Severance S2 E10 - Cold Harbor

Let's discuss Severance season 2, episode 10—the finale of this incredible season! We can't believe it's already here :(

‍

WHAT WE LEARNED IN THE SEASON FINALE:

1. We open on Mark, Devon, and Cobel at the birthing center. Through video recordings, Mark's outie asks his innie to help rescue Gemma from the testing floor after he completes the Cold Harbor file; otherwise, Gemma will die. Mark's innie storms off after he realizes he is being asked to sacrifice himself and Helly. 
   
   1. This idea was so cool.. Seeing them speak to each other
   2. oMark talking about how he and Gemma’s love is like iMark & “Heleny’s” multiplied by a thousand
   3. iMark so used to being manipulated by Lumon that he doesn’t trust oMark
   4. oMark: “Cant you just trust me??” iMark: “No.”
   5. Cobel explaining what he’s doing in MDR, “taming” Gemma’s tempers. seems to appeal to iMark by telling him that he’s created 24 separate innie identities for Gemma
2. On the severed floor, Jame tells Helly R. that he doesn’t love his daughter, because he no longer sees Kier in her. He says he saw Kier again recently—in Helly R. He walks away, leaving Helly wondering why he came and what he wants from her.
   
   1. Okay so….. This seems like major seeding for next season. Jame finds more value in Helly R than the real Helena.
   2. He also seems to be equating “seeing Kier” as defiance or a fieriness?
3. Innie Dylan returns to work and receives a letter from his outie explaining his point of view and giving him the choice to resign if he wants. 
   
   1. I loved this for both Dylans
   2. iDylan has a renewed sense of self and purpose
   3. Milchick running away was so unexpectedly funny
4. Innie Mark goes straight from the birthing center to the severed floor, where Helly joins him soon after. He completes the Cold Harbor file and receives an elaborate celebration from Milchick and a marching band. Helly distracts Milchick and traps him in the bathroom while Mark searches for the hallway to the testing floor.
   
   1. The new painting!! WTF is Mark’s face “The Exalted Victory of Cold Harbor”
      
      1. Painting includes Devon, Rickon, baby, Petey, the creepy MDR twins from the ORTBO
   2. The drama of the dark hallways and the Kier animatronic.
   3. The waffle card - “Helly R will also witness from her chair”  - Love, Mr. Milchick
   4. Mark and Helly share their recent experiences (birthing center and Jame’s visit)
   5. Super emotional goodbye; Helly: “At least you’ll have a chance at living.” Mark: “Yeah but I wanna live with you.” Helly: “But I’m her, Mark.”
   6. Ok but who was voicing the Kier animatronic lmao
   7. Milchick again has a moment with the Kier doll where he seems sick of being picked on—but his turn against Lumon doesn’t manifest this season
   8. Choreography and Merriment!
   9. Milchick’s body rolls
   10. “See you at the equator” // “Meet me in Montauk”
5. In the Cold Harbor room, Gemma is asked to disassemble the crib Mark built for their baby. She responds without emotion, to the delight of Dr. Mauer and Jame Eagan. 
   
   1. As fans pointed out - the crib model name was COL d’ARBOR
   2. That same old song playing “I’ll be seeing you” by Billie Holiday
   3. I love how we all made this so much more complicated with our theories
6. Drummond summons Lorne to sacrifice a goat, but discovers Mark attempting to break into the exports hallway. He tries to strangle him but is stopped by Lorne. Mark takes Drummond hostage with him in the elevator to the testing floor but accidentally kills him during the transition to his outie. 
   
   1. As we suspected, goats aren’t very important to the plot
   2. It’s this scene where we learn why the episode is rated MA15+
   3. That first punch to Mark’s face… ouch
   4. The theme of this episode - innies owning their autonomy and fighting back - we see this with Lorne standing up to Drummond for the sake of Mark and her goats
   5. “Emile is the name of the goat”
   6. The accidental gunshot was perfect - at this point the episode turns very Kill Bill for me
7. Mark finds Gemma and they escape to the severed floor. Mark guides Gemma through the exit door but returns to Helly, where they run through the hallways as an emergency alarm blares throughout the building.
   
   1. This building is wildly understaffed in terms of security lol
   2. Hilarious interaction between Mark and nurse Sandra Bernhard; “Step off fucko!”
   3. Loved using Drummond’s blood to enter the room
   4. Could Gemma leave the Cold Harbor room any slower? Dear god
   5. Also here we see so many combinations of encounters!
      
      1. oMark & i25Gemma
      2. oMark & oGemma - this reunion was so satisfying, FINALLY!
      3. iMark & Ms. Casey - “What’s taking place?”
      4. iMark & oGemma
   6. SO FRUSTRATED with Mark and Helly leaving Gemma screaming in that stairwell after all she’s been through
   7. Gemma probably doesn’t understand she’s not pleading with HER Mark. Of course iMark would choose Helly, he doesn’t know Gemma and he wants to live even if they’re running toward their doom.
   8. Folks online are speculating that it might not be Helly R at the end with Mark

2. BINGO!
3. Our final takeaways
   
   1. Maybe I’m dumb, but I’m still not totally sure why Cold Harbor in particular was so important to them. They’ve proven that severance holds over and over again - with Mark for instance. It seemed a little anti-climactic for it to only be another memory from her old life.
   2. There’s still so much we don’t know about the ultimate goal of Lumon. Yes, we got a lot of information about Mark’s work and how it relates to Gemma… but why are they doing it?
   3. Questions we still have:
      
      1. Is Helena pregnant?
      2. What is Jame planning for Helly R?
      3. Is Irv really gone for good?
      4. Will Burt make a reappearance?
      5. Will they ever let Mark back out into the world?
      6. How is Ricken involved? If at all
      7. Why does reintegration take so freaking long??

‍

Stay tuned for our follow-up episode where we zoom out and revisit Severance as a whole. What is Lumon really up to, and what lessons does Severance have for us?

‍

We are so grateful for every listen, follow, and rating. We truly appreciate y'all coming on this journey with us. We're so sad to see this season end, but the promise of a third season is keeping us going! Next month we will be talking Black Mirror, as it returns for another season. Subscribe on your podcast app to get all the updates on latest episodes.

‍

We'll see you Wednesday for White Lotus talk and next month for Black Mirror. Bye-bye!