Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2's episode 1.

After walking through the aftermath of season 1's shocking finale, Apple TV+ sci-fi show's season 1 showed how the innies succeeded at executing the Overtime Contingency protocol to get a glimpse of their outies' lives.

Instead of fully exploring the impact of the innies' actions on the outside world, Severance season 2's opening episode only hints at how they were all celebrated as heroes for blowing the whistle on Lumon. It primarily focuses on highlighting how Lumon is changing its approach towards the innies by giving them more freedom and autonomy in the workplace. However, a closer look at many details from the Severance season 2 episode's ending suggests that there is more to Lumon's purpose than meets the eye.

What Severance Season 2 Episode 1's Ending Reveals About Mark & Gemma/Ms. Casey

Season 2's Episode 1 Might Have Confirmed One Lumon Theory

In Severance season 2 episode 1's ending moments, Mark and the other MDR employees start working again. As soon as Mark sorts the numbers on his screen into bins, the show flashes to another computer screen that features Gemma with the same bins at the bottom. Even the progress bar, with the file name, "Cold Harbor," shows the same number on both screens. This brief scene hints that Mark may be working on Gemma's file.

After season 1, many viewers theorized that the MDR department could be helping Lumon refine the severance chips by sorting human emotions into the four Kier Eagan "tempers": "Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice." Put simply, the workers are performing machine learning to ensure that the chips make humans more pliable or compliant. Mark is specifically working on Gemma's file because he knows her better than anyone else. If this is true, Gemma was sent back to the testing room in Severance season 1's ending because she showed a semblance of human emotions, making her a less ideal employee.

What "Cold Harbor" Means On Mark's Screen In Severance Season 2 Episode 1's Ending

Mark Is Unknowingly Working "Refining" Gemma Through "Cold Harbor"

While the details and the purpose behind "Cold Harbor" will likely be revealed later in Severance season 2, Mark and Gemma are unknowingly working together to help Lumon. The screen in the episode's ending moments also hints Mark is working on Gemma's 25th iteration, suggesting he has been refining her since the beginning. This would explain why Mark got his "freshman fluke" after he ed Lumon — he was always working on a familiar person's file at the MDR.

...through the refinement process, Lumon plans to turn her into a "colder" individual, incapable of having any complex human emotions but serving as an ideal employee.

The meaning of "Cold Harbor" remains unknown, but it might have something to do with cryogenic technology. After her accident, Gemma must have been kept in a suspended state, possibly in cryogenic preservation. Owing to this, she does not have an outie and is believed to be dead. Or, "cold harbor" could simply mean that, through the refinement process, Lumon plans to turn her into a "colder" individual, incapable of having any complex human emotions but serving as an ideal employee.

Why Irving Decides To Come Back To MDR In Severance Season 2 Episode 1's Ending

Irving Knows Something Isn't Right

Severance season 2's episode 1 hints that Helly's innie might not have returned. Instead, the outie, Helena, might have willingly entered the office to keep a close eye on all the other Lumon employees. While this is not confirmed, it could explain why she makes up a fake story about talking to a gardener during her Overtime Contingency stint. While talking to Mark, she even points out that the MDR does not have cameras anymore. Her blind trust in Lumon suggests she cannot be the innie, Helly.

Irving is the only MDR worker who notices that something about her seems off. When she talks about her time outside, Irv questions what a gardener was doing outside her house at night during winter. He seems to have figured out that Lumon is up to no good and seemingly decides to stay to get to the bottom of what is happening.

Why Milchick Allows The Innies To Leave At Will

Lumon Tries A New Approach With The Severed Employees

After Severance season 1's events, Lumon has seemingly realized they can exploit the camaraderie the MDR workers have developed. Although the "Macrodat Uprising" threatened Lumon's privacy, the company understands that it can benefit from the sense of loyalty and trust that has grown among the MDR workers. If the innies build their own unique identities and lives in the Lumon office, they would be less compelled to understand the lives of their outies. This, in turn, would make them easier to control and manipulate.

The permission to leave is merely an illusion designed to make the workers feel they have control over their fates.

Therefore, they create new rules that give the employees a false sense of freedom while leveraging their emotional attachments and perceived autonomy. The company also understands that workers like Mark will not leave anytime soon because they have a solid reason to stay inside. Also, since the innies are starting to see themselves as separate individuals from their outies, the company knows they would be hesitant about "killing" themselves by leaving. The permission to leave is merely an illusion designed to make the workers feel they have control over their fates.

Why The Board Agrees To Mark's In Severance Season 2's Episode 1

The Board Seems One Step Ahead Of The Innies

The "Marcodat Uprising" might have harmed Lumon's reputation. However, at the same time, it might have also given the company a new means to control the innies. The innies developed a sense of belonging and togetherness with one another after they worked together during the Overtime Contingency process.

The MDR's terminals in Severance are the popular 16-bit Data General Nova devices.

When Mark returned and refused to work with new MDR employees and asked the board to bring back his former teammates, the board likely saw it as an opportunity to keep him compliant and under control. This, however, is only a theory based on the story developments so far. The board's true motives will likely become clearer in future Severance episodes.