‘Severance’ Places John Turturro at Heart of Season 2 Mystery

‘Severance’ Places John Turturro at Heart of Season 2 Mystery

[This story contains spoilers from season two, episode two of Severance, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig.”]

“Okay. You’re not picking up. I get it. I want you to know, my innie got the message.”

It’s one of just a few lines from Irving (John Turturro) in the latest installment of Severance, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” which serves as a counterpoint to the season two premiere. Where the first episode focused solely on the innies on the other side of the overtime contingency plan, episode two centers on the outies as they navigate the aftermath of their work selves’ actions. 

We see exactly how the ensuing hours played out for every single one of the MDR Four, with one exception: Irving. John Turturro’s doggedly dogmatic worker bee lost his loyalty to Lumon across the first season, thanks to his growing love for Burt (Christopher Walken). After Burt’s forced retirement, Irving pushed all in on the innies’ plot to break out into the real world. But unlike his colleagues, the pathway from Innie Irving back to Outie Irving remains shrouded in mystery.

Sure, we’re all wondering if it’s Helena or Helly (Britt Lower) back on the severed floor of Lumon, but at the very least, we see Helena dealing with her innie’s actions. For Irving, however, we pick up with him hours after his innie drove to outie Burt’s house to declare his love. When we last left the character, he was pounding on Burt’s door. When we check back in on him in this past week’s episode, he’s back at his own place. What happened between those two points? It’s a mystery we’re waiting to see answered in the weeks ahead, especially considering Outie Irving’s already apparent plot against Lumon.

In the season one finale, Innie Irving sees his outie has kept detailed files on all things Lumon, including tracking several of the company’s employees. This adds some intrigue to a scene in this week’s episode where Irving places a call from a payphone, reaching an unknown someone’s voicemail. “My innie got the message,” we hear him say, which opens up a bunch of questions, including, what’s the message? And, who is he telling about it?

Some immediate possibilities come to mind:

° The most obvious is Burt, Irving’s innie love interest. We have absolutely no idea what the relationship between Irving and Burt’s outies looks like, considering the show’s decision to hop straight from Burt’s front door to Irving’s home. If it’s anything like their innies, though, there’s at least some fondness between these two men, if not an outright affair. Burt’s name was on Outie Irving’s list of Lumon folks. Are the two already in cahoots against the company? It would help explain why Burt shows up in the episode, watching Irving from afar.

° If it’s not Burt, then maybe it’s someone close to Burt, such as his old Optics and Design colleague, Felicia (Claudia Robinson). She stands to be the woman in charge of O&D now that Burt’s out of the mix at Lumon. If she’s aligned with Irving on the outside, then perhaps she’s a powerful ally on the inside, as well.

° Another person in the Lumon world we haven’t seen yet this season, but hopefully will meet again before long: Reghabi (Karen Aldridge), the ex-Lumon employee who worked with Petey (Yul Vazquez) throughout the early going of season one to become “unsevered,” or “reintegrated.” We know Reghabi has an eye on Mark (Adam Scott), based on their interactions in season one. Does Reghabi have her eye on other MDR employees, and if so, is Irving one of them? 

° Perhaps a dark horse candidate: Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette), who heads out of town by the end of this week’s episode. She’s on the outs with Lumon, and in truth, has been on the downhill with them since the show’s very first episode. Right now, Cobel stands to present a real thorn in Lumon’s side, given what she knows, and given their treatment of her on her way out the door. What if she was already making moves, with Irving as an accomplice? We have seen very few scenes between Cobel and Irving in the past, so the potential relationship between them is wide open.

Laying out the candidates we know about, Burt’s really the most obvious pick. Things might be as simple as Irving calling his former flame to apologize for his innie’s actions. But if we’re looking at a deeper level here, as we often are on Severance, then the field is much more open, including characters we have yet to meet. Before the season, Apple announced an all-star list of talent joining the cast, including the likes of John Noble and Gwendoline Christie in yet-to-be-revealed roles. Could one of them be working with Irving against Lumon, and if so, to what end?

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Severance is now streaming the first episode of season two, with new episodes releasing Fridays on Apple TV+. Read THR‘s season premiere interview with writer Dan Erickson, and on episode two.