Severance Doesn't Hate Your Fan Theory — And That's Why It Rules
The mystery box show is officially back for good.
Severance has always been a show built on mystery. But that’s what makes it so fun. Like “mystery box” shows before it like Silo and Lost, the unknowns and gaps in the story prompt fans to try and put the pieces together themselves.
Ever since the cliffhanger ending of Season 1, fans have kicked the fan theories into high gear, and not even halfway through the season they have been rewarded with a cataclysmic reveal that floored audiences — and vindicated those who speculated.
Spoilers ahead for Severance Season 2, Episode 4, “Woe’s Hollow.”
The Innies venture outside in Severance Season 2 Episode 4.
In the fourth episode of Severance Season 2, “Woe’s Hollow,” the MDR team ventures into the wilderness for a work retreat — and a major Kier Eagan lore drop. But the trip doesn’t exactly bond the employees. If anything, it has the opposite effect: Irving becomes convinced Helly is not who she seems, especially after she makes a snide comment around the campfire.
That paranoia comes to a head the next day, when Irv holds Helly hostage, shoving her face under the water until Mr. Milchick turns her back into her true self. It seems like Irv just overreacting to a single sentence, until Helly — or, rather, Helena — yells out, “Do it, Seth!” Mr. Milchick speaks into his walkie-talkie, ordering someone offscreen to “remove the Glasgow block,” and Helly is back.
It’s a monumental moment for the Innies — resulting in the immediate termination of Irving — but a massive success for the fandom, who have sensed something has been off with Helly from the jump. In Season 2 Episode 1, she lies about her Outie life, the first major clue. But there were smaller ones too, like “Helly” struggling to find her computer switch, or the lack of a second ding in the elevator when she descends to the severed floor.
Fans noticed — rightly — something was up with Helly from the start of Season 2.
Fan theories are always a part of TV fandom, especially sci-fi shows like this. But it’s a difficult balance to strike. If a twist is too obvious, like Sharon Carter’s heel turn in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, then theorizing isn’t fun, and the story gets boring. If the theories go too far and predict a twist that doesn’t exist, like Mephisto in WandaVision, then the show ends up disappointing.
Severance is finding that balance perfectly: The Helly clues were obvious only to the most observant fans, the ones who knew Helly’s behavior closely enough to know when she’s not herself, just like Irv. There always were hints, but they seem a lot more obvious in hindsight.
The Season 1 finale proved plot twists are baked into this show. This episode proved that we can’t trust what we see. There are still six more episodes ahead, so it’s safe to say something bigger is coming: and now we know the answers are right in front of us, if we know where to look.
