WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance's season 2 finale!In one of the most heartbreaking scenes from Severance’s season 2 finale when Mark and Helly grieve their own lives while working to save Gemma’s Outie.

As Mark sits down to complete the Cold Harbor file, he and Helly discuss the possible outcomes of saving Gemma. Helly remarks that Mark could still have a chance at living through reintegration, with a teary-eyed Mark replying, “I want to live with you.” As much as Helly herself would love that future, she brings them both back to reality by stating, “But I’m her, Mark. I’m her.” Devastatingly, this line convinces Mark to keep going and finish Cold Harbor, reg to the tragic helplessness of their control over their lives compared to their Outies.

Helly's "I'm Her" Line Reminds Mark That They'll Never Have A Future Together, But Gemma & His Outie Can

Helena & Helly Wouldn't Reintegrate Like Mark

Helly repeating “I’m her” is as much a reminder to herself about their reality as it is to Mark. Their entire existence has been spent within these walls, with the entirety of Helly’s life and the majority of Mark S.’s being spent with each other. As Helly states, what they’re given is “half a life,” which they so desperately want to fight to keep. However, they’re still on a bigger mission to take down Lumon, which they can only accomplish by going along with the plans of Outies, who see their lives as more valuable.

Though there's been speculation that Helly is actually Helena in Severance season 2's ending, Britt Lower confirmed to LA Times that it's Helly.

Mark wants to spend his life with Helly, but he’s ignoring the fact that Helena Eagan is not Mark Scout. Helena Eagan is the daughter of Lumon’s CEO, the leader-in-waiting of the family that has been adamant about denying the rights of Innies or even accepting them as people. Helena resents her Innie and would rather try to become her than let Helly live. So, unlike Mark’s Outie, Helena wouldn’t be empathetic enough to try to reintegrate and give her Innie any type of control or involvement in her sole identity.

Of course, Helly and Mark are under the impression that Helena would have no interest in Mark Scout, making it seem impossible that they could be together even if both reintegrated. What they don’t know is that Helena Eagan is obsessed with both versions of Mark, so she would likely jump at the chance to be with him. Still, the logistics of that relationship couldn’t work in the real world. Helena couldn’t be with an anti-Lumon severed individual like Mark. Not to mention, Gemma is alive and Mark wants to be with her, leaving no room for the Helly romance.

Overall, Helly reminding Mark that her Outie identity is Helena Eagan allows them to reluctantly accept the reality that there’s no possible future for them together. But, there is the possibility of a future for Mark’s Outie and Gemma. Selflessly, Mark and Helly choose the love, happiness, and potential for the future of those Outies over the uncertainty of their own Innie existence. Freeing Gemma allows them to help take down Lumon and save an innocent woman, even if it means sacrificing their “half” lives together.

Helly Finally its That She & Helena Are More Alike Than She Wanted To Believe

Helly Has To it The Truth About Their Outies Being In Control

Helly stating “I’m her” in Severance’s season 2 finale is also a broader acceptance of her identity. Ever since Helly desperately tried to appeal to Helena to let her resign and escape the hell that she’s living in every day at Lumon, and was met with cruelty and the response that she’s “not a person,” Helly has been ardent about the idea that Innies and Outies are not the same. Helly hates having to identify with someone as cruel and manipulative as Helena, especially when Helena’s family is responsible for the subjugation and torture of herself and her friends.

Helly is fighting a war against the person with whom she shares a body and part of her mind, but she slowly accepts that she and her enemy are more similar than she wants to it. Jame Eagan even tells Helly that her “fire” is something he once saw in Helena, proving to herself that, on some level, she can personally identify with her Outie. Plus, as Dylan reminded her, Mark couldn’t even tell that Helena wasn’t Helly throughout the first four episodes of Severance season 2. Reluctantly, Helly has to accept that Helena created her.

Additionally, they’re both being held in different prisons in Severance, with Helena being trapped in the suffocating expectations and coldness of the Eagan family while Helly is trapped in “half a life” at Lumon. In Severance season 2’s ending, Helly also has to acknowledge more of these tragic similarities. They're both in love with the same person, they both feel like they’ve lost their families, with Helena being rejected by Jame and Helly grieving Irving’s absence and feeling ostracized by Dylan, and they're both held back by the existence of the other.

Why Mark Still Chooses Helly In Severance Season 2's Ending

Mark & Helly Run Away As Gemma Calls To Who She Thinks Is Her Husband

Even though Mark completes Cold Harbor after Helly convinces him they can’t have a future together, Mark still chooses to be with Helly rather than send his Outie with Gemma away from Lumon. While it’s selfish on their part, Mark and Helly’s decision to run away is one of the most flawed, human moments in the entire series. At that moment, Mark realizes that Gemma is already on the other side, so he did what he promised his Outie and still sabotaged Lumon. But, he can also still choose himself and his happiness by running off with Helly. Why should their lives be any less valuable than Outies?

If they’re going to die anyway, they might as well take whatever extra time they can from their “half a life” and spend it with each other.

There’s no thought of “what comes next” when Mark and Helly run away together. They’ve already accepted the idea that their existence is likely to be wiped away tomorrow after betraying Lumon and ruining the company’s plans with Gemma. If they’re going to die anyway, they might as well take whatever extra time they can from their “half a life” and spend it with each other. At that moment, they’re proving to themselves that they are people and that they deserve a chance at life and happiness just like their Outies, even if that choice is ultimately doomed in Severance.