Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2025-01-26 03:56 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2025-01-26 03:56 pm
What Do You Think This Is, A Carpet Factory?
I've now watched the latest episode of Severance! Here's a whole lot of rambling speculation and theorising.
Poor Dylan! I hadn't really thought about the difficulties you'd have looking for work after leaving severed employment. On top of general prejudice against severed people, you also have to contend with the fact that you have no memory of your past position. What did you learn at Lumon; what skills did you develop there? You have no experience of that work to draw on; from the perspective of a prospective employer, you've essentially been unemployed.
Irving's outie has obviously been doing a lot of research into severance, so he may well know it's possible to activate the innie outside the office. When he came back to his body, he probably realised that his innie had taken it over. And he concealed that from Milchick, which is interesting!
Also interesting: Irving saying on the phone that his innie 'got the message'. What message is this? We haven't seen innie Irving receiving any sort of message from outside.
I previously assumed outie Irving obsessively painted the corridor to the testing floor because his innie had seen it at some point, the memory had filtered through somehow, and it haunted his outie. But are the paintings themselves Irving's attempt to communicate with his innie? Is he constantly compelling himself to focus on the corridor to the testing floor in the hope that that image will filter through to innie Irving?
When Irving falls asleep in the office, he dreams of black paint. Perhaps outie Irving is aware that innies can glean an impression of their outside lives in their dreams, in which case he might intentionally be keeping himself sleep-deprived so his innie is more likely to doze off.
Mark identified Gemma's body? I wasn't expecting that. I originally thought that the car accident was staged and Ms Casey was the real Gemma, but faking her death becomes a lot harder if Mark identified her. Perhaps it would be possible, but it would be difficult, and having Mark identify her would be an unnecessary risk, so you'd expect Lumon to avoid that scenario if at all possible. You might have a better chance of pulling it off if Gemma was willing to go along with the ruse (and that's an interesting thought), but Mark identifying the body definitely makes me think it's more likely that Gemma was actually killed.
Tem's theory about Miss Huang is that she's a clone of Gemma. If that's the case, perhaps Ms Casey could also be a clone? I'm assuming in this scenario that Gemma is the original, but I suppose there could also be the possibility that she was a clone who escaped from Lumon, in which case Lumon might intentionally have caused the car accident.
Oh! If clones are involved, that could explain the goats; maybe they use goats to test the cloning process?
They're prepared to get rid of the rest of the team, but they need Mark specifically on the current project (Cold Harbor). Why? Can certain data only be refined by certain people?
When Helly first found a scary number, Dylan and Irving were able to confirm that it was indeed scary. When Helly was still working to make quota and the others had already finished, though, there was no suggestion that anyone else might be able to help her complete her file; the others just had to stand around the office, tensely hoping that she'd manage it. If Dylan had taken over, would he have been unable to complete it?
Each member of the Macrodata Refinement team corresponds to one of the four Tempers: Mark is Woe, Dylan is Frolic, Helly is Malice. Irving as Dread is a little less obvious; I suppose he struggles with anxiety over his romance with Burt? But the other team member/Temper connections are so apparent that it feels like this has to be intentional.
Just intentional on the part of the writers, as a little thematic touch, or intentional on the part of Lumon? Does Lumon hire for particular Tempers in the Macrodata Refinement team? Is Helly's file something that only a Malice-aligned person could refine, or that a Malice-aligned person would be able to refine faster than any other? Speed is essential; Mark mentions that most of the files expire before they're able to complete them. (What causes a file to expire??)
In any case: they don't just need a Woe temper on Cold Harbor. They need Mark specifically on Cold Harbor; there's no suggestion that they might be able to hire anyone else to do Mark's refining. Everyone else has been replaced, but they need Mark. From the shot at the end of the previous episode, it seems like Cold Harbor has something to do with Gemma; do they need Mark on this project specifically because he knew her?
I am REELING from the fact that Milchick tells Mark his work self has found love. What a thing for Mark to hear! While you're still unable to move on with your life after losing your partner, you hear that the version of yourself without those memories is in a romantic relationship, but you'll never be able to know who it's with. How can you possibly begin to process that?
Does Mark obsess over it? I hope he obsesses over it. I hope he lingers outside Lumon before and after work, watching people go in and out of the building, wondering whether another version of himself is in love with them.
Riona: I need more ideas for Severance fanfiction.
Ginger: You should write a fic where Ms Cobel is banging Mark, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's wanking.
Riona: That seems cowardly. I should write about her actually banging Mark.
Rei: You should write a fic where Ms Cobel is banging Mark, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's wanking, and then that turns out to be a fantasy he's having while he's wanking.
Riona: I should write a fic where Ms Cobel is wanking, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's banging Mark.
In conclusion, maybe it's actually best if I don't have more ideas for Severance fanfiction.
Poor Dylan! I hadn't really thought about the difficulties you'd have looking for work after leaving severed employment. On top of general prejudice against severed people, you also have to contend with the fact that you have no memory of your past position. What did you learn at Lumon; what skills did you develop there? You have no experience of that work to draw on; from the perspective of a prospective employer, you've essentially been unemployed.
Irving's outie has obviously been doing a lot of research into severance, so he may well know it's possible to activate the innie outside the office. When he came back to his body, he probably realised that his innie had taken it over. And he concealed that from Milchick, which is interesting!
Also interesting: Irving saying on the phone that his innie 'got the message'. What message is this? We haven't seen innie Irving receiving any sort of message from outside.
I previously assumed outie Irving obsessively painted the corridor to the testing floor because his innie had seen it at some point, the memory had filtered through somehow, and it haunted his outie. But are the paintings themselves Irving's attempt to communicate with his innie? Is he constantly compelling himself to focus on the corridor to the testing floor in the hope that that image will filter through to innie Irving?
When Irving falls asleep in the office, he dreams of black paint. Perhaps outie Irving is aware that innies can glean an impression of their outside lives in their dreams, in which case he might intentionally be keeping himself sleep-deprived so his innie is more likely to doze off.
Mark identified Gemma's body? I wasn't expecting that. I originally thought that the car accident was staged and Ms Casey was the real Gemma, but faking her death becomes a lot harder if Mark identified her. Perhaps it would be possible, but it would be difficult, and having Mark identify her would be an unnecessary risk, so you'd expect Lumon to avoid that scenario if at all possible. You might have a better chance of pulling it off if Gemma was willing to go along with the ruse (and that's an interesting thought), but Mark identifying the body definitely makes me think it's more likely that Gemma was actually killed.
Tem's theory about Miss Huang is that she's a clone of Gemma. If that's the case, perhaps Ms Casey could also be a clone? I'm assuming in this scenario that Gemma is the original, but I suppose there could also be the possibility that she was a clone who escaped from Lumon, in which case Lumon might intentionally have caused the car accident.
Oh! If clones are involved, that could explain the goats; maybe they use goats to test the cloning process?
They're prepared to get rid of the rest of the team, but they need Mark specifically on the current project (Cold Harbor). Why? Can certain data only be refined by certain people?
When Helly first found a scary number, Dylan and Irving were able to confirm that it was indeed scary. When Helly was still working to make quota and the others had already finished, though, there was no suggestion that anyone else might be able to help her complete her file; the others just had to stand around the office, tensely hoping that she'd manage it. If Dylan had taken over, would he have been unable to complete it?
Each member of the Macrodata Refinement team corresponds to one of the four Tempers: Mark is Woe, Dylan is Frolic, Helly is Malice. Irving as Dread is a little less obvious; I suppose he struggles with anxiety over his romance with Burt? But the other team member/Temper connections are so apparent that it feels like this has to be intentional.
Just intentional on the part of the writers, as a little thematic touch, or intentional on the part of Lumon? Does Lumon hire for particular Tempers in the Macrodata Refinement team? Is Helly's file something that only a Malice-aligned person could refine, or that a Malice-aligned person would be able to refine faster than any other? Speed is essential; Mark mentions that most of the files expire before they're able to complete them. (What causes a file to expire??)
In any case: they don't just need a Woe temper on Cold Harbor. They need Mark specifically on Cold Harbor; there's no suggestion that they might be able to hire anyone else to do Mark's refining. Everyone else has been replaced, but they need Mark. From the shot at the end of the previous episode, it seems like Cold Harbor has something to do with Gemma; do they need Mark on this project specifically because he knew her?
I am REELING from the fact that Milchick tells Mark his work self has found love. What a thing for Mark to hear! While you're still unable to move on with your life after losing your partner, you hear that the version of yourself without those memories is in a romantic relationship, but you'll never be able to know who it's with. How can you possibly begin to process that?
Does Mark obsess over it? I hope he obsesses over it. I hope he lingers outside Lumon before and after work, watching people go in and out of the building, wondering whether another version of himself is in love with them.
Riona: I need more ideas for Severance fanfiction.
Ginger: You should write a fic where Ms Cobel is banging Mark, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's wanking.
Riona: That seems cowardly. I should write about her actually banging Mark.
Rei: You should write a fic where Ms Cobel is banging Mark, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's wanking, and then that turns out to be a fantasy he's having while he's wanking.
Riona: I should write a fic where Ms Cobel is wanking, and then it turns out to be a fantasy she's having while she's banging Mark.
In conclusion, maybe it's actually best if I don't have more ideas for Severance fanfiction.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
As far as Ms Casey goes, it sounds like what Mark identified was a burned corpse, which is a pretty classic fake-a-death set up. That said, I'm not at all convinced Lumon's whole thing isn't biotechromancy so that doesn't mean Gemma survived the car crash.
The whole thing about the files expiring and possibly being linked to biotechromancy is SO stressful what are y'all DOING. Mark's particular significance may have been hinted at in s1e02 though - Dylan mentions that their rate of successfully completing 'one in five' files in time is actually an improvement on what it was like before Mark had some kind of 'freshman fluke'. No idea what any of this means though.
Possibly outie Irving is mistaking his innie's map with Burt's address on it for a message from the nebulous group he's involved in?
The Macrodata team as Tempers! I love it. Waffle parties are now even weirder. Also interesting thoughts that maybe outie Irving is TRYING to pass a subconscious message down to himself, HMMM.
no subject
I've definitely found myself thinking about the mystery aspects in comparison to Lost! I love the hell out of Lost, in part because I was much more invested in the characters than in the mystery, and it's more successful as a story about its characters than as a mystery story. But I'm definitely invested in the mysteries of Severance, and I'm interested to see where it goes!
it sounds like what Mark identified was a burned corpse
Ah, Ginger also thought the corpse was burned; I must have missed that detail!
no subject
And phew, I'm glad someone else got that impression, I was starting to doubt myself lol.
no subject
This hadn't occurred to me either before this episode, especially knowing that Mark left a more specialized field for work that doesn't seem related to his previous career. But man, seeing that play out with Dylan broke my heart. My previous theory had been that Dylan was someone who severed so he could be a more present partner and father, because maybe that drive for incentives we see on the inside had manifested in working late and always going to networking things on the outside. But seeing his real need for that job and his limited opportunities without it was painful.
But are the paintings themselves Irving's attempt to communicate with his innie? Is he constantly compelling himself to focus on the corridor to the testing floor in the hope that that image will filter through to innie Irving?
That was my assumption in season 1, seeing how pointed the repetition seemed to be and the fact that outie Irving was staying up late to do it. My guess right now is that he's in touch with Reghabi et al, whose idea it might have been, but there's also so much sleep-related stuff going on with naval service that I wonder if outie Irving (if he served) already had some insights about the permeability of his own brain when it came to things he did in semi-conscious sates.
Mark identified Gemma's body? I wasn't expecting that.
Me neither! That definitely shifted me toward thinking that we're looking at a cloning situation, not restoring people from vegetative states. Which would potentially make sense when it comes to MDR's quarterly quotas and the comments in season 1 about cases expiring, since potentially there's a window in which to sort/program the correct balance of temperaments in a developing brain that then leads to costly "waste" if that window closes. But then, why Gemma's DNA?
They're prepared to get rid of the rest of the team, but they need Mark specifically on the current project (Cold Harbor). Why? Can certain data only be refined by certain people?
I'm so curious about what Mark's freshman fluke was (potentially the Allentown one?). We know his clearance rate doesn't seem to be as notable as Dylan's, so yeah, what is it that makes Mark so special, at least with regard to a certain type of case?
When Helly first found a scary number, Dylan and Irving were able to confirm that it was indeed scary.
Ooh, yeah, I hadn't fully thought about that. I was figuring for a while that with all the other settings we saw in the security office, that the "encryption" of the numbers means that the workers are both seeing something else when they sort but processing it as numbers. But if that is the case - and even if case assignment had to do with the innies' temperament, which I'm also leaning towards - Dylan and Irving are still processing things the same way as Helly, so why can't people collaborate on a case?
In any case: they don't just need a Woe temper on Cold Harbor. They need Mark specifically on Cold Harbor; there's no suggestion that they might be able to hire anyone else to do Mark's refining. Everyone else has been replaced, but they need Mark. From the shot at the end of the previous episode, it seems like Cold Harbor has something to do with Gemma; do they need Mark on this project specifically because he knew her?
I am so, so curious about this. I haven't read the supplementary material, but I do think I picked up that Lumon is supposed to have been founded around the civil war, and with Cold Harbor being a civil war battle, part of me is wondering if the Cold Harbor file is Kier Eagan. But if so, what's the connection to Gemma? And I do want there to be a connection to Gemma, because I think a lot of interesting stories open up if she had a previously unknown past connection to Lumon beyond being a motivator for Mark.
no subject
the workers are both seeing something else when they sort but processing it as numbers
Oh, huh, this is an interesting thought! It'd make sense with the way the numbers provoke an emotional reaction: even if you perceive numbers, your mind knows on some level what you're actually looking at.
no subject
no subject
Just watched the ep with partner and I thought that was about the innie finally understanding that Lumon etc were bad?
More Ms. Cobel/Mark(s), please :D It's so horrible.
no subject
Having talked it through with Tem, I think you're right! I got weirdly fixated on the word 'message' and forgot that 'got the message' is actually, you know, a common phrase meaning 'came to understand something'.
I don't think I'll end up writing it myself (although we all know what happens when I say that), but Ms Cobel/Mark does have some interesting potential! Milchick claiming she was pursuing both Marks in the hopes of a throuple really made me wonder what that would look like.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2025-01-28 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
Tem's theory about Miss Huang is that she's a clone of Gemma.
I thought this too; her facial structure is as reasonably reminiscent of Gemma's as you can get when casting an unrelated preteen, and she has a very muted and professional manner. I don't think these things are incidental. If it's the case, I'm left wondering—why is Lumon so obsessed with Gemma as an asset? Is she an illegitimate Eagan daughter? Did she sign some sort of contract to be used as a test subject in exchange for Mark's life? Is she a lab-grown person and Wife Gemma was the version sent out to have their capacity for social interaction longitudinally observed in the wild streets of idk Seattle?
no subject
no subject
When he came back to his body, he probably realised that his innie had taken it over. And he concealed that from Milchick, which is interesting!
OOOOOOOH
When Irving falls asleep in the office, he dreams of black paint. Perhaps outie Irving is aware that innies can glean an impression of their outside lives in their dreams, in which case he might intentionally be keeping himself sleep-deprived so his innie is more likely to doze off.
OH INTERESTING!
They need Mark specifically on Cold Harbor; there's no suggestion that they might be able to hire anyone else to do Mark's refining.
Interestiiiiii---
Wait. Do you think they killed Gemma to increase Mark's Woe temper?
I am REELING from the fact that Milchick tells Mark his work self has found love. What a thing for Mark to hear! While you're still unable to move on with your life after losing your partner, you hear that the version of yourself without those memories is in a romantic relationship, but you'll never be able to know who it's with. How can you possibly begin to process that?
... with increased Woe.
I love the layers to Rei's idea. But I think yours is the meanest and therefore is the one you should write.
no subject
This would be ABSOLUTELY WILD and I'm sort of fascinated by the idea. They need a new macrodata refiner; none of the candidates are woeful enough; time to widow someone!
no subject