Praise Kier! Hey there, fellow TV enthusiasts! Remember that mind-blowing workplace thriller that had us all losing sleep trying to figure out what the heck was going on at Lumon Industries? Well, after keeping us on the edge of our seats for three whole years, Severance has finally returned to Apple TV+ with its second season! Can you believe it’s been that long since that jaw-dropping cliffhanger?
The new season picks up right where we left off, with our favorite “innies” dealing with the aftermath of their brief taste of the outside world through the Overtime Contingency.
Buckle up as we take you through every character in the expanding Lumon universe – from our beloved office rebels to the intriguing new faces who are sure to complicate things even further!
Mark Scout (Adam Scott)
Let’s talk about our boy Mark Scout, shall we? Adam Scott brings such perfect sad-sack energy to this character that you can’t help but root for both versions of him.
Before he joined Lumon’s bizarre corporate hellscape, Mark was just a normal history professor living his best academic life with his wife, Gemma. But after her supposed death in a car accident, our guy was so consumed by grief that the severance procedure seemed like a sweet escape – just flip that mental switch and forget your pain for 8 hours a day. Pretty tempting, right?
Mark Scout is starting to look as rough as I do after a week at work.
Am I severed ???#Severance pic.twitter.com/oTRKGoUQuG
— Matt (@bongbrummie) February 21, 2025
His “innie” (that’s what we call the work version of severed employees), Mark S., has no idea why he even works at Lumon. But he’s diligently shuffling numbers around as the leader of the Macrodata Refinement department. Talk about a career change! Alongside his work besties, Mark S. has been slowly waking up to the fact that something seriously sketchy is happening at Lumon.
And then BOOM – that Season 1 finale where Mark’s innie realizes his supposedly dead wife is actually alive and working down the hall as Ms. Casey, the oddly robotic wellness director!
Season 2 throws us right into the emotional aftermath of this bombshell while things get even messier with his budding office romance with Helly. Can you imagine discovering your dead spouse is alive while simultaneously falling for someone else? Talk about complicated workplace dynamics!
Helly R. (Britt Lower)
If you thought your first week at a new job was rough, you haven’t met Helly R.! Britt Lower absolutely kills it as Severance‘s most rebellious employee, whose first day on the job had her literally begging to quit via video message to her “outie” self. Remember that haunting response? “I am a person. You are not.” Talk about a toxic workplace!
From day one, Helly refuses to play by Lumon’s creepy rules, trying everything from attempting suicide in an elevator (seriously dark stuff) to smuggling messages out via her own body. But the real jaw-dropper came during the Overtime Contingency when Helly discovered her “outie” is actually Helena Eagan – daughter of Lumon’s big boss himself!
Can we talk about that plot twist? The ultimate corporate princess volunteered for severance as a PR stunt to convince the public that Lumon’s controversial procedure is totally safe and ethical. That’s some next-level family dedication.
Season 1 ended with Helly crashing a fancy Lumon gala and telling everyone the truth before being zapped back to her innie state. Season 2 explores the fallout from her rebellion while her romantic connection with Mark blossoms into something deeper. Office romance has never been this complicated – or dangerous!
Irving B. (John Turturro)
Oh, Irving B.! John Turturro brings such wonderful complexity to our office rule-follower turned secret rebel. As Lumon’s longest-serving Macrodata Refinement employee, Irving started out as the ultimate company man—you know the type—quoting the employee handbook and shushing others when they step out of line.
But beneath that by-the-book exterior beats the heart of a romantic. When Irving meets Burt G. from Optics and Design (hello, forbidden interdepartmental mingling!), we get to witness the sweetest forbidden workplace romance since Jim and Pam, but with significantly more dystopian vibes.
Season 1 gave us that heartbreaking moment when Burt was suddenly “retired,” leaving Irving devastated. Then, during the Overtime Contingency, Irving discovered something wild about his outie – he’s been obsessively painting the same black hallway from the Testing Floor over and over again! Talk about subconscious bleed-through!
Even more fascinating? His outie seems to be investigating Lumon, with maps and research strewn all over his apartment. Season 2 follows Irving on his personal mission to find Burt in the outside world, only to discover that Burt’s outie is happily married to another man.
The emotional complexity of Irving trying to connect with someone who simultaneously does and doesn’t remember their relationship is absolutely heartbreaking to watch.
Dylan G. (Zach Cherry)
Every office has that one person who’s there mostly for the perks. At Lumon, that’s our man Dylan G.! Zach Cherry brings such hilarious energy to this character, obsessed with earning those coveted finger traps and other bizarre Lumon trinkets. His biting one-liners and perpetual snacking make him the coworker we’d all want to sit next to during tedious meetings.
But don’t let that carefree attitude fool you – underneath that perk-hunting exterior is a guy with unexpected depths. Remember that shocking moment when Mr. Milchick activated Dylan outside of work hours, and Dylan caught a glimpse of his outie life? Finding out he has not one, not two, but THREE kids completely transformed his perspective.
Season 1 ended with Dylan making the ultimate workplace sacrifice – staying behind to hold those switches in the security office so his friends could experience their outie lives through the Overtime Contingency. Talk about taking one for the team!
Season 2 introduces us to Dylan’s wife, Gretchen (played by the fantastic Merritt Wever), and explores how his growing awareness of his family transforms his entire attitude toward Lumon and the severance procedure. Nothing motivates rebellion quite like discovering you’re missing out on your kids’ entire lives!
Dylan’s journey from office clown to determined father trying to reconnect with a family he doesn’t actually remember is surprisingly moving.
Harmony Cobel/Mrs. Selvig (Patricia Arquette)
Raise your hand if Patricia Arquette‘s dual performance as Harmony Cobel/Mrs. Selvig gives you serious nightmares! She’s essentially playing two wildly different characters: the stern, corporate ice queen Cobel, ruling the severed floor with an iron fist, and the overly friendly, boundary-ignoring neighbor Mrs. Selvig, who’s always dropping by with “homemade” cookies.
Season 2 picks up with Cobel demoted and disgraced after failing to prevent the innies’ escape during the Overtime Contingency, replaced by her former subordinate Milchick.
But don’t count her out! Her demotion only makes her more dangerous as she executes increasingly desperate and unhinged plans to regain her position and prevent further disruption to whatever Lumon’s mysterious agenda might be.
The scariest villains are the true believers, and nobody believes in Lumon like Harmony Cobel. Her bizarre maternal fixation on Mark adds another disturbing layer to an already complex character. Is she protecting him or grooming him for something sinister? With Cobel, you never quite know.
Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman)
Let’s talk about the walking HR nightmare that is Seth Milchick! Tramell Tillman deserves all the awards for creating one of TV’s most unsettling characters: a man who can torture you psychologically one minute and then cheerfully announce a Music Dance Experience the next!
Milchick is that boss who acts like your friend while simultaneously monitoring your bathroom breaks. His ability to maintain that eerily calm demeanor even during the most chaotic situations makes him infinitely more threatening than if he were openly aggressive.
Season 2 sees Milchick promoted to head of the severed floor following Cobel’s demotion, giving him even more power to torment our favorite office rebels.
With greater authority comes more responsibility to the mysterious Lumon board, putting Milchick in the uncomfortable position of having to answer for the increasingly rebellious MDR team.
We get to see new dimensions to his character as he navigates office politics while trying to maintain control. Is he just another true believer like Cobel, or is there more to his motivations? Either way, whenever Milchick walks into a room with that clipboard and that smile, you just know something terrible is about to happen!
Burt G. (Christopher Walken)
Christopher Walken as Burt G. is the casting we didn’t know we needed but now can’t imagine the show without! As the kindly head of Optics and Design, Burt brings a gentle warmth to Lumon’s sterile environment that immediately catches Irving’s attention. Their forbidden interdepartmental romance gives us some of Season 1’s most tender moments.
There’s something so refreshing about seeing Walken in this gentle, vulnerable role after decades of playing eccentric or menacing characters. His chemistry with John Turturro’s Irving feels so authentic that their abrupt separation when Burt suddenly “retires” from Lumon is genuinely heartbreaking.
Season 2 takes us outside Lumon’s walls to explore Burt’s outie life, including his long-term marriage to Cecil Fields (played by the wonderful John Noble). The complex dynamics created when Irving tracks down the outie version of his workplace love leads to some of the season’s most emotionally nuanced scenes.
Imagine developing feelings for someone whose “other self” has no memory of your connection but is happily married to someone else! The dinner scene between Burt, Cecil, and Irving in Episode 6 navigates this unique relationship territory with incredible emotional intelligence.
It’s like the strangest love triangle ever, where two points of the triangle are technically the same person! Only in Severance could such a bizarre scenario feel so heartbreakingly real.
Gemma Scout/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman)
Talk about the plot twist that launched a thousand theories! Dichen Lachman’s Ms. Casey initially seems like just another bizarre Lumon employee – that eerily calm wellness counselor who says things like
Please try to enjoy each fact equally, and not show preference for any over the others.
Her robotic delivery and odd mannerisms make her seem like just another cog in Lumon’s weird machine. But then came THAT moment in the Season 1 finale when we realize Ms. Casey is actually Mark’s supposedly dead wife, Gemma! Mind. Blown.
I love noticing little things on a rewatch that I didn’t catch before simply because I was absorbing everything else, like how Mark describes Gemma and then says “I love each of these things equally” just like how Ms Casey tells innies to enjoy each fact equally #Severance
— finley || severance spoilers (@burningjoy) February 17, 2025
Season 2 dives headfirst into this bombshell revelation, exploring the mystery of how and why Gemma was severed and placed at Lumon. Was her car accident staged? Did Lumon somehow save her life but keep her existence secret from Mark? And why let her interact with her own husband at all without either of them knowing their connection?
Ms. Casey/Gemma becomes central to understanding Lumon’s darkest secrets and potentially their true purpose for the severance procedure. The emotional weight of Mark potentially reconnecting with a wife he thought was dead – but who has no memory of their life together – creates some of Season 2’s most poignant moments.
Lachman brilliantly portrays both Ms. Casey’s confusion as she begins questioning her limited existence and glimpses of the Gemma that might still exist beneath the severed surface.
Devon Scout-Hale (Jen Tullock)
Every good dystopian story needs at least one character who represents normalcy, and in Severance, that’s Devon Scout-Hale. Jen Tullock brings such grounding authenticity to Mark’s pregnant (and later new mom) sister.
She’s basically our window into what regular, unsevered life looks like in this world – and she’s the only person who consistently shows genuine concern for Mark’s wellbeing after Gemma’s “death.”
Devon’s storyline takes a wild turn when she unwittingly hires none other than Harmony Cobel – masquerading as the oddball Mrs. Selvig – as her doula! Talk about the world’s most unfortunate hiring decision! Poor Devon had no idea she invited the big bad wolf right into the nursery!
The Season 1 finale gave us that incredible scene where Devon actually speaks with Mark’s innie during the Overtime Contingency – finally connecting these two separate worlds. Her horror upon realizing Mrs. Selvig’s true identity (while the woman was alone with her newborn, no less!) was palpable.
Season 2 sees Devon stepping up as an active investigator into Lumon’s shadowy activities while simultaneously trying to protect her family from potential retaliation. Her unique position as someone who’s spoken directly with an innie makes her perhaps the most dangerous outside threat to Lumon’s carefully constructed system.
Ricken Hale (Michael Chernus)
Oh, Ricken! Michael Chernus perfectly embodies that friend-of-a-friend we all know who’s just a little too into his own pseudo-intellectual ideas. Ricken initially seems like comic relief – that somewhat pretentious writer who takes himself way too seriously. His self-help book The You You Are appears to be filled with the kind of meaningless platitudes that would make any actual philosopher cringe.
But here’s the brilliant twist – when Mrs. Selvig brings Ricken’s book into Lumon, it becomes nothing short of revolutionary literature to the innies! Phrases like
Our job is to taste free air. Your so-called boss may own the clock that taunts you from the wall, but my friends, the hour is yours.
take on profound meaning to people who literally have no context or life experience outside their office walls.
It’s both hilarious and surprisingly moving to watch Dylan, Irving, and Mark treat these words like sacred texts. The dramatic irony of Ricken’s somewhat silly book becoming genuinely subversive literature is such clever writing!
Season 2 digs deeper into Ricken’s character as he grows increasingly aware of Lumon’s sinister influence through his conversations with Devon. While he continues providing his signature brand of over-the-top philosophical guidance, we see new dimensions to his character as he supports Devon’s investigation while trying to protect their daughter, Eleanor.
Miss Huang (Sarah Bock)
Just when you think Lumon couldn’t get any weirder, Season 2 introduces us to Miss Huang, played by newcomer Sarah Bock. Remember how unsettling it was when you realized your new boss was younger than you? Multiply that feeling by a thousand, and you’ll understand why Miss Huang is so disturbing!
This barely adult kid (she is 18 in the series) is somehow managing grown adults on the severed floor as part of some bizarre internship program, and nobody seems to find this as completely bonkers as the viewers do!
The absolute highlight of Miss Huang’s introduction has to be the kitchenette icebreaker scene. When she cheerfully announces that before Lumon, she was a crossing guard, it’s both absurdly funny and deeply unsettling. And when Mark W. bluntly asks, “Why are you a child?” her deadpan response – “Because of when I was born” – is peak Severance humor.
Well, the one undeniable fact is that this character adds yet another layer of surreal wrongness to the already deeply unsettling Lumon workplace.
Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson)
If Lumon Industries had a “Most Likely to Know Where the Bodies Are Buried” award, it would definitely go to Mr. Drummond! Season 2 introduces us to this imposing new character played brilliantly by Icelandic-American actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. As a high-ranking Lumon employee, Drummond projects an aura of quiet menace that immediately tells you he’s not someone to be trifled with.
Often spotted accompanying Helena Eagan at public events, Drummond serves as Lumon’s intimidating security head, but his role clearly extends far beyond simple protection detail. What makes him particularly intriguing is his apparent deep involvement in “Cold Harbor” – one of Lumon’s most classified projects that’s gradually being revealed as central to the company’s true agenda.
In a delightful bit of behind-the-scenes trivia, Ólafsson was actually a huge fan of Severance‘s first season before joining the cast! He’s also a longtime admirer of director/executive producer Ben Stiller, having previously collaborated with him on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Ólafsson brings gravitas and quiet intensity to every role, but there’s something particularly chilling about his performance as Mr. Drummond. As Season 2 progresses, his character’s connection to the Cold Harbor project and the true extent of his knowledge about Lumon’s operations promises to add yet another fascinating layer to Severance’s expanding mythology.
Gretchen (Merritt Wever)
Oh, you’ve got to love Episode 3 when we finally meet Dylan’s wife! That’s right, Merritt Wever joins the cast as Gretchen, adding a whole new dimension to Dylan’s story. Remember when his innie caught that heartbreaking glimpse of his kid in Season 1? Now we get to see the full picture of his home life!
Wever is absolutely perfect for the role—I mean, she’s got two Emmys under her belt from shows like Nurse Jackie and Unbelievable. You might also recognize her from Birdman or Marriage Story. Her presence really hammers home what’s at stake here—imagine having a spouse who becomes a completely different person at work and has no memory of your life together. Talk about complicated!
Lorne (Gwendoline Christie)
Just when you thought Severance couldn’t get any weirder, in walks Gwendoline Christie as Lorne, ringing an actual cowbell! I kid you not! She’s the head of Lumon’s “mammalian department”—you know, that mysterious section with the goats that had us all scratching our heads in Season 1.
Mark and Helly stumble across her domain while exploring those endless Lumon hallways, and it’s as bizarre as you’d expect. If Christie looks familiar, that’s because she absolutely crushed it as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones.
She’s also popped up in Star Wars and more recently dominated Netflix shows like The Sandman and Wednesday. Her towering presence adds yet another layer of delightful strangeness to the Lumon mystery.
Gwendolyn Y. (Alia Shawkat)
Imagine Mark’s surprise when he returns to work and finds three new faces in MDR! One of them is Gwendolyn Y., played by the fantastic Alia Shawkat, who immediately bombards him with questions about the outside world. Her line about making a list of things they’d most want to see is equal parts funny and heartbreaking.
We made a list of what we’d most like to see on the outside, and a sky was an easy number one. Brothers-in-law weren’t even on the list!
If Shawkat looks familiar, you’ve probably seen her as Maeby in Arrested Development or as Dory in the criminally underrated Search Party. She recently showed up in Zoë Kravitz‘s Blink Twice, too. Her natural curiosity brings fresh energy to the increasingly chaotic MDR department!
Dario R. (Stefano Carannante)
Meet Dario R., another newbie in Mark’s transformed department, played by newcomer Stefano Carannante! This guy keeps switching between English and Italian and doesn’t exactly make the best first impression on our boy Mark—talk about workplace tension!
Severance is actually Carannante’s big break; he’s only appeared in a 2023 episode of Blue Bloods and a James Franco movie called Hey Joe before this. Don’t you love it when shows introduce multilingual characters? It makes you wonder just how global Lumon’s reach might be. Is there an Italian branch? Are they running severance procedures all over the world? His presence adds yet another question mark to the Lumon mystery!
Mark W. (Bob Balaban)
As if things weren’t confusing enough for Mark S., now he has to deal with sharing his name with a new coworker! Veteran actor Bob Balaban plays Mark W., and the awkwardness is absolutely delicious. During an icebreaker game (because corporate icebreakers weren’t painful enough already), we learn he’s a refugee from Branch 5X and narrowly dodged “permanent retirement” when his branch shut down. Yikes!
While Mark S. is having an existential crisis about his missing friends, Mark W. just won’t stop chattering about office protocol. Classic! Movie buffs will recognize Balaban from classics like Midnight Cowboy, Close Encounters, and Wes Anderson‘s Grand Budapest Hotel. His impeccable comic timing makes these uncomfortable scenes sing!
Cecil Fields (John Noble)
Talk about awkward dinner parties! In Episode 6, we meet Cecil Fields, Burt’s husband, in the outside world, played by the magnificent John Noble. Can you imagine the tension when Irving sits down with the man he loves (whose innie self loved him back) and the husband he never knew existed? It’s the strangest love triangle ever!
Noble, who hails from Australia, is probably most famous for playing Denethor in The Lord of the Rings trilogy—you know, the guy who went completely bonkers during the siege of Minas Tirith and tried to burn his son alive? Quite the contrast from the gentle Cecil! His presence creates some of the most emotionally complex moments of the season.
Mystery Character (Robby Benson)
Here’s a tantalizing mystery for you—Robby Benson was announced as part of the Season 2 cast way back in 2022, but we still don’t know who he’s playing! The 68-year-old actor was a massive teen heartthrob in the ’70s (starring in One on One and Ice Castles) before later voicing the Beast in Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast.
He’s also built quite the resume as a TV director since then. Isn’t it intriguing when shows keep casting details under wraps? It usually means the character is pretty significant! Will he be a board member? Someone from Mark’s past? A key to the Gemma/Ms. Casey mystery? We’ll have to keep watching to find out, but expect him to show up in the season’s later episodes!
What’s next for “Severance”?
As Season 2 continues to unravel the mysteries of Lumon Industries, the show raises increasingly profound questions about identity, free will, and corporate power. The boundaries between innies and outies become more permeable with each episode, suggesting that complete separation may be impossible – or perhaps was never the true goal of severance, to begin with.
The expanding cast of characters offers new perspectives on the ethical implications of literally dividing a person’s consciousness. Through Devon’s outside investigation, Gretchen’s family perspective, and the new MDR team’s varied responses to severance, we’re getting a complete picture of how this technology affects not just the severed individuals but the entire social fabric around them.
With each new revelation about Lumon’s true purpose – those mysterious goats, the Testing Floor, the true identity of Ms. Casey/Gemma – the stakes continue to rise for our beloved office rebels. Will they manage to bring down the corporation from within? Can severed individuals ever be truly reintegrated? And what happens if the walls between innies and outies completely collapse?
One thing’s for certain – with this incredible ensemble cast bringing these complex characters to life, the journey will be just as compelling as the destination. The human drama at the heart of Severance grounds its sci-fi premise in emotional realities we can all connect with, making it one of the most thought-provoking shows currently streaming.
New episodes of Severance Season 2 release every Friday on Apple TV+ until the season finale on March 21, 2025.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
