Somehow, Severance Just Became Even More Intriguing

We’re used to episodes of Severance being dense, but this week’s went beyond. There was so much packed into each individual scene that any one of them probably could’ve filled a full episode unto itself. As a result, we’re left with almost too many discoveries, truths, lies, revelations, and implications to discuss. But we’ll give it a shot anyway. Let’s talk “Trojan’s Horse,” the fifth episode of Severance season two.

Picking up a storyline left dangling from episode three, a man whose face we never see is whistling “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and pushing a cart to Optics and Design. There he greets two women, one of which is Irv and Burt’s friend Felicia, and asks if they have “them.” “Them,” it turns out, is a set of dental tools, which he takes and wheels away. Eventually, he enters a dark hallway which we instantly recognize as the Exports Hall, the mysterious passage Irv’s outie had been painting and that Felicia previously mentioned she knew about. Why does Lumon need a set of dental tools removed via the dark, creepy Exports Hallway? Could they be doing oral surgery to change or protect someone’s identity? Someone who, maybe, is thought to be dead on the outside world?

Of course, we don’t get those answers yet. Instead, we pick up with outie Mark back at home, taking pills, and sipping on some gross white goo. His sister Devon calls and we realize that the entire previous episode—the ORTBO—was over a single weekend. It was also approved by the outies, and Mark explains his outie “fell off a rope” and he woke up wet. That’s a lie, of course, but it’s fascinating to think about the hugely harrowing events innie Mark went through during the event, and how Lumon lied about it.

On the other hand, in a refreshing twist, Severance is about to be honest with the audience. Back at Lumon, we’re with Helena who is having a meeting with Natalie and Mr. Drummond about the ORTBO. We learn it has, in fact, been Helena—not Helly— on the severed floor this whole time, but after Irv discovered this and tried to kill her, they’ve decided to let Helly return. Helena is against this because she thinks the innies are “animals,” but everyone believes Helly’s presence is needed to make sure Mark finishes his work on Cold Harbor.

That’s how, for what is apparently the first time this season, Helena’s innie Helly returns to the severed floor. But she’s very, very far behind. As far as we can tell, the last time she was around was the finale of last season so she hasn’t talked to anyone about what she saw during the Overtime Contingency—her outie’s identity, the gala, none of it. Before she can deal with any of that though, Helly, Mark and Dylan are brought into Mr. Milchick’s office to discuss everything that’s happened. And dear reader, it was a hell of a scene.

Milchick confesses that, yes, Helena Egan has been posing as her innie, Helly, to do research for the company. He also confirms that when Irv found out about this and tried to kill her, he was permanently dismissed. Dylan asks if that means he’s dead but Milchick explains that Irv’s outie is on a cruise. (Which, we’ll learn later, is another lie.) But Dylan doesn’t “give three dry fucks about his outie” and calls Milchick a murderer. Helly, meanwhile, is stunned that Helena took her identity, which is a more than fascinating spin on the show as a whole, not just this specific episode.

In an attempt to explain this all and limit the damage, Milchick tells the story of “Gråkappan,” a nickname given to King Charles XI of Sweden in the 1600s who would pose as a normal person to learn more about his kingdom. Apparently this is something Kier Egan famously did and that Helena was doing to continue the tradition. We, of course, don’t know her real reasoning and know never to trust Milchick—but in this rare instance, he’s at least not lying about the story. That’s all an actual thing. He’s also honest when he says Irv will not be coming back. Dylan asks if they have can a funeral for him, something the group begrudgingly agrees to, and Milchick begrudgingly begins to put it together.

Milchick calls Miss Huang and asks her to put together a “bereavement kit” which is kind of a throwaway moment, quickly overshadowed by what it entails, but let’s hang here for a second. Miss Huang mentions that bereavement kits like this are generally for innies who die on the floor, not off it. So, is she saying enough severed people DIE IN THESE OFFICES to necessitate they have full kits for it? How many times has this happened? For what other reasons are these severed people “retired” in Milchick’s words or “murdered” in Dylan’s? We don’t know. But it’s a morbid thought that casts a dark shadow on the show, especially when Miss Huang tells Milchick she thinks doing this for Irv is a mistake because it “makes [the innies] feel like people.” Yikes. In the span of just a few minutes, innies are referred to as subhumans and animals. Kind of scary

What’s less scary, however, is Irv’s funeral. For a fairly quick turnaround, Mr. Milchick actually does a decent job, throwing together some signs, personalized mugs, and even a cool animation. He does the introduction and lets Dylan take over, and Dylan tells some very awkward but funny stories about Irv. The only thing more awkward is the giant melon head carved like Irv’s face that’s wheeled in after for them to eat.

The trio all partake in a little melon head but then Mark decides he wants to get back to work. He’s a little snippy about it, which annoys Dylan—and to spite him, Dylan lets Helly know about Ms. Casey being outie Mark’s wife. She’s notably stunned and confused but as she follows Mark out, he explains his frustration and distrust to her. Clearly, it wasn’t Helly’s fault what Helena did but Mark feels somewhat betrayed nevertheless. As this is happening, Dylan says his final goodbyes to Irv when he notices something. It’s a poster in the room that says “Hang in there,” the same phrase Irv said to him before being “murdered.” Dylan feels behind the poster and finds detailed instructions on how to get to the Exports Hallway. One last little gift from his good buddy Irv.

After completing the funeral, Mr. Milchick has one more thing on his schedule for the day: his performance review. For the past several episodes we’ve basically seen everything go wrong for Milchick with his severed employees, so as much as the character was dreading his review, we were relishing it. And the scene delivered. First, the implication that it was going to go longer than four hours was completely hilarious. Then the first two contentions against him being so completely stupid (he uses too many big words and uses paper clips incorrectly) were perfect. Finally, we got to the meat of it—all the bad things have happened with the employees since he took over for Harmony Cobel. We don’t get to see a lot of this because we’ve seen everything occur on the show but we know it went on for a long time and impacted Milchick deeply. He swears he’ll get back to basics and will “treat them as what they really are.” Which we see put into practice almost instantly.

Innie Mark has an unexplained blip (which has been happening a lot since the reintegration began) and takes it as a sign to leave work a few minutes early. As the elevator begins to close, Milchick stops him. He calls out his leaving early, gets right up in his face and asks him if he told Helly that he “fucked her outie at the ORTBO.” It’s a chilling moment for several reasons: Milchick’s newfound bluntness, the scary intimidation factor, and of course the acknowledgment of Helena’s actions. There’s just so much packed in such a perfect little line.

Right there would’ve been the perfect ending for the episode but things only got better. First, we circle back with Devon and her husband Ricken. He’s writing the innie-centric book Natalie from Lumon suggested—but Devon doesn’t feel right about it, especially with what happened with Mark. Ricken, however, not so subtly explains how good this could be for the family financially, which very clearly puts a point on the show’s biggest question: If you are financially benefiting from Lumon—like most people on the show are—is it okay to be complicit with whatever they are doing?

Things then, finally, circle back to Irving. Sure, we’ve seen him as an animation and a big piece of fruit but it’s the first time we see how he is dealing with being fired. Intriguingly, he goes to a pay phone and confesses to someone that Lumon fired him because “I think they knew what my innie was up to.” Before we can find out what else he’s thinking, or more importantly who he’s talking to, Irv notices a person watching him. He storms over to find none other than Burt. Burt asks why Irv was at his house the other night and explains that he was recently fired from Lumon for having an “unsanctioned erotic entanglement”—an entanglement, he suspects, was with Irv. He also says his husband, Fields, thinks so too. So, to figure it all out, Burt invites Irv to dinner and he agrees. The whole conversation is kind of honest, kind of flirty, and completely fascinating.

Back home, outie Mark buys snacks for Reghabi because she can’t be seen leaving the house. Mark is worried they’re being spied on and wants to continue with reintegration but is told they need to slow it down. Then, he has a blip. He’s at Lumon. He’s hearing someone talk to his innie about his outie and finally, for the first time, outie Mark sees his wife, alive and well, in the bright white hallways of his work. He cries and the credits roll.

Seriously, what a freaking episode. Each scene was jam-packed with information, implications, and tension. Plus, there was so much more that I barely even touched on. What is the reason for the guy whistling “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”? What does it mean that the completion of Cold Harbor will be “one of the greatest moments in the history of this planet”? What did Natalie feel when she got her own set of Kier paintings? What’s up with the tension between Milchick and Miss Huang? What is Dylan willing to ignore to keep having visits with his outie’s wife? Is Mark coughing for a reason? Discuss all that, or anything else, below.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.