The 14 most WTF moments from ‘Severance’ Season 2, episode 2

Another episode of Severance means another collection of moments that make us go, “What in Kier’s name just happened?”

Severance Season 2, episode 2, titled “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” functions as the flip side of episode 1. Where the Season 2 premiere showed us the Innies’ perspective on the events following Severance‘s Season 1 finale, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” shows us what was going on in the Outie world during that time. We learn that it hasn’t actually been five months since the Innies triggered the Overtime Contingency. Instead, Mark (Adam Scott) returns to work mere days after the OTC. (Obviously, this means that there was no big celebration of the Innies or of severance reform, but episode 1 made that perfectly clear.)

But even though we don’t spend any time on the Severed Floor this episode, we still get a ton of moments and lines that made me freak out, theorize, and more. Let’s break them down.

“Fetid moppet.”

How is Lumon CEO Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) dealing with the aftermath of Helly R. (Britt Lower) hijacking her Outie Helena Eagan’s big speech? By berating Helena with an instantly memorable — and frankly, creepy — insult: “Fetid moppet.” Does this immediately clue us into how rough Helena and Jame’s relationship is? Yes. Have I also been murmuring “fetid moppet” to myself ever since seeing this episode? Also yes.

Mr. Milchick rocks a leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet.

Tramell Tillman in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

This entry is less of a WTF moment and more of a fashion appreciation moment. Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) has always rocked stylish office wear. His blue turtleneck from Season 2, episode 1 alone is worthy of praise! But in “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” we see a new side of him. And that side drives a motorcycle and rocks a leather jacket as he does. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say he looks like a pretty cool dude. But we do know better, and know that within the walls of Lumon, Milchick is anything but a cool dude.

Helena Eagan makes an apology video.

Britt Lower in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

To curb any backlash about Helly’s speech about the Innies being tortured, Helena takes a page from the book of disgraced celebrities and opts to make an apology video. (Hey, at least it’s not a Notes app apology.) The entire sequence is more of Lumon’s typical cover-up behavior, complete with Helena lying about her speech being a drunken joke in poor taste. As if that weren’t bad enough, Helena ends her apology by saying, “I’m also a human. Just like my Innie.” But remember how you told Helly she wasn’t a person back in Season 1, Helena? The insincerity is staggering.

“Your Innie is a friend of mine.”

Mr. Milchick’s damage control tour around the town of Kier brings him to Irving’s (John Turturro) doorstep. Before firing him, he tells him, “You know, your Innie is a friend of mine. I feel confident he’d approve of me saying so.”

Well, I don’t feel that same confidence, Mr. Milchick — especially not after you retired the love of Irving’s life! This line is just another example of Lumon’s manipulation of its employees — both Innies and Outies — due to the information barrier created by the severance procedure. Nasty stuff by a nasty company.

Severance‘s new opening credits sequence is a lot.

Severance Season 2 introduces a brand-new opening credits sequence from visual artist Oliver Latta (aka Extraweg), and they are perhaps even more terrifying than Season 1’s. This time around, we’re treated to nightmarish images of Mark diving deep into his own severed brain. Plus, characters like Helly, Gemma/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), and Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) are along for the ride. Not only will the title sequence’s images of floating balloon heads and green brain matter haunt your dreams — they might also give hints at what to expect from the rest of the season.

Ricken is still Ricken.

It wouldn’t be a season of Severance without Mark’s brother-in-law Ricken (Michael Chernus) being the worst, and boy, does he deliver in “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig.” He’s more worried about rescheduling his reading of The You You Are than about Mark’s Innie revealing that Gemma is alive or the near-disappearance of his daughter Eleanor. He also steers Mark into thinking his “She’s alive!” statement was about Eleanor instead of Gemma. Thankfully, Devon (Jen Tullock) is on the case.

Ricken’s best moment this episode? Coming up with the portmanteau “Cobelvig” to talk about Ms. Cobel’s double life as Mrs. Selvig. It’s not much, but it is funny.

Helena is a little too liberal with the replay button.

Britt Lower in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

Helena takes a break from her newfound hobby of making apology videos to engage in her other newfound hobby: replaying the security footage of Helly and Mark’s kiss. It’s a deeply unsettling reminder of the extent of the Innies’ lack of privacy. But on the flip side, it must also be deeply unsettling to witness your body experiencing a moment of intimacy that you weren’t privy to. What are the ethics of consent when you share a body with someone else? Not that Lumon would care, of course.

Helena’s obsessive viewing of the Severed Floor’s security footage does give weight to a theory that the Helly we see on the Severed Floor is actually Helena disguised as her Innie. This scene could be part of her research for going undercover.

The door factory gives Lumon a run for its money.

After getting fired, Dylan (Zach Cherry) seeks out new employment at a door factory. The interview with the manager (Adrian Martinez) is equal parts surreal (the two men look and act strangely alike) and funny (if Dylan could be a door, he’d be a pocket door). However, it takes a turn when Dylan reveals he was severed, leading the anti-severance manager to reject him and deliver the best description of severance we’ve seen on the show: “You want to circumcise your brain, that’s your business.”

The entire scene is an Easter egg for Severance creator Dan Erickson’s own life. On The Severance Podcast, he revealed he came up with the idea for the show while working at a door factory. The real question: If Erickson could be a door, what kind would he be? And what gloss would he use?

Burt is spying on Irving.

John Turturro in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

After his firing, Irving goes to a pay phone to make a call. Severance doesn’t reveal his conversation, or who he’s talking to, but I’m guessing it has to do with the newspaper clippings and list of severed employees we saw Irving had in Season 1.

However, Severance does show that someone is keeping tabs on Irving. It’s none other than Outie Burt (Christopher Walken). Severance didn’t show us what happened between Irving banging on Burt’s door in the Season 1 finale and Mr. Milchick showing up to Irving’s place. Did the two men talk at all? Did Irving just run away? Or are we in for a reunion down the line?

Lumon’s favorite new cursed food? Pineapple.

News flash for Lumon employees. Melons are out, pineapples are in.

Pineapples are part of the elaborate fruit basket Milchick brings to Mark, Dylan, and Irving in his efforts to bring them back to Lumon. (Sidebar: None of the fruit is seasonal. Does Lumon have greenhouses specifically for its fruit basket needs?) This isn’t the first time pineapples have come up this season. In episode 1’s “Lumon Is Listening” video, pineapple bobbing was announced as one of the new perks for Innies, making it a new entry into the hall of cursed Lumon food, alongside eggs, melons, and waffles.

“We need Mark S. back to work long enough to complete Cold Harbor.”

Adam Scott in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

Cold Harbor comes up again in “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” when Helena reveals that Lumon desperately needs Mark to complete it. With this in mind, the biggest question for the season so far becomes, “Why does Lumon need Mark specifically to finish this file? Why couldn’t they put another employee on Cold Harbor?”

It’s almost certainly due to Mark’s relationship with Gemma, who seems to be a part of Cold Harbor based on what little we saw of her in episode 1. But how exactly their connection will come into play is unclear yet.

“The board’s going to give him what he wants. Including Helly R.”

“Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” takes us behind the scenes of Lumon’s decision to cave to Innie Mark’s demands and bring the rest of the original MDR team back. That leads to a chilling line from Lumon enforcer Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson): “The board’s going to give him what he wants. Including Helly R.”

Talking about Helly as if she’s just an object to be given is already creepy enough, but Helena’s reaction adds an extra layer to it. There’s a discomfort there, likely due to her contentious, violent relationship with her Innie, but also potentially due to the fear of ceding control of her body in sending Helly back to the Severed Floor. The kiss with Mark was something Helena couldn’t control, along with Helly’s suicide attempt — what might Helly do post-OTC? And will Helena’s worries about “giving” Mark Helly R. lead her to have any empathy for her Innie, or at least consider that her current worries about agency are what the Innies experience every day?

“I broke a fucking lease in Grand Rapids.”

Adam Scott in “Severance.”
Credit: Apple TV+

On the way into Lumon, Outie Mark catches sight of Mark W.’s (Bob Balaban) Outie as he’s escorted out of the building by security. Mark W. complains about being fired after three days of work, and how he uprooted his life from Grand Rapids to come to Kier. That’s an awful situation in itself, but it also suggests that the Innies we met in the Season 2 premiere are well and truly gone.

Cobel lets it out.

It’s been a while since we got a good Ms. Cobel freakout, but the ending of “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” does not disappoint. Outie Mark confronts Ms. Cobel about her actions in Season 1, and even asks whether his time at Lumon has something to do with Gemma. Her response? Screaming, honking her car horn, and almost running Mark over. As far as Cobel tantrums go, I’d rank it just above her hurling a mug at Mark and just below her tearing her Eagan shrine to shreds.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.