WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 2!Contrary to what was implied in the premiere,Severanceseason 2, episode 2 reveals thatHarmony Cobel wasn’t actually fired by Lumon, and was instead offered a “promotion” by Helena Eagan. When the series finally returned after its three-year hiatus,Severance’s season 2 premiere indicated thatCobel had been fired by Lumonin the aftermath of Macrodata Refinement’s overtime contingency plan and “uprising.” However, season 2, episode 2 instead revealed that, while Milchick had, indeed, replaced her as the severed floor manager, Lumon didn’t actually intend to let Cobel go for good.
Shortly after trying to prevent Helly R. from giving her speech about severed employees’ subjugation inSeveranceseason 1’s ending, Cobel was called into a meeting with Helena Eagan herself. Rather than fire her,Helena offered Cobel a promotion to serve as the head of the brand-new “Severance Advisory Counsel.”To Helena’s surprise, Cobel wasn’t eager to accept the position, instead leaving the meeting by saying she would put some throught into the offer. But, since Cobel packs up her backs to leave inSeveranceseason 2, episode 2’s ending, it’s clear she has no intention of taking that job.
Cobel Knows That Lumon’s Job Offer Is Just To Keep Her Quiet
Lumon Would Have Fired Her If They Didn’t Need To Control Her
ThroughoutSeveranceseason 1, Cobel was completely indoctrinated by Lumon’s mission and cult-like operations, so her refusing the job offer highlights a stark turn of events in season 2. However,Cobel had already felt like she wasn’t being valued enough by Lumon’s higher-ups throughout season 1, as demonstrated by the Board refusing to speak to her or acknowledge the work that she had put in on the severed floor to benefit the company’s goals. She then risked her job by showing up to the gala to attempt to stopHelly (posing as Helena Eagan), which wasn’t met well by Lumon.
Lumon also discovered that Cobel had been posing as “Mrs. Selvig” and going against protocol by infiltrating the life of Mark’s Outie.
In reality,Lumon did “fire” her in all but those words. Cobel wanted to return to her job and tried to reject the promotion, but Lumon said they had already promoted Milchick to that position. She wanted to stay on the severed floor and continue her work there, but Lumon refused, instead trying to keep her involved with the severance initiative but without any direct oversight of and interactions with the employees. For that reason, Cobel knows that they’re essentially trying to fire her, but only want her “promoted” to a fake job so Lumon can control her.
Why Seth Milchick & Harmony Cobel Aren’t Severed In Severance
While most of the main characters and employees seen in Severance are severed, Milchick and Cobel are not, giving them an unfair power advantage.
Lumon understands that Cobel has been one of their most loyal employees, and that’s far too valuable of an asset for them to get rid of entirely. However, Cobel is right in saying that Lumon fears her. The company understands that she knows too much, and that she holds significant power over them with the potential to expose their unethical experiments, subjugation, and disturbing tactics to controlInnies and Outies. Cobel knows that they believe this, andwould rather flee than take the promotion and feel like Lumon is simply controlling her with no value or respect at the company.
Why Helena Eagan Won’t Let Cobel Work On The Severed Floor Anymore
Lumon Needs To Try To Blame The Innies' “Torment” On Cobel
Helena’s insistence on the promotion inSeveranceseason 2, episode 2 emphasizes that theEagan familyhas no intention of letting Cobel help “clean up” the mess from the Innies going to the outside world. Part of the reason is that they blame Cobel for being complicit in their disobedience and rebellion in the first place. Cobel was in charge of managing the severed floor, which meant it was her responsibility to prevent any “uprisings” and defiance from the Innies that could jeopardize the company. As such, why would they trust her to take care of damage control?
The changes that Lumon says they’re making inSeverance’s “Macrodat Uprising” video are really just hollow words, all meant to give the illusion of improvement and retribution while they’re actually becoming more strict and watchful.
Additionally, by letting the Innies believe that Lumon got rid of Cobel altogether, the company gets to uphold the facade that they’re actually making changes to how they manage the severed floor and treat the Innies. The changes that Lumon says they’re making inSeverance’s “Macrodat Uprising” videoare really just hollow words, all meant to give the illusion of improvement and retribution while they’re actually becoming more strict and watchful.Firing Cobel as the severed floor manager is just another way for Lumon to “prove” they’re getting rid of the “bad apples”that created a hostile work environment.
Will Cobel Join The Severance Rebellion Against Lumon?
Cobel Could End Up Betraying Lumon In Severance
At the very end ofSeveranceseason 2, episode 2, Cobel packs bags from her house into her car and drives away after Mark tries to confront her aboutwhat really happened to Gemma. After a long silence, Cobel speeds away without denying that she knows anything, which implies that she could be on the cusp of betraying Lumon. By leaving town and the company,it seems she’s trying to do everything in her power to not turn against them, but the temptation is great given their poor treatment of her.
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It’s unlikely that she’d join the fight against Lumon Industries’ plans with severed people in the same fervent manner as the Innies, butCobel might still reluctantly help Mark and the others by giving some clues about the company’s secret activities. If anything, Cobel might prove to be helpful in getting answers about and potentially exposing what Lumon is doing on the Testing Floor and withMark’s “Cold Harbor” fileinSeveranceseason 2.
Cast
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
