a risk taker. He has strange visions involving black paint and the Testing Floor hallway, leading fans to believe that something else might be going on with him.

By the time the season finale rolls around, it’s clear that Irving’s loyalty is a front. In fact, it appears as though he’s been investigating Lumon. Fans believe that his visions and obsession with paint were attempts to bridge the misinformation between his Innie and Outie, and we suspect that Season 2 will play a major role in developing his backstory and his informant intentions.

5. Will Irving and Burt be together?

Apple TV+

One of the sweetest subplots going on in Severance Season 1 is Irving and Burt’s ongoing relationship. The men from differing departments meet, and Irving soon develops romantic feelings. This, of course, is quickly crushed when Burt is forced to retire. The Season 1 finale broke the hearts of viewers as Irving’s Innie broke out into the real world and went to Burt’s house, only to find that he had another real-world partner. It’s not quite the reunion we were expecting, but it gives us some things to think about.

Does Burt’s relationship with Irving inside Lumon suggest that Innies and Outies can differentiate even more than previously thought? How will this affect their Innie lives, now that Irving knows the truth about Burt’s life in reality? We’d like a happy ending, of course, but that’s probably too high of a hope, all things considered.

For more from the small screen, check out our guides to the best TV shows of 2024, as well as all the best TV shows to watch this month.