Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2’s finale.
Severanceseason 2’s finale highlights how different Dylan is from his colleagues via a heartbreaking letter written by his Outie. More so than in season 1, thedifferences betweenSeverance’s Innies and Outieshave been explored in the second season of the show. Be it the explorations of Burt and Irving’s relationship outside of work, Mark’s camera-based conversation between Innie and Outie in the finale, or how Helly is actually a member ofSeverance’s Eagan family tree, the show has further showcased how different the world outside Lumon’s offices truly is.
In many ways, this has allowedSeverance’s cast of charactersto become even deeper than they already were, with many people simply viewing the Innies and Outies as two entirely different people as opposed to two halves of the same whole.Severanceseason 2’s finale explores how the characters themselves think this, though to differing extents. While Mark’s completion ofSeverance’s Cold Harbor filesparks some conflict between his Innie and Outie, Dylan’s two halves come to a somewhat gut-wrenching understanding that proves how different the latter is to his MDR friends.
Unlike Mark, Helly, and Irving
Image via Apple TV+
The first major difference between Dylan and his MDR coworkers is that his Innie was not created under selfish motivations. Where the others are concerned, each Outie had an ulterior motive when deciding to work for Lumon. Mark’s has been highlighted the most, with his Outie wishing to escape the grief of losing Gemma, though this proved futile withSeverance’s reveal that Gemma is alive. Lumon also had selfish motivations to create Mark’s Innie, withSeveranceseason 2, episode 7 proving that they were watching Gemma and Mark for a while so they could perfect Cold Harbor.
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Then there is Helena Eagan’s Innie, Helly, who was created as a PR stunt to sell Lumon’s Severance procedure to the world. Finally, Irving’s Innie was seemingly a way to further investigate Lumon after his Outie had already done so and even had contacts who seemed to also wish to take Lumon down. Dylan’s letter inSeveranceseason 2, episode 10 bucks this trend, proving thatOutie Dylan simply needed a job to provide for his family. This motivation is notably less selfish than those of the other Outies, providing the first way in which Dylan is different from them.
Dylan’s Outie Is The Only One Who Truly Respects & Admires His Innie
The Letter Ends On A Gut-Wrenchingly Sweet Note
Although Dylan’s letter starts off on a confrontational note, it quickly switches and becomes an equally heartwarming and heartbreaking reminder of yet another difference between him and his MDR coworkers. Dylan breaks down his letter into three separate points, the first being the jealousy and anger he feels over Gretchen and Innie Dylan’s kiss. The second point is that Outie Dylan understands how Innie Dylan could fall for Gretchen, given that they are the same person. Finally, Dylan’s last point proves that he is the only Outie to respect his Innie, linking back to his point about jealousy.
Outie Dylan reveals that he does not think of himself as an impressive person. He explains that he was hurt by Gretchen’s claim that Innie Dylan reminds her of how he used to be, but was mature enough to not let this devolve into hatred and resentment of his Innie. Instead, Outie Dylan states that he wants Gretchen to see him how she sees his Innie and that he likes knowing his Innie is around.
SinceSeveranceseason 1’s story concluded, there has never been a show of admiration between an Innie and Outie like this. Helena has long viewed her Innie as less than a person and while Irving’s views on his Innie have never been directly outlined, his usage of the person as a tool to investigate Lumon indicates the same. Mark’s conversation with his Innie began with wonder inSeveranceseason 2’s finale but quickly spiraled into anger. Via Dylan’s letter, he confirms another massive difference between him and his fellow MDR crew members: genuine friendliness towards his Innie.
Why Lumon Will Still Need Dylan’s Innie At MDR After Severance’s Season 2 Finale
Despite His Outward Rebellion
Another element that was confirmed inSeveranceseason 2’s finale is why Lumon continued to put up with the MDR workers' rebellious tendencies for so long. In Mark’s case, it was because Lumon needed him to complete Cold Harbor and finalize the company’s experiments with Gemma by creating new Innies. The question going intoSeveranceseason 3is whether Mark will face ramifications for putting an end to Cold Harbor, killing Mr. Drummond, and freeing Gemma from Lumon.
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Where Dylan and the other MDR employees are concerned, Lumon could keep them around for a similar reason they did Mark. Despite Mark freeing Gemma, her brief time in the Cold Harbor room proved that Lumon’s experiments worked and could force them to try more with other people. Lumon could force the MDR workers to continue their work under even more authoritarian oversight to continue the company’s experiments, potentially meaning Dylan is still needed inSeverance’s future seasons, and also putting his wife Gretchen at risk, as Gemma was.
