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SEVERANCE Season 2 Ending Explained! Season 3 Theories & Details You Missed! | Think Story | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: SEVERANCE Season 2 Ending Explained! Season 3 Theories & Details You Missed!
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Video Summary
Summary
Core Theme
The finale of "Severance" season 2, "Cold Harbor," reveals that the mysterious "Cold Harbor" is a consciousness designed to compartmentalize extreme trauma, specifically the death of a child, to test the integrity of the "barrier" protecting the "innie" from the "outie's" memories. This entire process is part of Lumen's ultimate goal to sever trauma from consciousness, enabling a life free from pain.
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creepy animatronics, dismantling your
dead baby's crib, and marching bands. If
you're like me, you felt like this after the
the
finale. From Cold Harbor Explained, the
goats and Mark's decision to leave
Gemma, we have a lot to get into. Now,
this video isn't going to be a boring
recap like some of the other breakdowns,
we'll only be dealing with the biggest
questions and theories associated with
this episode. And as such, I've left
timestamps below so you can see all the
topics we'll be covering. Plus, I'll be
coming out with a massive theory and
hidden details video that will cover the
entire season, not just the finale. So,
get ready to praise Kier by hitting that
like and subscribe button. My girlfriend
promised me a waffle party if I get over
10,000 likes. I don't have a girlfriend.
The final episode of season 2 is titled
Cold Harbor, and after a full 10
episodes, we finally find out what lies
behind this mysterious door and how the
work of our macro refiners are connected
to it. Simply put, Cold Harbor isn't
just a room, but an entirely new
consciousness created for Gemma Scout.
In fact, each of the rooms, which
correspond to different file names, are
complete separate consciousnesses, which
compartmentalize trauma in varying
levels of severity. This was done to
test what Dr. Mau calls the barrier. The
barrier is what holds back the Audi from
experiencing the inny's trauma. If the
trauma is too much, it could break this
barrier and seep into the Audi's
consciousness. This is why when Gemma
first enters Cold Harbor, Dr. Mau asks
who she is. Who are you? Something that
is also asked to new innies. Who are
you? And this room contains the ultimate
trauma, the death of a child. If the
barrier can hold this, it can likely
hold anything. This is why there are so
many rooms, 25 to be exact. They contain
increasing levels of trauma to test the
strength of this barrier. For example,
the pain of going through a dental
cleaning is different than experiencing
a plane crash. I mean, it could just be
turbulence, but you get what I mean. So,
we can assume the dental cleaning room
known as Wellington was completed before
the plane room. All of this is to
achieve Lumen's ultimate goal of ending
pain as we know it. As Drummond says,
"We commit this animal to
cure and his eternal war against pain."
Theoretically, a chip could be implanted
into our brains and any form of trauma
could be severed from our original
person. Thus, we could live a life free
of pain. I'm in a glass case of emotion.
Cooll says the macro refinement numbers
are quote a doorway into the mind of
Mark's wife. Each cluster is a feeling
associated with one of Kier's four
tempers. And these tempers are the
building blocks of the mind. They
include woe, frolic, dread, and malice
which are represented in the painting
Kir tames the four tempers as well as
the dancers at Dylan's waffle party
which we can assume are from the
choreography and marrynt department. Kir
believed that the human soul was
composed of a precise ratio of these
four tempers and it was this knowledge
on how to tame them that he wanted to
pass on to his children. by taming the
tempers, he said, quote, "The world
shall become but your appendage." The
room itself contains the same crib Mark
put together for their unborn child. If
Gemma can get through the task of
dismantling it while not remembering the
trauma of her real life, the entire
severance project would be deemed a
success and thus Mark and Gemma won't be
required. This is why Coobel says if
Cold Harbor is complete, both Mark and
Gemma are dead. I should mention this
means the death of their innies and not
necessarily their original selves. But
there are still things we don't know.
For example, how is it Mark is able to
feel these clusters of numbers if
they're associated with someone other
than himself? Perhaps it's because he's
so close to Gemma. But that wouldn't
explain why Irv, Dylan, and Heli are
able to work on Gemma's numbers as well.
Maybe because the new consciousnesses
they're creating are somewhat blank,
allowing other people to work on them as
well. It's not about creating a new
Gemma. It's about creating a blank
conscience. And what about the files
we've seen that aren't a part of the 25
files that comprise Gemma's folder?
These include files like Cello and
Chick-fil-A. I'm guessing these are
failures. Files which a refiner was
unable to complete or which Gemma's
barrier was unable to hold. Let's also
discuss the winter coat. The same winter
coat Gemma wore on the night of her
supposed death. This is the only outfit
she wears that is actually associated
with both Gemma and the time period in
which she left the Audi world. Every
other outfit is from the 1960s. I think
the ' 60s thing could have something to
do with Jame Egan, who would have grown
up during that time. We also know that
he watches these tests from his own
computer, but what do you guys think?
Now, what about the name Cold Harbor?
Every other file is a reference to a
physical place that's somewhat
recognizable in the real world. Cold
Harbor is not. And if it is indeed a
location, it's likely only found in the
Severance universe. If that's the case,
it could be the location where Gemma
quote unquote died. But it could also be
metaphorical, like the cold place we go
inside ourselves when experiencing
moments of tremendous loss. If you're
like me, arguably the most WTF moment of
the entire episode was Mark's decision
to leave Gemma and run off with Heli. It
also raises the question, where do they
think they're going? There's no escape
and it'll only be a matter of time
before they're apprehended and their
innies retired for good. The first thing
we have to ask ourselves is why Mark
made this decision. And it's important
to note that this is any Mark making
this choice, not our Audi. In fact, the
first 20 minutes of the episode is
basically a back and forth between these
two severed portions of Mark's brain as
they try to come to an understanding on
saving Gemma. Audi Mark needs his
Iniey's help to do this. But if they're
successful in saving Gemma, it would
lead to the downfall of Lumen and thus
end In Mark's existence. It would be his
death. So for his innie, the question
becomes, would you sacrifice yourself
for someone who's basically been your
captor? But it's not just any Mark who
stands to lose his life. It's every
single innie on the severed floor. I
think the second you get your wife back,
you forget I ever existed. So, I totally
get why Mark's Inny initially rejects
the plan to save Gemma. There's nothing
in it for him except the promise of
reintegration. And this promise is most
likely [ __ ] I mentioned
reintegration. He basically called
[ __ ] Well, he's not wrong, right?
It's left ambiguous, but we can assume
Audi Mark would not reintegrate if he
got his wife. I mean, the procedure is
extremely dangerous, and we've seen what
it can do not only to him, but also with
people like Petey. And that's not even
getting into the specifics of how a
reintegrated person would function. As
Inie Mark mentions, the vast majority of
this reintegrated mind's memories would
belong to the Audi. How do these two
severed consciousnesses reconcile when
one is much more vast than the other?
It's ultimately Coobel who convinces Any
Mark to go through with the plan to save
Gemma. Once Cold Harbor is complete,
he'll be killed anyway, so why not save
Gemma, which will at least give him the
chance of being saved. Upon arriving
back on the severed floor, Mark is
greeted to a new painting, the exalted
victory of Cold Harbor. I'll have a
whole section devoted to this later in
the video. Mark and Heli are the only
two macro refiners left, and Heli is
here to bear witness as Mark completes
the file. There's also this weird
mannequin of Kier Egan. If you've seen
my episode 9 video, you'll know Seanc's
connection to a Twilight Zone episode
about mannequins becoming real people,
but this mannequin appears to be
animatronic. I wonder if it's from the
perpetuity wing of Gwendalyn's former
office where she said the Egginans were
animatronic. Ours were animatronic. They
even did this little choreographed
dance. So yours just stand there. Mark
even gets a cute waffle party pop-up
card. Waffle parties being the highest
perk available to MDR employees and
awarded to the refiner of the quarter,
which in this case looks to be Mark.
Mark and Heli discuss the pros and cons
of completing Cold Harbor with Heli
stating that the only way any Mark has a
chance at living is if he saves Gemma.
But Mark doesn't just want to live. He
wants to live with Hely. Yeah, but I
want to live with you. This is
impossible as Heli reminds him, but I'm
her Mark. Heli is Helena Egan. There's
no way he'll ever get to be with her.
There'll be no honeymoon ending for you
and Hel. But I actually think there is a
way they can be together and we'll get
to that in a bit. Heli has this
interesting call back to episode 1 where
she tells Mark she's been trying to
think of another place besides Delaware.
Been trying to think of other place
names besides Delaware. This was one of
the questions Mark first asked Hely.
Please name any US state or territory.
[ __ ] comes to mind. I don't know.
Delaware. And the two end up talking
about the equator. This is an
interesting location considering the
equator is what separates the northern
and southern hemispheres. It's a
metaphor for not only the severed brain
cutting our consciousness into innie and
audi, but for the severance floor
itself. The last thing heli says to Mark
before he ventures off to save Gemma is,
"See you at the equator." And where does
she meet him at the end of the episode,
but on the severed floor, the floor that
separates the test floor below and the
Audi world up top. It could also mean
the door that separates the outside
world from the inside. But let's fast
forward to that pivotal moment. Mark
chooses Heli over Gemma. Is it an
irrational decision? Sure. But who says
anything about love is rational? This is
a man whose reason to live is Heli. And
by going through that door, even if
reintegration was possible, he'd never
get to be with her. By choosing Heli, he
is choosing to spend the last moments of
his existence with someone he loves. And
I don't know about you guys, but I got
the feeling he was making this decision
on the spot. It's not like he had some
master plan to escape with Heli this
whole time. The song that plays at the
end is Nol Harrison's The Windmills of
Your Mind, which first debuted in the
1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. It
actually won the Oscar for best original
song. It's a song all about the nature
of consciousness. While the movie
explores themes like forbidden love, so
you can see why this choice was an ideal
fit. Mark and Heli run through the
hallway and you'll notice the picture
shifts from digital to film. Similar to
the flashbacks we saw in episode 207's
Chikai Bardau. Remember in Buddhism,
Chikai Bardau is a term to describe the
transitionary period from life to death.
Mark and Heli are in such a period,
literally running to their deaths. They
have nowhere to go. In an interview with
the movie podcast, cinematographer
Jessica Legonier says of the choice to
use film, but there are parts of it
where we wanted a different feeling, you
know, where we were really looking for a
different identity and a sense of
nostalgia. The juxtaposition of digital
to film parallels that of the Audi and
any world. Whereas digital tends to be
artificial and mechanical, film is
organic and physical. The decision to
end on a freeze frame is reminiscent of
the French new wave. The most famous
example, France Trufo's The 400 Blows.
In it, a young boy spends time with his
best friend trying to plan a better
life, but comes into conflict with the
law, similar to Mark becoming best
friends with Heli, talking about their
lives, and coming into conflict with
Lumen. The use of a freeze frame also
leaves the viewer with a sense of
uncertainty, ambiguity, and concern for
the lives of our characters. As we
transition to the end credits, a
traditional prison work song, Go Down
Old Hannah, plays. Old Hannah was a
nickname for the sun and how its
relentless and punishing heat beat down
on the prisoners as they work. Heli and
Mark are much like these prisoners.
They're waiting for that sun to set. The
sun here being the oppressive Lumen
regime. But is this the end of Mark and
Heli? And how could they possibly get
out of this situation? I think the
answer lies in James' speech to Heli in
which he openly states he doesn't love
his actual daughter, Helena. I do not
love my daughter. It is actually Heli
who has the spirit of Kier within her.
You and your family created hell and
you're going to burn in it.
There he is. In fact, Jame admits to
siring many children, none of them
possessing the spirit of Kier. If you
know where I'm going with this, I think
Jame will switch Heli and Helena,
essentially shutting off the Helena part
of her brain so that Heli can live in
the outside world where he can cultivate
the cure within her. I'm sure she'll
demand any Mark come with her, which may
give Jane leverage in his control over
her. This allows the two of them to have
a life together, albeit under the thumb
of Lumen. This means Audi Mark would be
shut down, too. And it creates a really
interesting dynamic going into season 3.
I have to believe that Gemma will have
run out of that stairwell where she'll
be picked up by Devon and Miss Coobel.
So, while season 2 was all about Mark
saving Gemma, season 3 will be about
Gemma saving Mark. The alternative is
some sort of any uprising. We've already
seen glimpses of this with Dylan and the
choreography and marrynt department
standing up to Milcheek. Although I
think this direction would be too messy.
And while we're here, did you notice
that the song choreography and Marrynt
plays when they first arrive is here
chosen one here, the song Cooel sang
back in season 1. All of the players use
plastic instruments made from 3D
printers from Optics and Design. These
instruments can even be found flowing
out of Irv's bereavement mug in the
intro titles. While Lumen has purposely
kept these departments separate from one
another, they all seem to support each
other with the overall goal being the
completion of Cold Harbor. OD makes the
items for the rooms. MDR refineses the
numbers for a new consciousness.
Mamalian's nurturable provide the goats
and choreography and marrynt improve
morale for the workers. And a little off
topic, but can we also clock how Jame
had his own room connected to an
elevator? Is this part of the severance
elevator or is this somewhere else
entirely? Since season 1, one of the
biggest questions on everyone's minds
are what the hell are these frigin
goats? In the finale gives us a bit more
clues about these kids. Yeah, I didn't
know that a baby goat is called a kid.
It makes more sense now that the mascot
for Coobel's school were the fighting
kids. And now that we know these animals
are used as a sacrifice, it adds an
extra layer of creepy. The first thing
we'll learn is that the severance floor
hallway has a hidden room. It makes me
question whether there are other such
rooms scattered around the labyrinthine
halls. As Gemma is herded to Cold
Harbor, Lauren, the head of Mamleon's
Nurturable, brings a goat to Drummond.
The name Lauren originates in Scotland
and means fox. And foxes are known to go
after goats, especially kids. So, this
is all very planned out by the writers.
It's also crazy to have the death of a
kid juxtaposed to Gemma literally
dismantling the crib of her dead child.
The goat has come as a quote offering.
And this particular kid was chosen
because it's demonstrated Lumen's nine
core principles such as verve and wilds.
The whole ceremony is akin to a cultish
or satanic ritual. Goats have commonly
been associated with the devil and even
Lauren's outfit looks satanic in its
looming black. This is a ritual that's
been done multiple times before as
Lauren will question how many times
they'll have to keep doing this. You can
see that Lauren does not like this
senseless killing and it's no doubt part
of the reason she'll turn on Drummond.
But the very fact this has been done
multiple times raises many questions.
How many times has Gemma gone through
this process. Are there others like
Gemma who are also going through this
efficacy test? Remember there is an
identical room across from her on the
test floor. This goat referred to as a
beast by Drummond will be attuned to a
quote cherished woman who we can assume
is Gemma. its spirit will guide her to
Kier's door. I personally believe that
this whole ritual should be taken
symbolically and not literally. Like I
don't believe a ghost goat is going to
lead Gemma to a door where Kier is.
Symbolically, this ritual makes a lot
more sense. For example, in certain
mythologies, goats are seen as psychops
or creatures that can move between
worlds, usually the material and
spiritual. Perhaps the most famous
example is the half-goat god Pan, who
you may remember associated with Pan's
labyrinth. Many have drawn a connection
to the maze-like corridors of Lumen to
such a labyrinth. This could mean that
this goat or its spirit is to guide
Gemma through these halls to a part of
Lumen we haven't yet seen. Remember that
Pey tried to map Lumen's halls, but it's
a jumbled mess. There are even parts of
this map that we haven't yet seen. Like,
what is the coil of doom? In some
cultures, goats were used in ritual
sacrifices to symbolize the release of
its life force or spirit to a higher
power. In this case, that higher power
would be kir. The ritual would act as a
bridge between the human consciousness
and the divine with the goat being a
vessel or medium connecting the two. So,
it's possible this is all part of some
attempt to get closer to Kir. We'll also
see several depictions of this ritual
where someone offers up the goat to be
sacrificed. I interpreted this one as
the goat resurrected with the sun
blaring behind it like those old
Christian paintings suggesting something
divine. The death altar is also in the
shape of a swaddled baby with just
enough room for the head to poke out
where it will be killed using a bolt
pistol. The sides also seem to have
writing on them. However, the quality
isn't good enough to make out what it
says. If you've seen my episode 209
video, you'll know I think Jame Egan had
sex with a young Misscoel. I'll probably
do a separate video going into greater
detail on this. But I also believe that
the relationship ended with Cooel
getting pregnant. I mean, she knows all
about James' other women being brought
to the birthing center. Plus, Jame
himself acknowledges his other children
who were quote sired in the shadows. If
Cooel had a child, I think that child is
Mark. It would explain how she was
always keeping an eye on him and even
does motherly things like bake him
cookies. But there's one line in this
episode that really highlights this.
It's where she says to Mark, "I care for
you." Something about this line seemed
so out of place, and knowing how
intentional this show is with its
dialogue, I can't help but think it's
another clue that Cooel is Mark's mother
and she had to give him up as a teen
mom. Just when you thought the paintings
in this show couldn't get any better,
we're treated to this masterpiece titled
The Exalted Victory of Cold Harbor. It
depicts Mark surrounded by various
friends and co-workers as he finishes
Cold Harbor in what could only be
described as an orgasmic state, reaching
his hand in the air as if receiving some
divine favor. The location is Wo's
Hollow, which we saw during our Innies
Orpo, and we even get a glimpse of the
world's tallest waterfall. Wo Hollow is
where Kier went to drown out the sound
of his dying twin brother, Deer. And I
thought this was pretty cool, but Deer
Egan is an anagram for AI generated and
Winter Tide is an anagram for deer twin.
At top the falls, looming over the
others are various members of the Egan
family. From left to right, Ambrose,
Myrtle, Philillip, Jame, Helena, Kier,
Leonora, Baird, and Ghart. The show is
filled with nods to these characters
like Pips's Diner is named after Philip
Egan, and the Leonora apartments are
where Irv lives. Below the waterfall,
we'll see clusters of different groups
that have brought Mark to this moment.
In the far back left are Ricken's
friends, Patton, Denise, and Rebec. And
it took me a while to figure out who
this guy is. It's Balf, the guy who
informs Ricken the netty pot is ready.
Uh, Ricken, the netty pot is warm. In
front of them are Mark's MDR
replacements from the beginning of
season 2, Gwendalyn, Daario, and Mark W.
This is followed by members of Optics
and Design, Elizabeth, Felicia, and
Bert. Directly to Mark's right are Pey,
Coobel, Irv, Ricken, Devon, Baby
Eleanor, Heli, and Dylan. To Mark's
left, we have Miss Casey, Milchek, Miss
Hong, holding her theramin, Natalie, and
Mr. Grainer. We'll also see three
members of Mamleian's nurturable,
Lauren, Wyatt, and Goatman. There are
the four innie twins from the Ortho and
rounding out the painting, the four
tempers, Wo, Dread, Malice, and Frolic.
Praise gear, we haven't seen the end of
Dylan G. Although not given the largest
story line this episode, we do get a bit
of a wrap-up regarding his affair with
Gretchen. Milcheek gives him a letter
from his Audi explaining three points.
Point one, you point two, Gretchen is
perfect. And point three, Audi Dylan
hopes his wife will one day see him like
she sees his innie. This whole situation
was a wake-up call for Audi Dylan to get
his life in order. Perhaps now he'll
change to become that self- assured
badass his innie is. So in Dylan has a
choice. He can choose to stay at Lumen
or quit for good. And I think that
heroic push of the vending machine to
block Milch gives us our answer. He's
here to stay. I also like that on his
resignation form, he only put down his
first name because that's all he knows.
And did anyone else notice that the
break room has been cleared out? It's
almost as if once Mark is done with Cold
Harbor, MDR isn't needed anymore and
they've already started clearing things
out. For those wanting a brief
explanation of the Gemma escape, here's
a step-by-step guide where I'll display
who's an innie and Audi every step of
the way. We start with Audi Mark making
his way from Blumen's ground floor.
There he will take the elevator down to
the severance floor where he turns into
his innie. In Mark then makes his way to
the export hallway using the directions
slipped to him by Heli. By going down
the export hallway elevator, he turns
back into his Audi since he is no longer
on the severed floor. There he finds
Gemma, whose brain has been severed 25
times in the cold harbor room. This is
why she doesn't recognize him when she
first meets him. This room also doesn't
affect Mark's chip, so he's still his
Audi here. When they exit the room, Mark
is still his Audi, but Cold Harbor Gemma
turns back into regular Gemma, the same
Gemma that fell in love with Mark those
years ago. They have a brief moment to
embrace before rushing back to the
elevator. As we ascend to the severed
floor, we get the most awkward switch as
our characters kiss turning back into
any Mark and Miss Casey. Finally,
there's the stairwell threshold. Miss
Casey goes through first and upon
exiting the other side turns into Gemma.
Mark, however, stays behind with Heli.
With season 2 having come to an end,
there is some good news. As of the time
of this writing, a season 3 has not been
confirmed, although it's pretty safe to
say it will be considering Severance is
Apple's most watched TV show ever. In
February of 2025, Ben Stiller confirmed
that a writer's room was currently
underway in LA. And for those of you
thinking it'll be another three-year
wait, it'll likely be far less
considering season 2 was affected by
both the writer and actor strike. Now,
if you like this video, make sure to
like and subscribe. I will be coming out
with more Severance content. Thanks for
watching. Be sure to like and subscribe.
And for more bad takes, you can follow
me on Twitter and Instagram at
ThinkStoryYT. Until next time, remember,
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