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What’s Going on With Gemma in Severance?

BBG News

The long-awaited episode focusing on Gemma, a key character from Severance, has finally been released. However, it appears that it has raised more intriguing questions than it has answered. In an attempt to clarify the information presented in the seventh episode of Season 2 regarding both Gemma’s past and present, let us provide an analysis as comprehensively as possible.

In this week’s episode, titled “Chikhai Bardo,” we go back in time to the first encounter between Mark (Adam Scott), who later collapses after a reintegration procedure, and Gemma at a blood drive held at Ganz College, their shared alma mater where they used to be professors. Mark taught history, particularly World War I, while Gemma specialized in Russian literature. The essence of their academic fields is emphasized when they discuss the titles of their graded essays (Mark’s on drug use by soldiers during WWI and Gemma’s on religious conversion in Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich)). Notably, the blood drive equipment bears the Lumon waterdrop symbol, suggesting that Mark and Gemma’s association with Lumon extends much further back than they are aware.

In a post-Season 1 finale interview with Variety (2022), Dan Erickson, the show’s creator, addressed a question regarding Mark and Gemma’s predicament. He suggested that the sequence of events could be debated: Was Mark involved due to his connection with Gemma, or was it the opposite? The key inquiry is, what makes Mark unique? Is it really Mark who is special, or is it more about Gemma, and did he just get dragged into it?

In Episode 7, while it may not explicitly address these specific questions, it certainly provides a wealth of information about Gemma’s current situation, the extent of her knowledge, and possible implications for her part in Lumon’s grand scheme.

What is Lumon doing to Gemma?

Previously, we found Gemma, alias Ms. Casey, descending the Exports Hall elevator to what’s now been identified as a testing area. However, it seems there are not just one but several distinct versions of innie Gemmas, each residing within separate rooms on this testing floor. Each time outie Gemma enters these rooms, her corresponding innie awakens and is compelled to participate in Lumon’s disturbing severance experiments—ranging from enduring agonizing dental treatments, surviving simulated flight turbulence, or writing repetitive Christmas thank-you notes until their hands ache from strain. As of now, we’re unsure how Lumon managed to separate one person into multiple innies; however, the innies’ grumbles about the tedium of each setting imply they only encounter what’s within that room.

In a conversation with her Lumon supervisor, Dr. Mauer (Robby Benson), who secretly controls all innie experiments and appears to have an unhealthy fascination with Gemma, she confides that she can’t recall events from the rooms, but the bodily pain usually persists. At one instance, Gemma probes him about why she hasn’t been to Cold Harbor yet and what will transpire when she eventually enters that room. In a mysterious manner, he replies, “You will reappear in the world, and the world will become aware of you.

In the recollections of Mark and Gemma’s marriage, the series subtly suggests that Lumon had been influencing their relationship since its inception. For instance, Dr. Mauer is briefly seen in the scene where Mark and Gemma visit the fertility clinic after a tragic miscarriage, hinting at potential involvement with Lumon. Furthermore, there are indications that either Gemma had previous engagements on the testing floor or Lumon was exceptionally knowledgeable about her interactions with Mark.

Mark’s comment to Gemma about disliking writing thank-you notes might be a reference to the dreaded Christmas card experiment room where Dr. Mauer made her write fake thank-you notes, or it could be a nod to their earlier interactions. Similarly, the forced exchange of “I love you’s” between Dr. Mauer and Gemma seems reminiscent of a similar scene with Mark, suggesting a connection between them.

In the subsequent sequence, we find Gemma with a spread-out deck of cards on the table before her, engaged in a conversation with Mark about an image on one card. This image symbolizes Chikhai bardo, a Buddhist concept representing the transitional phase between the initial signs of death and final breath, which Gemma interprets as “one individual battling himself, overcoming his own consciousness. Essentially, ego dissolution.”

At the same time, she’s also completing a form that she obtained somehow through being on the clinic’s mailing list, hinting at Lumon’s orchestration of her receiving these materials. The purpose of this document appears to be related to Gemma’s future role as a human test subject, although the details are still unclear. It seems that Lumon aimed for Gemma to eventually meet Mark, rather than the other way around. However, it’s clear that both characters play crucial roles in the broader scheme of things.

What is Lumon up to?

In Episode 7, it appears that each name of the testing floor rooms – such as Allentown, Cairns, Rhodes, and Wellington – could be a nod to historical battles or military figures with significant meaning. This leads us to believe that there may be some connection between the Cold Harbor battle and Lumon’s overall strategy.

Or:

In Episode 7, it seems like every testing floor room name we come across, including Allentown, Cairns, Rhodes, and Wellington, might refer to a famous battle or historical military figure with relevance. This suggests that there could be a link between the Cold Harbor battle and Lumon’s long-term plan.

In the narrative of the American Civil War, I was part of the historic Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia – a battle that marked Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last significant triumph. This engagement is renowned for being one of the bloodiest and most unequal battles ever fought on American soil. As an employee at Lumon, I am tasked with completing Cold Harbor, a project of immense importance according to Lumon security chief Mr. Drummond, who mentioned that its completion would lead to “one of the greatest moments in the history of this planet.

Before Episode 7, certain fans had already focused on the historical background of Cold Harbor and began formulating theories about it. More recently, TikTok user Annie Shaffer has hypothesized that Lumon, established in 1865 (the year the American Civil War ended), might be aiming to create a workforce of emotionless innie slaves for their own purposes.

In one video, she explains the main idea of this show: ‘Corporations prioritize their own interests over their employees, seeking only to create a workforce of emotionally numb individuals.’ Regarding the colors of the innie’s severed floor, they are blue. She also discusses the selection of Mark S., suggesting that his constant depression and use of numerical analysis for emotions may be helping them find ways to strip workers of their feelings, creating a force of corporate drones.

@anniekshaffer

What does the term “Cold Harbor” refer to in the series “Severance”? What exactly is Mark Scout’s project in this show, and where might the story of “Severance” be heading?

In the TV show “Severance”, what does “Cold Harbor” mean? Can you explain Mark Scout’s job in the series? Where do you think the plot of “Severance” will go?

♬ Storytelling – Adriel

WO (representing deep sadness or despair), FC (joy, excitement, or euphoria), DR (fear, worry, or unease), and MA (anger or a desire to cause harm). These categories align with Kier’s four temperaments of sorrow, frolic, fear, and malice. This suggests that MDR might be refining the severance process itself, aiming to find a way to eliminate emotions that essentially define what it means to be human.

If what we’ve seen is accurate, Mark and Gemma could play crucial roles within the project due to their apparent deep affection. The series has provided numerous indications that love, despite Lumon’s attempts at severance, persists. In Episode 7, when Ms. Casey’s version of Gemma momentarily regained awareness, she appeared on the verge of asking Mr. Milchick about Mark before he intervened and sent her back to the testing floor. It’s possible that Cold Harbor serves as a final test for the strength and complexity of human emotions like love, specifically between Mark and Gemma. This would also help explain why Mark has been stuck at 96% on Cold Harbor since his reintegration process began: the intrusion of his outer consciousness into his inner environment may have removed the boundary that enabled him to advance so swiftly. Could it be that by reintegrating in order to improve his chances of finding Gemma, Mark might inadvertently condemn her to an ongoing series of experiments?

In examining why Lumon is developing a cohort of emotionless soldiers, it’s worth looking into “The Lexington Letter,” an additional e-book written by the creators of Severance. This book is considered part of the Severance universe and presents a series of letters between a Topeka Star editor and a reporter who received an alleged whistleblower letter from a former MDR employee. The letter’s sender claims that Lumon is engaging in questionable activities, suggesting that her innie’s completion of a MDR file may have caused a tragic explosion that obliterated a truck belonging to their competitor, Dorner Therapeutics. However, the book concludes with the editor instructing the reporter to halt their investigation and revealing that the employee has perished from complications due to a car accident.

It appears prudent to eliminate any potential influence of empathetic feelings in such a scenario where Lumon may intend to manipulate its former employees into becoming instruments for war, carrying out increasingly harmful acts of aggression.

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2025-02-28 12:06

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