The music dance experience is officially canceled—but Severance has returned. After three long years, the macrodata refinement crew is back on our screens. Follow along each week as we break down each episode of Severance Season 2. In the process, we’ll try to piece together what the heck is going on at Lumon Industries.
Crunching the Numbers
Severance has been doing stand-alone episodes of late—the ORTBO, the head-spinning Gemma backstory—and this week is no exception. The antepenultimate episode of the second season, “Sweet Vitriol,” sees the long-awaited return of Harmony Cobel, who’s had very little screen time since she was relieved of her duties as manager of Lumon’s severed floor. So what’s Cobel been up to? She’s made the journey to Salt’s Neck, a dilapidated coastal community with a factory prominently nestled in it:
Per my notes from the episode, the vibe of Salt’s Neck is “a Scandinavian fishing village deprived of the Nordic model.” The town is in a state of disarray. Most of the homes are boarded up or run-down. The factory—the economic lifeblood of small communities like this one—appears to be abandoned. As Cobel makes a quick pit stop to brush her teeth on the side of the road, we spot a local pouring some kind of substance into a cloth and huffing it. At a local diner called The Drippy Pot Cafe, the owner—whom we later learn is named Hampton—distributes vials of this mysterious substance to patrons. When Cobel enters the establishment and the two lock eyes, it’s obvious that there’s a shared history between them. “The town is older than I remembered,” Cobel tells Hampton. “Frailer.”
“Yeah, well, with the market readjustment from a few years ago and the fluctuating interest rates, there was a retrenchment from some of the core infrastructure investments,” Hampton deadpans. (I like the cut of his jib.) Cobel and Hampton leave the diner and head to the factory, which officially confirms what viewers would’ve already anticipated: Salt’s Neck used to be a Lumon town before the factory closed. As Cobel explains, she’s returned to Salt’s Neck to visit someone called Sissy, who lives on the outskirts of town. Cobel can’t risk driving her own car up to Sissy’s—if someone from Lumon recognizes her, she’ll be apprehended—so she wants Hampton to take her there. Hampton is hesitant to visit someone who is, in his words, “a fucking pariah,” but Cobel convinces him because they’re old “colleagues.” Hampton helpfully clarifies that what they experienced together was “child fucking labor.”
At this point, Severance is withholding some details, but given the repeated mentions of Kier Eagan working in an ether mill, we can infer that Salt’s Neck used to be home to one—and that the locals are still hooked on the stuff. Ether was once a surgical anesthetic, but it was also used as a recreational drug during “ether frolics,” public demonstrations of its intoxicating effects. The jury’s still out on what, exactly, Lumon needed ether for, but from everything we know about the company, I’m sure it did more harm than good.
After arriving at Sissy’s, Cobel races upstairs and we discover that this is her childhood home. There’s also an award hanging up in the hallway commending Celestine “Sissy” Cobel for her work as a “Youth Apprentice Matron.” Translation: Sissy was overseeing the child labor at Salt’s Neck, which is, uh, a pretty damn good reason to be the town pariah.
Although she isn’t identified as such, one can surmise that Sissy is Cobel’s aunt. There’s a lot of animosity between them: Cobel not only blames Sissy for her mother’s death but also regrets not being home when it happened. “Your studies were more important,” Sissy says. “Mr. Eagan saw Kier in you, he really did. And the Wintertide Fellowship, even at the factory, no apprentice was more industrious than you.” This all tracks with what we’ve suspected about Cobel’s backstory: She’s a Lumon devotee through and through, someone who’s been indoctrinated by the Eagans from a young age. But Cobel isn’t here to bring up old grievances: She’s looking for something important that was left behind and searches her mother’s room for it.
As dusk approaches, Cobel’s search has come up empty, but there’s one place left to look: a creepy little shed adjacent to Sissy’s home. Amid what appear to be vials of ether and some old yearbooks—or, as the Eagans call them, “Annual Reminiscences”—Cobel digs up an old bust of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan. And hidden underneath the bust is—wait for it—Cobel’s original designs for the severance procedure:
That’s right: Cobel is severance’s true architect. (I have questions, which we’ll address shortly.) Cobel shows the severance workups to Sissy, explaining that she would’ve been “banished” if she’d sought recognition for her work. (Jame Eagan took credit for creating the severance procedure.) A Lumon loyalist to the very end, Sissy tries burning the evidence in her fireplace; thankfully, Cobel stops her. The designs safely in her possession, Cobel hops in Hampton’s truck and drives away, just as another car in the distance approaches Sissy’s home. In the final moments of “Sweet Vitriol,” Cobel answers a call from Devon, who’s been trying to reach her throughout the episode. Devon catches her up on Mark’s chaotic reintegration process before Cobel asks her to put him on the phone. “Tell me everything,” Cobel says to Mark, which, coincidentally, is what I’d like to say to Severance creator Dan Erickson after every episode.
Unanswered Questions
What’s a mystery box show without them? Here’s what we can’t stop thinking about.
Why did Lumon leave Salt’s Neck?
To put it mildly, Salt’s Neck has seen better days. The region’s decline brings to mind Walmart, which has a history of leaving small towns in economic and social ruin after closing up shop. Presumably, Salt’s Neck was teeming with life when Lumon’s ether factory was up and running; of course, that prosperity came with a catch. Lumon had no problem signing off on child labor—or, as the company probably referred to it, “fellowships”—and the residents who remain in the town are completely addicted to huffing ether.
Perhaps the adverse effects of ether are why Lumon left Salt’s Neck. If the severance procedure is being debated in Congress, you can imagine that it’d be a major PR disaster if the wider public were to learn about these factories employing child workers. Conversely, Cobel could’ve been the reason the town’s economic prospects dwindled: If the anesthetic-like effects of ether were a precursor to the severance procedure, then perhaps her invention made the factories obsolete. Either way, the remaining citizens of Salt’s Neck are the ones who have suffered: It’s a town—and community—on the precipice of death.
How many ether mills was (is?) Lumon operating?
In a similar vein, it’s hard to imagine that Salt’s Neck is the only town that Lumon had under its thumb. There could be communities throughout the country that suffered the same fate as Salt’s Neck: abandoned when ether no longer served Lumon’s purposes or when the company became the subject of intense public scrutiny. And considering the cultlike devotion people like Sissy have to Lumon, it’s fair to wonder whether other towns have fared better and whether their locals treat the company—and the Eagans—with reverence. (Are most of these communities as prosperous as Kier, PE?) In any case, I can totally picture Severance’s version of 60 Minutes doing a deep dive into Lumon’s ether factories.
Why (and how) did Cobel invent severance?
The specifics of Cobel’s time at Lumon—which, again, goes back to her childhood—remain a mystery. But of all the Cobel-related questions “Sweet Vitriol” invites, none are as important as what compelled her to design the severance procedure. Before taking a huff of ether, she confesses to Hampton that she hasn’t touched the stuff since she was a child. Given that ether is both addictive and hazardous, Cobel’s reasoning for severance could have been as simple as finding a healthier alternative to sedation—one that makes it easier to control and manipulate a workforce.
Knowing Severance, the real reason for Cobel’s invention is probably a lot more complicated. (Could Cobel have also been inspired by trying to heal her ailing mother? Sissy says that Cobel’s mother was “sick in the soul,” so severance might’ve been a messed-up solution to deal with issues related to mental health or trauma.) But the fact that we’ve already learned so much about severance’s origins—and what Lumon is doing to people like Gemma—leaves me optimistic that we won’t have to wait too long for more answers.
Is Cobel friend or foe?
Cobel has spent her life devoted to the Eagans, but she didn’t take being removed as the head of Lumon’s severance division in stride. (Which makes a lot more sense now that we know she’s the reason severance exists in the first place.) But as she learns that Mark is going through the reintegration process, it’s fair to wonder whether the wool has finally been lifted from Cobel’s eyes: Is she truly remorseful about the horrible things that Lumon has done, or is she purely motivated by self-interest?
If I were Devon, I wouldn’t have been so quick to reach out to Cobel, who went to disturbing lengths to keep track of Mark outside work. At the same time, if there’s any way for Lumon’s severed workforce to rebel against the company, it would be having the literal inventor of the procedure in their corner. Even if Cobel isn’t standing up to Lumon for the most altruistic reasons, Mark and Devon can still lean on a trusty old proverb: The enemy (my abusive boss who also lived next door to me) of my enemy (the sinister corporation splitting my consciousness in two) is my friend.
Does Sissy cut her own hair?
No offense, Sissy, but I get the feeling the town pariah isn’t welcome at the local hair salons:
Reddit Theory of the Week
I’m dedicating this section to Reddit theories that revolve around the same subject: Lumon’s curious relationship to ether. One Severance Redditor who’s since deleted their account—did the Eagans get to them?!—picked up on the ether-Eagan connection going back to the first season, positing that Lumon is interested in a form of alchemy. They also speculate that the company is named after luminiferous aether, a theoretical substance that acts as a medium to transmit electronic waves. (Not unlike the electromagnetic waves that represent a severed worker’s mind.) The endgame: Lumon is using the alchemical process to create the ideal worker, who’s emotionless and completely subservient to the company.
As for Lumon’s ether mills, a couple of Redditors latched on to how important they could be to the origins of the Eagans’ cultlike behavior. Kier Eagan apparently met his wife, Imogene, at one of the factories, and it’s likely that he was frequently exposed to ether. The ether that was once used as an anesthetic is also known as diethyl ether, which isn’t too far off from Dieter, the name of Kier’s twin brother. Now, considering the hallucinatory effects of inhaling ether, there’s the question of whether Kier really did have a twin, or whether Kier and Dieter were two identities that inhabited the same body, akin to an innie and outie. By that logic, Dieter’s “death” in the forest and the taming of the four tempers could symbolize Kier managing to “sever” himself long before the procedure was invented.
There are a lot of possible parallels between the effects of ether and severance. The Reddit user u/unregisteredanimagus cited a scene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in which Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) huff diethyl ether. “The mind recoils in horror, unable to communicate with the spinal column, which is interesting because you can actually watch yourself behaving in this terrible way but you can’t control it,” Raoul says in a voice-over. The thinking goes: If Kier Eagan felt this kind of sensation in his family’s factories after inhaling ether, is severance a way of re-creating it? And if so, to what end?
Employee of the Week: Sissy Cobel
Just kidding.
Employee of the Week: Harmony Cobel
“Sweet Vitriol” didn’t give us a lot of options, but even if we got a check-in with the MDR crew, how could we not pick Cobel? She wasn’t just a dedicated Lumon worker dating back to childhood: I’d argue she’s the most important person in the company’s history, next to Kier. Without Cobel, severance (and Severance) wouldn’t exist, and while I’m sure that Lumon would get up to tons of shady shit without the proprietary technology, it’s essential to whatever grand designs the Eagans have—for their workforce, and perhaps even for all of humanity.
And while I don’t exactly commend Cobel for inventing something so sinister, I do sympathize with her current predicament. It’s an experience I’m sure a lot of people can relate to: a higher-up taking credit for all the hard work you’ve put into something. (To keep it in the Apple family, Jame Eagan learned a thing or two from Steve Jobs.) After decades at Lumon, it seems that Cobel is tired of her subservience being taken for granted. Good for her!
Design Porn
Severance isn’t just a story; it’s an atmosphere. Each week we’re highlighting our favorite looks captured by the show’s eerily gorgeous production design and cinematography.
Welcome to Design Porn: Salt’s Neck Edition. Even though it’s in dire economic straits, there’s a stark beauty to the town. Sissy’s home on the edge of a cliff is particularly stunning and worthy of its own award: Location Scout Porn. Who needs ether when you can absorb this view every evening?
Presumably, this is one of the episodes that Severance filmed in Newfoundland. Wherever this took place, “Sweet Vitriol” is Severance at its finest: a series that’s just as rewarding to look at as it is to think about. Even the way director Ben Stiller captures ice floating in the ocean and waves crashing against rocks is like nothing else on television:
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna scope out Newfoundland’s Airbnb scene.
