Severance Season 2 Episode 4 Ending Explained: Why Irving Did THAT To Helly
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2's episode 4.
Severanceseason 2's episode 4 not only unfolds in a mysterious new location but also presents one of the biggest twists in the entire series. Before its credits start rolling, the episode features a shocking story development that raises many questions about Irving's innie and his future in the Apple TV+ sci-fi show. Since Severance season 2 episode 3 ended with Mark getting reintegrated, it was hard not to expect episode 4 to walk through the consequences of that decision.
However, Severance season 2's episode 4 throws a major curveball at viewers by unfolding in a snow-clad location, far away from the Lumon office. As it progresses, it reveals strange details about Kier Eagan's past while disclosing how Irv is growing increasingly suspicious about Helena's identity. In its final moments, episode 4 even confirms one popular Helly/Helena theory before ending Irv's innie's arc on a tragic note.
What Irving's Firing Means For The Future Of Severance
Irving's Outie Will Likely Keep Working Towards Finding The Truth
Severance season 2's episode 4 ends with Irving's innie getting permanently terminated from Lumon. Before wiping his entire existence in the episode, Milchick whispers, "May Kier's mercy follow you into the eternal dark." This confirms that Irving's innie will likely never appear again in the series. However, since Irv's outie, too, seems to know a lot about Lumon and its inner workings, he will continue his quest towards finding the truth. In this quest, he might even try to find other outies and seek their help.
...Irv was probably working in a different department as a severed employee before his memory was wiped and he was sent to MDR.
Lumon's official LinkedIn reveals Irving has been working at Lumon for 9 years. However, the character explicitly mentions he has been a severed MDR employee for three years. This suggests that Irv was probably working in a different department as a severed employee before his memory was wiped and he was sent to MDR. Or, his outie was a non-severed employee in Lumon who worked with the company for years before opting for the severance procedure.
Regardless of what his backstory is, Irv's outie knows about the "Exports Hall" and has been consistently trying to break into his innie's consciousness through the paintings of the mysterious corridor. In future Severance season 2episodes, he will likely come up with other means to expose the truth about Lumon. Meanwhile, Irv's departure from Lumon and Helena's betrayal will turn employees like Dylan, Mark, and Helly even more defiant, making it difficult for Lumon to control them. Since the MDR has always had four workers, Lumon might recruit someone as Irv's replacement.
How Irving Realized The Truth About Helly's Outie
Irving Has Been Suspicious About Helena Since The Beginning
Irving was the first to notice the discrepancies in Helena's recollection of her outie experience when she talked about meeting a "night gardener" during her Overtime Contingency stint. Since then, Irving has seemingly been keeping a close eye on her and wondering whether she is who she claims to be. In Severance season 2's episode 4, Irv reaches the end of his wits when Mark's judgment is skewed by his feelings for Helena. Even the way Helena reciprocates Mark's feelings makes Irving even more suspicious about her real identity.
As a result, Irv starts pressuring her by confronting her about her Overtime Contingency story. He asks her about the night gardener, believing she will eventually crack under pressure and tell him the truth. He finally connects all the dots when Helena rudely claims he is jealous of her and Mark. Recalling that Helly was never rude or mean to him, he realizes she is not the same person they used to know before the Overtime Contingency incident.
Severance Key Facts Breakdown | |
Created By | Dan Erickson |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score | 97% |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score | 83% |
Streaming On | Apple TV+ |
Irv also deduces Helly has to be one of the Eagans in the outside world because only someone with immense power would be able to replace their innie at Lumon. Season 2's episode 4 also seems to imply that Irv's dream helps him understand the truth about Helena. Like his previous dreams, the nightmare in episode 4 reflects how his outie's memories are seeping into his own consciousness. As he "refines" the numbers on a computer in his dream, he seems to process his outie's knowledge of Lumon, allowing him to understand Helena's connection with the company.
Why Helena Replaced Helly In Severance Season 2
Her Decision Was Driven By Many Reasons
Since Helly exposed the truth about Lumon and threatened to harm the company's reputation during the Overtime Contingency incident, Helena must have replaced her innie to ensure nothing like that happens again. At least, that is what she must have told herself and her father. However, her true motives were seemingly driven by her suppressed desires. Severance has established that even though the innies are constricted in the Lumon office, they often represent the best versions of their outies.
Helena genuinely seems to feel sorry for herself when she tells Mark she does not like her outie.
For instance, while Dylan's innie is one of the most productive MDR workers, his outie has always struggled to keep jobs. Similarly, while Mark's outie is a grieving man, his innie carries himself with immense optimism. Helena's innie, Helly, is also her complete opposite. She is rebellious and does not answer to anyone. She also does not feel bound by her family's legacy and reputation. Owing to this, Helly also unapologetically gets romantically involved with Mark. Helena envies this, which is one of the biggest reasons why she sets out to live her life.
Why Helena's Face Morphs Into Gemma's In Severance Season 2 Episode 4
It Shows Mark Is Gradually Reintegrating
In Severance season 2's episode 3, Mark agrees to reintegrate after Reghabi hints his wife may still be alive at Lumon. However, in episode 4, he initially shows no signs of reintegration. He comes off as a regular innie who knows little to nothing about his outie. Things get a little strange, though, when he sees Helena's face morph into Gemma's for a few fleeting seconds. This scene seems to highlight that Mark's brain is gradually processing the reintegration, and it will take him some time to fully understand the overlap between his innie and outie memories.
This overlap is visually represented in the scene, highlighting how the reintegration is merging Mark's two personas, and, thereby, making him experience the same feelings towards both Helly and Gemma.
Mark's innie and outie are both in love. While the innie falls for Helly, the outie has the same feelings for his wife, Gemma. The shared feeling of love creates an overlap, where Mark, as an individual, has romantic feelings for both Gemma and Helly. This overlap is visually represented in the scene, highlighting how the reintegration is merging Mark's two personas and, thereby, making him experience the same feelings towards both Helly and Gemma.
How Lumon Created The MDR Workers' "Twins"
The "Twins" Were Not "Clones"
The "twins" shown in Severance season 2's episode 4 cannot be clones since the cloning theory has already been dismissed by the show's cast. This raises the possibility that the "twins" are synthetic humans created by Lumon to mimic the MDR workers. If this is true, Lumon probably hopes to replace the innies with synthetic humans in the long run, which would allow the company to function endlessly without human intervention. Since nothing in Severance can be trusted, the "twins" might have also been projections that were intentionally overridden into the innies' consciousness.
What Is The Glasgow Block In Severance?
It Is One Of The Many Override Protocols
When Irving threatens to kill Helena, Michick is forced to give in and bring Helena's innie, Helly, back. With what follows, he contacts an unknown figure and asks them to remove the "Glasgow Block." Although the show does not explicitly reveal what the Glasgow Block is, it seems evident that, like the Overtime Contingency, it is another override protocol that allows Lumon to suspend or manipulate certain aspects of severed workers' memories and consciousness.
Severance has previously revealed that there are many other similar overrides:
- Beehive
- Branch Transfer
- Clean Slate
- Elephant
- Freeze Frame
- Glasgow
- Goldfish
- Lullaby
- Open House
- Overtime Contingency
Glasgow seemingly creates a "block" in a severed employee's chip that allows the outie to remain the same even after they enter Lumon. As seen in Helena's case, it ensures that the outie does not transition into their innie counterpart.
Kier's Description Of Dieter In The 4th Appendix Explained
Lumon Has Seemingly Created A Religion-Esque Lore Surrounding Dieter & Kier
The MDR workers are sent on a quest to find Kier's 4th Appendix, "a text of such sanctity that it is forbidden upon the Severed Floor." When the workers finally find it, they learn that Kier had a twin brother, Dieter, who convinced Kier to run away with him to the woods, so that they could forever "live as paupers." However, even though Kier loved his brother, he eventually wanted to return home and work in his father's ether mill. Dieter, however, had other plans as he would "spill his lineage upon the soil" and hope to live as a pauper for the rest of his life.
The 4th Appendix seems to suggest that Kier himself killed his brother by drowning him at the waterfall.
Dieter was eventually punished for disrespecting the Eagan family line by masturbating in the forest and refusing to work. Although Milchick swears everything in the 4th Appendix reflects the truth, it seems to serve as a metaphor for Kier's values. By describing Dieter as "unwashed" and "chaos' whore," the book seems to demonize Kier's brother for his lack of commitment to his work and disrespect to his family line. Unlike his brother, Kier learns to tame one of his tempers, Woe, because he is not like his brother.
The Symbolism Behind The Dead Seal Explained
The Dead Seal Scene Reflects Irving's Outie's Instincts
The MDR workers seem confused when they spot a dead seal during their quest to find Woe's Hollow in the Severance episode. Their confusion highlights how, as innies, they know about death but have never seen or experienced it upfront. Strangely, Irving says they should seal. While the show never explains the significance of this scene, Irv's reaction suggests some of his outie's survival instincts took over when he spotted the seal.
Severance season 2 is scheduled to have a total of 10 episodes.
Severance season 1's ending hinted at his military background, which is where he might have gotten his survival instincts from. The seal might also have something to do with Lumon's hinted experiments with water. Many developments in the show have previously implied that water might be a metaphor for consciousness. Owing to this, the dead seal could be a reflection of a loss of free will and individuality. Irv's reaction to the seal and willingness to eat it to survive in the Severance episode shows that he is growing aware of Lumon's inner workings and is desperate to stop the company before it is too late.
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a "severance" procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
- Cast
- Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, Sarah Bock, Marc Geller, Michael Cumpsty
- Showrunner
- Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
- Directors
- Ben Stiller
- Writers
- Dan Erickson
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 2
- Story By
- dan erickson
- Streaming Service(s)
- AppleTV+
