Severance: The Real Meaning Of Milchick & Natalie’s Kier Paintings Scene

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2's episode 3.

Natalie surprises Milchick in Severance season 2's episode 3 by giving him a gift from Lumon. However, to Milchick's shock, the gift turns out to be something he had not expected, leading to an awkward stare-down between him and Natalie. The strange interaction between the two characters leaves one wondering why Lumon would give something so off-putting to an employee and also makes one question whether the company's most loyal employees, like Natalie and Milchick, actually like working there.

After being promoted to the position of the severed floor's head inSeverance season 2's episode 1, Milchick has been doing his best to maintain order and control the Macrodata Refinement Department's employees. He initially does not feel appreciated by Lumon when they forget to even replace his name with Ms. Cobel's on his office computer's screensaver. However, the company finally makes efforts to make him feel valued by sending him a gift through Natalie. To his dismay, though, what initially seems like a gift turns out to be something far more unsettling.

Milchick & Natalie's Black Kier Paintings Highlight Lumon's Ignorance With Diversity

Lumon's Gift Is Insulting & Tone-Deaf

After removing the gift wrappings, Milchick finds a series of strange paintings and exclaims, "Oh my..." Natalie explains that to make him feel "connected to Lumon’s history,” they have given him “inclusively re-canonicalized paintings intended to help you see yourself in Kier, our founder.” A closer look at the gifts in Severance season 2's episode 3 reveals that they are all manipulated versions of Kier's original paintings in which the Lumon founder is black. Mikchick is shocked after seeing them because they seem blatantly tone-deaf and downright insulting.

The paintings come off as twisted versions of blackface, reminding Natalie and Milchick that the white people who run their company know nothing about inclusivity. Even when it comes to making their employees feel appreciated, the frontrunners of the company are not able to look beyond their hubris and blind devotion to Kier. The absurdity of the paintings highlights the deep, unchecked privilege and ignorance that defines Lumon’s leadership, which could eventually contribute to the company's downfall.

What Milchick & Natalie's Shared Uncomfortable Look About The Paintings Really Mean

Natalie Empathizes With Milchick But Is Too Scared To Be Vocal

Natalie smiling with her earpiece in Severance season 1

When Milchick and Natalie awkwardly share a glance, and Natalie uncomfortably smiles at him, it is hard not to think about a scene from Jordan Peele's Get Out. Milchick and Natalie's unsettling interaction seems similar to the one between Daniel Kaluuya's Chris and Betty Gabriel's Georgina in Get Out when Chris tells Georgian that being around too many white people scares him. Just like Georgina only smiles at Chris despite wanting to say a lot more, Natalie, too, only offers a strained smile to Milchick, signaling her discomfort.

Despite realizing how messed up the gift is, both characters keep quiet even after the Board logs out because they fear they will be heard.

Following the Board's order, she even claims that she thought the paintings were great when she got them as a gift from Lumon. Despite realizing how messed up the gift is, both characters keep quiet even after the Board logs out because they fear they will be heard. The fear of facing the consequences of speaking out against the overarching system prevents them from talking about how they truly feel in Severance season 2's episode 3.

Severance

TV-MA

Drama

Mystery

Sci-Fi

8/10

241

9.2/10

Release Date: February 18, 2022

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.