Warning: Contains major SPOILERS for Severance.
Apple TV+'s Severance contains a mammoth Helena Eagan twist that completely alters the series' direction ahead of season 2. First released on February 18th, 2022, Severance has garnered immediate universal acclaim thanks to the decidedly dystopian themes it tackles. In particular, creator Dan Erickson's Severance acts as a warning against the perils of corporate drudgery and how employees are often shorn of their identity when faced with authoritarian, punitive measures in the modern workplace. The Severance season 1 finale takes these themes even further, with the series' Helena twist underscoring the Eagan's cultish devotion to their own cause and methods.
As of April 6th, 2022, Apple TV+ has officially green-lit Severance season 2, announcing the series' swift renewal prior to its season 1 finale. Severance director Ben Stiller has expressed excitement at the renewal (per The Hollywood Reporter), stating that Severance's story is planned "in a way where it could be two seasons, or it could be seven seasons, and so we tried to create something that had some flexibility within that." Stiller went on to say that he and the Severance production team "tried to make something that gave us some satisfaction, some modicum of joy, but also opens the door for a lot of different new avenues that we’re gonna go. It’s fun to think about how the events of this episode change the world and change the game for all the characters and how they’re now going to have to contend with that.”
One character whose fate has undoubtedly changed following the Severance season 1 finale is Helly R. (Britt Lower), with the severed employee realizing to her horror that her "Outie" is Lumon heir Helena Eagan. This bombshell twist for Helly's lineage opens up myriad other questions for the Apple TV+ series while also revealing new information about Severance's clandestine company Lumon. As a result, here's Severance's Helena Eagan twist explained, as well as every clue that Helly is really Helena.
Who Is Severance’s Helena Eagan?
Severance season 1, episode 9, "The We We Are," sees Mark S. (Adam Scott), Irving B. (John Turturro), and Helly R. run amok in their Outie bodies after activating the Overtime Contingency. Undoubtedly the biggest shock of Severance's finale is reserved for Helly's "Innie," who wakes up at a Lumon gala where she discovers that her Outie is Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan. Helly subsequently learns that Helena underwent her own family company's severance to build public support for legalizing the procedure before sabotaging the Lumon gala by passionately telling the massed crowds of the Innies' subjugation and torment at Lumon. Although Severance's season finale only shows Helena through Helly's eyes, it is clear that the real Helena Eagan has become fully indoctrinated by Lumon, with several promotional videos at the gala showing Helena explaining her rationale behind becoming severed.
Severance: Every Clue To Helena's Eagan Twist
Despite Severance's Helena Eagan twist arriving as a shock, season 1 does contain several clues that point towards Helly's Outie carrying ties to Lumon. From the very first episode, Severance provides a massive clue to Helena's identity when Helly is watching back her own severance procedure. As Helena lies down on the chair ahead of the severance procedure, Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) says, "When we heard you were coming here it was like a miracle. It's amazing what you're doing." While at the time, this appeared to be a reference to Helly filling Petey Kilmer's (Yul Vazquez) vacant Macro Data Refinement role so quickly, with hindsight, it is clear Milchick is referencing Helena's dedication to the company by undergoing severance herself.
The next pointer that Helly is Helena Eagan arrives in Severance episode 4, "The You You Are," which sees Helly's recorded resignation request firmly denied by her Outie less than a day after it was sent. While Helly's Outie gives several thin reasons at the time as to why Helly cannot quit, the hard line the Outie takes when receiving the resignation request makes much more sense knowing that Helly is Helena Eagan. Severance really doubles down on this clue in episode 4 by also having Mark state that Lumon "usually" grants resignation requests before remarking that he has "never seen one come back this quick" after Helly's request is denied in less than a day.
In Severance's penultimate 8th episode, "What's For Dinner," the Lumon hierarchy reacts swiftly after finding out Helly attempted suicide while at work, firing Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) in short order. While Cobel would almost certainly face repercussions from withholding such sensitive information from Lumon regardless, their determination to fire such a loyal, almost fanatical employee becomes more understandable once Helly's true identity is revealed. The Lumon board was likely aghast to discover that Jame Eagan's pride and joy could have died while on the severed floor, leading them to impose an even harsher sanction without hearing Cobel's side of the story.
The final clue regarding Helly's identity also arrives in Severance episode 8, "What's For Dinner." As Helly completes Lumon's MDR quarterly numbers quota, an 8-bit style animation appears on her screen, depicting Kier Eagan whimsically addressing her on a mountaintop before saying "I love you" as the message ends. Helly and Mark exchange a puzzled look at this display of affection from Lumon's seemingly long-dead founder, but, again, this makes much more sense knowing that Helly/Helena is Kier's granddaughter - with Kier Eagan's message likely recorded years in advance for her.
What Helly’s Time As Helena Eagan Reveals Ahead Of Severance Season 2
Although Helly's time as Helena Eagan is limited in episode 8, it does provide some clues as to where Severance's season 2 narrative could go. In finally seeing an outside view of Lumon, it becomes clear that the company’s cult-like teachings are not just for the workers on the severed floor to keep them compliant. Helly watches as her outie speaks about how she had to recite the same nine principles that are the foundation of Lumon’s corporate culture every night before bed as a child - cementing the fact that she is just as brainwashed as most of the Lumon employees.
This viewpoint is compounded when Helly (as Helena) speaks to Jame Eagan, with the current Lumon CEO clearly indoctrinated into the cult of his own family’s design as well. Jame tells Helly that everyone in the world will “all be Keir’s children” because Helena decided to sever herself - highlighting that much of Lumon's outside world reputation has been staked on the success of Helly within MDR. Given Helly's admission to the Lumon gala that the Innies are being psychologically tortured, Severance's ending Helly reveal also provides a marker for season 2's plot as Lumon addresses a spiraling public relations disaster.