Put on your peacoats! We’re headed for “Cold Harbor.” Indeed, the name of the file our Macrodat protagonist (Mark S.) has been working on this whole time is the title of Severance Season 2’s finale. The narrative has absolutely crested into a wave that’s ready to crash and leave us, once more, I’m sure, with a devastating cliffhanger. In any case, I get you set below with everything you need to know in order to avoid any Severance-related FOMO you might have gotten because you were too busy watching March Madness. I touch on it all, from goat theory to permanent-innie theory.
I’ll get you set with the major story notes from last episode to prep you for what’s sure to be a doozy of a final installment in what’s currently the best show on television.
As far as release notes go, this episode, like all episodes of Severance, will be available everywhere on the Apple TV+ app on Friday. However, viewers have made a point of watching the new episodes when they first drop, which is at 9pm E.S.T./6pm P.S.T. on Thursday nights on the Apple TV+ app. If you want to watch “Cold Harbor” before any Friday morning pop-culture chatter might spoil your Friday night viewing plans, saddle in tomorrow night.
Story notes
General premise
Our ensemble remains fractured. But it is moving, perhaps, toward the mouth of the narrative river. Cobel, Devon, and Mark S. (now) are in the innie cabin at the birthing retreat from Season 1. Ricken is nowhere to be found, and everyone believes he’s a goat. Helly is on her way to the exports hallway. Dylan G., we think, is resigning? And Irving’s on a train to nowhere.
More on the above:
The Cobel (Double-?) Heel Turn
When Devon and Mark met up with Harmony Cobel, she sure was reticent, wasn’t she? Granted, she gave Mark the necessary info: Gemma is alive; the file’s title is Cold Harbor (more on that soon); the completion of the file is in direct confluence with Gemma’s welfare, in that, when the file is completed, she dies. It’s about as much of an exposition drop our hero has gotten about the central conflict of his life yet. Adam Scott’s almost completely-wan nonverbal acting and vocal deliveries in this exchange were masterful.
After some initial resistance, Cobel and Devon convince Mark to phone Milchick—who was talking shit, quite literally, to his superior, Mr. Drummond, about Mark Scout’s absence being Drummond’s fault—and tell him he won’t be in today. Cobel insisted Mark be as normal as possible, and Mark appealed to the core values Milchick spoke about to him re. Lumon/severance—work-life balance, mainly. A teary Milchick, who perhaps, in that moment, might have been reminded about the core values that he once believed Lumon shouldered, asked Mark for his word that he’ll return to work tomorrow.
Cobel and Devon then drive to the birthing retreat, headed for the innie cabin—Cobel covers Devon’s presence by telling the guard she’s “one of Jame’s,” so it seems Grand Pooh Bear Eagan has had himself some illicit flings—where Mark S. wakes up. Devon escorts him upstairs, where Cobel waits for him, a roaring fire in the background.
Irving/Burt
Where’s this going, I wonder? All season, Irving Bailiff gave us the impression he was one step ahead of everybody. And then, when he arrived home to Burt—low-level Lumon goon indeed—already having let himself in, it felt like Helena (who earlier referenced the handling of Mr. Bailiff) had played checkmate.
Not so much. Instead of killing Irving Bailiff—which, I guess, we’re only assuming was the edict, here; but come on—Burt drove Irving to a nearby train station, bought him a ticket, and told Irving to take the train to the last stop and never come back to Kier. They shared a tender moment. One on which the camera lingers. Irving insists to Burt that he’s “ready” to be loved, we think. He keeps saying “I’m ready,” “I’m ready.” For what?
I’d be a little disappointed if this was where Irving’s plotline ended for the season. Who was on the other end of the payphone? Why was Irving Bailiff interested in Lumon in a Private Investigator way at all? If only to crumble at the first explicit mention of a love only his innie experienced?
Something about Irving’s smile to Radar on the train says to me that it’s not over yet.
Helly’s fate
This deserves its own heading: we should all be very concerned for our dear Helly R., given her latest venture and the clue dropped in the opening title sequence. It ends, nearly, with a severance blip of Gemma in the export hallway door; the blip transforms her to Helly. We last saw her beelining toward the exports hallways with Irv’s note as her map. For whatever reason, Milchick doesn’t seem that concerned about her movements. I’d “reform” that, too, Seth.
Though, I wonder—what would Helly simply descending to the export floor do for her consciousness? Would it be out of the question that Jame, Milchick, Drummond, &co. could just muscle her out of the severed floor?
Miscellaneous
- Common theory right now is that Cobel remains Lumon to her core, and will double-back on Mark if it means Lumon would welcome her back with open arms. I see it.
- The Ricken is a goat theory feels almost too asinine—even for this show—for me to entertain totally. There are clues (opening sequence, mountain-scaling photo from episode seven, etc.), but I fail to see how this would fit into any larger Lumon narrative at this point.
- Which is a good point for a goal this episode might want to consider: some sort of definitive, larger-picture bottom line about what the heck Lumon is doing, really. It feels like we’re right on the brink.
- Dylan G. and Gretchen, however, do lend plenty of credence to the permanent-innie theory. Dylan G. officially resigned after Gretchen said she would never see him again—so that seemed to backfire on Milchick. I wouldn’t be surprised if the permanent-innie theory floating around the web proves flawed. Maybe Lumon will just see what it’s done, and, from there, experiment with permanent-innie practice? Who knows.
- Miss Huang officially completed her Wintertide Fellowship—the very same that Cobel completed after she was recognized for her obdurate Lumon loyalty in Salt’s Neck. She’s off to the next step in her Lumon Warrior journey. Seems a little like Milchick might have ended her internship early—deemed her Wintertide material, indeed—simply because he couldn’t stand the way it felt like he had mini-Cobel observing his every move. An inferior colleague observing and judging him based on scripture alone.
- Last note—Reghabi. She disappeared after Devon called Cobel. I’m so curious how she fits into the Lumon narrative more broadly. I wonder if we’ll get any of that in whatever opening exposition Cobel dumps onto Mark S. (and, by proxy, us) in the finale.
In any case, this is shaping up to be one of the most electric television events in the last few years.
