Convincing theory about Severance season 2: Lumon's elevator is more important than you think

With Severance pay Season 2 is on the way, The elevator at Lumon Industries could play a central role in a major development how the story continues. The Severance pay The cast of the second season will continue to face the challenge of playing two essentially different personalities with the same spirit. After the long delays that have slowed down the production of the upcoming sequel, the exciting and tantalizing ending of Severance pay Season 1 will finally be addressed when the series resumes in January 2025. The upcoming episodes could go in a variety of directions, but one exciting possibility concerns Lumon's elevator.

The Innies were at the end of the Severance pay Season 1, which led to a certain degree of deception and under-protection to keep their plan secret. The mechanism that enabled this plot development is known as Overtime Contingency and allows a temporary awareness of an Innie outside the Lumon offices. Like most Severance pay Tradition, it's a fascinating concept, and one that could go either way Severance pay Season 2.

Lumon's overtime schedule could allow an inside/outside switch if activated during an elevator ride

Severance has clarified that the change between inner and outer clothing takes place on the drive to the office in Lumon.

The characters who undergo the Severance procedure in the Apple TV+ sci-fi series have a chip implanted in their brains. The device means that the character's “main personality,” referred to in the series as Outie, retains no memory of what happens while they work hard to sort through the mysterious numbers of Lumon Industries. Conversely, a second personality is created – known as Innie – who has no knowledge of anything outside the walls of their workplace.

For most Severance pay In Season 1, it seemed impossible that the Innies and Outies could switch places, but the Overtime Contingency disproved that theory. When an Outie takes the elevator to the office, this seems to be the time when the chip is activated. The Innie persona will appear once the doors at the top open. Likewise, the transition will be reversed when the elevator is used to leave the office. So if the Overtime Emergency Policy is active while a separated employee is in the elevator, the personas will be reversed during the ride.

The Overtime Emergency Gambit may still only work if the switches are held down

Dylan allowed the other Innies to spend a short time outside in Severance Season 1

The overtime policy is not a perfect solution for the Innies' freedom. But that was never intended. Lumon designed the mechanism with a brilliant, cruel failsafebecause the contingency can only remain active while two switches are held in position – and that is very difficult for one person alone. However, Dylan manages to stay in Severance pay Season 1 finale. Regardless, the switches that open once an outie infiltrates Lumon could ruin everything.

To illustrate, Adam Scott's Mark S could be outside the Lumon office – possibly at home. Traditionally, this would mean that his Outie is in control. If the overtime emergency rule is activated while Mark is at home, his Innie would show up. If Mark's Innie then travels to Lumon and takes the elevator to the office, then the Severance Chip in his brain would probably be activated when he passed a certain point in the elevator shaftwhich could result in Mark's Outie regaining control.

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If so, Mark's Outie could explore his Innie's workstation. However, if the overtime contingency counters were then released, Mark's Innie could be forced back into the driver's seat. It is a complex sequence of events that relies on an assumed understanding of how the chips work, as well as the effectiveness of the overtime plan and whether it would work that way.

Another possibility could be that The chip activation of the elevator bypasses the overtime switches and that releasing them after the trip to the office would have no effect – the Outies would then be in charge while they are in the office. Interestingly, a trip back down the elevator shaft could mean another switch, meaning the Innies are now the people walking around outside the Lumon offices.

The Outies in Lumon would be more useful than having the Innies free

The Outies have more life experience than the Innies

The Innies have no life experience, as they spend every moment of their lives performing vague tasks at Lumon, so their time outside is unlikely to benefit them much. Their memories only go back to when they first appeared after the Outies opted for the severance process, and they consist entirely of workplace events. Therefore what would be more effective would be if the outies found a way to exist in the offices from Lumon Industries.

The Innies' innocence and inexperience makes them very childlike and only suitable for the specific role their Outies have condemned them to. The presence of the Outies in Lumon would certainly be less exciting than the freedom of the Innies – as you can see shortly at the end of the Severance pay Season 1, but from a practical standpoint, it would have far greater benefits for both parties. Not only would the outies be better equipped to find out what Lumon Industries is doing, but the innies could tell their story to the outsiders in the meantime.

It would be interesting to see how Helly R's Outie would react to being trapped in Lumon

Britt Lowers 2 Severance characters are at odds with each other

Helly R's Outie seems particularly callous when it comes to the plight of her Innie in Severance pay Season 1, although the two personalities share the same body – and even the same brain. Even after her Innie attempts suicide to free herself from her existence of endless work, Helly's Outie has no sympathy, essentially just telling her counterpart that she needs to get used to her new surroundings. It is apparently very easy for Helly's Outie to ignore the fact that her Innie is a person and does not see them as such.

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However, when the Innies and Outies swap places in Severance pay Season 2, then Helly's Outie will have no choice but to reconsider her feelings towards her other personality. The life of the Innies is not particularly fulfilling, but they are made to believe that it is. Helly's Innie is never satisfied with her life, although she eventually tries to convince her superiors otherwise as part of her escape plan. If her Outie is allowed to live in the shoes of her other self for a while, her coldness might turn into Severance pay Season 2.

Severance pay

4.0

From director and executive producer Ben Stiller and creator Dan Erickson, Severance follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott) as he leads a team at Lumon Industries whose employees have undergone a layoff process that surgically separates their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in work-life balance is challenged when Mark finds himself at the center of an unravelling mystery that forces him to confront the true nature of his work… and himself.

Pour

Christopher Walken, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus, Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Jen Tullock, John Turturro, Dichen Lachman, Zach Cherry

Release date

18 February 2022

Seasons

1

Streaming service(s)

AppleTV+

Showrunner

Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman

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