S2E41-ReRun-REWATCH03-PT02-Who Is Alive?

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Severed The Ultimate Severance Podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome back Refiner. Every time you show up here, it
means you decided to come back. This is the Severed
full rewatch of season two, and yes, this is Severed,
The Ultimate Severance Podcast. I'm your host, Alan s We're
halfway through episode three, Who is Alive? No time for formalities.
We need to get back down on the severed floor
where Dylan and Miss Wang are going somewhere, So let's

(00:39):
do it. Let's reopen the file called who is Alive.
We catch up to Ms Wang, who is briskly striding
through the severed floor halls. Dylan is dutifully following along,
but he has no idea why.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
It would be cool to know what this is about.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
To have only been down here for a week. Miss
Wong's knowledge of the severed floor layout is impressive. Dylan
is still having trouble with her age.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Is it rude to keep asking why you're a kid?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Ms Wong ignores him she's on a mission. Dylan claims
no disrespect. He just wants to know if she's okay.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
I'm not like forcing me to be here, are they?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Ms Wong is stone faced as she continues to lead
Dylan to well, we don't know. They turn a corner
and Dylan holds up short. His eyes are wide as
he approaches the door where Ms Wong is standing. He
looks very hesitant.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Why are we going to the security room.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Just over a week ago, Dylan spent thirty nine long
minutes in this very security office holding open those OTC switches.
The look on his face says he thinks he's about
to receive his punishment for those actions. Ms Wong, who
somehow manages to rate a black key card, doesn't answer. Instead,
she silently unlocks the door. Dylan pushes it open with

(01:47):
quite a bit of trepidation. The look on his face
as the door swings back is perfect from our POV.
Inside the room, waves can be heard and seagulls. Dylan
slowly enters. He can quickly things have changed. Ms Wong
follows him through the former security office door. Dylan is
checking out the former security camera monitors. They are now

(02:09):
assembled in what's called the memory wall. As Dylan approaches,
a picture of he and a smiling lady fills each
individual screen. Their heads are pressed together and they look
so happy. This is the Oudy Family Visitations Suite exactly
as it was depicted in the plans. Seth showed Dylan
in the back room. Oh and check it out. The

(02:30):
memory wall can do mosaics. It dissolves to a large
picture of the couple spread out over all of the monitors.
The lady in the pictures with Zach Cherry is American
actress Merret Weaver. Merritt currently has fifty one credits as
a performer on her IMDb profile. Her career got under
way in nineteen ninety five as a character on the
TV movie Blue River. She was only fifteen years old.

(02:53):
Merritt was my favorite part of Nurse Jackie. Her eighty
episode run on the series would earn her an Emmy Award.
It does a lot of TV series and made for
TV movies. In one of her theatrical movie appearances, as mentioned,
Merritt and Gwendolen Christie were both credited in Welcome Tomorrowin
Gretchen appears in five total episodes of the second season

(03:15):
of Severance. Well that's five if you count her voice
work in the last episode. We heard her on the
phone with Dylan during Goodbye missus Selvig. Since Michael Siberry
got a show credit for saying a single word over
a speaker. I say, we give it to her. We
reverse to a front shot of Dylan. He is in
awe of these screens. Over his shoulder. To frame right,

(03:37):
we can see the blurred figure of Well, now, could
that be merret Weaver or why? Yes it is. She's
revealed with a rack focus. As Dylan turns. Gretchen is
holding a clear bag in front of her with both hands.
She looks so uncertain. She's addressing the guy who left
the house this morning, but somehow it's not really him.

(03:58):
When we're looking over dylan shoulder, don't miss a nifty
bit of set deck visible here. There are some cool
built in shelves to the left of the doorway where
Gretchen is standing. The first two shelves are for coffee
and a tea service. Check the top shelf. That is
a reproduction of the statue of care we saw in
the town square. The real thing is more than twenty

(04:19):
feet tall. We saw it the night of Mark's first
date with Alexa, when he confronted the whole Mind collective.
Gretchen takes a step towards Dylan. She's fumbling nervously with
her ponytail. There's a reverse shot to Dylan. He is
just glowing. These two could not be more perfectly cast
as husband and wife, which raises a question. Zach Cherry

(04:40):
is married in real life. What did his Audi wife
have to say about his any meeting up with Merret Weaver.
According to Zach, she loved it. Not only is Merret
Weaver one of Zach Cherry's favorite actresses, she is his wife,
Annabella's absolute favorite actress. There were no complaints from Annabella
Cherry over these in show nuptials. As we're kind of

(05:03):
getting into the couple's first meeting, things are interrupted by
a voice from off camera.

Speaker 4 (05:08):
Dylan g through good behavior and output, you've earned an
eighteen minute visitation event with your Audie's wife.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
It kind of startled me. I'd forgotten she was even there.
I had a friend who worked at McDonald's in high school.
I remember he accrued a food allowance credit based on
things like being on time and hours worked. He might
earn eighteen cents for each hour he worked. He couldn't
take it in cash, it would be added to his
food credit account. He might get another fifty cents for

(05:35):
clocking in on time. It worked out to about three
bucks off his meal each shift, which wasn't bad until
you realized his only choices were McDonald's food. Oh, McDonald's burn.
I think Dylan is on the same kind of plan.
Eighteen minutes seems random until you think about him accruing
like two minutes of family time for each hour spent refining.

(05:57):
This would also explain why Dylan was so gung ho
about being on the computer and not so supportive of
Mark's hall pass excursions. Dylan is thrilled with this reward.
Cool since this is lumin I'm betting eighteen minutes means
eighteen minutes, no more, no less.

Speaker 4 (06:13):
Her time begins now.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Tic tick tick, Dylan. Miss Wong exits and pulls the
door behind her. I'm a bit surprised Seth is giving
her so much responsibility. I'm equally surprised at how easily
the very young Miss Wong is taking on these responsibilities.
Dylan is awkwardly staring at Gretchen. He puts his hands
in his pockets if he were outside, he drag his

(06:35):
toe through the sand, shrug and go aw shucks. Gretchen
motions to the Mark newsom Nimrod chairs should we set,
Dylan cannot speak. He is mesmerized by this lovely person
who also happens to be his Audie's wife. You might
notice the cushions on the Nimrod chairs are purple, so
is the carpet and the fabric on the banquette where

(06:57):
Gretchen was first seen. Purple is not an available color
for the Nimrod chairs, but it was an important color
for the production. Purple represents the blending of the red
and blue components of the chip. Oftentimes purple spaces signal
coming together of anise and outis, like it does here
in the Audi family visitation suite. Since they couldn't get purple,

(07:19):
they made purple. David Schlessinger said, the fabric on the
Nimrod chairs, the carpet, and the banquette were all dyed
to match each other. The point of view shot from
the entrance door is pretty great. The back wall behind
the Nimrod chairs is back lit and each panel is
filled with part of a seascape panorama. There are even
sea birds flying in the distance. It fits in well

(07:41):
with the soundtrack. As I think I mentioned in the
epicap this Oudy visitation suite reminds me of every spy
I've ever been to in a Mexican resort. I can
almost smell the eucalyptus and taste the cucumber water. Dylan
is not half as smooth as he thinks he is.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Nice sack.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Gretchen looks confused. She's holding what looks like a clear
zip block freezer bag on her lap. It's a big one,
like a half gallon size. Dylan stammers and motions to
the sack in her lap. She realizes what he meant
and says, thanks.

Speaker 4 (08:12):
They made me put my stuff in here.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, of course, this is how Lumen can be sure
you aren't sneaking any contraband to the innies, Gretchen still
can't wrap her brain around the inniness of it all.

Speaker 4 (08:22):
You really don't know me at all.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Nope, not a bit. Dylan motions to the photos on
the monitors. He saw her there, but other than that, no,
he hasn't got a clue. Gretchen moves to put the
sack on the floor.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
Yeahsip warned me that this might be weird.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Dylan looks confused.

Speaker 5 (08:40):
Who.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
Gretchen starts to respond when she's cut off by a
PA announcement.

Speaker 6 (08:45):
You please refrain from sharing information that may be privileged
or sensitive.

Speaker 5 (08:50):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
During this announcement, we cut to a shot taken from
a security camera in the ceiling. Oh, Luman is listening
all right. Finding out Any's don't know mister Miltchik's first
name made me pause to consider, why would Luman care
if the Nies know the first names of their superiors.
If we're thinking about these second season Innies as pre

(09:11):
teens in the ten to twelve year old range, I
think maybe I get this one. I remember how all
our teachers were mister, missus or miss especially up through
sixth grade. Learning a teacher's first name was like some
kind of talisman. I remember in third grade my mom
was in church choir with my teacher. One day she
referred to her as Sherry hold On. Missus McCullough's first

(09:34):
name is Sherry. This was news to me. It was
also news to the rest of my third grade class.
Her first name was common knowledge by the end of
the next school day. So yeah, I get this one.
The PA announcement reminds Gretchen about Miss Wong. This has
all been such a big deal and happening so quickly.
She completely forgot to ask about the child who brought

(09:57):
them together. Everyone universally has. It's the same reaction to
Ms Wong. Gretchen is really whispering, okay, he's that child.
Before Dylan can answer, we hear the mic get keyed,
and there's another PA announcement. The PA has a very
distinctive sound. I was ready to hear her call for

(10:17):
a cleanup in Aisle six. Dylan still isn't sure about
the intent of this meeting.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
It's really nice to meet you, but am I in trouble?

Speaker 2 (10:26):
I don't blame him for asking. The break room is
no longer about punishment now, the security office is no
longer about watching them. These changes have to be disorienting
for an inny like Dylan. Gretchen assures him he's not
in trouble. I don't think she's entirely sure what should
happen during this meeting either. She decides to give him
some backstory.

Speaker 4 (10:46):
We have three kids.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
Okay, that's good, but Dylan isn't exactly sure how to
even process this bit of information right. Gretchen then struggles
with how to refer to, you know, day to day Dylan.
She finally settles on him for Dylan's oudy, we can
talk about him, right, he's not here, so sure.

Speaker 4 (11:06):
My husband has had trouble keeping other.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
Jobs, yet his inny seems to really excel at this one.
Dylan is taking this all in, but at arm's length.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
He dumb.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
No, that's not it, dick, No, not that either. So
any Dylan would like to know what's wrong with his audi,
Gretchen says, there's nothing really wrong with him.

Speaker 4 (11:29):
He never quite found his thing.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yet here at Luman, any Dylan seems to be in
his element. Refining is very much his thing, and he's
really good at it. Any Dylan does have the wickedly
cutting insight of a twelve year old. He ponders this
last bit of info for a few moments.

Speaker 3 (11:46):
So he's actually kind of a fuck up.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Uh yeah, when you strip away all the sugar coating. Maybe,
so Gretchen decides not to answer. She sighs and looks
down at her hands. When she looks back up, changes
the subject.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
Do you want to see a picture of the kids?

Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yes, any Dylan is definitely into seeings some kid picks.
She retrieves one from the clear sack and hands it over.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
So Jim is six he's in the first grade.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
Now we get to see a cut in of the
picture she handed.

Speaker 4 (12:15):
Him, and Ruth is four.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
It's one of those frontier tin type joke pictures, like
you see at Silver Dollars City or Six Flags. Dylan
and his whole family are made up like Old West cowboys.

Speaker 4 (12:26):
And Merrick just turned two.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
I need to pause here to do a trivia correction
on IMDb. To tell the truth, I'm getting a little
discouraged when it comes to IMDb's vetting of trivia items.
They are letting some really stupid stuff through lately, like
this one. Someone is claiming one of the George's three
children is named Merrit, the same as Miss Weaver's real
first name. The laziness involved with this one is what

(12:52):
really gets me. The kid's name is not Merit, it's Merrick,
as in John Merrick, the Elephant Man. All this trip
posting person had to do was click over to the
cast list one screen away and they could have seen
that Dylan's youngest is named Merrick, not Merit. Come on, IMDb,
you can do better. You people who lazy post this stuff,

(13:14):
stop it, look it up, or don't submit anything. Okay,
so I may need to lie down for a minute
after that rant. While I do, you can grab a
cup of coffee refiner. Severed will be right back.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
Hello Refiners, It's Mark Keller kier Egan on Severance. Don't
let your dreary, dead end job get you down. Do
what I do for a workday.

Speaker 5 (13:40):
Pick me up.

Speaker 1 (13:41):
Listen to Severed the Ultimate Severance Podcast.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
Dylan is blown away hearing about his audi's family.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
They're awesome.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
It's great watching Zach Cherry look at his kids, and
it's fun to see Merrit Weaver watching Zach Cherry. These
two are so perfect together. There's another cut into the
close up of the picture in case you'd forgotten what
he was seeing. Dylan considers it a few seconds more,
then looks up at Gretchen and we live on a
cattle d and he's like little kids take everything very literally.

(14:13):
Dylan is logically extrapolating from the picture. Merrett Weaver's acting
style has been described as subtle. This is a perfect example.
There's a cut to her reaction after he says the
cattle ranch line. Instead of bursting out laughing, you can
see Gretchen take this in consider it, then a slow
smile spreads across her face. She's tickled, but she doesn't

(14:35):
want to insult this guy she just met by bursting
out laughing at him. The laughter that could have been
there is overlaid. It's IRV having a real belly laugh.
We cut to him now seated in O and D.
He's having a great time listening to Burke war stories
and burts.

Speaker 6 (14:55):
I don't care if your bare goddamn egan, you don't
to my department and tell me how to print a snowglow.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
Felicia is animated and hilarious. HERV is rearing back and
slapping the tabletop. They agree mister Bert g was fearless.
Felicia says she worked with Bert for six years. There
was only one time she ever saw him afraid of anything.

Speaker 6 (15:20):
He spent two hours on his hair the first time
he went to visit You.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
Ah, you can tell that makes Irv's day. They're having
a little snack as a part of this break. They
contain water, but they look like lumen juice boxes sitting
on the table with straws sticking out of the tops.
There are also some water drop logoed boxes with snacks.
IRV has something sitting on a napkin in front of him. Promptmaster.
Katherine Miller sourced her containers from a couple of different places.

(15:48):
One offs or dry packaging would normally be handled by
Bob Ludemann from eight oh eight Design Studio in Atlanta.
For anything that holds liquid's, Catherine relies on Tetra Pack.
They're a Syiddish multinational food processing and packaging company. You've
probably eaten something from a Tetra Pac container. One hundred
and ninety three billion Tetra Pack containers were sold in

(16:11):
twenty twenty two alone. Those waters with the straws sticking
out of them came from Tetra Pack. IRV pauses, then
says he should show Felicia something. Felicia thinks he's talking
about the Flyer. IRV says, not her, and takes something
out of his pocket. Yeah, it's a tiny, pocket size
sketch book. In it our line drawn headshots of Bert.

Speaker 4 (16:31):
G oh heyy, it's lovely.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
IRV says he drew one of these headshots every day
he couldn't see Burt.

Speaker 5 (16:41):
My numbers went down, but I didn't even care.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
It almost looks like some kind of an animated flip book.
But it isn't. It's just one unique headshot of Bert
on each page, page after page after page. In the
world of severance, IRV is of course the artist here.
In reality, it was painter and illustrator Daniel Levels who
did these sketches of Bert. Danny you might remember as

(17:05):
the guy who gave us the new painting in the
elevator lobby and many of the iconic paintings we've seen
on the severed floor. He is also the guy who
created that very cool sketch of ms Casey for the
Missing Flyer. A quick pause to point out something fun here.
In the early morning hours of February first of twenty
twenty five, Ready users were posting a clip lifted from

(17:27):
this scene. Specifically, in the wide shot, something was moving
in the frame above that strip of milky glass that
sits on top of the flat file cabinets. It was
pretty obvious the item was possibly an omnidirectional mic being
pushed into the frame by somebody through that dark strip
where the milky glass meets the ceiling. No need to

(17:48):
look for it now the error has been removed, but
if you go scan the Reddit thread from February first,
you can still see a couple of clips post it.
Felicia takes a few moments to enjoy each burt Head sketch.
As she's flipping through Irv's book, she gets to one
of the back pages. Irving reaches over to take it
from her before she sees this new image.

Speaker 5 (18:09):
Oh no, that's that's not good.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
No, it's not it's a recreation of Audi Irv's paintings
of the elevator to the Testing Floor. This one is
in pen, but all the details are there. He keeps
saying it's nothing. But Felicia is studying this final sketch.
She seems to be familiar with this spot. Felicia doesn't
look up. She keeps looking at this sketch book as
she asks IRV.

Speaker 5 (18:31):
How do you know about the Exports Hall?

Speaker 2 (18:33):
We've only known it as the elevator to the testing Floor.
This exports hall designation is something new. I'm sorry, Felicia says.
They meaning O and D sent a lot of shipments
to this exports hall.

Speaker 6 (18:47):
Used to go ourselves, but now they.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
Send a guy.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
This checks some boxes for IRV. For one, this image
that's been haunting his Audi is real. Also, it seems
to still be an active part of the severed floor.
There is a key piece of information IRV doesn't know
about the Exports Hall.

Speaker 5 (19:07):
Do you remember where it is?

Speaker 2 (19:10):
Irving's excursion to O and D may prove to be fruitful,
after all. Felicia does remember where it is, and she's
going to write out some very detailed directions on the
back of this image. We won't be waiting around to
see her do this because we need to check in
on Mark and Helena. We cut to a close up
of a really grizzly looking dude. We're back in Mammalians Nurturable.

(19:32):
Lauren's crew have assembled drum beats sounding like heartbeats, causes
to cut from one grizzly looking dude to another. The
guy with the goat head is back, plus a lot
of guys who could really use some conditioner in their
daily haircare regimen. People who work in the MN department
don't look too happy. How could you not be happy
with all these deliriously cute goats running around you all day?

(19:55):
Or maybe they aren't happy because these well dressed interlopers
seem hell bent on shaking up the idyllic life of
a goat herder. Mark and Helena are feeling a bit trapped.
They're surrounded by this ragtag group from Mammalian's Nurturable. We
can't hear it, but Lauren is off to one side
having an intense whispered conversation with Wyatt. Helena tries to

(20:17):
break the tension by grabbing the one sheet with Miss
Casey's picture on it. She approaches the big scary dude
in the goat headdress.

Speaker 4 (20:23):
Excuse me, have you seen this woman?

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Lauren shouts at her to stop that. Helena ignores Lauren
and continues around the circle with the blue sheet of paper.
She tells them her name is miss Casey. She was
the wellness director.

Speaker 7 (20:35):
Have any of you seen her?

Speaker 2 (20:37):
Lauren and Wyatt both break through the circle. Lauren grabs
the one sheet out of Helena's hand. Their whispered meeting
was about handling this situation by the lumen book.

Speaker 7 (20:46):
Will you say you send a courage to inform mister Miltchick.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Of your inquiry.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
This tells me a couple of things. First, Miltchik is
still in charge of these folks, even way out here. Second,
we really are way out here. If they need to
send a curve, it must be further than a casual
walk from one department to another. We've barely scratched the surface.
When it comes to basement geography. We do know the
severed floor is really, really big. In a Variety interview,

(21:13):
Jeremy Hndle said he once asked Dan Erickson how big
is the severed floor? Dan's response, Oh, it goes on
for miles. Mark jumps in here. They can't tell Milchick.
If they do, it could get miss Casey killed. Lauren
is washing her hands of this. She says it's not
a mammalian's problem. Mark agrees, it's in any problem. Mark

(21:37):
says he gets it. Mdr used to be afraid of
other departments, too afraid of you. She's got a point.
If anything, it's Mark who should have a healthy bit
of fear regarding these silent goattherders. Mark is getting wound up.
He's in preaching mode, the same way he was back
at O and D in season one. Mark says they
just disappeared her. Helena pushes the one sheets straight up

(21:59):
in the air like it's some kind of salute.

Speaker 8 (22:01):
And if we let this happen to miss Casey, then
who's gonna step up? When it happens to us.

Speaker 2 (22:06):
This is echoing a quote from a Lutheran pastor in
Germany named Martinnimoler. It was written in nineteen forty six,
following World War Two as a confessional piece of prose.
The quote ends, then they came for me and there
was no one left to speak for me. A quick
scan of the expressions around the circle would indicate he's
not getting through quick as side here. Whenever she's referenced

(22:29):
by another character, we usually hear her called miss Casey,
as in an unmarried or very young woman. Mark just
did it right here at the same time, whenever she
is referenced in the closed captioning, they go with ms
period or miss Casey. No big revelation or anything. I
just found that interesting. Mark goes Biblical on Lorn.

Speaker 8 (22:51):
If one of your goats went missing, wouldn't you go
looking for it?

Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's the parable of the lost sheep from the Gospels
of both Matthew and Luke. If any of you has
one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, won't
you leave the ninety nine in the field to go
look for the lost sheep? This question really hits Lorn,
where she lives of course she'd go look for a
lost goat. Any of them would. She pauses to look
at her lieutenants. Maybe these MDR people are sincere. Maybe

(23:17):
miss Casey really is a lost goat and they can
help find her.

Speaker 4 (23:21):
She used to come to her sessions in all husbandry
tikes breakthrough.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
Miss Casey's warmth and sincerity even seems to have touched
the rough and suspicious heart of lorn.

Speaker 4 (23:32):
She had a gentle way about her.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
A voice pipes up from the circle.

Speaker 6 (23:36):
She said, Miaudi excels at stargazing.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
It's the big guy in the goat head. He was
also touched by the gentle warmth of miss Casey's spirit,
and a great deal to me, it seems strange to
even consider. But these folks also have audies. They go
home at the end of their workday. I need to
drill down for a minute on the logistics here. Even
though mister Meltchik is still floor manager all the way

(23:59):
over here in m N. I don't think it's possible
they're using the same elevator as MDR. Why Well, it
would be a long hike for one thing. Also, we've
never encountered goat people waiting to use the severed elevator.
In order to get this many people out of here
and home at the end of the day, there must
be a whole bank of severed elevators somewhere. Same for

(24:20):
O and D. They've also got a big crew. If
all these folks are leaving via a single person elevator
like the one we're familiar with, it's going to take forever.
The other Goat people seem to be in silent agreement
with the words of goatthead guy. Lauren concedes they know her,
but there was no funny business surrounding her leaving.

Speaker 4 (24:40):
As far as we know, she was retired, just like
they say.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
Yeah, but that is just what you were told. You
don't have any firsthand knowledge. Lauren isn't ready to help
so much as she isn't ready to hurt. She tells
Mark if they think something else has happened to ms Casey,
m n won't hinder his search. Oh that's something I guess.

Speaker 3 (25:01):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Helena also thanks her. It feels like this meeting is over.
We get to cut in of Wyatt. He's looking pleadingly
at Lorne. He clears his throat, obviously wanting her to
say something else. Mark and Helly also get the message.
Lourn turns back. She's hesitant to mention whatever it is
Wyatt is wanting. She puts up a hand, but before

(25:23):
you go, we would like to see you bellies. See
what now? When I first heard this line prepping for
the epicap, I figured it was some reference to clones.
Clones shouldn't have belly buttons since they were never connected
to an umbilical cord. I figured Wyatt wanted to see
if these guys had belly buttons and therefore were not clones.

(25:46):
Helena confirms the request our bellies. Yep, that's what she said.

Speaker 6 (25:51):
Please.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
Mark and Helena look at each other. He shrugs whatever.
They start to pull shirttails out of waistbands. The other
members of MN become very interested in the proceedings. Strips
of white belly are revealed. Lauren and Wyatt are both
looking intently.

Speaker 4 (26:08):
See wouchus.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
Oh okay, it's about the pouches and the larvae that's
supposed to eat mdr Workers. Wyatt's pretty hardcore, even when
presented with visual evidence. He's not letting go of the
old stories. Proves nothing changing long held perceptions, even when
they're wrong can be time consuming. Abner Doubleday had nothing
to do with the invention of baseball. Christopher Columbus never

(26:33):
set foot in the United States. Both of those are
true statements, but try to get anyone to listen to
you about them. After they've exposed their non pouched bellies
to the MN people, the vibe changes. I think it
got a little too real. Mark and Helena quickly retucked
their shirt tails and excuse themselves from the goat circle.
Back in Outy Visitation, Miss Wong is arriving to break

(26:54):
things up. It would seem Gretchen, George and Inny Dylan
g have had a pretty amazing eighteen minutes together. Dylan
hands the picture back to Gretchen.

Speaker 3 (27:04):
I'm glad we did this.

Speaker 2 (27:05):
He is so genuinely tickled. He hopes it was also
fun for Gretchen, but he's stumbling all over his words.
Yeah it was, He says, He'll be good. He's gonna
make them all proud.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
I'm always proud of you, Dylan.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
Wow. Miltchik has found Dylan's ultimate motivational perk, family time.
This beats erasers and finger traps by miles. When talking
about this scene to Vulture. Merret Weavers said there was
a point where it started to kind of lag. Ben
Stiller told them to do it faster and louder, which
sounds like George Lucas's famous directing style. Merritt said it

(27:39):
was a case of she and Zach Cherry really getting
into the lines and characters. She said, you feel like,
as an actor, what's happening is such a big deal,
how could I go any faster? There's a sense of
needing to experience every second of what's happening. Gretchen gives
Dylan a goodbye hug. It's his simple gesture, but you
can tell takes Dylan by surprise. Innies don't get human touch.

(28:04):
This is why the handshake available upon request or ms
Casey's hugs are so prized by innies.

Speaker 4 (28:11):
I love you.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Innies definitely don't have anyone saying things like this to them.
You can see the surprise on Dylan's face. He has
no idea how to respond. Gretchen immediately realizes she might
be crossing a line. Sorry now to her its habit inny.
Dylan was surprised, but he certainly doesn't mind. The gentle
surf and soft music continue as these guys awkwardly say goodbye.

Speaker 3 (28:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
Dylan is beaming as he watches or leave the room.
Miss Wong steps aside to let Gretchen pass. Once they're
both out of the room, Miss Wong pulls the door
shut behind her. We hold on Dylan for a few moments.
Is he's standing there. He is both stunned and deliriously happy.
Listen to the doors slam. As soon as it closes,
the gentle music with bird and surf sound abruptly stops.

(29:04):
Theodore Schapyro music comes in under a giddy Innye Dylan
to transition us to the next scene. But before we
get to the next scene, this is a great time
for you to wash your hands. Refiner Severed will be
right back. Hi.

Speaker 8 (29:20):
I'm Adam Scott. I play mark s on Severance, which
you likely already know since you're listening to sever The
Ultimate Severance Podcast.

Speaker 2 (29:31):
Cut to an exterior view of the George Home as
an establishing shot. Then we go into their living room.
It's time to catch up with Audi, Dylan and the
Cattle Ranch Gang. The standard deaf cathode ray tube TV
is on, because the TV is always on in the
George Home. Dylan's oldest is glued to the set. He's
watching an episode of the British cartoon Danger Mouse, which

(29:53):
ran from nineteen eighty one through ninety two. This is
the first episode of the third season, entitled The Invasion
of Colonel Kay. In the episode Danger Mouse, Mush shrink
down and enter the mind of Colonel k Once there,
he is forced to navigate a series of endless tunnels
inside the colonel's mind. Hmmm, a series of endless tunnels? Now,

(30:14):
where have we run into something like that? Before Gretchen
comes down from upstairs. She tells Dylan to remember Merrick's
ear thing copy that it's the left ear bt dubs.
Gretchen is also wondering if Dylan did the cookies for
Jim's class.

Speaker 4 (30:28):
It's our week for cookies.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Oops. No, Dylan has not done the cookies. It's a tube.
You slice them, you put them in the oven. You
can handle this, Dylan. The picture above the George's couch
looks like it might be a seashore theme. The Audi
visitation Suite also featured a lot of ocean and sea imagery.
The city of Kere doesn't seem to be anywhere closed
to a shoreline. I wonder how much of this beach

(30:51):
and warm weather imagery is wishful thinking on the part
of the citizens of Kere, and how much they've actually experienced.
Gretchen is out of here. We can't see it in
this scene, but we do catch a glimpse of her
shoulder patch. Later. She is a nine one one operator
on the overnight shift. As Gretchen is about to rush
out of the house, Dylan remembers something, Hey, how is

(31:14):
the thing? You know, the thing with Dylan, or at
least Dylan's any Yeah, it's good, weird, good but good cool. Yeah, Okay,
so now she really needs to get out of here.

Speaker 4 (31:24):
Okay, okay, I'll see in the morning.

Speaker 2 (31:28):
Buys are offered from in front of the TV. Nobody
looks around to see mom go, but they do shout
at her. Check the shot right as the door closes.
Dylan is on the couch, but we are only seeing
him in about a third of the screen. It's the
framing device we've seen at beer house and in Mark's apartment.
Dylan is a severed, so he's only experiencing part of

(31:48):
his life at any given time. Check the floor right
in front of Dylan's feet. See the stuff doll? Look closely. Yes,
that is a stuffed Cure doll, complete with beard and suit.
I asked Mark Geller if he has any idea how
many things they've made in his likeness for the show.
He's trying to gather up as many of these items
as he can for his personal collection, but he really

(32:10):
has no idea how many Cure themed props are out there.
It's very faint against the wall behind Dylan, but check
the lamp. It's in the corner of the room by
the couch. This is another version of the era Delucee
Cubist lamp we saw in mister Miltchick's new office. This
one is crafted and raw wood. We then cut to
a shot from behind the kids. Look between them. You

(32:33):
can only see it for half a second, but there
is a play version of the lumen water tower there
on the floor. We cut to a side view close
up about e Dylan as he continues to flip through
his magazine. As with other transitions in this episode, the
sound overlaps before we cut to the next scene. It's
the voice of Natalie, But what is she saying?

Speaker 9 (32:54):
But surely Beer and Julips cannot fill the boy left
by love.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
There is a closeup pan of the pages of the
UU are we can see this is the passage Natalie
is reading. The shot then goes to an outside look
into beer house. I find beer house amazing from any angle.
It is an incredible home.

Speaker 9 (33:13):
Indeed, only wine can achieve this, but it is famously costly,
which is why sadness is among the most recurrent issues
facing the port.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
As Natalie finishes this passage, we cut to an over
the shoulders shot from her perspective. We're looking at doctor
Ricken Hale. He is transported, I think possibly. If there's
anything Ricken loves more than reading his own words to
a group, it is having his own words read back
to him. Natalie is very free with the compliments remarkable,

(33:43):
so astute, Well that is what he was going for.
A high from off camera startles Ricken. We cut to
a view from between Ricken and Natalie's heads. Devon has
entered the room. She seems surprised to find Natalie here. Yes,
there is a goat head on a stand frame right Devin.
As mentioned during season one, there are goat heads all
around beer house. They have caused quite a bit of

(34:06):
online discussion, but ultimately they don't mean anything when it
comes to the story. They are set decoration which falls
in line with the rest of the story, but nothing
more than that. Ricken sounds guilty.

Speaker 8 (34:18):
Oh my babe, this is Natalie Kaylan from Lumen, and.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
We get NAT's last name. According to the closed captioning
and IMDb, it's spelled ka l e. N Kaylan is
of Gaelic origin. It means slender or narrow. It's also
associated with the Greek name Kalos, which means beautiful or good.
These are all words which could apply to Natalie. Devin
is dressed in a winter coat with muffler. She asks

(34:46):
if everything is okay, because last time somebody from Lumen
was here there was a problem. Everything today is definitely okay.
Oh yes, God, yes, couldn't be better. Natalie is here
to discuss Ricken's book. The shot reverses to look at
Ricken and Natalie. Don't miss the nineteen seventies era Genovestozi
Morano table lamp it's sitting between them. Mrano is not

(35:10):
the design, it's the type of glass being used. Mrano
glass is handmade on the island of Mirano near Venice.
It's been produced on the island since the thirteenth century.
The glass is made from silica, soda, lime, and potassium,
all melted together at high temperatures. The process creates vibrant
colors and unique designs. Genovestozi is a premiere Morano glass designer.

(35:34):
He has dozens of different pieces available. I don't have
a specific cost on this lamp, but based on other
pieces of his I've seen, it's probably going to run
right around fifteen hundred dollars. When Ricken explains Natalie is
here about his book, Devon is hesitant. Her oh is
very reserved. Natalie is all teeth and shining eyes.

Speaker 9 (35:55):
It's a joy to meet you, Devin.

Speaker 6 (35:58):
You must be so proud.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
She glances back at Ricken on this last bit. He's appreciative.
Devin says, sure, she's proud, but she says it with
a challenging tone. You can tell Devn is not happy
about this very attractive and well spoken woman sniffing around
her man. The fact she's from Luman just makes it
that much worse. Devon hasn't heard anything yet that explains

(36:19):
exactly why Natalie is here. I think Natalie is feeling
the same thing.

Speaker 9 (36:24):
I'm sure you know by now that your husband's work
has found its way onto our severed floor.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
Ricken is nodding along as she speaks. Yes, Devon's heard,
and she has questions.

Speaker 4 (36:33):
Yeah, do we know how that happened?

Speaker 2 (36:35):
Yet, that's old news. Ricken says. They've moved beyond the
whole how it got down there question. Instead, they're going
to be more focused on the uh.

Speaker 3 (36:45):
Oh, what was the term you used?

Speaker 4 (36:47):
The result?

Speaker 5 (36:48):
The result?

Speaker 2 (36:49):
If they thought about it for two seconds, I don't
think it would be hard to figure out how Ricken's
book made it to the severed floor. You placed a
loose copy of the book on Mark's front port. Mark's
neighbor is his Innies boss. Hello. She's also proven herself
to be a liar and an impostor. Is it possible
maybe the scapegoat had something to do with it? Just

(37:11):
saying Natalie claims Rickens's words have a profound effect on
the Innies. Ricken is a rock star with this severed crowd.

Speaker 9 (37:19):
We think he's really topped into something.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
Okay, but the book is already out there. Rickens's words
can make the rounds without Ricken even being involved. I'm
sure Devon is thinking Natalie could go buy a copy
of the book and leave her hubby alone. So the
book is interesting and profound and exciting, but Natalie is
looking for something more, something specifically for Innies. Check Devon's

(37:42):
body language, hands in pockets, shoulders hunched. She's being very
defensive and closed. Devin says, that's cool, but I get
the feeling she doesn't mean it.

Speaker 6 (37:52):
I mean, what's wrong with the current version?

Speaker 2 (37:54):
It did seem to do pretty well with the innees
on its own, as is, why would you need a
new version? Ricken says the explanation is very interesting, but
defers to Natalie. I get the sense he's not completely
clear on her explanation either, but he doesn't care. He's
practically giddy. Well discover there's a pretty lucrative payday involved.

(38:14):
The paycheck seems to be Ricken's motivation for writing this
new book. Natalie makes the reason for the rewrite sound
very official, even scientific.

Speaker 9 (38:23):
There's a certain verbiage to which Annies respond more favorably.

Speaker 2 (38:27):
All it needs is a bit of a tweak here
and there to get it up to any quality.

Speaker 3 (38:31):
They think that it could be a real game changer.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
You can tell Devin doesn't think the game needs to
be changed, but what does she know. Devon's out of here.
She says Eleanor needs a bottle in an hour. Of course,
devn turns to go, but Natalie calls her back. Nat
has some need to make a connection with Devon. She
decides to play the sibling card.

Speaker 9 (38:51):
Can I just say your brother is one of the
sweetest members of our severent team.

Speaker 2 (38:55):
Devon's BS meter is pretty sensitive, she smiles, but it
stops below her.

Speaker 5 (39:00):
He's a good egg.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
Because this is severance and it's been a while since
anyone's mentioned eggs. We did get sidetracked with pineapples there
for a while. We don't want to forget our old friend,
the egg. Okay, So Devin is finally out of here.
She says she'll be back in one hour. This is
probably so she can check on whether Ricken gave Eleanor
that bottle. Ricken smiles nervously at Natalie. As we cut

(39:23):
away from beer house, we are hearing Mark in voiceover,
but seeing scissors cutting through a dark, heavy fabric.

Speaker 8 (39:30):
So she said her name's Natalie.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
Yes, Natalie Klin, But she wasn't spying on Mark. She
was there for Ricken and his glorious tome The you you.

Speaker 9 (39:40):
Are, I guess you and your work friends were so
inspired by it.

Speaker 8 (39:43):
Oh Jesus Christ.

Speaker 6 (39:45):
They want to do like in any specific cut.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
Seriously, they are going to pay him to do an
any specific remix. Check the work bench between them. See
the coffee mug. It's from Gan's College. Of course it
is because the set decoration improp team at Severance is
next level. Mark says he will hold his tongue on.

Speaker 6 (40:05):
This topic and that is so appreciated.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
Mark wonders if Devin is told Ricken what they're up
to here?

Speaker 6 (40:11):
Are you insane? No?

Speaker 2 (40:13):
So what are they doing here? This is the construction
session for the after image burnin device. It's a powerful
trouble light with a glass lens. The message is being
cut out of felt and glued onto the glass.

Speaker 9 (40:26):
Okay, so you need to see the after image for
like two and a half minutes.

Speaker 2 (40:29):
Mark says, two minutes in eighteen seconds.

Speaker 6 (40:31):
It's from the parking spot to the elevator, give.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
Or take ah, but he's not accounting for discovery time.
There need to be a few seconds built in there.
For the in need to realize they are seeing some
kind of afterimage. Mark twirls the light around and we
can see the words who is alive on three lines.
Devin thinks the whole mind collective would be proud.

Speaker 6 (40:51):
Of this, as well as your kindergarten teacher. What the
fuck was her name, missus Lustgarden?

Speaker 2 (40:54):
Mark confirms yes, it was, in fact missus Lustgarten. The
hour must be Devin says, it's time for her to
skid daddle.

Speaker 6 (41:02):
Will you be careful please?

Speaker 2 (41:04):
I don't know that Mark has really thought about this
getting him in trouble. He says yeah, but he looks
a bit surprised. Devin gives Mark a kez and tells
him she loves him.

Speaker 10 (41:12):
Even though he left me with the check at PEPs
he did.

Speaker 2 (41:14):
She's exaggerating here. The waiter had just delivered waters to
the table when Mark stormed out. I don't think there
was a check unless Devon hung around for lunch. Mark
continues the project as Devin heads up the basement stairs.
Before we cut away from the long shot, check the
message on the light on Mark's workbench. A minor continuity
error here. Remember how the message was on three lines?

(41:37):
Here in the long shot, it looks like it's on
only one line. Don't miss the next screen. We cut
to it for a literal second. We're in Seth Miltchik's
office looking at his workstation. This screen created quite a
bit of discussion because of some perceived errors. It's listed
as the management control panel. It shows a listing of
four personnel complete with ID numbers. This screen was of course,

(42:00):
interpreted as being the four Macrodaths. The fourth listing has
a highlighted key icon at the far right of the entry.
Surely this is Helly's ID showing the Glasgow block right.
Not so much. The first two ID numbers are Helly's,
then Marx. The other two numbers do not correspond to
what we know are Dylan and Irv's CHIP IDs. These

(42:22):
might be other employees on the severed floor, but a
lot of folks thought this list was supposed to be
the Macrodaths, and somebody made a mistake. The next page
is an active surveillance source list. This might be a
listing of camera or listening assets, but we don't get
enough detail to really know. Seth closes out the program
and slides his computer over to the wall. We follow

(42:44):
him into the back room, where he has his helmet
on his shelf. He puts on his leather jacket. As
he's doing this, he pauses. He's looking at those paintings
from earlier. They are now back here, spread out on
a desk Seth glances over them again with this same
look of disdain and confusion. He finally decides what should
be done with this confounding gift. He replaces the tissue

(43:07):
paper and carefully repackages the canvases in the portfolio. He
then takes the portfolio and places it as high as
possible on a shelf in the back of his back room.
He's not going to throw it out, but he certainly
can't display these bizarre images. They can stay here, out
of sight and out of mind, at least until someone
from the board visits his office. We do a slow

(43:30):
dissolve to an outside nighttime scene. A building with a
light on it is sitting in the lower right corner
of the frame. We can see a car approaching. This
is a new shooting location for the show. They never
really tell us where this is in relation to Mark's
house or Keir, but I've got some great info about
this real life location. This building sits on a beal

(43:53):
street in Kingston, New York. Up until a fire in
twenty twenty four. This was the Big Cat underground live
music dance club. It's a boat chack that sits under
the Roondu train trestle we saw in season one. The
Big Cat was home to some major ragers back before
the fire. If you've ever been to a party at
the Big Cat, you might be wondering what happened to
the overhead garage door on the front of the building.

(44:15):
Don't worry, it's still there. It was removed for this
severanth scene using CGI. Mark has a pretty ugly quilt
on his lap. He throws it over his head and
turns on the light. We are shown the lens. They
went with the three line message. It says who is alive?
In what looks like almost a comic sands font. Mark

(44:35):
only leaves the light on for a few seconds. He
then closes his eyes and starts to count fuck it Yeah.
Image gone. After only about thirty seconds, Mark resets and
throws the quilt over his head again. We see another
exterior shot. The quilt lights up again before we cut
away to the front steps of Lumen Sitting at the
bottom of the steps is a breath takingly cool vehicle.

(44:59):
This is an nineteen sixty eight Lincoln Continental town Car
with suicide doors. It is one of the oldest vehicles
on the show. This model was chosen because it embodies
the Egan family legacy. Peter Dancy also thought this car
felt very much like it would be a chauffeured vehicle.
Dancy said it was a challenge keeping all these carbureted

(45:20):
vehicles running in cold weather. Got even worse when the
production moved to Newfoundland for the Sweet Vitriol episode. Having
multiple copies of each vehicle became even more important as
they got harder to start. Helena Egan is making her
way down the stairs to the Lincoln. As she approaches,
her unidentified driver opens the back door. According to the

(45:40):
Severance Wiki, this very menacing and imposing driver is not
credited anywhere. Helena pauses before getting in. Something out in
the parking lot caught her attention. We cut to Helena's
point of view, parked in the lot just a few
spaces away as a white Volkswagen Rabbit standing next to it.
Facing Helena, we see Harmony Kobell. Helenn nods to her

(46:02):
driver to wait. She then crosses the parking lot to Harmony.
She stops about four feet from her and pauses without
saying a word. Harmony starts the conversation. She's decided heading
up the old Severance Advisory Council just isn't gonna fly.

Speaker 6 (46:17):
If you want me back, you must accommodate my needs.

Speaker 2 (46:22):
The fired and darn near homeless employee is very demanding.
She's gotten the attention of the Luman princess listening, Harmony
says MDR is non negotiable. She resumes control downstairs. No
questions asked.

Speaker 6 (46:38):
Why mackass so close to completing Cold Harbor.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
See, she knows what's happening on the severed floor. Luman
can't have someone like this out running around free. In
order to control information, they need to control people. Harmony
has a personal connection to what's going on down there.

Speaker 6 (46:58):
I intend to finish the work that I started.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Of course, for her to properly finish this work, seth
Miltchik's gotta go.

Speaker 6 (47:07):
He's not equipped for the task.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
Gobel claims she must be floor manager. Helena is not
moved by her passion.

Speaker 6 (47:15):
I hear Ego upris arrogance.

Speaker 2 (47:21):
She then quotes Keir claiming these things only cause pain.
Harmony coldly fires a shot over the bow of the
NEPO baby.

Speaker 6 (47:30):
Have histhing I accomplished, I earned.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
She pauses a moment, then adds through dedication and industry.
So come on, Harmony, what are you really getting at?

Speaker 6 (47:40):
Because I was born into it?

Speaker 2 (47:42):
Ooh, NEPO baby laid low. Helena takes these comments in
with a small and wry smile. She's not put off
by the claims of this underling with an overinflated sense
of importance.

Speaker 4 (47:54):
I think you've overestimated your contributions.

Speaker 6 (47:58):
And underestimated yours.

Speaker 2 (48:01):
Uh, Helena, I'm not sure if you're aware of this,
but she invented the severance chip. I'm just an observer,
but from here it seems like a pretty big contribution.
Watch Helena drop the bemused smile and get very cold.

Speaker 6 (48:15):
We didn't have to ask you back, and.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
You can just freeze to death in your car for
all I care. Harmony is still clinging to her perceived value.

Speaker 6 (48:23):
It didn't have ajuice.

Speaker 2 (48:25):
This is getting tense. Surprisingly, it's Helena who suggests they
reset does not have.

Speaker 10 (48:30):
To be this way.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
Helena dials her cell phone. Who do you call when
you want to talk to the board? Oh? Come on,
who do.

Speaker 6 (48:36):
You think Natalie?

Speaker 2 (48:39):
Natalie and Seth both seem to have a similar lack
of personal lives and an overly developed sense of devotion
to the company. Natalie has also been the subject of
some clone and robot theories, just like Seth.

Speaker 6 (48:50):
Please see if the board is available.

Speaker 2 (48:54):
For Helena Egan, the daughter of the CEO.

Speaker 4 (48:58):
For miss Cobella myself.

Speaker 2 (49:00):
Well, sure, it sounds like they can work something out,
even at this late hour.

Speaker 4 (49:03):
Let's go speak with them together.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
Well that was easy. Sure, let's go get the blessing
of the board for this rehire. Harmony does not look
thrilled about this news. Helena turns and Harmony follows, but hesitantly.
They cross the parking lot. Harmony is following about three
steps behind. As they approach the Lincoln and Helen is
unnamed driver, Harmony stops walking. Helena steps up on the

(49:26):
curb and turns back towards Harmony. Over Helena's shoulder. Her
behemoth of a driver takes one menacing step forward. Cobel
takes his step back, then turns and walks away.

Speaker 6 (49:38):
Many.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
Cobell ignores her. She recrosses the lot to her Volkswagen.
Something got weird there. I'm betting Harmony was thinking about
those people who've just disappeared while working for Lumen. She
knew there was a good chance this might be the
last time she ever sets foot inside that building. Who's
going to come looking for Harmony rather than become the
next science experiment. Down on the testing floor, Harmony ops

(50:01):
for a quick exit while she still can. Helena's lips
are a grim line as she watches Harmony fire up
the rabbit. The small car flies out of the empty lot.
I can't help but wonder the last time she had
that poor car in for an oil change. Cobell is

(50:21):
really abusing it lately, trying to run over Mark in
front of his house and stomping the accelerator as she
roars away. Here before we check in with Mark and
his big bright light, this seems like a great time
for you to hit the vending machine. Refiner Severed will
be right back.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
Hello, Refiners, this is your beloved leader Ker Egan. Actually
it's Mark Keller, who plays Ker Egan on Severance for
the latest don stopping the Mdr Rebellion. I like to
check in with Severed the Ultimate Severance Podcast.

Speaker 2 (51:00):
We cut back to Mark, still sitting in his car.
His eyes are closed and he's counting under his breath.
He's only in the thirties. When the image fades, he
opens his eyes without the slightest bit of warning. Mark's
looking at Regaby hunched over the front of his hood.
Jesus Christgabby hasn't even been in the car with him,
but she can figure out what he's up to.

Speaker 3 (51:21):
Are you trying to burn a message to your any
into your retness?

Speaker 2 (51:25):
There is nothing new under the fluorescent lights of lumin
only those things you haven't thought of yet. She has
if Mark's computer told him this was a brilliant idea. Yeah,
Regaby moves around to the passenger side door. Mark is
not thrilled.

Speaker 1 (51:41):
No, no, no, no.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
No, the door is Lockedgabby, not getting the hint, knocks
on the window. What it doesn't work, She tells him.
The switch over briefly dilates the pupils clean slate. She
also says he could blind himself and the one I
wondered about.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
And how was the inn he gonna?

Speaker 6 (52:00):
I'll send you a message.

Speaker 2 (52:01):
Back park claims that's his innies problem. He doesn't know.
After spending more time researching this burn in thing than
I should, I have to argue with Forgabi for a moment.
The reason we experience burn in or after image is
due to excess stress placed on the rods and cones
in the eye. The pupil can go from full blackout
to fully open, and it doesn't change the after effects

(52:23):
of this stress. The only thing that might erase an
after image is a much brighter light that causes even
more stress to these surrounding rods and cones. I agree
with her on the other issues, and I doubt this
is a viable way to contact the innies. But the
clean slate she mentions is not going to wipe out
the after image. Yes. I should also note one of

(52:45):
the chip control routines we saw in the security office
was also called clean slate. Although several folks pointed fingers
online at the term, this is not that she just
happened to pick the same terminology to describe the viholating
pupil process. Regaby is still standing by the car, unlocked

(53:05):
the door, Mark asks why I tend to agree with him?
This is pretty weird. And really he doesn't know anything
about this woman other than she used to work at
Lumen and she probably helped to kill Pete. Did she
follow him out here? Is she tracking Mark? Could she
still be working for Luman? The question has also been raised,
why wouldn't Regaby invite Mark to go for a walk

(53:27):
if she needs to talk to him? Luman is all
about spying and listening devices. If anything out here in
this remote area we're going to be bugged, it would
be the interior of Mark's car. Regaby should realize this
and want to avoid it. Nope, She's very intent on
getting in the potentially bugged car.

Speaker 6 (53:46):
Mark, unlock this fucking door.

Speaker 2 (53:49):
Mark finally gives in and opens the door for her.

Speaker 3 (53:52):
What there's an easier way?

Speaker 2 (53:55):
Regaby is a one trick pony. She's talking reintegration. Mark
reminds her it didn't seemed to be so easy for
Petgaby doesn't dwell on her failure. She changes the subject.

Speaker 6 (54:06):
Instead, heard about the occ This.

Speaker 2 (54:08):
Isn't something Oudi Mark has a lot of firsthand knowledge about.
He says his INNI said a lot of things to
his sister. Regaby then arms the bombshell.

Speaker 6 (54:17):
Did he tell her your wife is alive at all?

Speaker 2 (54:19):
Hold on, you knew you knew about Gemma and didn't
think to say anything before. Now Mark is way more
chill than I'd have been.

Speaker 5 (54:28):
Who told you that?

Speaker 2 (54:28):
Regabby doesn't answer. Mark stares at her for long moments,
then realizes why she's not talking. Nobody told her anything.
She knows. This is Audi Mark, who stormed out of
Pips at the mere hint of his wife still being alive.
He can't argue with an eye witness.

Speaker 6 (54:47):
She was the last time.

Speaker 2 (54:48):
Miss Hargaby is saying she's been down on the testing floor.
She's seen Gemma scout. Does this mean Regabby was also
a part of the experimentation that's being performed on Gemma.
She doesn't provide those details, but I'd be curious to
know what she was up to before she left Lumen.
We also don't know how she left Lumen. Was she fired,

(55:10):
quit in a huff, got dragged out by security. Maybe
she's a double agent, made to look like an outcast
when she's actually still working for the Evil Empire. I'd
love to know more about Regaby's background and motivations. Mark's
breathing gets shaky. He's processing this irrefutable eyewitness information. Suddenly,
Mark grabs the door handle and gets out of the car.

(55:31):
This is way too big to sit with. He needs
to move around. This reaction to the news was Adam
Scott's addition to this scene. He told Ben Stiller this
information just felt too big to keep inside the car.
Adam said he felt sweaty, hot, and nauseous in the moment.
He had to get out of there in order to
process the overwhelming emotion of this revelation. Mark has been

(55:55):
at the waist in front of his car. Regabby follows him.
Mark is gasping and holding his forehead. When he turns,
it looks like he's gonna fall. He catches himself on
the hood of the car. This is an earth shaking revelation.

Speaker 5 (56:07):
How could you not tell me?

Speaker 2 (56:09):
Somehow? I'm not shocked. The hyper secretive, super paranoid former
employee is hesitant to give too much away.

Speaker 7 (56:16):
We were interrupted, if you recall.

Speaker 2 (56:18):
Well, yeah, there was also the grainer intrusion than batting practice,
followed by heaving in the parking garage. When you consider
it that way, she didn't really have a lot of
time for a heart to heart about Gemma.

Speaker 6 (56:30):
I want to help you, but you have to trust me.

Speaker 2 (56:33):
Sure, but you trust in the shadowy doc who's on
the run from Lumen. What could go wrong Forgabi reiterates
there is only one way to get information in and
out of Lumen.

Speaker 7 (56:43):
And that's reintegration.

Speaker 2 (56:45):
She then says one of the most frightening lines of
this episode, possibly of the entire season.

Speaker 4 (56:50):
I'm better at it now. I can make it work
with you.

Speaker 2 (56:53):
You'd better be a lady. I'm sure she learned a
few things when she attempted this with Petie, But how
can she be so sure or she's got it figured out.
Regabby launches into a sales pitch, but it's not necessary.
Armed with this new information about Gemma, Audie Mark has
already made his decision. He cuts Regabi off mid pitch.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
Yes do it.

Speaker 2 (57:13):
There's an old adage in sales. When you get the yes,
stop selling. Regabby is in research, so she wouldn't know
about old sales adages. Of course, he's sure. Stop asking.
You're dangling the one thing in front of him he
never thought he'd ever have again. I want to see
my wife, and not just see her. How about rescue

(57:34):
her from the evil clutches? Of lumen. We cut to
a transition shot of icicles hanging from the gutter of
Mark's townhouse. The icicles are cold and solid, but also
shimmery and gorgeous. You can't tell from this tranquil shot,
but these icicles are also holding on for dear life,
trying not to fall. We get a series of close ups.
Regaby's hand is turning on switches and fiddling with dials.

(57:57):
If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was
the roadie for a band. That cables and quarter inch
jacks make it look like she's preparing for a sound check.
Some of the gauges are sticking after a good whack
to the back of the unit. It's fine. This is concerning,
especially for someone whose work can impact a patient's brain.
Mark is coming down from the main floor. He passes

(58:19):
by the light that looks like the negative of the
image from Irv's paintings. It's right there at the top
of the basement stairs. Like any good healthcare employee, Rigaby
may have pinched some scrubs from work. The smock she's
wearing looks exactly like what the doctor who inserted Helli's
chip was wearing. The camera is tracking over various colored cords.
As Rigabi explains.

Speaker 6 (58:40):
The monitors differentiate the five brainwave frequencies of the Innianudi.

Speaker 2 (58:44):
When I first heard this, I figured someone had concocted
the five brain wave frequencies as part of the story.
Imagine my surprise when I looked up brainwave frequencies only
to discover all of this is actual science. Humans do
have five brainwaga frequencies.

Speaker 7 (59:01):
Delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma.

Speaker 2 (59:03):
I believe each of these waves is the reason for
the five bins the refiners are filling. Each bin is
trapping one of the frequencies. The severed worker is putting
out ten brain waves. Each of the five brainwave frequencies
shows up as two different out of sync waves on
the ocilloscope. One of the waves at that frequency is
being generated by a zaudi, the other is being generated

(59:24):
by a any. As long as these waves aren't in sync,
they can't be aware of each other. The oudy waves
never know about the any waves, and vice versa. The
colors of the cords connected to the leads on mark
scalp correspond to the colors of the tempers between the
brain waves and the tempers. These are all of the
variables involved in macrodata refinement. Mark leans forward and places

(59:45):
his chin and a holder at the bottom of a
square white frame. Although the Science Who Severance is a
fiction created for the show, the equipment they're using has
real world counterparts. The thing in Rigabi is waving over
Mark's head resembles the same wand used in the real
world for a procedure called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS.

(01:00:05):
TMS is used to non invasively treat depression and OCD.

Speaker 8 (01:00:11):
Is it gonna hurt?

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
She hedges a bit here.

Speaker 7 (01:00:14):
Ideally not.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Rigabi may be hesitant to give guarantees. This is all
pretty new to her too, She asked Mark, what is
mouth tastes like. Electroconvulsive patients report weird tastes, like something
coppery or metallic after treatment. The plate with either the
salt or white silica sand on it also has a
basis in science. This is a Clodney plate. It's a

(01:00:38):
phenomenon discovered in the seventeen eighties where different sound frequencies
can create a variety of geometric patterns in particles like sand.
This happens as the particles are being vibrated on a
metal plate. The phenomenon was discovered by the German physicist
and musician Ernst Florence Friedrich Claudney. The Cloudney plate is
very cool, but it's not being u used in any

(01:01:00):
real world way I could find to study or treat
the human brain. I would guess this Clodney plate is
a part of the Severance reintegration procedure because it looks
cool on camera. Before Regabby begins the procedure, Refiner, You've
got time for one more round of hand washing ten
times a day. Remember, Severed will be right back. Hi.

Speaker 8 (01:01:23):
I'm Adam Scott. I play Mark s on Severance, which
you likely already know since you're listening to Severed the
Ultimate Severance Podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
Regabby begins the procedure. Mark looks down at his hand,
which starts twitching.

Speaker 5 (01:01:39):
What the fuck?

Speaker 2 (01:01:41):
Regaby quickly shuts down the frequency generator. Mark is experiencing
some of the side effects known to occur with TMS.
Twitching hands and pounding headaches are not uncommon during TMS treatments.
Tingling spasms and twitching of facial muscles have also been
known to occur. Mark's breathing is jagged, and he clenches
and unclenches his fist. You are right, Mark says he

(01:02:04):
doesn't know. Regaby pushes his chin back down on the
chin cup in the frame.

Speaker 6 (01:02:08):
We're going to start with easy questions get more complex.

Speaker 2 (01:02:11):
He then asks if he remembers protocol?

Speaker 8 (01:02:14):
Is that the first question?

Speaker 4 (01:02:15):
No, we haven't started yet yet.

Speaker 2 (01:02:17):
It kind of sounded like they Hadgaby can sometimes be frustrating.
Mark claims he does remember protocol. Regaby tells Mark to
relax his body. He should feel good when this is over.
She then asks a variation on one of Mark's favorite questions,
who am I? Mark is still hung up on whether
these are the real questions or not.

Speaker 4 (01:02:37):
We started who am I?

Speaker 2 (01:02:38):
Here we get a first name we've never known before.
Asil is from the Arabic. It's a unisex name that
means origin or root. It is more commonly used as
a female name in regions where Arabic has spoken. Regabi
asks where they are. Weirdly, they are in Mark's basement.
I had nothing to base it on, but I figured
reintegration would be more invasive. I was picturing something along

(01:03:01):
the lines of the pet chip removal, only on a
living person. Thankfully, it appears realigning the frequencies can be
done with an acilloscope, not a drill or scalpel. That's
why working on a human brain is safe, even here
in this dirty, unfinished basement. Regaby begins to ask a
series of personal questions. These are things Mark should know,

(01:03:22):
but they wouldn't be common knowledge. His mother's name is
fern Scout. Mark hesitates. This is also one of the
any intake questions, but it wasn't supposed to be a trick.
Regaby seems to be using his answers as baselines, like
the easy and true answers you give at the start
of a polygraph test. Mark is stemy, seriously brown brown.

(01:03:47):
Regabi wants to know if Mark loved his mother.

Speaker 1 (01:03:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:50):
On the acilloscope screens, we can see the two sine
waves trying to overlap nam damn Hoover. I'm glad she
didn't want to. I don't know if I could name
another dam. The Hoover Dam is located on the border
between Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed starting in nineteen
thirty one through thirty six. The seven hundred and twenty

(01:04:10):
six foot tall dam traps and regulates the Colorado River
to form Lake Mead. It also acts as a hydroelectric
generator for Nevada, Arizona, and California. Seven million tourists visit
the Hoover Dam annually. The nearest city to the Hoover
Dam is Boulder City, Nevada. Boulder City is a town
that was created to house the workers who built the

(01:04:33):
Hoover Dam. These are easy, oudy questions. How about we
try in any question?

Speaker 4 (01:04:39):
What does emty of our stand?

Speaker 2 (01:04:41):
Audi? Mark doesn't recognize the Abbreviationgaby says it again slowly.
Mark takes a shot mestic.

Speaker 4 (01:04:48):
That's wrong, so.

Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
No connections Yetgaby dials up the intensity of the questions.
She wants to know about something that causes Mark to
feel shame.

Speaker 4 (01:04:57):
What now shame?

Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
Turns out E left the gate open as a kid.
It resulted in the death of his dog. We're looking
straight into Mark's face. You can tell he's starting to
feel some confusion. He's not sure where he was born.

Speaker 1 (01:05:10):
What month is it?

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
You mean, what quarter would be? In any kind of response,
something is happening. There are flickers and flashes of other
memories intruding on Audi Mark's consciousness. We keep cutting to
the dual sine waves on the scope. They're moving closer
and closer together. Wait Forgabi wants to know his first memory.
Mark doesn't know. Suddenly the background changes. He's not in

(01:05:34):
his basement anymore. There's wood behind his head close up
on the scope than the Clodney plate.

Speaker 6 (01:05:39):
What is your first memory?

Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
More flickers, the frame and the chin cup disappear. The
two sine waves on one of the scopes snapped together.
Suddenly we hear a voice from the past.

Speaker 1 (01:05:52):
Hey, there you on the table.

Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
I wonder if you'd mind taking a brief survey.

Speaker 2 (01:05:57):
It's p D. Mark sits up. He's now in the
conference room table on the severed floor. He's in his suit, dress,
shirt and tie. Mark is experiencing the same kind of
cuts back and forth from one reality to the next
like we saw with pe D. He's on the conference
room table, but suddenly the table is now sitting in
his basement. The small speaker at his feet continues to

(01:06:18):
talk to him with PD's voice.

Speaker 3 (01:06:20):
Five questions.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
Mark's outfits snap wildly back and forth, from any to OUDI,
casual to business.

Speaker 1 (01:06:26):
To start out?

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
Who are you?

Speaker 2 (01:06:29):
We leave a confused Oudie Mark sitting on the severed
floor conference table cut to white roll credits, Oh and
cue the Who. This is a cut called Eminence Front.
It comes from The Who's tenth studio album, nineteen eighty

(01:06:51):
two's It's Hard. The single would peak at number sixty
eight on the Billboard Hot one hundred. Rolling Stone is
ranked it as the Who's tenth best song. Pete Townshend
both wrote and sings the song. He has introduced it

(01:07:15):
in concert as a song about what happens when you
take too much white powder. Claims he's not sure if
he wrote it to point a finger at himself or
at the cocaine dealers of Miami. Although it kind of
feels like Rigabi accomplished reintegration, this is far from the case.
We're going to discover. This process of reintegrating a severed
worker requires several sessions like this one. The two realities

(01:07:38):
don't just snap into place and stay there. Additionally, as
we saw with pe d, sometimes the different realities can
cross over in a confusing mess that leaves the severed
patient unsure about time or place. While Refiner that's it.
We've completed Episode three, Who Is Alive. Feel free to
shut down your workstation and get ready to leave for
the day. I want to say a big thank you

(01:08:00):
to volunteer researcher refiner Vinnie P. For his outstanding help.
Quick reminder get to the Severed Patreon page. Support this
Severed podcast by pledging five dollars a month. Signing up
as easy go to patreon dot com slish Severed Pod.
That's Patreon dot com slish Severed pod. Patroon refiners have
early access to add free versions of the podcast. We'll

(01:08:23):
talk again next Thursday as we start on episode four
of season two, woes Hollo. It's a standout considered by
many to be the best episode of the entire series.
Others can't stand it, so this should be fun. Until then,
it's time to shut down your workstation and get to
the elevator. Refiner, thanks for doing such great work here
would be proud now. As always, please stagger your exits.

Speaker 7 (01:08:47):
You've been listening to Severed, the Ultimate seventh podcast. Severed
is written, produced, and hosted by Alan Stair.

Speaker 10 (01:08:54):
Severed is not endorsed by Red Hour Productions, Endever Content,
or Apple TV Plus. This podcast is intended for entertainment
and informational purposes only.

Speaker 7 (01:09:04):
Severance, the Severance logo, and all video and audio of
Severance and Severance characters are registered trademarks of Red Hour,
Endeavor Content, Apple TV Plus, or their respective copyright holders.

Speaker 10 (01:09:16):
Please make sure to leave a five star rating and
review for Severed at Apple Podcasts.

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