Why Seth Milchick & Harmony Cobel Aren't Severed In Severance

Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 1.

Severance is finally back with season 2 after a long hiatus, bringing back some old questions about how the show's universe and its characters work. The series follows a group of employees at the company Lumon who have their work lives separated from their outside lives through the severance procedure, which splits their memories into those on the severed floor and all those that exist outside working hours. Due to the series' slow unveiling of the inner and outer personalities of its characters, particularly Mark Scout (Adam Scott), Severance has received outstanding reviews.

While Lumon's work at first seems to be so secure because of its sensitive nature, as Severance progresses, Lumon begins to look more cult-like, and severance becomes more and more dangerous, leading to the "innies" going for a very risky plan in Severance's season 1 finale. While the four employees of Lumon's Macrodata Refinement department are willing to risk everything for a glimpse into their outside lives, some of Lumon's employees are actually not severed at all, leading to numerous questions about how they may use this power to their own advantage.

Not All Lumon Industries Employees Are Severed, Like Mr. Milchick & Ms. Cobel

The Higher-Up Employees Have All Their Memories

The cast of Severance is incredibly talented at portraying characters who lack essential memories of their lives, but Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) are some of the few main characters who are not severed at all. While the four Macrodata Refinement employees are all severed and attempting to get word of their terrible experiences to their "outies" by any means necessary, their bosses have all of their memories of their outside lives. In fact, Ms. Cobel plays an important role both in and outside Lumon.

A new episode of Severance season 2 will air every Friday at 3 am EST/12 am PST on Apple TV+.

Beyond Mr. Milchick and Ms. Cobel, who serve as the supervisor and manager of the severed floor, security head Mr. Graner and a woman named Natalie also make appearances, implying there could be other non-severed employees as well who are not seen in the first season. The purpose of being severed is so that employees cannot share what they do at work, but the more senior positions use their knowledge of the outside world and their employees to keep in control of everything that happens on the severed floor.

Not Being Severed Allows Milchick & Cobel To Watch Over The Outies

Their Additional Knowledge Gives Them More Control

Because they are not severed, Milchick and Cobel can keep tabs on what their employees are doing outside of work as well, as can be seen in their tracking of Petey and Milchick's use of the Overtime Contingency on Dylan in Severance season 1. The bosses make sure that the "outies" are not learning too much about what happens at Lumon while at the same time confirming that the "innies" have no awareness of their outside life. This ensures that Lumon's secrets are kept completely safe and that no one knows about the torture that the "innies" have to endure.

Beyond their ability to keep secrets and watch over both the "innies" and "outies", not being severed also allows Milchick and Cobel to control the narrative that their employees hear. This becomes especially important when Helly tries to quit but is rejected, and again in Severance season 2, episode 1 when the "innies" learn the impact their actions had on the outside world. Because the "innies" have no way of knowing whether they are being told the truth, Milchick and Cobel can keep any information they want from either the "innies" or the "outies" to maintain power.

How Ms. Cobel Abuses Her Power Since She's Not Severed

She Positions Herself As A Part Of Mark's Outie Life

While all the non-severed employees of Lumon certainly cross the line in their control of their employees, none do so quite as blatantly as Ms. Cobel who makes herself a part of Mark's life outside of work as his neighbor. While Ms. Cobel is Mark's overbearing boss, Ms. Selvig is his slightly odd but kind neighbor, and he has no reason to suspect any different. In her role as Mark's friendly neighbor, she is able to learn more about his "outie" life and even becomes friends with his sister under the guise of being a birthing and breastfeeding expert.

However, her blatant abuse of power ultimately comes back to haunt her when "innie" Mark sees Ms. Selvig at a party in "outie" Mark's life, leading the Lumon board to find out as well. Ms. Cobel's actions ultimately lead to her firing from Lumon, though it is unlikely that audiences have seen the last of her going into Severance season 2. Despite being exposed both at work and in the outside world, Ms. Cobel's knowledge may prove dangerous to both Lumon and her former employees, making her next move one of the biggest unanswered questions for Severance season 2.