This article mentions suicide.

Summary

• Lumon's Elevator could be pivotal in Severance season 2 as the Innie/Outie switch takes place during the ride up to the office.
• The Overtime Contingency allows for temporary consciousness of an Innie outside Lumon, activated by the elevator or certain doorways.
• Outies being at Lumon could be more beneficial than Innies being free due to their life experience and suitability for the role.

With ending of Severance season 1 will finally be addressed once the show resumes in January 2025. The coming run of episodes could go in a variety of directions, but one exciting possibility comes down to Lumon's elevator.

The Innies found themselves outside their usual environment toward the end of Severance season 1, which resulted in a certain level of subterfuge and staying beneath the radar to keep their plan under wraps. The mechanism that allowed this plot development is known as the Overtime Contingency and allows a temporary consciousness of an Innie outside the Lumon offices. Like most Severance lore, it's a fascinating concept, and one that could go both ways in Severance season 2.

Lumon's Overtime Contingency Could Allow An Innie/Outer Switch If It's Activated During An Elevator Ride

Severance has made it clear the Innie/Outie switch takes place on the ride up to the Lumon office

The characters who undergo the Severance procedure in the Apple TV+ sci-fi show have a chip installed in their brains. The device means the character's "main" persona, referred to as an Outie in the show, retains no memories of what happens while they're hard at work sorting the mysterious Lumon Industries numbers. Inversely, a second personality is created - known as an Innie - that has no knowledge of anything outside the walls of their place of work.

For most of Severance season 1, it seemed impossible for the Innies and Outies to trade places, but the Overtime Contingency disproved that theory.

For most of Severance season 1, it seemed impossible for the Innies and Outies to trade places, but the Overtime Contingency disproved that theory. When an Outie rides the elevator to the office, this seems to be when the chip is activated, bringing the Innie persona to the surface just as the doors open at the top. Similarly, the transition is reversed when the elevator is used to exit the office. So, if the Overtime Contingency is active while a Severed employee is in the elevator, then the personas would be reversed during the journey.

Severance season 1 also reveals that certain doorways can also activate a character's chip, such as the door to the stairwell. This theory could also be applied to ing through those doors.

The Overtime Contingency Gambit May Still Only Work While The Switches Are Being Held

Dylan allowed the other Innies to experience a short time on the outside in Severance season 1

The Overtime Contingency is not a perfect solution to the Innies gaining their freedom. Then again, it was never meant to be. Lumon designed the mechanism with a brilliantly cruel fail-safe, in that the Contingency can only remain active while two switches are being held in place - and it's very difficult for one person to do alone. However, Dylan does manage to achieve this for an impressive amount of time in Severance season 1's finale. Regardless, the switches being released once an Outie has infiltrated Lumon could undo everything.

After the elevator ride, deactivating the Contingency would, in theory, cause another switch.

To illustrate, Adam Scott's Mark S could be outside the Lumon office - possibly at home. Traditionally, this would mean his Outie is in control. If the Overtime Contingency is activated while Mark is at home, then his Innie would surface. If Mark's Innie then traveled to Lumon and rode the elevator up to the office, then the Severance Chip in his brain would likely activate when he ed a certain point in the elevator shaft, which could cause Mark's Outie to regain control.

If so, this would allow Mark's Outie to explore his Innie's workplace. However, if the Overtime Contingency switches were then released, Mark's Innie could be forced back into the driving seat. It's a complex sequence of events that relies on an assumed understanding of how the chips work, along with the efficacy of the Overtime Contingency and if it would function in this way.

Another possibility could be that the elevator's chip activation overrides the Overtime switches and that releasing them after the ride to the office would have no effect - leaving the Outies in charge while in the office. Interestingly, a trip back down the elevator shaft could mean another switch, meaning the Innies are now the personas walking around outside the Lumon offices.

The Outies Being At Lumon Would Be More Useful Than The Innies Being Free

The Outies have more life experience than the Innies

The Innies have no life experience, with every moment of their lives being spent doing vague tasks at Lumon. As a result, their being outside isn't likely to reap any huge advantages. Their memories only date back to the first time they surfaced after the Outies opted to undergo the Severance procedure, and they consist entirely of workplace events. Therefore, what would be more effective would be for the Outies to find a way to exist in the offices of Lumon Industries.

The Innies' innocence and inexperience make them very childlike, and only really suited for the specific role that their Outies have doomed them to.

The Innies' innocence and inexperience make them very childlike, and only really suited for the specific role that their Outies have doomed them to. The Outies' presence at Lumon would certainly be less thrilling than the Innies finding their freedom - as briefly experienced near the end of Severance season 1, but from a practical standpoint, it would provide far greater benefits to both parties. Not only would the Outies be better equipped to discover whatever it is Lumon Industries does, but the Innies can tell their story to those on the outside in the meantime.

It Would Be Interesting To See How Helly R's Outie Would React To Being Trapped At Lumon

Britt Lower's 2 Severance characters are at odds with each other

Helly R's Outie seems particularly unfeeling when it comes to the plight of her Innie in Severance season 1, despite the fact the two personalities share the same body - and even the same brain. Even after her Innie makes a suicide attempt to free herself from her existence of endless work, Helly's Outie has no sympathy and essentially just tells her counterpart that she'll need to get used to her new surroundings. It's seemingly very easy for Helly's Outie to ignore the fact her Innie is a person and fails to see her as such.

However, if the Innies and Outies do swap places in Severance season 2, then Helly's Outie will have no choice but to reappraise how she feels about her other persona. The life lived by the Innies isn't particularly fulfilling, but they're 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 gets to spend a while living in her other self's shoes, then her coldness may start to dissipate in Severance season 2.