SEVERANCE Season Premiere Recap: (S02E01) Hello, Ms. Cobel

Diana Keng

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Mr. Milchick holds a small blue piece of paper in his right hand. He wears a dark blue suit and tie. Behind him, is a large white board. Severance Season 2 Episode 1

When last we saw our Lumon luminaries from Macrodata Refinement, they were staging a rogue Overtime Contingency to tell the world the truth about the severance procedure. The Severance Season 2 premiere, “Hello, Ms. Cobel,” literally echoes with their voices as we hear soundbites from the finale — Helly (Britt Lower) tells a room of rich guests that Innies are being tortured and Mark (Adam Scott) reveals to his sister, Devon (Jen Tullock) that his dead wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), is alive — before Mark S. awakens in the entrance elevator.

Mark S. sits in a white-walled room, holding a red ball in his hands. He wears a dark blue suit, white shirt, and dark tie. His lanyard hangs around his neck. Severance Season 2 Episode 1
Photo Credit: Apple TV+

Severance, “Hello, Ms. Cobel”

In the Severance premiere, the doors open, revealing the familiar foyer and the clock showing 9:05, and Mark S. hits the ground running. In one continuous camera pan, he weaves through the seemingly never-ending corridors until he finds the Wellness Office. Opening the door, he finds a waiting room, but the doors to Ms. Casey’s office are simply gone. 

In the hallway behind him, a man in a suit can be seen through the open door. He steps out of sight before Mark S. turns around. Mark S. leaves Wellness and walks to Macrodata Refinement. At the four-sided cubicle, three strangers await him.

Mark W. (Bob Balaban) greets him by identifying him as Mark S. Mark S. asks who they are, and Dario R. (Stefano Carannante) asks Gwendolyn Y. (Alia Shawkat) something in Italian. After an awkward pause, Mark W. asks if Mark S. would be willing to use a different first name to avoid confusion. 

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Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) enters, carrying a bunch of blue balloons, each printed with Mark S.’s face. He welcomes Mark S. back to Lumon. He gives the balloons to Mark S., and they head to the management office. Along the way, Mark S. asks about the other members of his team. Milchick deflects or ignores the questions altogether. 

We Must Be Cut to Heal

Milchick explains it’s been five months since the unauthorized overtime contingency, and it’s been a painful time for himself and the company as they recover from the damage the MDR team caused. Arriving at the management office, Milchick introduces Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), who is now seated at Milchick’s old desk. Mark S. leaves his balloons with her and follows Milchick into his office.

Sarah Bock plays Ms. Huang, a new Lumon deputy manager. Severance 201
Photo Credit: Apple TV+

In the office, Milchick busies himself by clearing boxes from the desk, which is clearly not Ms. Cobel’s (Patricia Arquette) anymore. Milchick reveals Ms. Cobel is no longer with Lumon, and he’s been promoted to manager of the severed floor. 

The Face of Severance Reform

Mark S. asks about his team again. Milchick assures him they didn’t fire the others. He tells him Helly R. and Irving B. (John Turturro) made contact with the Outie world while Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) learned about what they did afterward. As a group, they’ve become famous and are now known collectively as “The Face of Severance Reform.”

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Sitting down at the desk, Milchick tells Mark S. in blunt tones that Harmony Cobel was the root of everything that was wrong with the old Lumon. He reminds Mark that Cobel was at Mark’s sister’s home when he awoke as his Outie. Milchick shares the theory that Cobel had developed an erotic fixation on him. 

Mark S. brings the conversation back to his team. Milchick explains they tried for weeks to get them back, but they refused to return. Mark S. clarifies his Outie was the only one who wanted to come back. Milchick confirms this. In fact, he tells Mark S. that his Outie insisted, even begged, to return. 

Mark S. demands to hear his teammates’ refusals to return directly from them. Milchick says that won’t be possible and wishes Mark S. well with his balloons. 

Mark S. carries a bunch of blue balloons through the white corridors of Lumon Industries. He is dressed in a dark suit with the jacket open in the front revealing a white shirt and dark tie.
Image Credit: Apple TV+

The New Team

On the way back to MDR, Mark S. abandons his balloons in the hallway. In the four-way cubicle, Mark W. is quite chatty, calling Milchick “Milkshake” and pointing out the differences between his and Gwendolyn Y.’s old MDR office and this one. 

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Dario R. asks for a new pen, and Mark S. takes him to the supply cupboard, which is now just a cupboard instead of a storeroom. Gwendolyn Y. follows them over, pestering Mark S. with questions about the Outie world. Miss Huang arrives, holding a red ball, and calls them all to the kitchenette.

Five people sit gathered around a table in a room with white walls. One person, a girl with black hair in a white shirt with a black tie, holds a red ball and addresses the others. Severance Season 2 Episode 1
Image Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+

With everyone seated at the table, Miss Huang holds the ball and tells them this is her first day as deputy manager, and before this, she was a crossing guard. She rolls the ball to Mark W., who shares that he and Gwendolyn Y. worked together at his previous branch, 5X. He didn’t expect to work anywhere else after 5X shut down. 

Miss Huang directs the ball to Mark S. next. Considering what he could share about himself, Mark S. sees in his mind Outie Mark’s wedding photo with Gemma/Ms. Casey. Eventually, he shares that he’s lucky to have made new friends.

Time Is a Construct

At 5:10, Mark S. gets up from his computer, the last one to leave. He enters the elevator, morphs to Outie mindset, then immediately back to Innie. The doors open, and he returns to the foyer, and it’s now 9:05 again. 

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The rest of the team is already at their desks. They discuss the differences between the different branches they’ve worked at. Mark S. pulls out a small blue sheet of paper and scribbles on it under his desk. 

At the end of the day, Mark S. and Mark W. are the last ones left. Mark S. folds the paper he’s written on into a very small square and hides it in the palm of his hand. He puts his jacket on and surreptitiously slips the paper into the breast pocket of Mark W.’s jacket. It’s 5:20 as the doors of the elevator close.

They open again at 9:05, according to the clock. Mark S. strides into the office with a happy greeting. Milchick responds by reading from the blue paper in his hand. The other team members are all seated, staring at Mark S.

Mr. Milchick holds a small blue piece of paper in his right hand. He wears a dark blue suit and tie. Behind him, is a large white board. Severance Season 2 Episode 1
Photo Credit: Apple TV+

Mark’s Plan

Mark S. feigns shock at the rude and violent thoughts expressed in the note. However, Milchick recognizes Mark S.’s handwriting, and the rest of the team also knows he wrote it. Milchick demotes him and gives the department head title to Mark W., who accepts. Mark S. begins to laugh and implies he did something to the kitchenette. When the others run to the table, he takes off.

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He runs to Milchick’s office. Miss Huang follows him, protesting he shouldn’t be in there. She radios Milchick and tells him Mark S. is in his office and he has the speaker to the Board. Mark S. tries to make contact with the Board, pleading for them to return his team. Milchick runs in and disconnects the speaker.

Elevator Magic

Milchick walks Mark S. to the elevator and sends him up. Mark S. enters the elevator, still wondering aloud why his team can’t be brought back. Milchick says goodbye. Mark S. has a sudden feeling of foreboding and tries to stop the elevator doors at the last moment but it’s too late.

When the doors open, he’s facing a wall-sized painting of Kier with a sword slung over his shoulder and an army of workers at his back while he examines four individuals buried up to their necks.

Mark S. steps out of the elevator and looks around. The elevator dings, and Dylan G. steps out. They greet each other. Mark S. informs him that Milchick’s in charge now that Cobel’s gone. Dylan’s still mad that Milchick wrecked his best belt. He reads the title of the painting, “Kier Pardons His Betrayers.” 

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There’s a banging from inside the elevator and a man shouting the name, “Burt!” The doors open to reveal Irving B. He looks stunned. The others ask if he’s okay. Wordlessly, he turns left and starts walking. Dylan G. follows him. Mark S. also follows but reluctantly, looking back at the elevator and hoping that Helly R. will arrive next. Just as he turns to leave, the elevator bell dings, and Helly comes out, panting. 

They quickly catch each other up on basic information and then follow the others. In MDR, Dylan G.’s standing outside the washroom. Irving B.’s locked himself inside, moaning. There is no sign of the new team members. Mark S. tells them about his attempt at sabotaging the new people. Irving B. comes out, still quite distraught.

The Break Room

Miss Huang arrives and introduces herself. She tells them Milchick’s waiting for them in the break room. As they follow Miss Huang, Mark S. answers questions about what’s been happening. When they get to the break room, Miss Huang watches them file through the door in silence.

Close up on Mark S. The wall behind him is a gradient from light grey to purply-red. He looks to the right of the frame with a serious expression. He wears a white shirt with a dark suit jacket.
Photo Credit: Apple TV+

The MDR team walks down the long, dark corridor towards the break room door. Inside, Milchick waits to greet them. The room has a large projection screen, motivational posters on the walls, and comfy chairs. Mark S. comments to Milchick that it looks like the Board reconsidered his terms. Milchick agrees.

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When everyone is seated, Milchick introduces the video they are about to see as the orientation film every Innie will see on their first day, moving forward. It is meant to convey Lumon’s feelings. 

The film, titled “Lumon is Listening!” is a claymation video that anthropomorphizes the Lumon headquarters building. It tells viewers about its history and then recounts the “Macrodat Uprising,” the unauthorized MDR overtime contingency activation, with sensational and melodramatic invented dramatization. It credits the uprising with reforms like tasty new snacks and revamped incentives. In conclusion, the building thanks Kier for the uprising, which brought about reflection and reform.

When the lights come back on, Milchick addresses them again, assuring them he respects them all. He states he doesn’t want to be their jailer. The choice to stay is up to them, not their Outies. They have until the end of the day to make their decision. Milchick and Miss Huang leave to let the MDR team discuss their decision. Milchick tells them all cameras and microphones have been removed from the severed floor, including the break room.

Sharing Out(ie)

Left alone, Dylan G. demands they all tell him what they saw in the Outie world. Mark S. tells them his Outie’s brother-in-law is Ricken Hale, and both Hale and his Outie know Ms. Cobel. Furthermore, he shares about Ms. Casey being his Outie’s supposedly dead wife. Lastly, he tells them how Wellness has been erased. 

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Helly R. lies, saying she woke up in her Outie’s boring apartment. Irving B. presses her for more details, and she tells him she went outside, found a gardener and told him about what was happening at Lumon. Irving B. thinks it’s curious she found a gardener at night. When it’s Irving B.’s turn, he asks if they can believe Milchick about being allowed to leave. After a long silence, he gets up and leaves. 

The others follow. Irving B. insists he just needs to walk for a bit. Dylan G. offers to go talk him down while the others go back to MDR. Mark S. and Helly R. walk back slowly, discussing what Mark S.’s plan is now that he knows about Ms. Casey and his Outie being married. Helly R. offers to help him find Ms. Casey and get her out.

Severance Threshold

Elsewhere, Dylan G. catches up to Irving B. They’re near a Severed Threshold Restricted door. Irving B. admits that instead of trying to accomplish the objective — to tell people the truth about severance — he went to find Burt (Christopher Walken). He tells Dylan G. that Burt’s Outie is married, and he plans to leave through the STR door, which will kill him. Dylan G. refuses to let him go.

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Irving B. embraces Dylan G., telling him he’s a good friend. While in the long hug, Irving B. whispers what he saw in his Outie’s apartment, describing the paintings of the long black hallway. When he tries to get to the door again, Dylan G. pleads with him not to go because Irving B. makes him a better person by being around. Suddenly, Miss Huang is there, informing Dylan G. that Mr. Milchick wants to see him.

Family Visitation Suite

In his office, Milchick is on the phone with Tech Services because his computer still greets him as Ms. Cobel. Miss Huang brings Dylan G. in. Milchick tells him his Outie’s wife’s name is Gretchen (Merritt Wever) and leads him down a secret blue hallway to a drafting table. He shows him the blueprints for a new Outie Family Visitation Suite. He tells him it’s a secret from his colleagues because they’re all single. 

Dylan G. leaves, passing Miss Huang’s desk. Milchick shuts his office door. Miss Huang pulls out a water puzzle toy. In MDR, Mark S. and Helly R. settle into their stations. Dylan G. returns. When Mark S. asks Dylan G. where Irving B. is, Dylan G. hesitates before answering. In the silence, Irving B. announces his return, walking in. They all sit down at their stations and get to work.

Severance streams on Apple TV+. New episodes drop every Friday until March 21.

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