This One Small Line From 'Severance' Has Us Rethinking Everything About Gemma's Fate

1 month ago 8

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Severance Season 2.

Severance Season 2 has already taken a deeper look at Lumon and the severed employees than ever before, as Mark S. (Adam Scott) and his fellow innies in MDR try to piece together reality after using the OTC system to experience the outside world. While they are still missing a lot of information, the show's biggest mystery thus far centers around Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), Lumon's wellness counselor, who Mark realizes in the Season 1 finale is also his outie's late wife, Gemma. This revelation is made more complicated by the fact that Ms. Casey has also disappeared from the severed floor, but the reveal also drives outie Mark's story in Season 2, as he became severed in the first place to avoid his grief and agreed to be reintegrated after learning that she may still be alive.

Somehow, Gemma is still alive, but things don't quite add up. After all, if she is alive, why is Mark so convinced she's dead? Innie Mark's time in the outside world ended with him exclaiming, "She's alive," spiking the interest of his sister, Devon (Jen Tullock), who is the only one convinced he was referencing Gemma. Season 2, Episode 2, "Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig," adds more context to why Mark's outie is so reluctant to entertain the same theory, as he mentions that he personally identified Gemma's body, confirming her death. The contradiction between Gemma's apparent survival and the physical evidence of her death makes this ongoing mystery much more complex — and possibly hints at an even darker side to Lumon.

Did Lumon Fake Gemma's Death in 'Severance'?

Adam Scott and Jen Tullock sitting at a diner

While outie Mark's statement and Ms. Casey's existence seem completely contradictory, both could be true if Mark was deceived. Though he saw a body that he identified as his wife, it's entirely possible that said body wasn't Gemma's. Considering the power Lumon has, it isn't out of the question for the company to interfere. However, they would have had to provide a fake body that even fooled her husband. Severance hasn't divulged the whole story of Gemma's "death," but the series revealed that it happened in a car crash. While the severity of the incident is unknown, when comparing a hypothetical situation about his sister's husband, Mark says, "If Rickon died and his body burned," suggesting that the accident that supposedly claimed Gemma had devastating effects.

Yet, this theory raises even more questions, including the lengths Lumon possibly went to in order to deceive Mark. Even if the body was badly burned and difficult to recognize, someone had to be dead, so it's possible that Lumon killed someone else to fake Gemma's death. The company is certainly exploitative, and murder doesn't seem beneath them, but any confirmation of that would be dark even for Lumon. Yet the bigger question regarding Lumon's involvement is why, as Gemma's accident happened before Mark was hired by Lumon. Though Season 2 has already confirmed that he is vital to the Cold Harbor project, Lumon may have been interested in Mark before he started working with them — so much so that they went to the effort of faking Gemma's death to lure him in. While Lumon has the power and, seemingly, the means to do so, Severance has yet to explain why or how.

Mark S. (Adam Scott) and Helly R. (Britt Lower) stop during a walk-and-talk in a hallway in Apple TV's 'Severance'.

Could Gemma Have Actually Died in 'Severance'?

Though it is plausible that Lumon faked Gemma's death, there could be another answer, one in which the Gemma Mark knew is dead, and Ms. Casey is simply a clone of his wife. The theory not only explains Mark successfully identifying his wife's body but also why he is so important to Lumon. It suggests that MDR's secret work sorting the numbers that give them an emotional reaction provides data for a clone's personality. By using Mark specifically, Lumon could be trying to find a way to make Ms. Casey more like Gemma. While Ms. Casey is more removed from reality, Severance is a sci-fi show, and this theory would also explain those unsettling "twins" of the MDR team in Season 2, Episode 4, "Woe's Hollow."

Severance still has a lot to explain about the circumstances surrounding Gemma's death, but whatever is going on, it seems like more than a coincidence that Mark is in such close proximity to Ms. Casey. While bigger answers have yet to be revealed, it's possible that Lumon is even more sinister than it first seemed.

New episodes of Severance Season 2 premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.