The gripping Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller is set to wrap up its second season, having skyrocketed to become the streaming service’s most talked-about show.
With a fanbase that includes stars like SZA, the series has captivated audiences worldwide. As the finale, titled Cold Harbor, approaches, speculation is rife on over the fate of key characters and a particular aspect of the storyline—the MDR team’s productivity, reports the .
In the first season, the inner workings of Lumon Industries were a focal point, but recent episodes have shown scant evidence of the team’s core task: data refining.
One concerned viewer remarked: “I’m not asking for twenty minutes a week of them refining data, but even some token display of them pausing work to go do mischief, or getting back to work after roaming around. Something to just acknowledge that they actually spend some part of their day doing their job.”
Another fan shared similar sentiments, finding the lack of depicted work in contrast to the first season rather strange: “No, but considering the amount they showed them work in season 1, not showing them work at all seems odd [sic].”
Lumon tried to bring in kindness reforms to improve productivity (Image: APPLE TV)
A third chimed in, pointing out the team’s struggle with quotas: “MDR barely managed to hit quota in season 1 and Mark was managing to get through Cold Harbour up to almost 100%, so showing them work from time to time wouldn’t have been terrible [sic].”
Yet, some fans defended the narrative choice, suggesting it’s a deliberate element of the plot. One viewer argued: “That’s an intentional plot point, I think. Milchick’s reforms don’t work, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle.
“Lumon is compromising itself because they want Cold Harbor so badly. Things are unravelling throughout Lumon’s operation, they are losing control.”
The MDR team were low on productivity after the OTC (Image: APPLE TV)
Another fan commented: “even if they stuck to the old torture ways i still don’t think mark and co would’ve “gone back to work”. like u said the genie is out the bottle [sic].”
A third viewer explained: “Of course it’s a plot point. We know that when Mark finishes Cold Harbor, Lumen kills Gemma. If Gemma dies, game over. Obviously we still want the innies to break out, so to speak, but no revenge is great enough to compensate for a dead Gemma, now that we know “she’s alive!” to quote iMark. So this season had to be constructed to keep Mark from working enough.”
Last week, fans discovered that if Mark (portrayed by Adam Scott) completed his Cold Harbor file, it would spell doom for his wife Gemma/Ms Casey (played by Dichen Lachman).
Mark has slowly been completing Cold Harbor (Image: APPLE TV)
Ms Cobel (Patricia Arquette) also hinted at this when she suggested Gemma might already be dead until Mark’s insider confirmed she was still alive.
In addition to the MDR rising up against Lumon, Ms Cobel appeared to be doing the same after being casually dismissed by them.
Hints also emerged that Milchick (Trammel Tillman) might rebel after being poorly treated by his employers following his promotion to the manager of the severed floor.
The finale is confirmed to be 76 minutes long with a lot of blood and gore, so audiences should prepare themselves for some distressing scenes.
In typical Severance fashion, some queries will be addressed, but viewers will undoubtedly have a host of new ones by the time the credits roll on Cold Harbor.
Severance season 2 concludes on Apple TV+ this Friday