Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Severance.
Severance season 1, episode 9 “The We We Are” marks the end of the series' first chapter, and it leaves behind several unanswered questions for fans of the show to ponder. As expected, the season ends on Severance's biggest cliffhanger yet. Although the ending of Severance season 1 did lay a couple of theories to rest, the finale also left behind big questions and new headscratchers that won't be resolved until the official release date of Severance season 2.
In the Severance finale, Mark, Helly, and Irving scramble to make the most of their limited time being activated outside of the Severed Floor. Each of the innies come face to face with revelatory information about their real lives. However, Milchick makes his way inside the security room and stops Dylan from engaging the Severance Chip protocol switches, putting an end to the innies' Overtime mission. The ending also finally introduces James Eagan, who reveals Lumon's long-term goals when he explains to his daughter Helly his vision of turning everyone in the world into Kier's children.
Severance is more than just a subversion of the classic workplace comedy. It's about cult corporate culture, slavery, rebellion, and the ethics of biotechnology – all of which are in full play in the season finale. Here are the biggest questions the Severance finale didn't answer, along with some new and potentially game-changing mysteries.
What's Going To Happen To The Innies?
The Severance season 1 ending cliffhanger is hinged on the fate of the innies. Severance has already revealed how erring innies are punished in the Break Room. However, Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan's rebellious actions in the finale will certainly warrant a graver form of punishment. This raises a serious question as to whether the quartet have pushed into uncharted territory, or whether Lumon already has a contingency in place for such disobedience. Whatever Lumon decides to do to the innies, it's bound to reveal even more sinister things about the company.
Overtime: What Else Can The Severance Chip Protocols Do To The Innies?
The Severance Chip can run a variety of protocols, which are Beehive, Branch Transfer, Clean Slate, Elephant, Freeze Frame, Glasgow, Goldfish, Lullaby, Open House, and Overtime. Any of these protocols could be used to somehow punish the innies in Severance season 2. Based on the names of these protocols alone, the Macrodata Refinement Department innies could be transferred to other Severed Floor departments, have their memories of the incident erased, or maybe even completely frozen in suspended animation and stored downstairs. Whatever the case, Severance season 2 is bound to reveal more about Lumon Industries' Severance Chip.
Are Burt And Irving A Couple Outside Of The Severed Floor?
When innie Irving drives to Burt's home in the town of Kier, Irving sees through the window that Burt is with a man who appears to be Burt's partner. Irving goes up to the house and bangs on the front door while shouting Burt's name. It's an epic moment that only creates more mystery around the question of whether or not Burt and Irving are a real couple outside of the Severed Floor. If they are a couple, then Burt could be cheating on either his boyfriend or husband with Irving. If not, then there might be a different reason for the unexplained connection between their innies.
A Severance Chip Weakness: How Does Innie Irving Know How To Drive?
Although the finale doesn't answer whether or not the outies of Burt and Irving are a real couple, it subtly reveals a major weakness in Lumon's Severance Chip. Innie Irving knowing how to drive shows that innies can somehow access the skills of their outies, particularly through muscle memory. This implies that, since innies repeatedly refine Macrodata throughout their daily lives, it's possible that outies can access that particular innie skill set as well. Although Irving knowing how to drive might not seem like a giant revelation, it's bound to lead to more answers about the Severance Chip and what Macrodata refiners are actually doing.
How Is Irving's Navy Veteran Father Connected To Lumon Industries?
The various medals that hang inside Irving's home appear to have been earned by his father, as evidenced by the Navy uniform and picture that Irving finds inside his outie's closet. There's also proof that Irving is the Lumon Industries mole, and is possibly part of the network of current and former Lumon employees helping to get people reintegrated – evidenced by outie Irving collecting extensive information on Lumon and its workers. Although it's unclear how these two factors connect, there's an implied connection between Lumon Industries and the U.S. Navy.
What Is Lumon Industries' Macrodata Refinement Department Really Working On?
None of the big revelations in the Severance season 1 finale provide any explanation for what the Macrodata Refinement Department is really working on. There have been some small clues about the numbers throughout the series, such as how the numbers are being sorted according to the refiners' emotions and the four tempers of Kier Eagan. For now, however, the real reason why Severed workers are sorting numbers remains a mystery ahead of Severance season 2.
Is Ms. Casey/Gemma A Permanent Innie Stored Below The Severed Floor Basement?
The last time Ms. Casey appears onscreen is when she boards the mysterious elevator that goes further down into Lumon's basement. Irving's outie repeatedly paints the same elevator in his home. Currently, the prevailing theory is that Lumon keeps permanent innies on the lower floors. Considering how Gemma doesn't seem to have an outie anymore, she likely “lives” in the basement, possibly with many other permanent innies like her.
Are The Waffle Party Tempers/Dancers/Sex Workers Also Severed/Permanent Innies?
The fact that Lumon Industries rewards top performers with a literal orgy is exactly the type of headline that could ruin the company. The only way to really keep this activity a secret is if the Waffle Party dancers/sex workers are actually Severed, which would ensure that their outies remember nothing about their innies' experiences. Apart from being Severed, there's a strong possibility that the dancers are permanent innies as well. Either way, the Waffle Party provides more insight about the terrifying process of Severance.
What Happened To Reghabi, The Former Lumon Employee Who Killed Graner?
Reghabi is the former Lumon employee who killed Graner. Speaking to Mark, Reghabi also reveals that she's the one responsible for putting the Severance Chip inside Mark's brain, and that she's working to reverse the horrible effects of Severance on people. All this supports the idea of a budding organized resistance within Lumon Industries and suggests that Irving's outie is working with Reghabi. For now, it's unclear where Reghabi is or what happened to her.
What Does The Room With The Baby Goats Mean?
The Severed Floor room where one employee feeds milk to a bunch of baby goats remains to be the strangest mystery in all of Severance. This room seems to have no other purpose except to raise more questions about the series. While there's currently no real explanation for why Lumon has a room for baby goats, various goats have appeared throughout the show as well, most notably in the painting outside the Wellness Center and during Dylan's Waffle Party. This hints at a deeper symbolism behind the farmyard animals which is yet to be made clear.
What Else Is Going On In The Town Of Kier?
Severance also hasn't revealed much else about what happens in the town of Kier, its history, and Lumon's plans for its future. Based on outie Irving's notes at home, it seems that the town is mostly populated by Lumon Industries employees. Through Harmony's activities and how the board reacted upon finding them out, it's implied that Lumon is able to decide who lives where inside the town. Considering everything else that goes on inside Lumon's Severed Floor, it's likely that the entire town is involved with James Eagan's long-term plans to put Severance Chips inside everyone. Beneath the surface of the town that's named after Lumon Industries founder Kier Eagan, Lumon is bound to be keeping even darker secrets.
Severance season 1 is streaming now on Apple TV+.