Severance is a show that has layers within layers, and even with the three years between Season 1 and Season 2, there are still new things for viewers to discover! Case in point: As Apple TV+ builds the hype for the imminent premiere of Severance Season 2, the first season is getting more eyes on it, and one Easter egg detail of the show is popping out and going viral. If you caught it during your Severance viewing or in the original chat threads, congrats, but it’s a fun detail to spot if it’s new to you:
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As you can see on this Reddit thread, viewers are fascinated by the keyboards that Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement Division employees use during their work shifts. That’s because their keyboards are seen to be missing the pivotal keys of “Ctrl” and “Esc,” or “control” and “escape.”
Now this isn’t just a fun Easter egg detail of Severance‘s production design: it’s a detail that reflects the show’s plot and themes. Lumon’s Severance program has its employees using carefully compartmentalized portions of their minds while working – that mental programming is something the company never wants to upset, so removing any potentially triggering words from their workspace makes total sense. Moreover, that one small detail provides some deeper insight into the overall strange architecture and design aesthetic of the Lumon facility, with its labyrinthine hallways, isolated pods of work teams and empty white walls, and general lack of any dynamic coloring or decoration. It’s just another fun way of getting immersed in the world of the show and its unique sci-fi-drama-mystery blend.
What Is Severance Season 2 About?
Severance follows four employees of the Lumon Corporation Mark (Adam Scott), Dylan (Zach Cherry), Helly (Britt Lower), and Irving (John Turturro), who have agreed to a revolutionary procedure: having their consciousnesses split into two halves: one identity that’s conscious and active at work, with their original personality only allowed to surface once they leave the workplace. Season 1 examined the growing doubts Mark experienced about his “severed” persona and the relationship to his life outside work – doubts that became shocking revelations as Mark and each member of his team began to discover that their work lives and the kinds of personalities and relationships being fostered there were very different – at times very much at odds – with who they “really were” outside of work.
WARNING: SEASON 1 SPOILERS FOLLOW!
In the Season 1 Finale, Mark’s severed persona “woke up” long enough outside of work to try and inform his sister Devon (Jen Tullock) that he remembered his supposedly “dead” wife Gemma is actually serving as Lumon’s workplace wellness counselor Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). Mark’s teammates each had to deal with their own rude awakenings: Irving Bailiff (John Turturro) discovered his workplace crush Burt (Christopher Walken) is no fellow lonely soul, but is actually a married man. New team member Helly Riggs (Britt Lower) turned out to be “Helena Eagan,” the daughter of Lumon’s CEO and the main proponent of the severance process, who is proving the concept by undergoing it herself. “Helly” tried to fight back against “Helena” by exposing the truth about severance during a Lumon executive gala event.
However, a preview of the first 8 minutes of Severance Season 2 has already shown that Mark finds himself right back Lumon and the MR department, with a stretch of time missing after his little rebellion. The cover story he’s given is that after a public backlash to severance, his team all quit but he volunteered to be re-instated in the program. Of course, Mark immediately discerns that this story isn’t as true as he’s led to believe it is.
Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on January 17th.
