Severance spoilers ahead.
It didn't take a genius to figure out there was something seriously wrong with Lumon Industries when we were first introduced to Severance, but the season one finale truly proved how warped its squeaky clean world actually is.
With Milchek and Cobel monitoring their every move, Mark, Helly, Irving and Dylan had to keep their wits about them in order to try and figure out a way to get un-severed, alerting their 'outies' to what their work 'innies' were currently going through.
On the one hand, turns out all it took was a switch. The bad news? The switch was only temporary, with someone holding the dial on for them throughout.
Dylan – who was desperate to end his time as a severed office employee after discovering he was missing out on seeing his child growing up – took the bullet for the team, with the rest of them having only a short amount of time before the jig was up.
The result proved to be a revelation for everyone involved. Here's what happened in the Severance season 1 finale, and what it could mean for season 2.
What to Read Next
Irving
When Irving wakes up in his outer body, he finds out that he is quite the painter, and also has a history in the navy. His house, which he lives in alone, is covered in memorabilia, with a photograph of his father also wearing the uniform. He also has a pet dog called Radar.
Making the most of the opportunity, he decides that he wants to see and reconnect with Burt after discovering a list of names and addresses. However, tracking down his office romance is easier said than done, with his work-self not even knowing how to drive a car.
And once he gets there, Irving's heart – as well as the hearts of viewers at home – was officially broken when he discovers that Burt is already happily married, planning his new life of retirement with his husband.
Questioning whether to leave him alone and return to his seeming life of solitude, the tame-tempered Irving decides to bang on his front door anyway… just as he's switched back to normal.
Dylan
Dylan well and truly becomes the group's hero when he decides to sacrifice knowing anything about the outside world in order to allow the others to find their loved ones and help them escape long-term.
However, trouble soon comes his way when Cobel discovers what they're up to and sends Milchek to stop him holding the switches open and sending them back to the way they were.
Painfully keeping himself stretched between the two switches to help the others, the only thing stopping Milchek is a crudely-made lock on the door made from a tie. As Milchek tries to reason with him, he gets offered the opportunity to learn more about his family, discovering he has more than one child he's been left to know nothing about.
While it shakes him, it doesn't break him, but a penknife against the tie means his time is limited. And as the door is finally burst open, we're left to wonder what exactly has happened to Dylan as the season ends.
Helly
When Helly's innie-self comes to, we discover that she's at a gala exhibition celebrating the wonders of the severance experiment. Throughout the time on the show, we've seen Milchek eagerly taking photos of her at work, celebrating her achievements at dance parties, and hiding the fact that she had attempted to take her own life rather than continue the experiment.
Turns out that there was a reason – she was one of the main advocates of the severance scheme, and had undertaken the procedure herself in order to prove to everyone that it was worth investing in. The event, it turns out, has her as head speaker.
Her father, Kier Egan, runs Lumon. Talking to him before the event, her dad scolds the innie for "what it tried to do to her", meaning he knows about the suicide attempt.
So naturally, that is why Milchek and Cobel were set against her outie discovering the horrific truth about what her innie was experiencing.
Helly – or Helena as she's known on the outside – is part of a political drive in order to stop the outlawing of severance, but decides to use the speech to speak the truth of her experience.
Despite being threatened by Cobel, she goes ahead with her plan in a room full of horrified supporters… only to switch back midway through the speech.
Mark
Mark is the main driving force in getting information out there about what's going on inside Lumon. When he's switched, he's talking to Cobel, who unknown to him has been masquerading as 'Peggy', his neighbour and a family friend. The pair are at a reading for life-guidance book The You You Are, which it's confirmed was written by Mark's brother-in-law, Ricken.
Discovering he has a sister, Devon, Mark pulls her aside to tell her about everything that's been going on. He also discovers that his outside self made the decision to do severance following the loss of his wife, Gemma. When he's shown a photo of her, he realises that it's actually Mrs Casey, the quiet and withdrawn psychologist he's come to know inside the office. This means that, despite believing she died, she's actually still alive.
But he makes a major slip-up when he calls 'Peggy' Mrs Cobel, making her realise he's been switched, triggering off a chain of events in the office that Dylan has had to deal with. When he realises his mistake, it's too late, and she's fled the party. Devon is distracted as it looks like Cobel has fled with her newborn baby girl, but thankfully she's found unharmed.
In the final moments before switching back, he manages to scream out the truth about Gemma.
Severance is available now on Apple TV+.
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Freelance writer, Digital Spy
Tilly is Gold-Standard NCTJ accredited journalist with eight years of experience in entertainment journalism.
She has been heard giving her insight on the latest TV stories on BBC Radio across the country and on BBC News.
Previously working with The Sun Online, Yahoo, Metro.co.uk and Independent IE amongst others, she joined the Digital Spy team from 2021-2023 as Deputy TV Editor (Maternity cover).
With a speciality in TV drama and true crime, Tilly has been praised for her exclusive content with A-list stars ranging from Sir David Attenborough to the lawyers behind Making A Murderer.
She’s happy to report her mum now takes her seriously as a journalist as she got to interview George Clooney once.
