Blegh. Glad that was short because I didn't really enjoy any of it. Useful backstory I suppose but she's the most unsettling character and I haven't missed her, tbh.

So if Cobel was essentially a child working in the ether factory when she designed the severance chip, she would've likely confided in a friend of hers, right? Probably another kid around her age?

Or do we think something more nefarious with an adult she trusted?

Always work on your inventions away from the workplace and definitely do not put any files/info on Hooli Lumon computers

BenTheGoodAg said:

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AustinAg2K said:

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Another small point was when Cobel first talks to coffee shop guy, she says that the town looks older, and he replies something to the affect of, "After the market correction, the town struggled." I'm pretty certain that there was some major event that caused the whole world to fall into a depression, and that's why Lumon thinks severance is so important. They want to use it so the whole world can get past their grief.

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I didn't quite take it that way. I assumed he was parroting Lumon's reasons for shutting down their Salt's Neck factory. Just a bunch of corporate bull. Sounds pretty reminiscent of countless mills, factories, and offices that have shut down in the US for various companies for years IRL.

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Also felt that was to give the sense that Hampton was a fairly educated guy who was weary of all the corporate BS and had chosen this path, rather than him just being a run of the mill rural town resident.

I was honestly a little let down by the movie itself, but it still boasts one of the best trailers of the past 15 years or so. It was one of those that premiered in theaters first, before dropping online, and I just remember being instantly struck by it in the theater, then counting down the days until I could watch it at home. Seeing it again now, there really is so much here that feels so Severance-esque. Stiller definitely has a particular style, one that he's certainly perfected it over the years...

This movie also gave me the impression that Adam Scott was a real jerk, thanks to the character he plays in it.

Scotts Tot said:

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On a separate note, as an amateur landscape photographer, this episode was a joy to watch. The way they shot the sparse but beautiful setting in Newfoundland was outstanding. Particular points that come to mind include the long panning shots at the beginning when Cobel is driving in.

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Yeah that really was spectacular work. Captured the feel of the high north latitudes with the sun is always low in the sky. The abandoned Lumon Industries ether plant was an abandoned fish processing plant. Area they filmed also looks almost identical to costal Norway. They should get an award for the cinematography there. The must've got a pile of money from Apple and making good use of it.

TCTTS said:

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I was honestly a little let down by the movie itself, but it still boasts one of the best trailers of the past 15 years or so. It was one of those that premiered in theaters first, before dropping online, and I just remember being instantly struck by it in the theater, then counting down the days until I could watch it at home. Seeing it again now, there really is so much here that feels so Severance-esque. Stiller definitely has a particular style, one that he's certainly perfected it over the years...

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Watching that trailer there's way more stylistic elements that he's brought from this into Severance than I realized. When it works, like it does in this show, it really works.

Interestingly it doesn't seem like he's directed a ton since Walter Mitty, just all 7 episodes of Escape at Dannemora (which I know nothing about) and Zoolander 2.

fig96 said:

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TCTTS said:

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I should've said this last week but it's really something to witness SEVERANCE get a huge budget upgrade for Season 2 and instead of using it on garish VFX shots or whatever, Stiller & co instead are making it look better than most movies in theaters right now pic.twitter.com/aNWx57p6Xe

— Brendan Hodges (@metaplexmovies) March 7, 2025

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Parts of this episode very much reminded me of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, also directed by (and starring) Ben Stiller and an absolutely beautiful film.

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My exact same thoughts. That movie has some of the most beautiful cinematography ever put on screen.
And from the opening shot of this episode, I couldn't help put think that Stiller has taken a major step in his directing style

Escape at Dannemora is excellent. Seven-episode limited series from 2018. Awesome cast too, including Patricia Arquette. I highly recommend giving it a shot...

Cool, will add it to the queue. Definitely an awesome cast.

schmendeler said:

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TCTTS said:

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Possibly. I'm not discounting it. I just think the simplest answers are the more likely ones… that A) Lumon shut the factory down for the same, capitalistic reasons a million other corporations did/do the exact same thing, and B) everything is cold and dead simply because it's winter, and over the course of the show so far we've only been with these characters for less than two months, save for the Gemma flashbacks.

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It's hard to square such a short amount of transpired show time with the real time gap of 3 years.

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I was just thinking about this the other day. I was thinking about how much time Mark would have saved if only Petey had seen a picture of Gemma while staying at his house and then realized it would have only been a few weeks.

Well if anyone knows if and how severance can be reversed, it's Cobel. Maybe that's why Devon wanted to call her?

I think Devon is in on the Lumon stuff

I'm starting to think this also. I had a hunch a few episodes ago that something just started to seem off.

AgfromHOU said:

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I think Devon is in on the Lumon stuff

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What makes you think that, is there more than just the call to Cobel?

Complete Idiot said:

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AgfromHOU said:

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I think Devon is in on the Lumon stuff

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What makes you think that, is there more than just the call to Cobel?

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It's just a hunch, because of the call and also the giving blood scene with Mark and Gemma. It seems as if Lumon has been sort of grooming Mark for the Cold Harbor task he's about to complete, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people he trusts most are in on it somehow.

Devon seems like a normal person. Whipping out her phone and calling Corbel was peak normal person behavior. Run into a problem; whip out phone and either call somebody or take a pic of the problem and send to somebody else. So if we are far into the future that part hasn't changed much.

two women, in red and blue, grabbing the same man. two versions of the same person going after one man. i wonder where i’ve seen this before… https://t.co/vvaR1ayGVy

— zoe r. (@zoeonfilm) March 11, 2025

one of the most underrated rock and roll songs of all time. When I heard the intro notes while watching I was like "oh hell yeah what a song choice!"

The name Devon appeared in the control room when Dylan activated the OTC, and was also on the papers that Irving's outie has stashed away. I think they said that they used the names of productions staff on stuff like that, but you never know.

I think there's something fishy about her. I don't know what, but there's something there.

Changed my mind. Devon gotta be balls deep with Lumon somehow.

She doesn't end up at the birthing center retreat or end up with Corbel if she's not in the Lumon pipeline. Got talked out of calling Corbel then ended up calling her anyway. Point about Devon's name in the control room and in the paperwork seals the deal.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Changed my mind. Devon gotta be balls deep with Lumon somehow.

She doesn't end up at the birthing center retreat or end up with Corbel if she's not in the Lumon pipeline. Got talked out of calling Corbel then ended up calling her anyway. Point about Devon's name in the control room and in the paperwork seals the deal.

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If you had told me at the beginning of the season that Devon was involved with Lumon, I would have said you were nuts. But, remember earlier in the season that her and Mark were trying to come up with a way for his innie to get a message with the light? Maybe she was sending him on a wild goose chase and knew it wouldn't work but got his hopes up. Then, when she found out the good Dr was unsevering him, she got really upset.

Also, remember how upset she got when her husband was going to re-write his book for innies? She got really upset. Most of us would think it is because she hates Lumon and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. What if she knows it would cause problems with the innies and she can't have that?

We really don't know (or maybe I just don't remember) how she felt about Mark severing. Did she push him to do it or was she against it?

Just some thoughts I've had since last week and enforced by some of the conversation here this week.

I think most of the main characters are severed and products of Lumon. Nothing would surprise me, and the show hides secrets in plain sight - Re: Devon being on the board and in Irv's papers.

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Also, remember how upset she got when her husband was going to re-write his book for innies? She got really upset. Most of us would think it is because she hates Lumon and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. What if she knows it would cause problems with the innies and she can't have that?

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Yeah, but it wasn't his idea. He was approached by the earpiece lady that talks to the board (Natalie) and Devon walks in on them discussing it. And further she seems a little disgusted that her husband would be willing to sell out and change his book so easily just because someone finally thinks it's worth something.

I just went back and watched it (S2E3, 35 mins in). The vibe feels like "why are you having wine with a pretty woman by the fire" initially. Rickon seems uncomfortable, but not because he's plotting or anything, but more because he was enjoying Natalie flatter him and he was probably digging that.

As for Devon, she seems worried when Rickon introduces her to Natalie as someone from Lumon and says "Is everything all right?" Now, she could be talking to Natalie as a fellow Lumon person, but I don't get that impression. To me, it seems like she was kind of on the fence about Severance and supported her brother doing it, but her friends and husband had strong opinions about the morality of it. Now, she knows the weirdness about Gemma and understand the reality better of what's going on in there, and her husband is cozying up to them simply because they like his book.

That, and the fact that she's probably worried about working with Mark at that point to get information in and out and is concerned that Natalie's presence is a sign that Lumon is on to what they are doing.

As for Rickon, I think it's pretty obvious that he's just a knob and not involved at all.