10 best ‘Severance’ theories, ranked
It’s no surprise that Severance is one of the most talked about and beloved shows out there, even though it’s only in its second season. It feels like a show that comes around once in a generation, like Breaking Bad or The Wire. The whole sci-fi/horror/dystopian/workplace comedy combo is not just a show, it feels like something more. It’s a show that lights up people’s brains and has them watching and rewatching every episode for hints and clues about what Lumon is really up to.
There are so many possibilities, so we’re here to look at the 10 best Severance theories to see if we can figure out just what’s going on at Lumon Industries. This was written right after season 2, episode 4, “Woe’s Hollow” aired, so not to spoil anything, but we learn something pretty big in that episode. A Helly/Helena question gets answered, so we won’t touch on that one in our theory list.
Let’s get theorizing. Here are the 10 best Severance theories, ranked.
10. Lumon is trying to resurrect Kier Egan
This is one of the more prevalent theories floating around, and of course ties into the Macro Data Refinement (MDR) team and what they’re actually up to. Is the whole goal to resurrect Kier Eagan so that he can run the company in the modern age?
Or, will they treat him like a God and have a whole population of severed people worship him? The obsession with Kier and his teachings is a huge part of the show, so maybe this is actually what’s going on. That would mean that Ms. Casey could be an experiment on the road to the ultimate resurrection.
9. Irving smashed the egg in the manual to demonstrate time passing
When Irving smashed the egg in the manual and decided he wanted to “burn this place to the ground,” it was a powerful moment. The working theory is that it wasn’t just to illustrate his change of heart toward the company, but to demonstrate to his fellow MDR co-workers that they weren’t being told the truth about how much time was passing while they were on the severed floor.
It seems more and more like this isn’t the case, but if the smashed egg does make a reappearance then we’ll know the theory was right!
8. The pineapple and reproduction
What is it with Lumon and pineapples? One interesting theory is that, because pineapples don’t rely on seeds to reproduce, they are attractive to the company. It turns out that pineapples can reproduce asexually, and produce genetic clones of their parent plant. This continues the theme of potential cloning (more on that in a second).
Another interesting thing possibly tied to the pineapples is the painting of the four MDR members in the ground with only their heads sticking out, and Kier kneeling over them with a sword. Coming out of the ground like that, they kind of look like pineapples. Coincidence? Is anything in this show a coincidence?
7. How Gemma turned into Ms. Casey
Here’s an interesting theory from Reddit user Old-Reputation-8987 on how Gemma turned into Ms. Casey (the incredible Dichen Lachman). The theory starts with some keen observation about the list Irving’s outie had in his apartment at the end of season 1.
On that list, there’s a man named “Doug Coleman,” who was in a 2007 car crash and fractured his hand and filed a lawsuit against the city. There’s a handwritten note by Irving that says “Did the settlement lead to severance?” This could be a parallel to Gemma and how she became severed because she was also in a car crash. This could mean car crash victims, or victims of accidents in general, make for better subjects for being severed.
6. Miss Huang and Ms. Casey have a similar origin
Taking that last theory a step further, we know that the young Miss Huang was a crossing guard—or at least that’s what she told the group during the ball game. Could it be that Miss Huang was hit by a car and went into a coma? Maybe she was revived by Lumon only to be used as a full-time innie the same way Ms. Casey only seemed to exist on the severed floor.
The car crash thing keeps coming up, and in this show, you never know when showrunners are dropping hints about something that could potentially be important later on in the series.
5. People can be severed twice
This theory would add a whole new element to what it means to be severed in the show. Reddit user MysteriousPickle asked if there could be “Inception type levels” to severing where someone could be severed twice and “go a level deeper.”
There’s just so much we still don’t know about the severing process. Maybe to get to someone like Ms. Casey, multiple severings were needed. Take her consciousness, sever it, then sever it again. This sounds wild but this is a show full of mystery. Anything can happen.
4. The Board is a bunch of past CEOs in one
This one is pretty out there but sort of makes sense. The only time we “see” The Board is through that old speaker, and all we hear is static, except for the one time we heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jame Eagan. The working theory is that every Lumon CEO has all of the other CEOs inside of their consciousness, and that’s who is on the call whenever someone talks to the board. This could explain what Jame meant when he told Helena she would be present at his revolving.
Either that or the past CEOs exist in some ethereal or technological plane of existence where they can only communicate through the speaker. Regardless, it’s all very spooky.
3. Lumon is cloning people
This theory is another prevalent one, and some good talking points point to cloning as a possible Lumon activity. There’s that flash of Gemma at the end of season 2, episode 1, that looked like vital signs. We also know that Lumon is very interested in the mysterious Cold Harbor project.
There’s also a lot of discussion about the idea of preservation. There’s the Hall of Perpetuity where wax figures of all the past CEOs reside, and then the mystery of Miss Huang and her origin. Let’s not forget about the goats. Is Lumon trying to clone bodies so they can be vessels for a new consciousness? This theory has been around for a while but it’s no less probable today than it was when the show first premiered.
2. The refining numbers are related to the Four Tempers
During different parts of the show, we get to see closeups of the work MDR is doing with the sorting of numbers. In the first episode, we’re shown a table that pops out with four bars that seem to be progression bars. Each bar is a different color and is labeled with two-letter titles: WO, FC, DR, MA.
The working theory is that these are the four tempers and MDR is piecing together a consciousness bit by bit. It’s one of the more complicated theories, but sometimes complicated answers are the ones that make the most sense.
1. Irving is communicating with his innie through his watch
If Irving is communicating with his innie through his watch, it would explain a whole lot about that mysterious phone call Irving had at the payphone where he says, “I want you to know my innie got the message.” People seem to think that Irving and maybe even Burt have been communicating with their innies using codes.
As noted by Reddit user Umgar, Ben Stiller recently commented that he’s surprised people don’t pay more attention to the watches the severed employees switch out before they go to work. In season 2, episode 2, we see Irving putting on an analog watch before getting in the elevator. Irving was also in the Navy, something we learned at the end of season 1. So, the working theory is that he’s using his watch to send coded messages. To who? Himself? So many questions. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another three years to get answers.
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