This article contains spoilers forSeveranceseason 2, episode 1, “Hello Ms. Cobel”
Severancecreator Dan Erickson explains why Helly lies in the season 2 premiere. The hit Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller wastes little time in getting down to business after its extended hiatus, withSeverance’s debut episodefeaturing the innies debating a choice: they either leave Lumon, thus ceasing to exist, or they go back to work. The innies — Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving (John Turturro) — all share what they saw on the outside, thoughHelly lies about the fact that her outie is Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumon’s CEO Jame Eagan.
In an interview withVariety, Erickson was asked about why Helly lies to Mark and the rest of the innies at that moment. Speculation quickly sparked up that Helena, an outie, was now spying on the innies. But the series creator offers a far simpler explanation, saying thatHelly lied because she’s rattled by what she sawon the outside and essentially ashamed to be connected to Helena. The full response is below:
All of the characters were rattled by what they saw, in one way or another. And each of them has to make a decision when they come back as to how much of that they are willing or ready to share. Helly made the most horrifying discovery that she could have made — because she is, it turns out, what she hates the most. There’s a lot of shame that comes with that, and there is a concern that she won’t be accepted by her friends. She knows they all vilify the Eagans, and she is one. She doesn’t want to have to take on that baggage.
What Helly’s Lie Could Mean For Severance
It Doesn’t Sound Like She’s Spying
As the innies are all debating what to do next, they share what they saw while they were briefly out intheSeveranceseason 1 finale. They are each roughly truthful, but Helly says something about how her outie has a boring life that is essentially not worth mentioning. Irving recognizes that her story doesn’t sound quite right, though he doesn’t push it.
The premiere episode, “Hello Ms. Cobel”, was written by Erickson anddirected by Ben Stiller.
The scene is an extended showcase fortheSeverancecast, with Turturro selling Irv’s sense of despair at a love lost. Later, though, when it’s just Helly and Mark, she voices a clear desire to separate the innies from the outies but says she’ll help Mark in his quests if that’s what he wants. This could be read as a lie from the spying Helena, but Erickson doesn’t entertain the possibility.It points, instead, seemingly, to the rest of Helly’s season 2 arc.
Our Take On Helly’s Lie
Will She Kill Her Outie?
One possibility that hasn’t been brought up as much is if the innies could replace their outies and the moral questions that brings up. In any case, if Helly isn’t a spy, then her larger arc will be about coming to terms with Helena. But, given that this isSeverance, there may be a few twists on the road to that reconciliation.
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.
